Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted: For the war load on a strike aircraft cluster munitions are much more effective and instead of producing a quick flash and little effect, they kill about everything in the fall pattern.
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Bingo!
I have been meaning to write the story of Napalm since I've read a lot about it and I've talked with countless WWII, Korea and Vietnam Vets about it. Napalm was never used after theVietnam era.
Louis Fieser and his group invented it during WWII and he wrote a great book about called "The Scientific Method". He also patented the invention under U.S. Patent #2,606,107. It's a great read.
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You are correct real Napalm went out along time ago. But the Marine Corps did use Mk77 flame bombs in ODS and twice in OIF, the first time on Safwan Hill and the 2nd time on the hostile side of the Tigris at the crossing at An Numenyah.
It was really pretty to watch.
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Cool!
One interesting side-note is that what was originally called 'Napalm' and what was used from about the mid-point of the Vietnam War on were significantly different. The second type is called Napalm B and is made up of a mixture of benzene (21%), gasoline (33%), and polystyrene (46%). The Mk77 flame bombs use this second type, Napalm B. It is far cheaper to produce, hence the change. But there were enough stockpiles of Napalm left over from WWII and Korea that it wasn't until they were well into the Vietnam War that they came up with Napalm B.
The original Napalm was made by thickening gasoline with the aluminum salt of the fatty acids of coconut oil and olive oil, or naphthenic acid. The patent I referenced goes into agonizing detail about this. The U.S. was going to use natural rubber to thicken gasoline but the Japanese captured all the significant sources for natural rubber before the war began with the U.S. Necessity is the Mother of Invention!