Unlike the original incendiary projectiles, this new warhead was full of tear gas. To try make the weapon even more versatile, Army technicians created another rocket for the launcher, the XM-96. After tests in Vietnam, the Army moved to distribute the flame-throwing rocket launcher-with the improved, final version renamed the M-202A1 FLASH-to all types of infantry units. With all of these improvements, the Army declared the weapon a success. When an M-74 burst open, flaming particles could go flying more than 60 feet in all directions. Most importantly, the new launcher was only half as heavy as the old M-9–7 flamethrowers and could hit targets five times further away. A small explosive charge inside the M-74 rocket was simply there to disperse the flammable TPA after it hit its target - not to ignite the mixture. The mixture contained triethylaluminium, a compound distinct from napalm that burned all by itself when exposed to normal air. But instead of high explosives, the new rounds had a warhead filled with a so-called “thickened pyrophoric agent,” or TPA. To save money, the XM-202’s rocket ammunition used the same motor as the Army’s existing M-72 anti-tank rocket.
Unlike with regular flamethrowers, troops in Vietnam could quickly reload the XM-202 launcher with four-round clips. Soldiers didn’t have to carry around a giant, flammable tank either. “It relieves the field soldier from the burden of mixing flame fuels for the weapons.” Frank Mildren, who had served as the second-in-command of all American forces in Vietnam, said during an official debriefing in 1970. “The weapon reflects a radical departure from traditional flame throwers,” Army Lt.
The boxy weapon-unimaginatively dubbed the Multishot Portable Flame Weapon-could could shoot off the fiery projectiles in rapid succession. In response to those requests, the Army’s weaponeers put together a relatively simple four-barrel rocket launcher that would fire 66-millimeter incendiary rockets. troops used flamethrowers to scorch foliage that guerrillas might use as cover.īut well aware of what an incendiary weapon could do in the Vietnamese jungle, American commanders still wanted an improved design that troops might actually want to use in combat. Instead, the grunts mainly used the fire-spewing guns to seal up tunnels and bunkers after operations had finished up.