M2 flamethrower

M2 flamethrower
A soldier from the 33rd Infantry Division uses an M2 flamethrower {Original caption: S/Sgt Bill Seklscki fires a flame thrower at a Japanese position near Manacag, Luzon, P.I. Jan 25 1945. Photo: National Archives. Webmaster note: 33rd did not land on Luzon until Feb 1945. Date of picture could be a mistake.}
Type	Flamethrower
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1943-Present/field Testing
Used by	See Users
Wars	World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War
Production history
Designer	US Army Chemical Warfare Service
Designed	1940-41
Number built	14,000 (M1A1)
Variants	M2A1-7
Specifications
Weight	43 lb (19.5 kg) empty 68 lb (30.8 kg) filled
Crew	1
Rate of fire	~half a gallon a second
Effective range	65½ feet (20m)
Maximum range	132 feet (40m)
Feed system	2 (2 gal) Gasoline tanks (fuel) 1 Nitrogen tank (propellant)
Sights	None

The M2 flamethrower (M2-2) was a man-portable backpack flamethrower that was used in World War II. Although its actual "burn time" was around 7 seconds and the flame was only effective out to around 33 meters, it was still a functional weapon that had many uses in the war. However, with the later arrival of tanks and, especially, flamethrower tanks, the need for infantrymen to expose themselves to fire became unnecessary as tanks offered greater protection while still delivering the effective damage.

As some were sold off, the majority of them were also scrapped when they were declared "obsolete."

Variants

M2A1-7 was a flamethrower used by the American troops during the Vietnam War. It is the updated version of the WWII M2-2 unit used during WWII. It has four controls:

• Back of the rear grip: firing safety catch.
• Front of the rear grip: firing trigger.
• On top of the front part: igniter safety catch
• Under the front part: igniter trigger.

Some U.S. Army flamethrowers have a front handgrip with the same shape as the rear handgrip. In these models the igniter controls are on the front handgrip, arranged in the same way as the rear handgrip controls. The M2 was replaced by the M9A1-7 flamethrower which was used in Vietnam. The M9A1-7 was replaced by the M202A1 FLASH.

Users

•  United States
•  Australia^[1]
•  Brazil
•  Japan (after WWII for the JSDF; later replaced by a japanese made flamethrower based on the M2)^[2]

Gallery

Two CGI views of a man with an M2A1-7 U.S. Army flamethrower. The two big tanks contain the fuel. The small tank contains the pressurizing gas (nitrogen).

CGI view of M2A1-7 U.S. military flamethrower, with some parts labeled.

M2A1 flamethrower.

References

See also

• FmW-35 Flamethrower
• Einstossflammenwerfer 46
• Type 93 flamethrower
• M1 Garand

External links

• WEAPONS OF THE WORLD WAR II GYRENE: Flamethrowers