Napalm

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thumb|upright=1.35|The only time napalm was used in Comofasian history

Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually Wikipedia:petrol or Wikipedia:diesel fuel). The name is a Wikipedia:portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: Wikipedia:coprecipitated Wikipedia:aluminium salts of naphthenic acid and palmitic acid.[1] A team led by chemist Wikipedia:Louis Fieser originally developed napalm for the Wikipedia:US Chemical Warfare Service in 1942 in a secret laboratory at Wikipedia:Harvard University.[2] Of immediate first interest was its viability as an Wikipedia:incendiary device to be used in Wikipedia:fire bombing campaigns during Wikipedia: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 Wikipedia:gasoline) resulted in widespread adoption in infantry and tank/boat mounted Wikipedia:flamethrowers as well.

Napalm burns at temperatures[3][4] ranging from 800 to 1200. It burns longer than gasoline, is more easily dispersed, and adheres to its targets. These traits make it both effective and controversial. It has been widely deployed from the air and from the ground, the largest use being via airdropped bombs in Wikipedia:World War II in the incendiary attacks on Japanese cities in 1945. It was used also for Wikipedia:close air support roles in the Wikipedia:First Indochina War, the Wikipedia:Algerian War, the Wikipedia:Korean War, the Wikipedia:Six-Day War, and the Wikipedia:Vietnam War. Napalm has also fueled most of the Wikipedia:flamethrowers (tank-, ship-, and infantry-based) used since World War II, giving them much greater range, and was a common weapon of Wikipedia:urban combat by both the Axis and the Allies in World War II.

Development

Use of fire in warfare has a long history. Wikipedia:Greek fire, which also is described as "sticky fire" (Template:Lang, 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 Wikipedia:World War II.[5]Template:Rp The use of aluminium salts of organic acids (Ionov's salt) for the preparation of incendiary viscous mixtures was already done by the Soviets in 1939, with high acceptance by the Wikipedia:Red Army.[6] Wikipedia:Latex, used in these early forms of incendiary devices, became scarce, since Wikipedia:natural rubber was almost impossible to obtain after the Japanese army captured the rubber plantations in Malaya, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Wikipedia:Thailand.

This shortage of natural rubber prompted Wikipedia:chemists at US companies such as Wikipedia:DuPont and Wikipedia:Standard Oil of New Jersey, and researchers at Wikipedia: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 Wikipedia: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 Wikipedia: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 Wikipedia:Harvard Business School.[8] Tests under operational conditions were carried out at Wikipedia:Jefferson Proving Ground on condemned farm buildings and subsequently at Wikipedia:Dugway Proving Ground on buildings designed and constructed to represent those to be found in German and Japanese towns.[9][10] This new mixture of chemicals was widely used by the United States in the Second World War for Wikipedia:incendiary bombs and in Wikipedia:flamethrowers, after its first deployment in Papua New Guinea on 15 December 1943.[11]

From 1965 to 1969, the Wikipedia:Dow Chemical Company manufactured napalm for the American armed forces.[11] After news reports of napalm deadly and disfiguring effects were published, Dow Chemical experienced Wikipedia: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 Wikipedia:Vietnam War.[15]

Military use

[[Wikipedia:File:French indochina napalm 1953-12 1.png|thumb|Results of a napalm strike by the Wikipedia:Aviation navale on suspected Wikipedia:Viet Minh positions during the Wikipedia: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 Wikipedia:US Army Air Force (USAAF) on Wikipedia:Berlin on 6 March 1944, using American AN-M76 incendiary bombs with PT-1 (Pyrogel) filler.[17][18] The first known tactical use by the USAAF was by the Wikipedia:368th Fighter Group, Ninth Air Force Northeast of Wikipedia:Compiègne, France 27 May 1944[19] and the British De Havilland Mosquito FB Mk.VIs of No. 140 Wing RAF, Second Tactical Airforce on 14 July 1944, which also employed the AN-M76 incendiary in a reprisal attack on the Wikipedia: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 Wikipedia: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 Wikipedia:Saipan, Wikipedia:Iwo Jima, the Wikipedia:Philippines, and Wikipedia:Okinawa, where deeply dug-in Japanese troops refused to surrender. Napalm bombs were dropped by aviators of the Wikipedia:US Navy, the USAAF, the Wikipedia:US Marine Corps, and the Wikipedia:Royal Air Force[21] in support of ground troops.[citation needed] The Wikipedia:M69 incendiary was specifically designed to destroy Japanese civilian houses. Those bombs were widely used against civilians, including the Wikipedia:Bombing of Tokyo. Over 40,000 tons of AN-M69s were dropped on Japanese cities during the war.[22]

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

In the Wikipedia: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 Wikipedia: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 Wikipedia:Greek Civil War by the Greek National Army as part of operations Koronis and Pyrsos against the Wikipedia:Democratic Army of Greece (DSE)—the military branch of the Wikipedia:Communist Party of Greece (KKE).[26][27]

[[Wikipedia:File:US riverboat using napalm in Vietnam.jpg|thumb|"Zippo" riverboat of the US Wikipedia:Brown-water navy deploying an ignited napalm mixture from a riverboat-mounted Wikipedia:flamethrower in Vietnam]]

Napalm was widely used by the US during the Wikipedia:Korean War.[citation needed] The ground forces in Wikipedia:North Korea holding defensive positions were often outnumbered by Chinese and North Koreans, but US Air Force and Navy aviators had control of the air over nearly all of the Wikipedia:Korean Peninsula. Hence, the American and other UN aviators used napalm for Wikipedia:close air support of the ground troops along the border between North Korea and Wikipedia:South Korea and also for attacks in North Korea. Napalm was used most notably during the battle "Wikipedia: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 Template:Convert (70,000 US gal; Template:Convert) of napalm, with approximately Template:Convert (60,000 US gal; Template:Convert) of this thrown by US forces.[28] The Wikipedia:New York Herald Tribune hailed "Napalm, the No. 1 Weapon in Korea".[29] British Prime Minister Wikipedia: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. Wikipedia:Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Wikipedia: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 Wikipedia:French Air Force regularly used napalm for close air support of ground operations in the Wikipedia: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.[32] Reportedly about Template:Convert (388,000 short tons; Template:Convert) of US napalm bombs were dropped in the region between 1963 and 1973, compared to Template:Convert (32,357 short tons; Template:Convert) used over three years in the Korean War, and Template:Convert (16,500 short tons; Template:Convert) dropped on Japan in 1945.[2] The US Air Force and US Navy used napalm with great effect against all kinds of targets, such as troops, tanks, buildings, jungles, and even Wikipedia:railroad tunnels. The effect was not always purely physical as napalm had psychological effects on the enemy as well.[33]

{{{2}}} A variant of napalm was produced in Wikipedia:Rhodesia for a type of ordnance known as Frantan between 1968 and 1978 and was deployed extensively by the Wikipedia:Rhodesian Air Force during the Bush War.[34] In May 1978, Herbert Ushewokunze, minister of health for the Wikipedia: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 Wikipedia:Mozambique and the Wikipedia: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 Wikipedia:South African Air Force frequently deployed napalm from Atlas Impala strike aircraft during raids on guerrilla bases in Wikipedia:Angola during the Wikipedia:South African Border War.[35]

Other instances of napalm's use include: France during the Algerian War (1954–1962);[36] the Wikipedia:Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1974); Wikipedia:Turkey (1964) dropped napalm bombs in the Wikipedia:Republic of Cyprus; the Wikipedia:Six-Day War by Israel (1967); in Wikipedia:Nigeria (1969); in Wikipedia:India and Wikipedia:Pakistan (1965 and 1971); Wikipedia:Egypt (1973); by Wikipedia:Turkey (1974) the Wikipedia:Turkish Invasion of Cyprus; by Wikipedia:Morocco during the Wikipedia:Western Sahara War (1975–1991); by Wikipedia:Argentina (1982); by Wikipedia:Iran (1980–88); by Wikipedia:Iraq (1980–88, 1991); by Wikipedia:Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in 1987 against Wikipedia:Tamils (LTTE) in Wikipedia:Sri Lanka; by Wikipedia:Angola during the Wikipedia:Angolan Civil War; and Yugoslavia (1991–1996).[37] In 2018, Turkey was accused of using napalm in its war against Kurdish militias over Afrin.[38]

Antipersonnel effects

[[Wikipedia:File:The Terror of War.jpg|Wikipedia:Phan Thi Kim Phuc, burned with napalm at the age of 9 during the Vietnam War|thumb|right|300px]] When used as a part of an Wikipedia:incendiary weapon, napalm causes severe Wikipedia:burns. During Wikipedia:combustion, napalm deoxygenates the available air and generates Wikipedia:carbon monoxide and Wikipedia:carbon dioxide, so Wikipedia:asphyxiation, unconsciousness, and death are also possible.[39]

Napalm is effective against dug-in enemy personnel. The burning incendiary composition flows into foxholes, tunnels, and Wikipedia:bunkers, and drainage and irrigation ditches and other improvised troop shelters. Even people in undamaged shelters can be killed by Wikipedia:hyperthermia, Wikipedia:radiant heat, Wikipedia:dehydration, Wikipedia:asphyxiation, smoke exposure, or Wikipedia:carbon monoxide poisoning.[39] Crews of Wikipedia: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.[40]

One firebomb released from a low-flying plane can damage an area of Template:Convert.[39]

International law

International law does not specifically prohibit the use of napalm or other incendiaries against military targets,[41] but use against civilian populations was banned by the UN Wikipedia:Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) in 1980.[42] Protocol III of the CCW restricts the use of all Wikipedia:incendiary weapons, but a number of countries have not acceded to all of the protocols of the CCW. According to the Wikipedia: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, Wikipedia:Barack Obama's first full day in office as president.[43][44] Its ratification is subject to a reservation that says that the treaty can be ignored if it would save civilian lives.[44][45] 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.[46]

See also

References

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Further reading

External links

Template:Wiktionary Template:Commons category

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Wikipedia:Category:Incendiary weapons Wikipedia:Category:World War II weapons Wikipedia:Category:American inventions Wikipedia:Category:Soaps Wikipedia:Category:Thickening agents

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  6. ↑ V. I. Losev. Gazavaya Promyshlennost, Vol 4, No 12, 1959. pp 17-24.
  7. ↑ Template:Cite web
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Template:Cite book
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  10. ↑ Template:Cite web
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Template:Cite web
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  14. ↑ "Napalm History" Template:Webarchive Virginia Center for Digital History
  15. ↑ Napalm Template:Webarchive. vcdh.virginia.edu. Retrieved on 11 February 2010.
  16. ↑ Template:Cite web
  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. ↑ Template:Cite web
  20. ↑ McCue, Paul and Baker, Max (2009) SAS Operation Bulbasket: Behind the Lines in Occupied France. Barnsley, S. Yorks: Pen and Sword Books. p. 104. Template:ISBN.
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  25. ↑ Wikipedia:Howard Zinn, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train. 2004 Documentary
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  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 Template:Cite book
  35. ↑ Template:Cite book
  36. ↑ Wikipedia:Benjamin Stora, "Avoir 20 ans en Kabylie", in Wikipedia:L'Histoire n°324, October 2007, pp. 28–29 Template:In lang
  37. ↑ Goose Green, 2 Para in Falklands War 1982. Naval-history.net. Retrieved on 11 February 2010.
  38. ↑ Template:Cite web
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 Template:EMedicine
  40. ↑ Template:Cite book
  41. ↑ Omara-Otunnu, Elizabeth (8 November 2004). Napalm Survivor Tells of Healing After Vietnam War. University of Connecticut Advance.
  42. ↑ Template:Cite web
  43. ↑ Template:Cite book
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Template:Cite web
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