M-100 (explosive)

M-100s are a class of powerful firecrackers commonly called salutes.

M-100s consist of a cardboard tube 21⁄8" × 3⁄4". Colors may vary. They contain 10 grams of flash powder that is ignited via a visco fuse positioned in the center or side of the tube.¹ In some cases, they are maxed out at 15 grams which is the physical limit for 2" × 3⁄4". They are among the most common flash salutes put into use in the United States around 4 July. M-100s are significantly more powerful than M-80s, which contain 3 to 5 grams.

In the United States, M-100s are illegal to manufacture, possess, and sell without a proper license, and are regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).¹ M-100s were first banned by the Child Protection Act of 1966.²

In 1983, an explosion at a secret unlicensed fireworks factory manufacturing M-80 and M-100 fireworks near Benton, Tennessee, killed eleven, injured one, and inflicted damage within a radius of several miles.³ The operation was by far the largest-known illegal fireworks operation in US history, and the initial blast was heard as far away as 20 miles (32 km) from the site.³