Everything about Napalm totally explained
Napalm is the name given to any of a number of
flammable liquids used in
warfare, often jellied
gasoline. Napalm is actually the
thickener in such liquids, which when mixed with gasoline makes a sticky incendiary gel. Developed by the U.S. in
World War II by a team of
Harvard chemists led by
Louis Fieser, its name is a combination of the names of its original ingredients,
coprecipitated aluminium salts of
naphthenic and
palmitic acids. These were added to the flammable substance to cause it to gel.
One of the major problems of early incendiary fluids was that they splashed and drained too easily. The U.S. found that a gasoline gel increased both the range and effectiveness of flamethrowers, but was difficult to manufacture because it used natural rubber, which was in high demand and expensive. Napalm provided a far cheaper alternative, solving the issues involved with rubber-based incendiaries. Napalm bombs were first used in the Pacific Theatre during the
Battle of Tinian by
Marine aviators; however, its use was complicated by problems with mixing, fusing and the release mechanisms. In World War II, The USAAF
bombed cities in
Japan with napalm, and used it in bombs and flamethrowers in Germany and the Japanese-held islands. It was used by the Greek National army against the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) during the
Greek Civil War, by
United Nations forces in Korea, by
France against the Viet Minh in the
First Indochina War, by
Mexico in the late 1960s against guerrilla fighters in
Guerrero and by the
United States during the
Vietnam War.
The most well-known method of delivering napalm is from air-dropped
incendiary bombs. A lesser-known method is the flame throwers used by combat infantry. Flame throwers use a thinner version of the same jellied gasoline to destroy gun emplacements, bunkers and cave hideouts. U.S. Marines fighting on
Guadalcanal found them very effective against Japanese positions. The Marines used fire as both a casualty weapon as well as a psychological weapon. They found that Japanese soldiers would abandon positions in which they fought to the death against other weapons. Prisoners of war confirmed that they feared napalm more than any other weapon utilised against them.
Pilots returning from the war zone often remarked they'd rather have a couple of droppable gasoline tanks full of napalm than any other weapon, bombs, rockets or guns. The U.S. Air Force and Navy used napalm with great effect against all manner of targets to include troops, tanks, buildings and even railroad tunnels. The demoralizing effect napalm had on the enemy became apparent when scores of
North Korean troops began to surrender to aircraft flying overhead. Pilots noted that they saw surviving enemy troops waving white flags on subsequent passes after dropping napalm. The pilots radioed to ground troops and the North Koreans were captured.
Napalm has been used recently in wartime by or against:
Morocco (1976),
Iran (1980–88),
Israel (1967, 1982),
Nigeria (1969),
Brazil (1972),
Egypt (1973),
Cyprus (1964, 1974),
Argentina (1982),
Iraq (1980–88, 1991, 2003 - present),
Serbia (1994),1993
Angola,
France during the
First Indochina War (1946-1954) and the
Algerian War (1954-1962 ), and the
United States.
Sometimes napalm victims die quickly. Those who do survive suffer 3rd degree burns, damaging the vascular dermis, and are generally in terrible pain and have huge scars all over their bodies. Victims who suffer 2nd degree burns from splashed napalm will be in significant amounts of pain, but it doesn't sear the flesh enough to destroy the nerves.
Phúc sustained third-degree burns to half her body and wasn't expected to live after the attack by South Vietnamese aircraft. But thanks to assistance from South Vietnamese photographer
Nick Ut and American doctors, and after surviving a 14-month hospital stay and 17 operations, she became an outspoken
peace activist.
International law doesn't necessarily prohibit the use of napalm or other incendiaries against military targets,
Reports by the
Sydney Morning Herald suggested the usage of napalm in the
Iraq War by US forces. This was denied by the
U.S. Department of Defense. In August 2003, the San Diego Union Tribune alleged that U.S. Marine pilots and their commanders confirmed the use of
Mark 77 firebombs on
Iraqi Republican Guards during the initial stages of combat. Official denials of the use of 'napalm' were, however, disingenuous, as the Mk 77 bomb that's currently in service at this time, the Mk 77 Mod 5, doesn't use actual napalm (for example, napalm-B). The last U.S. bomb to use actual napalm was the Mark 77 Mod 4, the last of which were destroyed in March 2001. The substance used now is a different incendiary mixture, but sufficiently analogous in its effects that it's still a controversial incendiary, and can still be referred to colloquially as 'napalm.'
"We napalmed both those (bridge) approaches," said Col. Randolph Alles in a recent interview. "Unfortunately, there were people there because you could see them in the (cockpit) video." (...) "They were Iraqi soldiers there. It's no great way to die," he added. (...) The generals love napalm. ... It has a big psychological effect." - San Diego Union-Tribune, August 2003
These bombs didn't actually contain napalm. The napalm-B (super napalm) used in Vietnam was gasoline based. The Mk-77 firebombs used in the Gulf were
kerosene based. It is, however, a napalm-like liquid in its effect.
Some weapons utilize a
pyrophoric variant, known as TPA (
thickened pyrophoric agent). Chemically it's a
triethylaluminium thickened with
polyisobutylene.
In popular culture
Napalm itself became well-known by the American public after its use in the Vietnam war. Since then, it has been mentioned in the media and arts on numerous occasions. In the film
Apocalypse Now, Airmobile Infantry Colonel Kilgore declared "I love the smell of napalm in the morning... It smells like... victory" following a nearby napalm strike. In
An Officer and a Gentleman,
Sgt. Foley led a quick-step march with a
cadence call that had the chorus, "
Cause napalm sticks to kids!", representing a cadence call common in the U.S. military at the time.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Napalm'.
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