| M2 Flamethrower | |
|---|---|
 A soldier from the33rd Infantry Division uses an M2 flamethrower. | |
| Type | Flamethrower |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1944–1978 |
| Wars | World War II Korean War Vietnam War Sino-Vietnamese War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | United States Army Chemical Warfare Service |
| Designed | 1940–41 |
| No. built | 14,000 (M1A1) |
| Variants | M2A1-2, M2A1-7 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 43 lb (19.5 kg) empty 68 lb (30.8 kg) filled |
| Crew | 1 |
| Rate of fire | Around 0.5 US gal (1.9 L) a second |
| Effective firing range | 65+1⁄2 ft (20.0 m) |
| Maximum firing range | 132 ft (40 m) |
| Feed system | Two, 2 US gal (7.6 L) Napalm/gasoline tanks (fuel) One Nitrogen tank (propellant) |
| Sights | None |
The M2flamethrower was an American, man-portable, backpackflamethrower that was used inWorld War II, theKorean War, and theVietnam War. The M2 was the successor to theM1 and M1A1 flamethrowers. Although its burn time was around 7 seconds long, and the flames were effective around 20–40 meters, it was still a useful weapon. With the arrival offlamethrower tanks, the need for flamethrower-carrying infantrymen to expose themselves to enemy fire had been greatly reduced.
Though some M2s were sold off, the majority were scrapped.
The M2 flamethrower saw combat use in thePacific theater, being deployed to combat strongly fortified and entrenched Japanese positions. Following the success with the M1 flamethrower, the M2 was developed and put into combat use in 1943. Towards the end of the conflict, later models of the M2 were equipped with the fuel-thickening agent known asnapalm.[1]
TheM2, which was the WWII model, had hexagonal gas caps and hourglass frames. It was also called theM2-2, M2 for the tank groups and -2 for the wand type.
TheM2A1-2 is the variation of the M2 devised during theKorean War. These had straight sided backpack frames, vented gas caps, a cylinder sized regulator and a safety valve. These are much more common today than WWII models.
M2A1-7 was aflamethrower used by the American troops during theVietnam War. It is the updated version of the M2A1-2 unit used during The Korean War.
It has four controls:
TheM9A1-7 was the most common model used in Vietnam and is much lighter and easier to use. Tanks for this weapon are commonly[when?] found, but most wands were destroyed after the Vietnam war.
SomeU.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 theM202A1 FLASH.
Australia[2]
Brazil
China
Republic of China (World War II)
Japan (after World War II for theJSDF; later replaced by a Japanese made flamethrower based on the M2)[3]
Philippines
United States
Indonesia
Malaysia
Portugal
Thailand
