What was the purpose of using napalm?
Napalm was used in flamethrowers, bombs, and tanks in World War II. It is believed to have been formulated to burn at a specific rate and to adhere to surfaces to increase its stopping power.
Is a napalm illegal?
Legal status Napalm is legal to use on the battlefield under international law. Its use against "concentrations of civilians" is a war crime.
Does napalm burn underwater?
Versions of Napalm B containing white phosphorus will even burn underwater (if there is trapped oxygen in folds of cloth etc.) so jumping into rivers and lakes won't help those unfortunate souls attacked with this vile weapon.
What did Vietnam smell like?
In the back of a candy shop in Hai Duong, another man recalled: “The war smelled of burnt nylon.” That was just one day of almost 40 we spent in Vietnam, over three years, capturing testimonies and images of more than 100 North Vietnamese veterans and their families.
Why was napalm used in Vietnam?
Napalm was used in Vietnam by American flamethrowers to burn down bushes and forests, neutralizing guerrilla fighters.
How do you treat napalm burns?
It's difficult to treat napalm wounds, as the chemical burns extremely hot. Doctors remove contaminated clothing to stop the continued burning.
What is napalm?
Napalm is a substance that can be used to create a bomb, also known as a firebomb fuel gel mixture. It has a gel-like consistency that allows the a...
What does napalm do to humans?
Due to its sticky nature, it can stick to one’s skin even after ignition. That is why it produces awful burns on the human body. Even brief contact...
Why is it called napalm?
Chemists from Harvard invented napalm during World War II. Its name is derived from the first ingredients used to make it – aluminum salts of palmi...
What was the purpose of the Napalm?
Napalm also has fueled most of the flamethrowers (tank, ship and infantry-based) used since World War II, giving them much greater range, and was used in this role as a common weapon of urban combat by both the Axis and the Allies in World War II.
What happens when you use napalm?
When used as a part of an incendiary weapon , napalm can cause severe burns (ranging from superficial to subdermal), asphyxiation, unconsciousness, and death. In this implementation, napalm fires can create an atmosphere of greater than 20% carbon monoxide and firestorms with self-perpetuating winds of up to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h).
What happened to Dow Chemical after the napalm B?
After news reports of napalm B'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.
How many tons of napalm were dropped in the Korean War?
Reportedly about 388,000 tons of U.S. napalm bombs were dropped in the region between 1963 and 1973, compared to 32,357 tons used over three years in the Korean War, and 16,500 tons dropped on Japan in 1945.
Why was Napalm used in the Vietnam War?
Napalm became an intrinsic element of U.S. military action during the Vietnam War as forces made increasing use of it for its tactical and psychological effects.
When was the napalm bomb used?
The first recorded strategic use of napalm incendiary bombs occurred in an attack by the US Army Air Force on Berlin on 6 March 1944, using American AN-M76 incendiary bombs with PT-1 (Pyrogel) filler.
Who invented napalm?
A team led by chemist Louis Fieser originally developed napalm for the United States Chemical Warfare Service in 1942 in a secret laboratory at Harvard University.
What chemicals did the Byzantines use to make their flamethrower?
To their mixture, Byzantines added further refinements. Today, the ingredients are a lost secret, but it looks as if they used naphtha, pine resin and other chemicals including sulphur, projecting it long distances by forcing it through a nozzle under pressure, the original flamethrower.
Is Napalm a weapon of war?
Napalm has not been outlawed as a weapon of war, but a United Nations convention forbids its use against civilian populations. William Butler Yeats used the phrase “a terrible beauty is born” when writing about the Easter Rising of 1916. Napalm is not beautiful, it is obscene. Syria.
What is napalm used for?
For more peaceful purposes, napalm can be used in animal traps and to focus a burn on a given area for a prolong ed period of time (for instance, to kill certain crops by burning off their seeds). It can even be used as a cutting device in a survival situation.
When was Napalm invented?
Napalm as we know it today, was developed at a secret Harvard University laboratory in 1942 and was intended to be used as an incendiary device for buildings and structures.
How to make napalm?
Homemade napalm can be made as follows: Fill a large container about half-way with gasoline (diesel works best). Break a Styrofoam (polystyrene) plate into small pieces. Add the pieces to the gasoline mixture and stir. The gasoline will dissolve the Styrofoam into a jelly-like substance. Pour out the extra gasoline leaving the white, ...
What is the name of the modern version of napalm?
There are several different types of modern-day Napalm mixtures, including Napalm-B, the more modern version of napalm. Commercial versions are typically formulated from hard-to-find agents such as naphthenic acid and palmitic acid (hence the name: nap hthenic + palm itic) but homemade versions of Napalm are fairly easy to mix.
Is Napalm flammable?
The dangers of Napalm. Remember, this is “napalm” and as such, includes all the dangers inherent with other flammable substances with the added dangers that (1) it sticks to you, (2) it produces unhealthy, toxic smoke and fumes.
What is napalm made of?
So what is napalm and how is it really made? Napalm is a general name for a thick oil or jelly mixed with fuel such as gasoline ( petrol). In Durden’s ‘recipe’, the gasoline fuel is mixed with orange juice concentrate that provides the sticky oil.
What is the name of the compound that makes a napalm?
Napalm’s name comes from two of the compounds used to make the oily gel in the first preparations: naphthenic and palmitic acids. Liquid fuels burn quickly, but mixing them with a gel allows the fuel to burn with a hot slow flame, thereby maximising the damage it does to buildings, vegetation and, of course, people.
How does a napalm bomb work?
When it is dropped from an aircraft, a single napalm ‘bomb’ is capable of completely destroying an area covering thousands of square meters. Napalm was dropped on German and Japanese cities in the second world war and used extensively by the US in Vietnam from 1950s to 1970s. It is particularly feared because, unlike standard bombs and bullets, it flows and spreads very effectively – napalm is not easy to escape. For example, it can form a river of burning liquid that can flow into hidden underground trenches like no other weapon.
Why is napalm so dangerous?
It is particularly feared because, unlike standard bombs and bullets, it flows and spreads very effectively – napalm is not easy to escape. For example, it can form a river of burning liquid that can flow into hidden underground trenches like no other weapon.
Who said "I love the smell of napalm in the morning"?
In the film, a US Army officer, Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore, exclaims ‘I love the smell of napalm in the morning’. It’s an often quoted line, but with knowledge of napalm’s devastating effects, it is a viewpoint we should find appalling.
What is the movie Apocalypse Now about?
The 1979 movie Apocalypse Now is about the horrors and psychological trauma of the Vietnam War. A major cause of trauma on both sides was the widespread use of napalm – the chilling scenes of burning fields, property and people from the news reels are unforgettable.
Why is napalm used in the military?
The effectiveness of the weapon overruled its cruelty. In fact, napalm caused carbon monoxide poisoning when used on enclosed environment which wasn’t directly hit by fire. The effects of carbon monoxide were well known ...
When was napalm invented?
This is how napalm was born. In a period between 1942 and 1943, a team of leading Harvard chemist headed by Louis Fieser developed a mixture of naphthenic and palmitic acids added to the classic ingredient ― gasoline. The weapon was first tested in bombing raids on Berlin and later on Tokyo, where it caused mass panic after ...
What happened to the napalm bombs?
Using napalm bombs dropped by a fast moving aircraft didn’t guarantee much accuracy. This resulted in many civilian casualties. One of the most iconic photographs taken during the Vietnam War depicted children fleeing from a napalm strike, terrified.
How many square yards did a napalm bomb leave?
A napalm bomb could leave an area of 2,500 square yards engulfed in unquenchable fire. Using napalm bombs dropped by a fast moving aircraft didn’t guarantee much accuracy.
How much napalm was used in the Korean War?
In the decade from 1963 to 1973, 388,000 tons of napalm were dropped on Vietnam. That is ten times the amount of napalm used in Korea (32,357 tons) and almost twenty times more than was used in ...
What temperature does napalm produce?
Napalm generates temperatures of 800 to 1,200 degrees Celsius (1,500–2,200°F).”. Anti-Vietnam War demonstration, 1967. Among the US public, napalm became the symbol of all that was abhorrent about the war in Vietnam.
What happens when you touch a napalm?
Napalm causes wounds that are too deep to heal. In contact with humans, it would immediately stick to the skin and melt the flesh. There is no way to put the fire out, except by smothering it, which causes unbearable pain.
What was Napalm B used for?
A Small Chemical Company. Napalm had been used before, most notably in the incendiary bombs that devastated large swaths of Japanese cities during World War II , including some 60 percent of Tokyo. What distinguished Napalm B, the variant employed in Vietnam, was how easily it could be made.
What company made napalm?
Napalm and The Dow Chemical Company. The U.S. military's use of napalm in Vietnam triggered widespread student protests, some aimed at the manufacturer, The Dow Chemical Company. Napalm had been used before, most notably in the incendiary bombs that devastated large swaths of Japanese cities during World War II, including some 60 percent of Tokyo.
What was the Dow board's response to the Napalm protests?
The company's initial response, which essentially sought to get the Pentagon to take responsibility for the use of napalm and thereby absolve Dow management, did nothing to stem the protests. In 1967 the Dow board discussed whether to stop producing napalm; although there were dissenters, the board voted to stay the course.
What was Dow's main supplier of napalm?
Dow was only ranked 75th on a 1967 list of military contractors; before getting into the napalm business, it was best known as the maker of Saran Wrap. But Dow soon became the military's sole supplier of napalm, which meant that when its use in the Vietnam War became controversial, Dow was the only corporate target. Liquid Fire.
What happened to the Napalm?
A bit of liquid fire, a sort of jellied gasoline, napalm clung to human skin on contact and melted off the flesh.
When did Dow stop making napalm?
It also continued to recruit on campuses. But even after the company stopped making napalm in 1969, the protests continued.
Did Dow know about napalm?
The Company Response. Dow's senior management did not even know about the initial napalm contract, it was considered such a minor matter. And even at the height of production, only a few handfuls of employees worked on making napalm out of a total workforce of 35,000. But napalm soon became a defining issue for Dow.
Overview
Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated aluminium salts of naphthenic acid and palmitic acid. Napalm B is the more modern version of napalm (utilizing polystyrene derivatives) and, although distinctly different in its chemical composition, is often referred to simply as "napalm". A team le…
Forms
Napalm was used in flamethrowers, bombs, and tanks in World War II. It is believed to have been formulated to burn at a specific rate and to adhere to surfaces to increase its stopping power. During combustion, napalm rapidly deoxygenates the available air and generates large amounts of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
Alternative compositions exist for different types of uses, e.g., triethylaluminium, a pyrophoric co…
Development
Use of fire in warfare has a long history. Greek fire, also described as "sticky fire" (πῦρ κολλητικόν, pýr kolletikón), is believed to have had a petroleum base. The development of napalm was precipitated by the use of jellied gasoline mixtures by the Allied forces during World War II. Latex, used in these early forms of incendiary devices, became scarce, since natural rubber was almost impossible to obtain after the Japanese army captured the rubber plantations in Malaya, Indonesia,
Military use
Napalm was first employed in incendiary bombs and went on to be used as fuel for flamethrowers.
The first recorded strategic use of napalm incendiary bombs occurred in an attack by the US Army Air Force (USAAF) on Berlin on 6 March 1944, using American AN-M76 incendiary bombs with PT-1 (Pyrogel) filler. The first known tactical use by the USAAF was by the 368th Fighter Group, Ninth …
Antipersonnel effects
When used as a part of an incendiary weapon, napalm can cause severe burns (ranging from superficial to subdermal), asphyxiation, unconsciousness, and death. In this implementation, napalm fires can create an atmosphere of greater than 20 percent carbon monoxide and firestorms with self-perpetuating winds of up to 110 kilometers per hour (70 mph).
Napalm is effective against dug-in enemy personnel. The burning incendiary composition flows i…
International law
International law does not specifically prohibit the use of napalm or other incendiaries against military targets, but use against civilian populations was banned by the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) in 1980. Protocol III of the CCW restricts the use of all 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 conside…
See also
• Early thermal weapons
• Flame fougasse
• German Village (Dugway proving ground)
• Greek fire, an ancient flamethrowing weapon that may have resembled napalm
Further reading
• Neer, Robert M. (2013). Napalm: An American Biography. Belknap Press ISBN 978-0-674-07301-2