Oops.
If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the …
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*chucklez
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Yeah, it produces a pretty big flame, but it doesn’t actually throw the flame via some kind of flaming liquid, so it’s a glorified butane lighter (which can also produce a large flame if you fiddle around with the little “±” lever.)
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Seen here from a country that does not engage in military offensives, it seems like it does what it says on the tin: When you see an American flag, there’s probably a tank and or flame thrower coming after it.
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Look out, Mama, there’s a white boat comin’ up the river
With a big red beacon and a flag and a man at the rail
I think you better call John
'Cause it’s don’t look like they’re here to deliver the mail
And it’s less than a mile away
I hope they didn’t come to stay
It’s got numbers on the side and a gun and it’s makin’ big waves…
– “Powderfinger”, Neil Young
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You know my stance on Nazis if you read some of my comments.
But seriously, I do not think I could consent the usage of FT even on Nazis, if asked.
What a terrible fucking shit of weapon.
It freaks me out.
I did relate the story one of my supervisors at the University of the French army using FT on the local population in Cote d’Ivoire during the late 1950s, somewhere on the BBS, I think.
It.
Fucking.
Freaks.
Me.
Out.
Aliens. Pretty much the only usage scenario I can think of which calls for flame throwers.
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Heh. Yep, you’re not alone in that. It also induced lots of surrenders for the exact reasons - a stream of fire freaks people the fuck out.
Maybe because they don’t have a huge fucking dick to wave? OTOH that’s more of an explanation for the weapons than for the flag…
I’m sure a quick google of “flame thrower victim” will make for some pause in that thought path…
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Same basic principle as a can of hairspray and a cigarette lighter.
The real flame throwers are more based around the pump up weed sprayer full of kerosene with a duct taped on zippo technology package.
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Duhhhhhhhhhhhhh so the Not A Flamethrower isn’t a flame thrower? Holy fuck we gotta write an article about this… Get some better leads you bunch bottom of the barrel scraping ass bitches.
——
It’s a vaginal egg? A left handed monkey wrench?
An art project?
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Back in 2013, Cracked went over why “real” flamethrowers are actually kind of crap:
FTA:
[T]hey sucked. Out of 97 flamethrowers sent out in the Korean War, 65 were either destroyed by enemy fire or just dumped by the operators to save their lives. Seven more weren’t even used because they never got an enemy within its effective range … which kinda sucked, by the way.
Unless you’re fighting bees, that is.
Then there’s the problem with weight. The standard M2 Flamethrower, which is the one you’ve most likely seen in movies, weighs 70 pounds when full. Imagine going around in a war zone with very small man on a very fat child on your back. Even worse, operators had to stand completely in the open since, unlike almost every other gun ever made, the flamethrower requires one to stand up to fire and it has the unfortunate side effect of giving your position by making you look like Satan taking a leak.
But hey, being shot at continuously with a huge dead weight strapped to your back was totally worth being able to yell fire-related puns as you sprayed liquid death at everyone in your way … as long as you don’t mind having less than 10 seconds to do so. Because that’s how long most flamethrowers would work for before running out of fuel.
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Sooo … that cracked article.
I recall, several moons ago, watching a very highly trained individual with a pistol in each hand firing at two targets. And hitting them both.
Caveats:
- this was on a one-way range, not the two-way range.
- he wasn’t firing at both literally at the same time. It was more along the lines of a shot at one target … shot at the other … shot at the first again … shot at the second … and so on. But the pauses between shots were very short.
- did I mention this guy had a lot of training?
Still, it was as impressive AF.
Also, “laser” sighting devices are totally a thing. Sure, they tend not to be in the visible spectrum (infra-red + night vision googles is de riguer), but they really do exist in the real world, and really are used.
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Flame throwers are an excellent psychological weapon, and have practical uses for clearing networks of confined spaces. Like tunnels. Of anyone who needs to breathe air.
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Flame throwers are for specialized situations. Burning out bunkers and caves in WWII was where they were the most use. I don’t think Korea had a ton of either of those. It isn’t something you would use just on the open battle field because of the lack of range.
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Don’t disagree – I mean they are sure cool looking and fanciful, not to mention the primal urges they inspire. But they definitely aren’t the most practical in most situations.
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I think I’ll wait until the zombie apocalypse before trying that pressure washer to flamethrower conversion.
Musk said it was a roofing torch with a stock attached.
