Some weapons firmly enter our lives through the cinema. One of such examples is the American light jet flamethrower M202 FLASH, which would not have received such fame and recognition if it had not been included in the movie "Commando" at the time. The tape, which has become a classic in the action genre, was actively circulated in cinemas around the world, and in our country it has constantly appeared on TV screens since the 1990s. In the film, the hero of Arnold Schwarzenegger effectively dealt with opponents with the help of a four-barreled grenade launcher, in fact, we are talking about a flamethrower, an unusual example of infantry weapons from the United States, which we will talk about today.
Towards the M202 Flash Rocket Thrower
The unusual weapon, designed in the late 1960s and in mass production since 1969, was originally designed by American designers to replace the traditional jet backpack flamethrowers, which began to be widely used during the First World War. The engineers at the Endgewood Arsenal and the military laboratories of the large American corporations Northrop and Brunswick were responsible for the creation of the new flamethrower. The engineers of the Northrop company were responsible for the creation of the flamethrower itself and the jet engine for charges, the conduct of ballistic tests, the engineers of the Brunswick company worked on the fire mixture and the process of organizing the serial production of a new model of weapons.
It should be recalled here that the flamethrowers in service with the American army did not undergo any changes after the end of the Second World War. The lack of modernization began to be clearly felt in the 1960s, especially in the second half of the 60s, when the United States was fully involved in the hostilities in Vietnam. It was the war that became the trigger that made the issue of developing and adopting new models of infantry weapons very relevant. The jet flamethrower FLASH, created by American engineers, was the answer to the challenges of modern times.
Initially, the jet flamethrower bore a different designation XM191, the weapon received the abbreviation MPFW (Multi-Shot Portable Flame Weapon). New weapons began to be tested directly in combat conditions. The Vietnam War became a real testing ground for the Americans, where it was possible to test in real combat conditions any military equipment and weapons that were created in the interests of the Pentagon. Flame-throwing incendiary weapons were no exception, and burning jungles and Vietnamese villages will forever become a symbol of this bloody conflict of the second half of the 20th century.
The first experimental batch of new weapons entered the army in April 1969. Brunswick supplied 1,095 new XM191 jet flamethrowers to the US military, as well as 66,960 rounds for them. From the moment work began on the flamethrower to the acquisition of the first prototype batch, the American budget spent $ 10.8 million on this project (at today's prices, about $ 76 million). The first four-barreled jet flamethrowers were received by the United States Marine Corps and the Army. The very first tests in combat conditions confirmed the effectiveness of the new weapon. Moreover, the American army even placed an order for research and development work to create ammunition similar to the type, but for tank guns.
Initially, the novelty was supposed to be used not only with incendiary, but also with smoke ammunition, however, only incendiary rocket shots were widely used. Based on the results of practical use in Vietnam, the American military noted that the new infantry weapon is not only twice as light as backpack flamethrowers and four times exceeds them in firing range, but is also much safer to handle, which is no less important. Thanks to the new flamethrower, fighters were able to hit even point targets at long range with deadly weapons. Based on the results of combat use and generalization of all the accumulated experience, the four-barreled jet flamethrower was modified and modernized and in 1974 entered service under the designation M202 FLASH (Flash).
Design features of M202 and M202A1 Flash rocket throwers
The main purpose of the Flash jet flamethrower is to combat manpower and unarmored enemy equipment located in open areas, it is also possible to defeat targets hidden in dense vegetation, it is no coincidence that the flamethrower was actively tested in Vietnam, where the theater of war had its own specifics. M202 Flash is classified as a light rocket flamethrower, the mass of the empty model M202A1 (launcher) is 5.22 kg, the mass of a fully equipped weapon is just over 12 kg. The four firing tubes of the flamethrower contain 66 mm M74 incendiary rockets. The caliber of the new grenade coincided with the M72 anti-tank grenade adopted by that time, the same could be said about the design of the ammunition. Both shots were unified, in particular, they had one solid-propellant jet engine.
Structurally, the "Flash" jet flamethrower consisted of incendiary grenades and a reusable launcher. When creating weapons, the designers paid a lot of attention to reducing the weight of the flamethrower. So the pipes of the launcher were made of plastic, which was additionally reinforced with fiberglass, the sight bracket and other devices were made of aluminum. The launcher was quite simple and consisted of a rectangular box with four smooth barrels, rear and front covers that fold down and a folding trigger. On top of the box are simple sights. The firing mechanism of the jet flamethrower was located on the pistol grip, as in most models of modern grenade launchers. An M30 collimator sight similar in design to that installed on the Super Bazooka grenade launcher was mounted on a folding bracket.
The total length of the incendiary grenade, the body of which was made of fiberglass polymer material, was 53 cm, the weight of the ammunition was 1.36 kg. The M54 solid-propellant jet engine mounted on a grenade provided the ammunition with an initial flight speed of 114 m / s. The incendiary grenade itself consisted of a warhead equipped with a nose cone, a solid-propellant jet engine and a nozzle block with 6 stabilizer blades folded before firing. The warhead of the grenade was filled with a mixture of polyisobutylene (up to 0.6 kg), which was self-igniting on contact with atmospheric air, this was enough to ensure effective destruction of open targets within a radius of 20 meters, this mixture was superior to napalm in its combat effectiveness. The mixture burned at a temperature of 760 to 1204 degrees Celsius. A feature of the jet flamethrower was that when firing behind the shooter, a hit zone with a depth of about 15 meters was formed, which seriously impeded the use of a four-barreled flamethrower in rooms and confined spaces. For individual targets, the effective engagement range was up to 200 meters, for group targets - up to 640 meters, while the maximum possible firing range was 730 meters.
All grenades were combined into cassettes, which were carried in a special plastic container. A cassette with four shots was attached to the launcher and securely fixed from the breech with a latch. Standard ammunition for the four-barreled rocket-propelled flamethrower "Flash" consisted of three cassettes (12 rounds). The shooter could fire from a flamethrower while standing, from a prone position, and also from a knee. The transfer of the jet flamethrower from the traveling position to the combat position took an experienced trained soldier no more than 30 seconds, reloading the weapon with a new cassette took about 3 seconds. Fire on the enemy could be conducted both with single shots and with a salvo, firing all four grenades. The duration of a full salvo was 4 seconds.
Features of the M202A1 Flash jet flamethrower
Initially, the new weapon was supposed to enter service with the infantry, reconnaissance and motorized infantry divisions of the American army, and later on with the airborne troops. The weapon could be called additional and "supernumerary", the flamethrower was a means of enhancing the firepower of a rifle squad or platoon and was especially effective in close combat.
The M202A1 Flash four-barreled flamethrower allowed the American military to successfully fight enemy infantry, as well as various unarmored vehicles. At the same time, experts noted that the effectiveness of the flamethrower when firing at small targets is low. This was due to two factors: the small volume of the fire mixture in the pomegranate and its very rapid burnout. At the same time, the flamethrower was considered especially effective when firing at targets of the area type, when the shortcomings of the weapon were compensated for by the possibility of a salvo shot with four grants. So the American military assessed with a 50 percent probability of hitting a bunker embrasure from a distance of 50 meters, through a window - from a distance of 125 meters, into a firing point or standing equipment - from a distance of 200 meters, and into an infantry detachment - from a distance of 500 meters. Before the explosion, the grenade could calmly knock out the frame along with the glass, the wooden door was also not an obstacle for her, but the ammunition was powerless against a cinder block or brick wall.
By the early 1990s, most of the American M202A1 jet flamethrowers went to live out their days in warehouses. This was largely due to the fact that the handling of incendiary ammunition in the military was still very dangerous. Despite this, in the press one could find reports that the Flash flamethrowers were occasionally used by the American military on the territory of Afghanistan already in the 2000s.
The closest domestic analogue of the American Flash jet flamethrower is the Bumblebee infantry jet flamethrower. Unlike its overseas counterpart, this is a single-use and single-barreled weapon. At the same time, the Russian flamethrower has sufficient lethality, which is confirmed by the experience of its use during the war in Afghanistan and armed conflicts in the North Caucasus. In terms of high-explosive impact, the Russian 93-mm rocket infantry flamethrower "Bumblebee" is not inferior to 122-155 artillery shells, of course, not for all types of targets. It is known that the area affected by a projectile-rocket flamethrower "Bumblebee" is up to 50 square meters in an open area and up to 80 square meters if the ammunition with a fire mixture explodes indoors or in any confined spaces.
