Flamethrowers are dreadful and imposing weapons to behold.
However, despite their ability to unleash destruction on a significant scale, especially
when dealing with targets hiding in flammable structures, the weapon has almost entirely
been eradicated from modern warfare.
Humanitarian concerns and the enormous risks they posed to their operators caused flamethrowers
to fall into disuse by most military forces during the 1980s.
Still, one of the most exciting yet little-known flamethrower iterations was the M132 ‘Zippo,’
an armored Self-Propelled Flame Thrower developed by the US military during the 1950s.
The device was basically an answer to the question of what would happen if someone combined
a flamethrower with an armored combat vehicle.
As footage of the era shows, the result was a spectacular show of devastating force.
And as napalm storms were being unleashed in the jungles of Vietnam, the M132 was seen
as a rational solution for the war, a mobile and shielded vehicle that could set entire
forests ablaze in mere seconds…
Flame Thrower Kit
When the United States became involved in Vietnam during the early 1950s, it did not
intend to conduct primary combat operations in the region, merely planning to support
the French forces fighting against the Viet Minh.
As the situation devolved from a colonial struggle to a major bid to stop the spread
of Communism in Asia, the US realized a significant conflict in Vietnam would be challenging to
avoid; thus, it had to prepare accordingly.
After years of assisting the French, US officials had learned of the brutal peculiarities of
fighting in the Vietnamese jungles and how the Viet Minh forces used guerrilla tactics
and the rough terrain to their advantage.
To address it, the Chemical Research and Development Laboratories launched a study in June of 1954,
supported by the US Army Chemical Corps, looking into transforming serving tanks and armored
vehicles into mechanized flame throwers.
The idea was simple: if the Vietnamese enemy forces used the dense forests as protection,
an armored vehicle that could set the jungle on fire would effectively help the troops
in the area.
Consequently, the US developed the E31-E36 flame thrower kit.
The name stemmed from the combination of the E31 fuel and pressure unit and the E36 flame
gun.
The kit was designed as a cheap solution to turn almost any military vehicle into a self-propelled
flamethrower with minimal effort.
Three initial E31-E36 prototype kits were produced and tested on the M59 APC, the predecessor
of the M113 Armored Personnel Carriers.
When converted into a mechanized flamethrower, the M59 had a flame-fuel capacity of 400 gallons,
allowing a total firing time of 70 seconds.
After testing the modified M59, several improvements were made to the flamethrower kit, and it
received the new designation E31R1-E36R1.
The adjustments were aimed at allowing its installation on the M59 and the brand new
M113 Armored Personnel Carrier.
From Carrying Troops to Unleashing Flames
After testing the prototypes, the M113 was deemed the ideal candidate for mobile flamethrower
conversion.
The brand-new Armored Personnel Carrier was being manufactured in large numbers, and it
had the perfect size and configuration to be converted into a self-propelled flamethrower.
The vehicle was also a relatively fast unit, able to reach a top speed of 42 miles per
hour.
Designed and built by the Food Machinery Corporation, the M113 was a simple vehicle easy to produce
in mass numbers.
Technically, it was little more than an armored box on tracks with enough space to carry two
crew members and eleven passengers.
Its internal crew compartment was perfect for accommodating the flame thrower kit, as
it was 15 feet 11.5 inches long, 8 feet 9.7 inches wide, and 8 feet 2 inches tall.
The M113’s structure was almost entirely constructed from aluminum, including the armor,
which was between 0.4 and 1.4 inches thick, making it relatively light and fast but barely
capable of deflecting small-arms fire.
In addition, the Armored Personnel Carrier was fitted with a Chrysler 75M petrol engine.
However, it would later be switched for a General Motors 6V53 diesel engine.
The power plant was located at the front of the vehicle along with the transmission system,
and the latter was equipped with a torsion bar suspension connected to five road wheels.
When functioning as a conventional troop transporter, the M113’s usual armament would be a single
Browning M2 .50-caliber heavy machine gun located at the commander’s post.
The conversion of three M113 into self-propelled flamethrowers began in mid-1959.
The E31R1-E36R1 kits were installed aboard the Armored Personnel Carriers, and the flame
gun components were fitted inside an M1 Cupola that was salvaged from the machine-gun-armed
cupolas found on the M48 and M60 tanks.
The flamethrowing cupola was then mounted over the vehicle commander’s position.
At the same time, the fuel and pressure systems were installed in the personnel transportation
compartment, and the cupola was also armed with a .50-caliber M85 machine gun, which
was later switched to the .30-caliber M73.
In 1961, the new M132 self-propelled flamethrowers were tested at Fort Benning, Georgia, and
Fort Greely, Alaska.
In total, the Food Machinery Corporation would produce 351 flamethrowing vehicles.
Flamethrower In Action
Compared to its big brother, the M67 FlameThrower Tank, the M113 was deployed in more numbers
and participated in several more operations than the heftier tank.
The operational tactics of the M113 would begin with the vehicle’s crew attaining
a target and moving towards its position; as it drew close, the vehicle would use the
coaxial M73 machine gun to suppress the enemy.
The vehicle would then do everything in its power to get into the range of its target.
Once in position, the flame gun would be fired.
In most combat scenarios, the vehicle would conduct “wet burst” tactics, a method
used as early as World War 2, where the flamethrower would spit a jet of unlit fuel to soak the
target or the structure where it was hiding.
A second flame burst would then set everything on fire.
As with any previous fire-throwing system, the weapon operators were at significant risk
of damage; thus, the vehicle driver was advised to keep his hatch closed in combat.
Due to undisclosed reasons, there is little recorded information of specific combat M113
usage despite it being used heavily during the war; some analysts have argued that the
details were not recorded due to the weapon’s gruesome results.
Be it as it may, the vehicle soon became a valuable asset to US convoys in Vietnam, serving
as formidable protection against hidden attackers in the densely vegetated roadsides of the
Vietnamese jungle.
During the Battle of Ap Tau O in 1966, an M132 is credited with destroying a Vietcong
57-millimeter recoilless rifle team with only a 3-second flame burst.
And despite the lack of detailed accounts, a US Army report that emerged after the war
revealed how successful the weapon was: (QUOTE) “The M132 mechanized flame thrower has been
successfully employed in offensive and defensive operations in Vietnam.
In search and destroy operations, they are normally employed in pairs against bunkers
and densely foliaged enemy-defended areas containing antipersonnel mines and booby traps.
Flame directed at such areas may not destroy a protected enemy, but heat detonates mines
and defoliates the area.”
Fate
As the conflict in Vietnam dragged on, the M113 flamethrower became less feasible and
practical.
Even though the technology had been used extensively and even adapted to combat boats, the inherent
risks soon made the weapon unpopular among the ranks.
The M113 had several significant shortcomings that complicated its operation and reliability.
For one, it could only fire a 32-second flame burst before its internal fuel tank was depleted;
this meant that the operator had to methodically ration its usage or risk running out of fuel
when it was most needed.
To address the fueling issue, the M132 was often deployed accompanied by a Flame Thrower
Service Vehicle XM45E1 that carried additional fuel and spare parts.
Nevertheless, operating the XM45E1 was costly, and it was an easy target for enemy personnel.
The crews of these vehicles didn’t like having to operate them, accidents were frequent,
and they resulted in horrific injuries.
The more the M113 had to be refueled in the field, the more likely it was for an accident
to occur.
Additionally, the light aluminum armor on the M113 meant it had to be always escorted
by heavier vehicles.
Suppose the protection faltered for even a minute.
In that case, the flamethrower could quickly become an explosive sitting duck waiting to
be detonated.
Ultimately, the main factor behind the weapons’ abandonment was the controversy they stirred,
as they were widely seen as inhumane and far too risky for the crews.
Little by little, the remaining M113s were phased out of service, leaving only the spectacular
footage of an armored vehicle spitting on the Vietnamese battlefront.
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