Information AboutNapalm |
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Napalm, or '''jellied gasoline''', is a flammable liquid fuel weapon first used in ) against soldiers in trenches. The substance is formulated to burn at a specific rate and adhere to material and personnel. A United Nations convention in 1980 (not ratified by the United States Senate) banned the use of napalm against civilian targets. Incendiary liquids have been used in warfare for thousands of years (see Greek Fire ). Napalm is its modern equivalent. Four flamethrowers, using a napalm-like liquid, were among the weapons used by the German Army in their assault against the Belgian Fortress of Eben-Emael in May 1940. {Link without Title} The term "napalm" was coined to describe an incendiary fluid developed by the US in World War II . The name came from the use of the chemicals of naphthalene and '''palm'''itate , which were added to Gasoline to cause it to gel. {Link without Title} USAGE IN WARFARE , center, running down a road near Trang Bang after an ARVN napalm chemical attack. ( Nick Ut / © Associated Press )]] deploying napalm during the Vietnam War ]] On July 17, 1944 napalm incendiary bombs were dropped for the first time by American . In World War II, Allied Forces 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 army against communist Guerrilla fighters during the Greek Civil War , by United Nations forces in Korea , by Mexico in the late 1960s against guerrilla fighters in Guerrero and by the United States during the Vietnam War . Napalm has been used recently in wartime by or against: Israel (1967, 1982), Nigeria (1969), Brazil (1972), Egypt (1973), Cyprus (1974), Argentina (1982), Iraq (1991), Serbia (1994), Turkey (1974, 1997), Angola . In some cases Napalm does not cause physical pain, because it incapacitates and kills its victims very quickly. Those who do survive suffer 3rd degree burns, damaging the vascular dermis, which does not have pain receptors. However, victims who suffer 2nd degree burns from splashed napalm will be in significant amounts of pain. {Link without Title} "Napalm is the most terrible pain you can imagine," said Kim Phuc , known from a famous Vietnam War photograph. "Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. Napalm generates temperatures of 800 to 1,200 degrees Celsius."http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/PopTopics/chrono1.htm Phuc sustained third-degree burns to half her body and was not expected to live. But thanks to assistance from South Vietnamese photographer Nick Ut , and after surviving a 14-month hospital stay and 17 operations, she became an outspoken Peace Activist . International law does not prohibit the use of napalm or other incendiaries against military targetshttp://www.advance.uconn.edu/2004/041108/04110803.htm, but use against civilian populations was banned by a did not sign the agreement, but destroyed its napalm arsenal by 2001 . The United States had reportedly been using incendiaries in the on Iraqi Republican Guards during the initial stages of combat. "We napalmed both those {Link without Title} approaches," said Colonel James Alles, commander of Marine Air Group 11. "Unfortunately there were people there ... you could see them in the cockpit video. They were Iraqi soldiers. It's no great way to die. The generals love napalm. It has a big Psychological effect." http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20030805-9999_1n5bomb.html These were not actually 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. {Link without Title} Recipes for napalm type substances are commonly circulated on the Internet . These typically purport to produce a thickened gasoline-based substance using Soap or polystyrene as a Thickening Agent (very similar to the napalm of the Vietnam war). The methods described for producing such a substance are often dangerous, as is its use (due to flammability, adhesiveness, and poisonous fumes from burning polystyrene). It is also illegal for civilians to produce incendiary weapons in most countries, for obvious reasons. The US Patent number for napalm ("Incendiary gels") is 2,606,107. It contains detailed descriptions of its manufacture, and can be viewed at the United States Patent And Trademark Office webpage. COMPOSITION Napalm is usually a mixture of Gasoline with suitable Thickening Agent s. The earliest thickeners were Soap s, aluminium and magnesium Palmitate s and Stearate s. According to amount of added thickener, the resulting Viscosity may range between syrupy liquid to thick rubbery gel. The content of long hydrocarbon chains makes the material highly Hydrophobic , resistant to wetting with water, making it more difficult to extinguish. Thickened fuel also better rebounds from surfaces, making it more useful for operations in urbanized terrain. There are two types of napalm; oil-based with aluminium soap thickener, and oil-based with polymeric thickener ("Napalm B"). The United States military uses three kinds of thickeners, M1, M2, and M4.
Later developed variant, Napalm B, also called '''super napalm''', is a mixture of low-octane Gasoline with Benzene and Polystyrene . It was used in the Vietnam War . Unlike conventional napalm, which burns for only 15-30 seconds, napalm B burns for up to 10 minutes with less fireballs, sticks better to surfaces, and offers improved destruction effects. It is not as easy to ignite, which reduces the number of accidents caused by smoking soldiers. When it burns, it develops a characteristic smell. Napalm reaches burning temperatures of approx. 1200 °C. Other additives can be added, eg. powdered Aluminium or Magnesium , or White Phosphorus . TRIVIA
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