Introduction to Military Flamethrowers with Charlie Hobson
Вставка
- Опубліковано 4 тра 2016
- www.flamethrowerexpert.com
You can find Charlie Hobson's book, "US Portable Flamethrowers" here:
amzn.to/1SP9yc5
Flamethrowers are a significant piece of military weapons history which are very widely misunderstood, as flamethrowers have never been the subject of nearly as much collector interest as other types of small arms. The US military removed its flamethrowers from inventory in 1985, and all other major national militaries have done the same. In the US, the lack of general interest led to most of the surplussed weapons being destroyed as scrap, and few survive in private collections. At the same time (and for the same reason) a great deal of the information on these weapons was also discarded and lost.
One of the people who has done a tremendous amount of work to recover practical information on historical military flamethrowers as well as restore, service, and operate them is Charlie Hobson. He has worked extensively with the US military museum system as well as the entertainment industry (if you have seen a movie of TV show using a real flamethrower, is was almost certainly done under his supervision).
Today I am discussing the basic of flamethrowers with Charlie. The goal is to provide a good baseline foundation so we can go on to look at a couple specific historical flamethrowers and understand them in context. So sit back, relax, and enjoy a chat with a man who is truly passionate about this underappreciated aspect of military history!
![ОРБАН приехал к ПУТИНУ и "отчитался" о поездке в Киев 😁 [Пародия]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_0ukDovOWq8/mqdefault.jpg)
I realized something that may have been obvious overall, but I just feel like saying it. Forgotten Weapons is about weapons. Some are really forgotten, but every now and again a very familiar weapon is shown. Now while the weapon itself isn't really forgotten, the info and truths about it are. That is what Ian is here to teach. Some people complain that the weapon being observed in the particular episode isn't "forgotten". But it isn't all about just looking at the gun, it's about learning the forgotten facts and history about it. That is why I love this channel.
+Samuel Niemiec People really should stop obsessing over the name of the channel and just accept that it's about things that Ian likes first and foremost, where the benefit for us as an audience is the immense amount of interesting facts he shares with us about those things.
Thank you, exactly how I see it! And he always goes in-depth with the weapons, taking them apart and so on, so you really learn something new about the displayed weapons!
I agree. Watching his channel made it clearer on how a weapon's supposed to work. I see countless flamethrowers in videogames that aren't working as close as a real world flamethrower.
Agreed. At the end of every episode...no matter how arcane the topic - when he says "I hope you enjoyed it" I find myself saying "I always do Mate!"
@@trooperdgb9722 I honestly don't think our boy Ian could drop a video that, afterwards, I would find myself thinking, 'nah, that was pretty boring.'
I agree that death was not instant. I served 2 tours in Vietnam with the 1st Squadron 4th Cavalry in 67 and 68. I was a track commander. Each troop had 2 flamethrower vehicles that we called "Zippos". I was not on one, but saw them in use against enemy in bunkers and tunnels. Occasionally, we would see enemy jump up, covered with flame that would start to run, but would freeze and fall over dead. When we used them on tunnels, they would spray a wet load in and wait a few minutes for the fumes to spread and then they would shoot a hot load in and suffocate the enemy. Close combat is not "pretty". It is kill or be killed and you do what ever you have to do to stay alive.
shooting a hot load into a Vietnamese tunnel- pornhub
I mean, we know that from proper news and things too actually. There are Buddhist monks and peace activists that have poured flammable materials on themselves and set themselves on fire. We have photographs and written accounts of people doing this, and the written accounts describe the people dying in seconds. David Halberstam describes Quang Duc (a famous Buddhist monk that was photographed protesting Buddhists being persecuted by South Vietnam) burning very quickly, falling apart in seconds essentially. He appears to have not even have felt it himself, tied to quickly, he never expressed pain, not a grimace on his face in the seconds it took to die.
US troops in Vietnam behaved like the Nazis in WW2
@@harryhirsch8527 No. They did NOT. Educate your self.
@@harryhirsch8527 Really? Then show us the evidence of industrial scale extermination camps set up by US troops in Vietnam... the transporting of one religious group to those camps from all over the region. The slave labour camps where the inmates were worked to death. No? Then WTF are you talking about?
Simple man here. I see flame thrower doing flamey stuff, I click the like button.
You've picked a fantastic guy to interview there, Ian. I really like how Charlie spends most of the interview on the edge of his seat, just brimming with interesting facts about the fine art of flinging fire around. That's the best kind of expert to me: both well-informed and exciting to listen to. Kudos. :)
Actually, I think I'm gonna go back and watch that presentation you did on clips and magazines a couple of years back again. The sound coming out of only one channel is annoying, but it was a damn informative and fun presentation.
+Holtz Yeah, I like this guy.
I wish Intro into flamethrowers was offered at my college
Feel you, there. We had to have P.E. credits at the University I attended - the most exciting course offered was horseback riding & archery. It was about impossible to get registered for either. More practical to have grenade tossing, small arms or basic bazooka training, LOL. But these schools can't handle the liability if some idiot blows themselves up or takes a few others out, too.
Would be fun.
Very cool discussion. Love hearing from older men/veterans and experts like this fellow.
Very cool video. There is one small mistake in the video (although it doesnt affect the actual content). The process of carbon monoxide bonding with hemoglobin (Carboxyhemoglobin hemoglobin + CO) is actually reversible, but it takes a fair amount of time because carboxyhemoglobin is relatively stable.
+tHaH4x0r Thanks!
+talon55130 That's what he's saying.
+talon55130 That is exactly what i said. And that it is lethal in one breath with a flamethrower is why i said it doesnt alter the content of the video (i.e. that the carbon monoxide kills you since it appears 'not reversible' in that small time frame). That does not mean that the reaction isnt reversible at all, just too slow to be of effect in the time frame relevant here.
How much time are we talking, if it's the case of days, not minutes then you're talking about body replacing "tainted" hemoglobin with new. Not reversing the bonding.
@@peterwelsh6975 Probably more time than it would take to find and get hooked up to some kind of dialysis machine to "clean" your de-oxygenated blood in the first place. With a small enough amount your body will do it itself, but by using up the carbonated blood, which is actually problematic.
Just one note on burning soldiers running out of a bunker (19:00): In Chuck Tatum's account of John Basilone's death, he describes a flamethrower troop shooting into a pillbox. Basilone then grabbed Tatum's machine gun and ran to the back and shot the burning Japanese troops as they ran out.
I'm not saying this was typical (I would have no idea). It's just interesting to note that it did happen.
Time to Werf some Flammen.
Ja
That feel when you faust that panzer and shreck it.
And that moment with your machine, you invent a pistole.
Right now, there's a werf to Nebel.
That moment when your Gebirgsflugzeugabwehrkanone doesn't Flugzeugabs from a gebirg in a wehrkanone anymore. :(
The flamethrower. Banned in warfare but not in the US. God bless America.
*bald eagle screaches*
also safer than Kinder Surprise eggs
Actually more regulated in America than in canada. No matter what sort of flame spewing device you can come up with, it's legal here. As long as you don't shoot it at anyone.
+Anton Belyaev I still fail to understand that law. Alas, politicians' logic is different from the rest of plebians.
+Erik Gruber there isn't a single regulation regarding flamethrowers here. I could technically drive around with one mounted on a stand behind the cab of my truck if I wanted to. It would be stupid, but technically legal.
It's not nearly as bad as people think up here, I'd honestly pick our gun laws over what there is south of the boarder.... Pass one background check to get your license, then buying guns and ammo is as easy as buying a loaf of bread. A lot of the nfa stuff doesn't exist here too. I could walk into my local gun shop and buy a shotgun with an 8" barrel, no strings attached. Isn't treated any different from a single shot 22
When I started watching, I didn't realize it was 38 minutes long. I was so engrossed, I didn't realize its length until 30 minutes in. Suffice to say, I greatly enjoyed the discussion.
The most realistic depiction of the M2 I have seen in a video game is in Red Orchestra 2's Rising Storm expansion. You can use it around corners, and it's range seems realistically long!
A big challenge in games is to make a flamethrower fun instead of sucking but still have a downside where it's not too OP. Cold Fear did a great job, it's powerful but the downside is using it outside you have to keep the wind in mind as the storm could send it back at you.
That's pretty ironic actually that the Chemical Weapons Department entirely by accident wound up creating a weapon that kills via flooding the area with poison gas when they had set out to create a weapon that kills people by setting them on fire.
Awesome episode. What a gem of information Charlie Hobson is, nice work getting him involved Ian!
"Gee I sure would like to set those people on fire over there, but I'm way to far away to get the job done. If only I had a way to throw flame on them."- Gorge carlin.
I was reading about the Soviets in Afghanistan and apparently they did use flamethrowers against the Afghans in the caves.However their more common method was a a rocket launcher called the RPO-A(Recoilless Infantry Flame Projector) also known as the "Bumblebee".It was a thermobaric single shot weapon.The US forces also used thermobaric rocket launchers against the Taliban.
Russians also used the LPO -50 flamethrower available through I.M.A.
Yes legally check your state laws.
Charlie probably just woke up one day early in his youth and said to himself "When I grow up, I'd like to be a flamethrower expert."
These are the sort of people that we need to support. Because flamethrowers.
I'm a new subscriber but I must say this is an exceptional and informative Chanel. Particularly the early military rifles and their origins. An excellent visual and audio archive.
This is easily one of the coolest videos youve done Ian. Thanks!
Mr. Hobson is awesome! Reminds me a lot of one of my Uncles who is a walking book of knowledge!
Thanks Ian for starting this series. Can not wait for more to come!
Awesome video. What a treat to make videos with this guy.
Great to see the video at last and as usual you have both done a exceptional job in providing a wide range of information, keep on doing the good work.
Ian is humble... he dont measure effort to share the talk with anyone more specialized than him... perfect.
Goodness.
Gracious.
Great balls.
Of fire.
You know, his nickname was "the Killer".
What an absolutely fascinating video. Just great. Many thanks for providing an insight to this subject. Charlie Hobson is a gem. Thanks again.
Why didn't I just become a flamethrower expert. Seems a cool job.
+Ratzfourtyfour It's so simple now...... flamethrowers!
Thanks for the great upload, Ian! Great interview
Thanks Ian and Charlie, that was eye opening and incredibly interesting!
I just want to say how cool these guys are, geeking out on this crazy fearsome weapon.
Loved this video. Thanks for doing it. Crazy hearing him talk about flamethrowers and fuel safety.. Now theres a whole market coming up for the small gasoline based handheld ones..
I'm really excited for this series of videos!
hahahaha i just accidentally clicked on this video... listened to the first 20 sec and apparently watched the whole 38 min.
It was so interesting. Didn't expect this at all! Great job FW!
This was an especially interesting video Ian, thank you for doing what you do :)
As always you pulled out cool weapons!
Thanks for the awesome videos
Very cool, thank you for this interesting lesson! You don't really hear much about flamethrowers, so most stuff was quite new to me. Your channel is just awesome!
Very few things are quite as fascinating and horrifying as the flamethrower
And this is why I subscribe to your channel. Awesome vid on a really cool forgotten weapon. Thanks Charlie for taking the time to share your knowledge, enjoyed it tremendously.
Just went thru training with Charlie today. What a great guy and it was incredibly fun to shoot the flame thrower.
I've been curious about the German Flammenwerfer 35 and Flammenwerfer 41. I've seen them but I don't know much about them. Will you be covering them?
+Ander Giménez Hopefully in the future.
+Forgotten Weapons Ian u are a god amongst men
Define Bruh yeah, Gun Jesus
Great Video Ian. Can't wait to see more!
Great video. Always good to get info from the guys who used them and knows the in and out.
I really like the videos where he interviews some interesting person. More videos like these please, without slacking in the other videos lol.
Also, I think it would be pretty interesting to have a video giving a really general overview of that book collection. I know that there are videos that go more in depth into individual books, and I really like those, but a super general book review would be nice just to see what's out there, with a more in-depth version later. :)
Met Charlie Hobson before he got well known .It was at his first Knob Creek .He was there by his self with an M-2 flamethrower in a big wooden crate marked with chemical corps markings on a trailer behind his vehicle very nice cool informative guy a pleasure to meet him .
this guy would be my best friend. all the chemistry, all the mechanical tests and integrity work, wow.
Soooooo glad I support FW on Patreon!
VERY interesting video! Especially the second half of the video where he explains the rig in more detail. Thanks!
This and the Girardoni Air Gun are in my opinion the coolest pieces of history you ever made a video about. They have a metric ton to tell about history and firearms development. Now please review this flamethrower in detail, I think it will make a lot of your viewers more than happy (me included). Your videos are awesome! :-)
I gladly support you on patreon for just this type of videos. Keep up the good work
ur videos just keep getting better
another great video !!! keep up the hard work, i really appreciate it .
Great intro video, looking forward to the other flame thrower videos
Awesome stuff man, would like to see more stuff like this
Thanks for this Ian, absolutely fascinating. He really is the Flamethrower expert.
The best $1 I have spent in a very long time. Thank you. 8-)
Great vid Ian. Very entertaining and informative.
What an awesome video you've made. A real treat on a topic that's not always touched on due to its fire hazard ;)
Charlie Hobson seems like a really cool guy, excited for more flamethrower history :)
Very informative & enjoyable film,thank you.
Fantastic video thanks guys for sharing.
I know this is off topic, but this Flame Thrower Expert guy is a very accomplished salesman. I would hire him in an instance! Excellent!
This was really interesting, thank you!
good ol' flammenwerfer.. it werfs.. flammen!
+Richard Bottom a flamethrower. It throws flame.
My friends and I lovingly refer to it as the Flaming Waffle
Great video guys.They also mounted these on vehicles didn't they?Were they the same units or did they have larger tanks?More range?
+JohnLeePedimore They did; a different unit designated the M3. Charlie's book has a whole chapter on them.
I hope this fellow has an apprentice . This kind of knowledge is irreplaceable . not to mention the test equipment operation . Well done forgotten weapons !
Totally agree truly irreplaceable knowledge !
Awesome story. Good stuff Ian!
It should be pointed out that water isn't an organic molecule. An organic molecule is any molecule with carbon in it. What I'm assuming he was referring to is all the organic impurities that you would find in water in nature, as the water (in say, a jungle) would have a lot of plant matter dissolved in it. Plant matter has carbon, and therefore is organic. The impurities in the water were what was probably breaking down the napalm, in addition to water being a great solvent.
I want to sit down and have a few beers with this man. very interesting!
Now that was a very interesting video. Thanks a lot.
Fragmentation grenades, mines, RPGs, flamethrowers, all perfectly legal.
But god forbid you have an M16 made after 1986.
+b00ce Since when can you buy a frag grenade without going through insane amounts of legal footwork?
I'd think if you can navigate the legal jungle to legally get a live grenade, you'd be able to do the same for post-86 automatic weapons.
Umm..........
+Not Pulverman No you can't, any machine gun manufactured after 86 can not be owned by a private U.S. civilian. Unless we are talking dealer samples but that is another kettle of fish. At least with live grenades you can own them.
+b00ce You forgot artillery pieces and tanks.
Hand grenades are regulated under the National Firearms Act (“NFA”), a federal law first passed in 1934 and amended by the Crime Control Act of 1968. The 1968 amendments made it illegal to possess “destructive devices,” which includes grenades. (26 U.S.C. § 5801.) There’s no doubt that a live hand grenade designed for military combat fits within the law’s provisions-non-military people may not possess them.
Just a few notes:
16:50 Water ISN'T an organic molecule as it does not contain carbon.
- "water is the universal solvent" - Not really, it's a polar solvent, it won't work as an apolar solvent (olive oil, diesel, etc...).
..possibly some of the diluted compounds in napalm have some hydrophilic ability hence attract water and transfer to it, but I could also be due to other factors.
The carbon monoxide theory, I have a couple of questions:
Weren't the soldiers entering the bunker also affected by the CO ?
Could it be the heat instead, similar to heat stroke??
Vary fascinating & informative, thanks.
Surreal listening to two nice guys discussing burning or smothering people to death.
They talked about how troops were happy to have a weapon that actually worked, but it's interesting how they didn't talk about how troops (especially in the pacific) still hated carrying this weapon. Because flamethrower troops were the first targeted by the Japanese.
Hearing him talk was inspring. Very interesting stuff.
What an amiable guy! He's as passionate about flamethrowers as Ian is about guns.
I got to have lunch with Charlie and a few other people after a shoot once. I count myself lucky to have learned from his knowledge.
Excellent video!
Thank You Ian for a great video! I usually don't watch UA-cam videos over 20 minutes long but knowing the fact I always gain knowledge from yours was enough for me to watch.
Never even considered carbon monoxide, really fascinating
+Skullnaught Same here.
Still wondering why all the flamethrower users weren't affected by the CO , since they were fairly close to the flames as well. Carbon monoxide at room temperature is LIGHTER than air - so the heated flames wouldn't be sending much CO down into tunnels
I heard the flames took all of the oxygen out of cave too.
This guy is wrong, it is asphyxiation from lack of oxygen. NOT CO poisoning. As for people running around on fire, there are, oh, maybe 100 combat films made of people doing just that. He may be an expert on the mechanical side, but otherwise... no.
@@kurtbjorn
Where is your proof?
I learned a lot, thanks for the video.
Awesome interview' great subject, cool expert.
"flamethrowers? Yeah, I've got a flamethrower guy..." Ian is The Man.
awesome, thanks for making this video
What a cool video. And Charlie sure seems to be the expert he says he is.
Awesome video, very unique
Tons of knowledge! THX
That was wonderful. Thank you.
excellent vid! very well done!
Great talk!
Well, I have one small problem with the video. CO bound to hemoglobin does disassociate. It isn't permaent. And it does so more rapidly if pure oxygen is given to the poisoned individual. The normal half life is 4-6 hours but this can be decreased to about an hour if pure oxygen is administered. You can check information about carboxyhemoglobin on the web to validate this. Carboxyhemoglobin is the name of the compound that is formed when CO binds to hemoglobin.
Still, I really like the video.
great video thanks for doing it
Great video...but I liked reading the titles on your bookshelf even more!!
What a knowledgeable guy.
Very interesting video!
Wow, this is probably the only educational youtube channel. and i am not even into guns. still very interesting.
very interesting...thx for that
Hank Scorpio: "But Homer on your way out, if want to kill somebody it would help me out a lot."
Always been my favourite Simpsons episode. Hank is the best.
When you talked about the fact that the vast majority of deaths caused by flamethrowers were from carbon monoxide poisoning it made me wonder about the Soldiers and Marines that operated the flamethrowers. Were they ever exposed to or killed by carbon monoxide from their own weapons? Or was their training such that they knew to avoid being exposed, I would assume not seeing as how it was not know that flamethrowers killed in this way until much later. Also when did flamethrowers go out of military usage, or if they are still used today in what ways are they used? I love the show, keep up the good work.
+Tate “Bandito” Jackson President Jimmy Carter banned the practice in the U.S. They must have been discontinued sometime in the late 60's or 70's.
I'm not exactly sure though.
Great interview. That guy is a great Historian! Great video thank you both.
At 6:00 Nerve agent was not used in Word War 1. This first class of nerve agents, the G-Series, was accidentally discovered in Germany on December 23, 1936, by a research team headed by Gerhard Schrader working for IG Farben. Since 1934, Schrader had been working in a laboratory in Leverkusen to develop new types of insecticides for IG Farben. While working toward his goal of improved insecticide, Schrader experimented with numerous compounds, eventually leading to the preparation of tabun.