Napalm

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about flammable liquids used for flame-type weaponry. For other uses, see Napalm (disambiguation).

North American F-100 Super Sabre deploying napalm in a training exercise

Napalm is an

fire bombing campaigns during World War II; its potential to be coherently projected into a solid stream that would carry for distance (instead of the bloomy fireball of pure gasoline) resulted in widespread adoption in infantry and tank/boat mounted flamethrowers
as well.

Napalm burns at temperatures

urban combat by both the Axis and the Allies
in World War II.

Development

The development of napalm was precipitated by the use of jellied gasoline mixtures by the

Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand
.

This shortage of natural rubber prompted

Standard Oil of New Jersey, and researchers at Harvard University, to develop factory-made alternatives: artificial rubber for all uses, including vehicle tires, tank tracks, gaskets, hoses, medical supplies and rain clothing. A team of chemists led by Louis Fieser at Harvard University was the first to develop synthetic napalm during 1942.[7] "The production of napalm was first entrusted to Nuodex Products, and by the middle of April 1942 they had developed a brown, dry powder that was not sticky by itself, but when mixed with gasoline turned into an extremely sticky and flammable substance." One of Fieser's colleagues suggested adding phosphorus to the mix which increased the "ability to penetrate deeply [...] into the musculature, where it would continue to burn day after day."[8]

On 4 July 1942, the first test occurred on the football field near the

incendiary bombs and in flamethrowers, after its first deployment in Papua New Guinea on 15 December 1943.[11]

From 1965 to 1969, the Dow Chemical Company manufactured napalm for the American armed forces.[11] After news reports of napalm's deadly and disfiguring effects were published, Dow Chemical experienced boycotts of its products, and its recruiters for new chemists, chemical engineers, etc., graduating from college were subject to campus boycotts and protests.[12][13] The management of the company decided that its "first obligation was the government".[14] Meanwhile, napalm became a symbol for the Vietnam War.[15]

Military use

Aviation navale on suspected Viet Minh positions during the First Indochina War
, December 1953

Napalm was first employed in incendiary bombs and went on to be used as fuel for flamethrowers.[16]

The first recorded strategic use of napalm incendiary bombs occurred in an attack by the

17th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Götz von Berlichingen" in Bonneuil-Matours. Soldiers of this Waffen SS unit had captured and then killed a British SAS prisoner-of-war, Lieutenant Tomos Stephens, taking part in Operation Bulbasket, and seven local French resistance fighters. Although it was not known at the time of the airstrike, 31 other POWs from the same SAS unit, and an American airman who had joined up with the SAS unit, had also been executed.[20]

Further use of napalm by Allied forces occurred in the Pacific theater of operations, where, in 1944 and 1945, napalm was used as a tactical weapon against Japanese bunkers, pillboxes, tunnels, and other fortifications, especially on

US Marine Corps, and the Royal Air Force[21] in support of ground troops.[citation needed] The M69 incendiary was specifically designed to destroy Japanese civilian houses. Those bombs were widely used against civilians, including the Bombing of Tokyo. Over 40,000 tons of AN-M69s were dropped on Japanese cities during the war.[22]

When the USAAFs on the

Marianas Islands ran out of conventional thermite incendiary bombs for their B-29 Superfortresses to drop on large Japanese cities, its top commanders, such as General Curtis LeMay, used napalm bombs to continue with fire raids.[23]

In the

European Theater of Operations, napalm was used by American forces[24] in the siege of La Rochelle in April 1945 against German soldiers (and inadvertently French civilians) in Royan—about two weeks before the end of the war.[25]

In its first known post-WWII use, US-supplied napalm was used in the Greek Civil War by the Greek National Army as part of operations Koronis and Pyrsos against the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE)—the military branch of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE).[26][27]

"Zippo" riverboat of the US Brown-water navy deploying an ignited napalm mixture from a riverboat-mounted flamethrower in Vietnam

Napalm was widely used by the US during the

Korean Peninsula. Hence, the American and other UN aviators used napalm for close air support of the ground troops along the border between North Korea and South Korea and also for attacks in North Korea. Napalm was used most notably during the battle "Outpost Harry" in South Korea during the night of 10–11 June 1953.[citation needed] Eighth Army chemical officer Donald Bode reported that on an "average good day" UN pilots used 260,000 liters (70,000 US gal; 58,000 imp gal) of napalm, with approximately 230,000 liters (60,000 US gal; 50,000 imp gal) of this thrown by US forces.[28] The New York Herald Tribune hailed "Napalm, the No. 1 Weapon in Korea".[29] British Prime Minister Winston Churchill privately criticized the use of napalm in Korea, writing that it was "very cruel", as US/UN forces, he wrote, were "splashing it all over the civilian population", "tortur[ing] great masses of people". He conveyed these sentiments to U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Omar Bradley, who "never published the statement". Publicly, Churchill allowed Bradley "to issue a statement that confirmed U.K. support for U.S. napalm attacks".[30]

At the same time, the

French Air Force regularly used napalm for close air support of ground operations in the First Indochina War (1946–1954). At first, the canisters were simply pushed out the side doors of Ju 52 planes that had been captured in Germany, later mostly B-26 bombers were used.[31]

Napalm became an intrinsic element of US military action during the Vietnam War as forces made increasing use of it for its tactical and psychological effects.

railroad tunnels. The effect was not always purely physical as napalm had psychological effects on the enemy as well.[33]

A variant of napalm was produced in Rhodesia for a type of ordnance known as Frantan between 1968 and 1978 and was deployed extensively by the Rhodesian Air Force during the Bush War.[34] In May 1978, Herbert Ushewokunze, minister of health for the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), produced photographic evidence of civilian victims of Rhodesian napalm strikes, which he circulated during a tour of the US.[34] The government of Mozambique and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) also issued claims at around the same time that napalm strikes against guerrilla targets had become a common feature in Rhodesian military operations both at home and abroad.[34]

The South African Air Force frequently deployed napalm from Atlas Impala strike aircraft during raids on guerrilla bases in Angola during the South African Border War.[35]

Other instances of napalm's use include: France during the

Turkish Invasion of Cyprus; by Morocco during the Western Sahara War (1975–1991); by Argentina (1982); by Iran (1980–88); by Iraq (1980–88, 1991); by Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in 1987 against Tamils (LTTE) in Sri Lanka; by Angola during the Angolan Civil War; and Yugoslavia (1991–1996).[38] In 2018, Turkey was accused of using napalm in its war against Kurdish militias over Afrin.[39]

Antipersonnel effects

Phan Thi Kim Phuc, burned with napalm at the age of 9 during the Vietnam War

When used as a part of an

asphyxiation, unconsciousness, and death are also possible.[40]

Napalm is lethal even for dug-in enemy personnel. The burning incendiary composition flows into

armored fighting vehicles are also vulnerable, due to the intense heat conducted through the armor. Even in the case of a near miss, the heat can be enough to disable a vehicle.[41]

One firebomb released from a low-flying plane can damage an area of 2,100 square meters (2,500 sq yd).[40]

International law

International law does not specifically prohibit the use of napalm or other incendiaries against military targets,

incendiary weapons, but a number of countries have not acceded to all of the protocols of the CCW. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), countries are considered a party to the convention, which entered into force as international law in December 1983, as long as they ratify at least two of the five protocols. Approximately 25 years after the General Assembly adopted it, it was reported that the US signed it on 21 January 2009, Barack Obama's first full day in office as president.[44][45] Its ratification is subject to a reservation that says that the treaty can be ignored if it would save civilian lives.[45][46] The UN has also acknowledged that the US had ratified the CCW in March 1995, 13 years after the country became a signatory to it.[47]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Oxford Dictionaries – napalm: definition of napalm". Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  2. ^
    doi:10.1038/496029a
    .
  3. ^ "Napalm and Agent Orange in the Vietnam War". www.thoughtco.com. ThoughtCo.
  4. ^ Military Review (Volume 13 Number 6 ed.). Command and General Staff College. April 1953. p. 13.
  5. LCCN 61-61759
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  6. ^ V. I. Losev. Gazavaya Promyshlennost, Vol 4, No 12, 1959. pp 17-24.
  7. ^ "Napalm". www.chm.bris.ac.uk.
  8. ^
    ISBN 1-56584-625-7
    .
  9. ^ Noyes, W.A. Jr., ed. (1948). Science in World War II: Chemistry. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. pp. 392, 393.
  10. ^ "An Ithaca of sorts". 29 June 2010. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  11. ^
    ISSN 1961-9898. Archived
    from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  12. ^ University of Wisconsin-Madison (2017). "A Turning Point". Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  13. ^ Worland, Gayle (8 October 2017). "50 years ago, 'Dow Day' left its mark on Madison". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, WI: John Humenik. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Napalm History" Archived 2011-10-06 at the Wayback Machine Virginia Center for Digital History
  15. ^ Napalm Archived 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. vcdh.virginia.edu. Retrieved on 11 February 2010.
  16. ^ "The Harvard Candle". 6 March 2011. Archived from the original on 29 December 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  17. ^ Kleber, Brooks E. and Birdsell, Dale (1966) The Chemical Warfare Service: Chemicals in Combat. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, p.158.
  18. ^ An article in The Harvard Crimson dated 12 October 1973 here [1] states that "The U.S. military started using napalm during the middle of 1942".
  19. ^ "368th FG HQ Documents". www.368thfightergroup.com.
  20. ISBN 1848841930
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  21. OCLC 659244635
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  22. ^ Wellerstein, Alex (30 August 2013). "Who Made That Firebomb?". RESTRICTED DATA The Nuclear Secrecy Blog. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  23. ^ De Chant, John A. (1947). Devilbirds. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers. p. 155.
  24. ISBN 978-1-888363-54-8
    .
  25. ^ Howard Zinn, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train. 2004 Documentary
  26. ISBN 9780806146904
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  27. ISBN 978-0-230-29465-3
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  28. ^ Neer, Robert (2013). Napalm: An American Biography. Harvard University Press. p. 99.
  29. ^ Pembroke, Michael (2018). Korea: Where the American Century Began. Hardie Grant Books. p. 152.
  30. ^ Neer, Robert M. (2013). Napalm: An American Biography. Harvard University Press. pp. 102–3.
  31. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8117-3654-1
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  32. ^ Rohn, Alan (18 January 2014). "Napalm in Vietnam War". The Vietnam War. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  33. ^ "Liquid Fire – How Napalm Was Used in the Vietnam War". www.warhistoryonline.com. Nikola Budanovic. June 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  34. ^
    ISBN 978-0900065040
    .
  35. ISBN 1-868729-141
    .
  36. ^ Benjamin Stora, "Avoir 20 ans en Kabylie", in L'Histoire n°324, October 2007, pp. 28–29 (in French)
  37. ISBN 9780060167646
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  38. ^ Goose Green, 2 Para in Falklands War 1982. Naval-history.net. Retrieved on 11 February 2010.
  39. ^ "Kurds Accuse Turks of Dropping Napalm | Voice of America – English". www.voanews.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  40. ^ a b c Napalm Exposure at eMedicine
  41. LCCN 61-61759
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  42. ^ Omara-Otunnu, Elizabeth (8 November 2004). Napalm Survivor Tells of Healing After Vietnam War. University of Connecticut Advance.
  43. ^ "worldinbalance.net". www.worldinbalance.net. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  44. ISBN 978-0-674-07301-2
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  45. ^ a b "Napalm, An American Biography". www.napalmbiography.com.
  46. ^ Los Angeles Times (24 February 1995). "Military in no hurry to dispose of napalm". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  47. ^ "UNTC". Treaties.un.org. Retrieved 15 March 2022.

Further reading

External links

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