M2 Flamethrower

A US Marine carries an M2 Flamethrower in Okinawa - Wikimedia

When the United States entered the Second World War in late 1941 there was not a flamethrower in the inventory of the US Armed Forces. After an early attempt resulted in the creation of the failed M1 flamethrower, efforts were focused on development of a superior system, the M2.

The new M2 flamethrower was perhaps the best weapon of its type in use during the Second World War. It used a backpack mounted fuel tank holding three and a quarter gallons of jellied petroleum fuel (napalm), which it could blast out at a rate of three quarters of a gallon per second, firing a burst of sticky, flaming tar onto a target at a distance of up to 40 yards. The new weapon entered service in 1944, and was well received by US troops issued them, primarily in the Pacific Theater.

The weapons were used by the US Army, manned by combat engineers or chemical corps personnel, during the Philippine Campaign, mainly used to clear out Japanese fortifications and to clear jungle foliage. With the coming Battle for Manila the flamethrower would be put to use, clearing the confined buildings of Japanese holdouts as well as assaulting the numerous fortifications around the city. The Japanese, for their part, would recall after the war that the flamethrower above all else instilled fear in them, and they tended to target the operators of such weapons before other American troops.