During World War II, a flamethrower could be mounted on a vehicle, usually a tank, or carried by an individual soldier. In either of these forms, it was basically a very simple weapon that used pressurized gas, usually nitrogen, to eject a high-pressure stream of flammable liquid, usually thickened (gelled) gasoline, which was ignited either electrically or with a small explosive charge as it left the nozzle. The range of an American portable unit was about 40 yards, and flamethrowers mounted on tanks did not project a stream much farther, although the stream was both of much greater volume and of longer duration. The best portable American unit had a total duration of 10 seconds or somewhat less. Tank-mounted weapons could project 70 or 80 three-second bursts.

In their most basic form, projected-flame weapons are almost as old as warfare itself. The weapons were modernized and reintroduced in World War I, and they were adopted by the armies of all major combatant nations in World War II. They were, however, most extensively used by Japanese forces and the U.S. Marines in the Pacific. It was the British who pioneered the design of tank-mounted flamethrowers, but they were soon widely used by the Germans as well.

Flamethrowers were terrifying weapons, but they were severely limited by fuel supply and, in the case of man-portable flamethrowers, by the vulnerability of the man carrying the weapon. As the burning stream readily marked his position, he made an easy target. Once hit, the fuel canisters he carried on his back could easily explode, killing not only him but any of his nearby comrades. It was also common for a flamethrower shooter, hit by an enemy, to spin about as he fell, projecting a stream of flame behind him against his comrades. For this reason, flamethrower shooters were generally well guarded by a party of riflemen. . .

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