Poudre B was the first practical smokeless gunpowder created in 1884. It was perfected between 1882 and 1884 at "Laboratoire Central des Poudres et Salpêtres" in Paris, France. Originally called "Poudre V" from the name of the inventor, Paul Vieille, it was arbitrarily renamed "Poudre B" (short for poudre blanche—white powder, as distinguished from black powder) to distract German espionage. "Poudre B" is made from 68.2% insoluble nitrocellulose, 29.8% soluble nitrocellulose gelatinized with ether and 2% paraffin. "Poudre B" is made up of very small paper-thin flakes that are not white but dark greenish grey in colour. "Poudre B" was first used to load the 8mm Lebel cartridges issued in 1886 for the Lebel rifle. History German-Swiss chemist Christian Friedrich Schönbein created the explosive substance nitrocellulose, or "guncotton", in 1846 by treating cotton fibers with a nitric acid and sulfuric acid mixture. However, guncotton proved to be too fast burning for direct use in firearms and artillery ammunition. French chemist Paul Vieille then followed the findings of Schönbein in 1882–84 and, after much trial and error, succeeded in transforming guncotton into a colloidal substance by gelatinizing it in an alcohol-ether mixture which he then stabilized with amyl alcohol. He then used roller presses to transform this gelatinized colloidal substance into extremely thin sheets which, after drying, were cut up into small flakes. This single-base smokeless powder was originally named "Poudre V" after the inventor's name. That denomination was later changed arbitrarily to "Poudre B" in order to distract German espionage. The original "Poudre B" of 1884 was almost immediately replaced by improved "Poudre BF(NT)" in 1887. In 1896, "Poudre BF(NT)" was replaced by "Poudre BF(AM)", which was followed by "Poudre BN3F" in 1901. The latter was stabilized with the antioxidant diphenylamine instead of amyl alcohol, and it gave safe and regular performance as the standard French gunpowder used during World War I (1914–1918). It was followed during the 1920s by "Poudre BN3F(Ae)" and later by "Poudre BPF1", which remained in service until the 1960s. Performance Three times more powerful than black powder for the same weight, and not generating large quantities of smoke, Poudre B gave the user a huge tactical advantage. It was hastily adopted by the French military in 1886, followed by all the major military powers within a few years. Prior to its introduction, a squad of soldiers firing volleys would be unable to see their targets