Using a flamethrower also came with physical and tactical challenges.
The equipment was cumbersome, requiring the operator to conserve their limited fuel. The short range of the weapon meant operators had to get dangerously close to enemy positions.
Worse, the risk of burns—whether from enemy fire or mishandling the weapon—was ever-present.
The Many Ways Flamethrowers Killed
Flamethrowers didn’t just kill through immolation, though that was their most dramatic effect.
The intense heat they generate could kill indirectly through hyperthermia, overwhelming the body’s ability to regulate temperature.
In confined spaces, the fire consumed oxygen and produced toxic gases like carbon monoxide, causing asphyxiation.
Victims might appear unburned, leading to a misconception that flamethrowers were a “humane” weapon.
This belief gained traction during World War II when Lt. Col. Orbe Bostick wrote a report claiming flamethrowers were “mercy killers.”
However, firsthand accounts from soldiers told a different story.
Victims of flamethrower attacks often died slow, agonizing deaths, with their screams echoing across battlefields.
While the colonel’s report might have offered post-war comfort to some veterans, it didn’t reflect the grim reality faced by those on the ground.
Flamethrowers After the Wars
Flamethrowers fell out of favor as a weapon of war in the 1980s, largely banned under international conventions due to their inhumane nature.
The United States military still uses flamethrowers, but only as tools for clearing brush or destroying enemy cover—not as weapons. Their role has shifted from combat to utility, a stark contrast to their fearsome battlefield legacy.
The Flamethrower’s Modern Revival: Drones in 2024
While handheld flamethrowers have been relegated to history books and niche civilian markets, fire as a weapon has found a new life in modern warfare.
In 2024, flamethrower drones have emerged as a controversial yet effective tool in asymmetric warfare. Armed with precision fire-launching systems, these drones can incinerate enemy supply depots, detonate explosives from a safe distance, or clear dense vegetation hiding enemy forces.
🚨Update: Russia is deploying FPV drones equipped with flamethrowers to drive Ukrainian forces out of the forests by spraying incendiary mixture.
pic.twitter.com/jvTGsKCjFI— US Civil Defense News (@CaptCoronado) September 3, 2024
The resurgence of flame weapons via drones reflects a chilling evolution: the ability to project terror and destruction remotely without putting operators at risk.
As military technology advances, the legacy of the flamethrower lives on—not as a relic of the past but as a tool reimagined for the modern battlefield.
COMMENTS