Although flamethrowers grew in popularity in the Pacific, where they were employed against enemy soldiers known to take up strongly fortified and entrenched positions, there seemed to be a lack of scientific interest in studying the weapon, with one Chemical Warfare Bulletin article from 1944 stating, “It was felt that so long as the flamethrower produced death to the enemy, the precise physiological reaction or how soon death supervened were immaterial.
military in the Pacific theater during World War II (WWII), there was surprisingly little effort directed at determining details on the lethality, physiological and toxicological effects of these weapons. This article examines how the initial absence of scientific data on the physiologic effects of flamethrowers led to an inaccurate understanding of their lethality, and bizarre claims that one of history’s most horrific instruments of war was considered one of the more “humane” weapons on the battlefield.ĭespite the widespread development, manufacturing, and use of flamethrowers by the U.S. It was not until several years after flamethrowers were introduced to the frontlines that the CWS and National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) conducted a series of tests to better understand the physiological and toxicological effects of flamethrowers. As a result, indirect mechanisms such as hypoxia and carbon monoxide poisoning were generally absent from accounts of the flamethrower’s fatal effects. This mischaracterization arose from a series of first-hand accounts describing what were believed to be quick, painless, and unmarred deaths, as well as from a poor and incomplete understanding of flamethrower lethality. However, while most people in modern times would consider immolation by flamethrower to be an unnecessarily painful and inhumane way to inflict casualties, immolation was, at one point during World War II (WWII), referred to as “mercy killing” by the U.S. military ample opportunity to observe the effects of flamethrowers on enemy soldiers.
Despite being the last of the major combatants in World War II (WWII) to develop them, the United States military quickly became the most frequent and adept operator of portable flamethrowers. Flamethrowers are widely considered one of warfare’s most controversial weapons and are capable of inflicting gruesome physical injuries and intense psychological trauma.
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