{{Use American English|date=October 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox weapon | name = M2 Flamethrower | image = USm2flamethrower.jpg | image_size = 300 | caption = A soldier from the 33rd Infantry Division uses an M2 flamethrower.<!-- {Original caption: S/Sgt Bill Seklscki fires a flame thrower at a Japanese position near Manacag, Luzon, P.I. 25 January 1945. Photo: National Archives. Webmaster note: 33rd did not land on Luzon until February 1945. Date of picture could be a mistake.} --> | origin = United States | type = Flamethrower <!-- Type selection -->| is_ranged = yes <!-- Service history -->| service = 1944–1978 | wars = World War II<br>Korean War<br>Vietnam War<br>Sino-Vietnamese War <!-- Production history -->| designer = United States Army Chemical Warfare Service | design_date = 1940–41 | manufacturer = | unit_cost = | production_date = | number = Approx. 25,000 (M2-2)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gander |first1=Terry |title=Allied infantry weapons of World War Two |date=2000 |publisher=Crowood |location=Marlborough, Massachusetts |isbn=1-86126-354-6 |page=194 |url=https://archive.org/details/alliedinfantrywe00gand/ |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> | variants = M2A1-2, M2A1-7 <!-- General specifications -->| spec_label = | weight = {{convert|43|lb|kg|1|abbr=on}} empty<br/>{{convert|68|lb|kg|1|abbr=on}} filled | length = | part_length = | width = | height = | diameter = | crew = 1 <!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->| velocity = | rate = Around {{convert|0.5|gal|L|abbr=on}} a second | range = {{convert|65+1/2|ft|m|abbr=on}} | max_range = {{convert|132|ft|m|abbr=on}} | feed = Two, {{convert|2|gal|L|abbr=on}} Napalm/gasoline tanks (fuel)<br/>One Nitrogen tank (propellant) | sights = None }} thumbnail| United States Marines demonstrate an M2 flamethrower (2012) The M2 '''flamethrower''' was an American, man-portable, backpack flamethrower that was used in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M2 was the successor to the M1 and M1A1 flamethrowers. Although its burn time was around 7 seconds long, and the flames were effective around 20–40 meters, it was still a useful weapon. With the arrival of flamethrower tanks, the need for flamethrower-carrying infantrymen to expose themselves to enemy fire had been greatly reduced.

Though some M2s were sold off, the majority were scrapped.

==Combat use== ===Second World War=== The M2 flamethrower saw combat use in the Pacific theater, being deployed to combat strongly fortified and entrenched Japanese positions. Following the success with the M1 flamethrower, the M2 was developed and put into combat use in 1943. Towards the end of the conflict, later models of the M2 were equipped with the fuel-thickening agent known as napalm.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Van Wyck |first1=David |title=Beyond the burn: Studies on the physiological effects of flamethrowers during World War II |journal=Military Medical Research |date=2020 |volume=7 |issue=1 |page=8 |doi=10.1186/s40779-020-00237-9 |pmid=32102691 |pmc=7045602 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Vietnam War===

The improved M2A1-7 flamethrower saw limited use during the conflict due the North Vietnamese use of guerilla tactics, heavy jungle growth, and ready availability of napalm aerial bombs.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Mountcastle |first1=John W. |editor1-last=Boudinot |editor1-first=Burton S. |title=Inferno! A History of American Flamethrowers |journal=Armor |date=March–April 1976 |volume=85 |issue=2 |pages=21-25 |url=https://www.google.com.br/books/edition/Armor/TJqJmy80L5gC?hl=pt-BR&gbpv=1&dq=%22lpo-50%22+vietnam&pg=RA1-PA25&printsec=frontcover |access-date=18 February 2026 |publisher=U.S. Armor Association |location=Fort Knox, Kentucky |language=en |via=Google Books}}</ref>

==Variants of the M2== The '''M2''', which was the WWII model, had hexagonal gas caps and hourglass frames. It was also called the '''M2-2''', M2 for the tank groups and -2 for the wand type.

The '''M2A1-2''' is the variation of the M2 devised during the Korean War. These had straight sided backpack frames, vented gas caps, a cylinder sized regulator and a safety valve. These are much more common today than WWII models.

'''M2A1-7''' was a flamethrower used by the American troops during the Vietnam War. It is the updated version of the M2A1-2 unit used during The Korean War.

It has four controls: * Back of the rear grip: firing safety catch. * Front of the rear grip: firing trigger. * On top of the front part: igniter safety catch * Under the front part: igniter trigger.

The '''M9A1-7''' was the most common model used in Vietnam and is much lighter and easier to use. Tanks for this weapon are commonly{{when|date=April 2021}} found, but most wands were destroyed after the Vietnam war.

Some U.S. Army flamethrowers have a front handgrip with the same shape as the rear handgrip. In these models the igniter controls are on the front handgrip, arranged in the same way as the rear handgrip controls. The M2 was replaced by the M9A1-7 flamethrower which was used in Vietnam. The M9A1-7 was replaced by the M202A1 FLASH.

==Operators== thumb|400px|Map with former M2 flamethrower operators

===Former operators=== *{{flag|Australia}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-weapons/flamethrowers.htm|title=Flamethrowers. Hated feared and used by all|work=diggerhistory.info|accessdate=22 November 2015}}</ref> *{{flag|Brazil}} *{{flag|China}} *{{flag|Republic of China}} (World War II) *{{flag|Japan}} (after World War II for the JSDF; later replaced by a Japanese made flamethrower based on the M2)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rightwing.sakura.ne.jp/equipment/jgsdf/chemical/flamethrower/flamethrower.html|title=携帯放射機（火焔放射機）|language=Japanese|accessdate=22 November 2015}}</ref> *{{flag|Philippines}} *{{flag|United States}} *{{flag|Indonesia}} *{{flag|Malaysia}} *{{PRT}} *{{flag|Thailand}}

==Gallery== <gallery> Image:Usafl rend.jpg|Two CGI views of a man with an M2A1-7 U.S. Army flamethrower. The two big tanks contain the fuel. The small tank contains the pressurizing gas (nitrogen). Image:M2FlamethrowerVWM02.jpg|M2A1 flamethrower. Image:噴火槍.JPG|M2A1 flamethrower used by the Republic of China during the China-Burma-India Theater. </gallery>

==See also== *List of flamethrowers

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060117063312/http://www.ww2gyrene.org/weapons_flamethrower.htm Weapons of the World War II Gyrene: Flamethrowers]

{{WWIIUSInfWeaponsNav}} {{WWIIChineseInfantryWeapons}}

Category:World War II infantry weapons of the United States Category:Flamethrowers of the United States Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1944 Category:Articles containing video clips