What a Flamethrower Really Does to a Person

Video Description

What a Flamethrower Really Does to a Person This video walks through the full story of flamethrowers, from early ideas like Greek fire and massive First World War trench weapons to modern thermobaric systems. It starts with the first backpack flamethrowers in World War I, German Flammenwerfer units, British Livens projectors, and the risks their operators faced. Then it follows how World War II pushed the concept further with German flame tanks, U.S. M2 backpack sets, Churchill Crocodiles, Soviet flamethrower traps, and the development of thicker gel fuels that became napalm. You will see why flamethrowers became the preferred tool for clearing bunkers, caves, tunnels, and pillboxes in places like Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and across the Pacific, and how that same fuel was later dropped from aircraft in large incendiary raids. From there, the video moves into the postwar era and Vietnam. It explains how flame tanks like the M67 and modified M113s were used, how air-delivered napalm became a standard loadout, and why tactical advantages collided with serious humanitarian and political concerns. Finally, it shows how the role of fire shifted into thermobaric weapons: fuel-air based charges that create extended overpressure and heat inside bunkers, cave complexes, and urban strongpoints. Systems such as man-portable launchers and heavier platforms like the TOS-1 multiple rocket launcher are covered in simple, clear terms, along with how they work, why they are so effective in confined spaces, and how current laws and doctrine try to regulate their use. A complete look at how the basic idea of projecting fire evolved from hand-carried flamethrowers to modern thermobaric systems and why they remain some of the most controversial weapons on today’s battlefield. Chapters: 00:00 – From Greek fire to backpacks 01:48 – World War One’s first flamethrowers 04:22 – Pacific war: caves, tanks, and fuel 08:55 – Napalm from Iwo Jima to Tokyo 11:34 – Vietnam, Zippos, and public outrage 14:10 – Thermobarics: fire’s next evolution