Visiting Fort Moore - M67 Flamethrower Tank
by theFluffi
Autistic Tank Nut
a month ago
Yes. This is a tank that throws flames. Supposedly it was also known as the Zippo (as in the lighter brand itself), but that might also be a post-war kind of nickname. Putting that aside, the M67 is basically an M48 that has decided to trade its 90mm gun for the ability to commit arson on a massive lethal scale. Capable of sending a rod of deadly napalm out to up to 250 meters, this tank saw service in Vietnam predominantly as part of mop-up operations, where its weapon proved effective both in rooting out enemy forces as well as an effective demoralizing too; even among the most fanatical of resistance, death by fire/napalm is something that nobody wishes to risk enduring.
As far as I know, this was the last known use of flamethrower tanks in combat, at least under US service. Towards the late half of the 20th century, flamethrowers were starting to fall out of use in modern militaries, not because they're banned from use in war, but rather due to the fact that most flamethrowers were simply too cumbersome and dangerous for the operator (that being said, it's still a war crime to use flamethrowers against civilian populations, but that hasn't stopped anyone from trying to do just that, unfortunately). Around this point, thermobaric weapons were also becoming pretty widespread, which can provide similar effects without posing as much of a risk to the user as flamethrowers do. Yeah, there are outliers (mainly China), but as a whole, the flamethrower (and by extension the flamethrower tank) have largely fallen out of favor in the modern day, and since the 1960s there hasn't really been any new flamethrower-armed vehicles...that aren't insurgent-based technicals.
For those wondering why I'm confident that this is an M67...the barrel kinda gives it away. But that's honestly the only external difference I can tell from it. Somewhere in the tank's guts they found space to put the fuel tanks for the flamethrower, and depending on the specific model, those fuel tanks can hold as much as 1400 litres of fuel (or about 370 gallons) in total. Beyond that, there were some other minor changes, like the implementation of storage bays where the 90mm ammunition racks to the driver's left and right would be (which could be used to store extra tools, spare parts for the flamethrower, etc.); the bow head lights being slightly modified on account of the greater depression angles of the flamethrower; and the relocation of the auxiliary engine muffler (for safety). You likely won't be able to really notice those changes immediately; neither would I, but they're there.
I decided to refer to Tanks Encyclopedia's article this time around, mainly for explaining what separates the M67 from a typical M48. Probably once I get the Ontos uploaded I will start going back on my older posts and start seeing what I can do to improve the information/details present. Given the age of these older posts, I'll have to use my journal posts more frequently if I want to show people what changes I've made (I really don't see any point in deleting and re-uploading; really, I don't). Until then, hope you like this tank. I think it's cool. Cheers!
As far as I know, this was the last known use of flamethrower tanks in combat, at least under US service. Towards the late half of the 20th century, flamethrowers were starting to fall out of use in modern militaries, not because they're banned from use in war, but rather due to the fact that most flamethrowers were simply too cumbersome and dangerous for the operator (that being said, it's still a war crime to use flamethrowers against civilian populations, but that hasn't stopped anyone from trying to do just that, unfortunately). Around this point, thermobaric weapons were also becoming pretty widespread, which can provide similar effects without posing as much of a risk to the user as flamethrowers do. Yeah, there are outliers (mainly China), but as a whole, the flamethrower (and by extension the flamethrower tank) have largely fallen out of favor in the modern day, and since the 1960s there hasn't really been any new flamethrower-armed vehicles...that aren't insurgent-based technicals.
For those wondering why I'm confident that this is an M67...the barrel kinda gives it away. But that's honestly the only external difference I can tell from it. Somewhere in the tank's guts they found space to put the fuel tanks for the flamethrower, and depending on the specific model, those fuel tanks can hold as much as 1400 litres of fuel (or about 370 gallons) in total. Beyond that, there were some other minor changes, like the implementation of storage bays where the 90mm ammunition racks to the driver's left and right would be (which could be used to store extra tools, spare parts for the flamethrower, etc.); the bow head lights being slightly modified on account of the greater depression angles of the flamethrower; and the relocation of the auxiliary engine muffler (for safety). You likely won't be able to really notice those changes immediately; neither would I, but they're there.
I decided to refer to Tanks Encyclopedia's article this time around, mainly for explaining what separates the M67 from a typical M48. Probably once I get the Ontos uploaded I will start going back on my older posts and start seeing what I can do to improve the information/details present. Given the age of these older posts, I'll have to use my journal posts more frequently if I want to show people what changes I've made (I really don't see any point in deleting and re-uploading; really, I don't). Until then, hope you like this tank. I think it's cool. Cheers!
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