 Right up through into the early parts of Vietnam was something that didn't throw lead down rain. It was utilizing technology that goes back over 2,000 years, using fire as both a combat and intimidating weapon. This particular weapon I'm carrying is a Mark II-II flamethrower. They came in, and ironically, much of the technology in this weapon came from foreigners. The flamethrower concept was first developed by the Germans and the French during World War I. When technology finally caught up and we started being able to make protecting fire manned portable. But more, it was used as a intimidation weapon during the first war. Imagine the operator going into combat, he could put out flame all right at 3,000 degrees ambient temperature, but he only had an effective range of about 20 to 30 feet. It would scare the hell out of the opponent he was going up against, but it means he had to get right on top of it. Unfortunately, that didn't change all that much going into World War II. In the beginning of World War II, the Americans were actually behind the power curve in developing a flamethrower. That would quickly change. Our first Mark I flamethrower was going into Guadalcanal. The entire First Marine Division had a total of 40 flamethrowers with them, maintained and operated by engineers. Primarily used as a support weapon. It shot straight gasoline and was operating at a pressure that they only had an effective range of about 20 yards. This had two decided disadvantages. Imagine yourselves down like they're going into combat. You're carrying a big zippo on your back, very vulnerable to small arms fire. You're going to have to expose yourself and get within 20 yards of your target. Now these weren't designed to burn the enemy. What they were designed for is to basically incapacitate your enemy in a place where you could not get to them with small arms. In a bunker, a cave, or some other facility where you could not actually see your opponent. The idea is to engulf that position with flame, taking out the oxygen, suck any oxygen away, and basically incapacitate so you could follow up with small arms for an age, whatever it would take to take out the position. The problem was that flamethrower operator had to get within 20 yards of that position, and because they were burning straight gasoline, and that means the product is now about vaporizing, and you're getting 100% further product there, that means the operator is having to maintain continual flamethrower on the target. While he's doing that, the other guy is doing under him what he's trying to do to them. By 1944 though, we looked at what the Japanese were using. They had come up with a technology, what we call napalm today. They were actually gelling gasoline, making it much, much thicker, essentially shooting jello through a nozzle. Like we opted on that, and why it became effective to us and not effective to the Japanese. This is an offensive weapon. It's not good in a fixed position as a defensive weapon, but in the offense, it's awesome. By gelling the gasoline in 1944, we have now increased the capability of pushing that product out much farther, like at the range increase from about 20 yards up to about 60 to 70 yards. More importantly, with the gasoline gelled, it now means that the product itself didn't totally vaporize. It means the core of the liquid, the core of the flame would stay liquid. That means product could be put on target, stick it, continue to burn. The flamethrower operator like that could then take cover. A little anecdotal story that I'm sure you veterans will appreciate. And you young Marines like that I know will mean a lot to you. It's very poignant. Every piece of technology that you use is only as good as the Marine behind the trigger. And to give you a little story of how effective these were, but where it was only effective because the Marine used it. I did an interview with the Marine with the 28th Marines landing on Iwo Jima. He was part of a blowtorch and course crew team. By that time we developed a tactic of using two flamethrowers backed up by two browning automatic riflemen. One flamethrower operator would lay cover just like we'd lay smoke as the second operator was able to get within firing range. Now this team had landed on the beaches of Iwo. They started to advance across the sand beaches. Now as we talk about on this weapon is the pressure tanks, the product is not going to go anywhere pit until we actually turn this knob and charge the pressure into the product tank, which would actually force the liquid out the nozzle once we open the trigger. The Marine in the lead had already charged his flamethrower going up against the bunker. The second Marine said he saw the Marine in front of him around Hitti's tanks. Now unlike what you see in the movies, it didn't explode right away. It was even more devastating. The round went through the tanks. There was no spark or anything to ignite it yet. But the igniter in the gun group was already ignited. And what happened, path of least resistance, the product started coming out of the rifle hole and vaporizing and covering the Marine in a cloud of vapor. As soon as it hit it in distance short, he went up like a Roman cattle. The Marine I was interviewing that was carrying the second flamethrower talked about what he felt and what he saw. It scared him so bad he said he dropped to the ground and he literally urinated himself right there. But he knew he had fellow Marines he had to take care of. He had to do his job. So no matter how scared he was, he was going to accomplish mission. He pulled off his trouser belt, his leaking laces, anything else he could use to make a rope. He tied it to the flamethrower, getting that thing as far away from him as he could, but drug it up to the target. Put it back on when he got close enough to be in range and use that flamethrower to take out the target. Was he scared? He was petrified. But the courage and discipline and ability to take care of his fellow Marines and like that is what made this technology work. Now in reality, this is not a complicated weapon. It's nothing more than a glorified bug sprayer. You look at the back of the weapon, you got three tanks. The smallest of the tanks in the center is a pressure tank and it operates just like a modern firefighter self-contained breathing apparatus. It has up to 2,000 pounds of compressed air. I like that. Then that behind that that you can't see that's digging into my back right now is a pressure regulator, a pressure reducer that reduces the pressure in that tank down to about 300 pounds per square inch. That goes into the product tanks. The product then, once it turns on, I like that, charges these tanks and wants to operate the gun group down and push product down range just the same as firehose would push water down range. Now where the actual working is, it's in the gun group. You'll notice that I've got a pistol grip here with two safetys. It's got a grip safety just like you saw in the 1911-45 automatic and the trigger. Now this cannot be baby. I like that if you're a wimp, you don't want to be operating a flamethrower. As a marine that was here last year, found out the hard way. I like that. Would you get a first degree burns by the second day, sir? We don't like talking about that. Well, what the little girl did to you, I always stayed right next to him and got burned just as bad as he did. I like that. But again, it was not a user-friendly weapon, so you have to be aggressive with the weapon. The way this operates, there's a long valve, a pin valve, that goes from here all the way up to the nozzle. Now, although we're using a profane igniter operated here, originally it had a chemical igniter that operated exactly the same way a revolver did. You would unscrew the nozzle head, place this chemical igniter, which would have five chambers in it, just like a revolver. And each one of those would have a fulminate in it, similar to a railroad flare. Once you pulled the front trigger, that would ignite that product, and it would continue to burn. This would be your initial system of 12 seconds. The downside, as you heard me talk about, once that's ignited, you can't put it out. And if your products and tanks are punctured, that means the only temporary course you have is hoping to get out of it. Now, you notice the hardest I'm wearing on this tank. I like that. There's quicker releases on here. Theoretically, if that happens, I've got a few seconds to pop and get as far away from here as possible. Again, you notice the term, I use the term theoretical. Hope the fire department's got a good fire extinguisher standing by. Now, again, not our user-friendly weapon. Now, I'm standing here talking and I'm starting to get shorter and shorter. Impey, this weapon weighs about 42 pounds. Fully loaded as it is now, it weighs an excess of 70 pounds. Marines, imagine yourself having to advance against an enemy under fire, carrying 70 pounds, half of which is a liquid sloshing around on your back and you're doing it across sugar sand in an open beat. How many of you people want to step up the plate and do that? It looks like me when you see it fire, but again, it's not a user-friendly. With that, I'd say we're going to step down range. I like that and actually demonstrate this for you. Now, so I don't want to burn up the Colonel's range here a little bit. We did not gel the gasoline. This is burning straight regular automotive gasoline, just like used today. Originally it was used in aviation gasoline. I liked it, but we used it in a car gasoline today. The only difference between this and the gel gasoline, it'll be a slightly shorter range and it will, as you heard me talk about with the Mark I flamethrowers, you'll see the entire product burn in air before it actually hits the ground and continue to burn. Good to go. Let's get it done.