Because the U. It was not until July of , after the U. Interestingly, while the U. In a short period of time, the U. Yet despite the focus on developing an effective flamethrower and flamethrower tactics, the U. Porter, Chief of the U. An M1A1 flamethrower used by U. The M2—2 man-portable flamethrower utilized by the U. The original hex shaped gas caps, rupture disks and vent tube have been replaced with the more reliable and safe vented fuel caps developed in In , the CWS began to run articles in the Chemical Warfare Bulletin proposing that flamethrowers caused instant death with far less pain and suffering than bullets, explosives, and other common battlefield weapons.
We found five Jap bodies in the pillbox. Not one showed a spark of life. Those Japs were knocked out instantly, no question about it. Principally, there is mass stimulation of the sensory nerve endings. There is also intense shock to the respiratory center, paralyzing the muscles of respiration.
It is believed the victim probably feels no pain. Not long after Lt. Bostick published his article, the Chemical Warfare Bulletin ran another article, CWS Studies Flame Deaths, which continued to promote the idea that flamethrower deaths were instantaneous. As a result, the CWS and NDRC organized and funded a series of investigations throughout involving multiple agencies, private companies, and universities. In general, the investigators began with the untested hypotheses that any single one or combination of the following mechanisms contributed to rapid fatality from a flamethrower attack: 1 the inhalation of carbon monoxide CO , 2 hypoxia, 3 the inhalation of vaporized gasoline or intermediary combustion products, 4 the inhalation of superheated air, or 5 the burning of the surface of the body.
Subsequent testing, therefore, was designed primarily to evaluate these factors [ 10 ]. Some of the earliest scientific data regarding the toxicological and physiological effects of flamethrowers came from testing intended to evaluate other aspects of portable flame warfare, such as new flamethrower equipment, fuels, and tactics.
For example, Arthur D. Little, Inc. The total inside volume measured cubic feet, and the combined ventilation area included a 3. Small domestic swine with pneumographs, thermocouples, specialized discs that measured caloric bombardment, and electrocardiographs attached were placed into the pillboxes.
Temperature and gas compositions were measured continuously within the pillbox throughout the experiment. In a second experiment, rabbits and pigs one of each were placed in six designated locations within the pillbox to determine which positions were most affected by 1-gal flame attacks from a fixed distance.
The animals were removed from the pillboxes at the end of the experiment for autopsy and microscopic tissue evaluation. With regard to animal casualties, the investigators noted that thermal injury appeared to be the primary cause of death in the experimental animals, with respiratory conditions determined to be a contributing factor. Diagram of the German-style bunkers constructed by Arthur D. Little Inc. August 3, PDF Retrieved from www. The report detailed the effects of gasoline conflagration on several animal models.
From their experiments, they noted several key toxicological and physiological findings. Physiological derangements noted in test animals included electrocardiographic changes such as tachycardia, inverted T-waves, a reduction in QRS voltage, and premature ventricular contractions that evolved into ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation.
Blood pressure rose initially with exposure to heat, but a terminal drop usually occurred in conjunction with respiratory failure. Although potassium levels were elevated following liberation from the affected red blood cells and were suspected to be a cause of immediate death, the potassium levels never rose to a level that was considered likely to contribute to death in the animals. Despite this conclusion, the researchers found an overall poor correlation between cutaneous injury and physiological changes, with some of the most severe physiological derangements noted in animals with minor or no cutaneous injuries.
Ultimately, the investigators concluded that rapid elevation in circulating blood temperature leading to the cessation of the cardiac function was likely the cause of immediate death following exposure to heat.
Shock was also noted to be a major contributing factor in animals who did not die immediately. Interestingly, asphyxiation and CO poisoning were believed to be less likely than heat to cause immediate or rapid fatalities. The mean concentration of CO in the atmosphere of an unventilated room after the fires had burned out was 0.
Thus, while CO exposure would likely have killed the animal if it had remained in the room for a long enough period, it was not thought to be a major contributor in these test subjects [ 14 ]. One potential criticism of studies such as those by Henriques and Moritz is that data obtained from animals may not extrapolate well to humans. Even pig skin, which is considered very similar to human skin from an anatomical perspective, lacks the human cooling mechanism of sweating.
Because the amount of caloric input to burn pig skin was between 0. While Henriques and Moritz reported the effects of heat exposure on flamethrower casualties, other investigators presented data at the symposium on contributory factors such as asphyxia, CO poisoning, and hydrocarbon vapors.
Lieutenant JG J. Seronde of the Naval Reserve Medical Corps reported on several corpses examined after flamethrower attacks during the Battle of Saipan in which respiratory injury appeared to play a significant role. Specifically, he reported that four civilian women who had been found hiding in caves with Japanese soldiers were subjected to flamethrower attacks and had no external burns but appeared to have died as a result of respiratory failure, with postmortem exams showing evidence of inhalational injury caused by irritant substances derived from flamethrower fuels [ 16 ].
This seemed to complement findings of ventricular fibrillation in test animals that appeared secondary to hydrocarbon vapors reported by 1st Lieutenant M.
Fire is one of the most useful natural phenomena in the world. When early humans first captured fire from naturally burning areas, and later generated flames themselves, their lives changed dramatically.
With this understanding of nature, they could have light and heat after nightfall, and they could cook their food. But fire is also one of the most dangerous phenomena in the world, and this fact wasn't lost on early humans.
Archeological evidence suggests early hunters used fire to flush out their prey, and some groups may have used it to fight other humans. Throughout history, fire has proven to be an extremely effective, devastating weapon. One of the most interesting developments in fire weaponry was the flamethrower. The modern flamethrower came about in the early 20th century, but the original idea is actually thousands of years old. In this article, we'll look at these early pyrotechnic weapons, as well as their modern counterparts, to understand what they do and how they do it.
Fire is caused by a chemical reaction between two or more substances, typically oxygen in the air and some sort of fuel gasoline , wood, or coal for example. This reaction is triggered by extreme heat, often caused by another flame or a spark. The fire's own heat is sufficient to keep the chemical reaction going as long as there is fuel to burn.
The basic idea of a flamethrower is to spread fire by launching burning fuel. The earliest flamethrowers, dating roughly from the 5th century B. These weapons worked in the same way as a blow-gun -- warriors just blew into one end of the tube, propelling the burning matter toward their enemies.
A more sophisticated sort of flamethrower came into widespread use in the 7th Century. In this era, the Byzantine Empire added "Greek fire" to its arsenal. Greek fire was probably a mixture of liquid petroleum, sulfur, quicklime and other elements. In any case, it was a highly-flammable, oil-based fluid. In combat, Byzantine forces would pump this substance from a large reservoir, through narrow brass tubes. These tubes concentrated the pressurized liquid into a powerful stream, the same way a hose and nozzle concentrate water into a narrow jet.
The soldiers lit a fuse at the end of the brass tubes to ignite the fluid stream as it shot out. The fluid stream carried fire dozens of feet through the air. The Byzantines mounted these weapons along the walls of Constantinople, as well as the bows of their ships. Since the flammable substance was oil-based, it would still burn even when it hit the water , making it a particularly effective weapon in naval battles. He said farmers will use them to clear land for crops, and the government uses them to burn out overgrowth to create habitats for animals or to prevent uncontrolled fires.
He said highway departments use them to burn grass in medians so it won't ignite accidentally from cigarette butts. He said flamethrowing is "exhilarating and leaves you grinning ear to ear. Related: Elon Musk has sold out of flamethrowers. Tesla founder Musk said flamethrowers would be useful "when the zombie apocalypse happens. In his book "The Zombie Survival Guide," he wrote, "Don't think a flamethrower and several Molotov cocktails are the solution to all your problems.
In actual combat, fire can be as deadly a threat as it is a protector. The result is a device with as much psychological impact as lethality—perhaps the chief reason why United States, Great Britain and other world powers used the flamethrower from World War I through the Vietnam War. Even today, Russia still has flamethrowers in its inventory. In , German inventor Richard Fiedler developed the first Flammenwerfer.
The Kleinflammenwerfer was a man-portable flamethrower consisting of a two-tank system, one holding flammable oil and the other a pressurized inert gas that sprayed the mixture out of the nozzle of a long wand. The Grossflammenwerfer was a crew-served weapon with large tanks mounted on a cart or a litter. It shot flames farther and for a longer time. Early flamethrowers could hit targets ranging from 20 to 40 yards away from the operator.
Debuting in during a battle near Malancourt, France, the Flammenwerfer troops pinned down British troops while German infantrymen assaulted their trenches.
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