Napalm, An American Biography (2024)

FAQs

Why is napalm illegal? ›

International law does not specifically prohibit the use of napalm or other incendiaries against military targets, but use against civilian populations was banned by the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) in 1980.

Witnesses to napalm's impact described eyelids so burned they could not be shut and flesh that looked like "swollen, raw meat." In Vietnam, the first televised war, viewers began to see images of the civilian casualties caused by napalm bombs, and a January 1967 article in Ramparts magazine presented color photographs ...

What does napalm do to humans? Due to its sticky nature, it can stick to one's skin even after ignition. That is why it produces awful burns on the human body. Even brief contact with napalm can cause second-degree burns, leading to keloids.

The United Nations banned napalm use against civilian targets in 1980, but this has not stopped its use in many conflicts around the world. Although the use of traditional napalm has generally ceased, modern “variants” have been deployed, allowing some countries to assert they do not use napalm.

It is not illegal to make napalm in your garage, it is just illegal to use it against civilians under international law. Using it against enemy troops in wartime is perfectly OK.

Despite some assertions, flamethrowers are not generally banned. However the United Nations Protocol on Incendiary Weapons forbids the use of incendiary weapons (including flamethrowers) against civilians. It also forbids their use against forests unless they are used to conceal combatants or other military objectives.

Versions of napalm B containing white phosphorus will even burn underwater (if there is trapped oxygen in folds of cloth, for example) so even jumping into rivers and lakes won't help those unfortunate souls attacked with this vile weapon.

Mark Greenside explains “Napalm was this hideous, jellied gas burning at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It didn't just kill you; it tortured you. It has a complete reference to Zyclon-B, the gas they used in the concentration camps. It felt like chemical warfare at its worst.”

Invented in 1942, by Julius Fieser, a Harvard organic chemist, napalm was the ideal incendiary weapon: cheap, stable, and sticky—a burning gel that stuck to roofs, furniture, and skin.

Patients will recount hearing the sounds of an explosion and seeing flames, and will have excruciatingly painful burns from the exposure. Napalm produces carbon monoxide as a by-product of combustion. Thus, also evaluate individuals exposed to burning napalm for carbon monoxide exposure.

Does napalm smell like? ›

It smells like … victory.” I asked a Vietnam vet if he could recall what napalm actually smelled like. He responded instantly, “Gasoline and laundry detergent.. It smells like what it is.

The name napalm was derived from the first parts of the words naphthalene and palmitate. When they mixed this with gasoline, they got a viscous sticky brown liquid which burned more slowly and produced higher temperatures, making it a very effective weapon for fire-bombing cities, for example.

While napalm still exists, the US has mostly replaced it with fuel air explosives (aka thermobaric or vacuum bombs). In other cases, cluster munitions would be used.

The more modern napalm is composed primarily of benzene and polystyrene. Since the mixture is difficult to ignite a reliable pyrotechnic initiator must be used such as thermite or white phosphorus.

Though officially titled “The Terror of War,” the photo is better known by the nickname given to the badly burned, naked 9-year-old at its center: “Napalm Girl”. The girl, since identified as Phan Thi Kim Phuc, ultimately survived her injuries.

Napalm was used very successfully against the Germans and Japanese. To the front-line soldier, napalm was often life-saving and the only way to flush out the enemy. War, Neer reminds us, often brings out the worst as well as the best among those who take part in it.

On a realpolitik level, napalm was banned by the 1980 UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons as an incendiary weapon with indiscriminate effects. The US signed an international treaty to not use napalm after the end of the Vietnam war.

Conventional napalm burns for 15-30 seconds, whereas napalm B burns for up to 10 minutes. Napalm B provided the United States with an incendiary substance with enhanced stability and controllability and, as such, became the weapon of choice during the Vietnam War.

Kim Phu`c, a survivor from the Napalm bombing, says “ Napalm is the most painful thing you can ever imagine, water boils at 212 degrees fahrenheit, Napalm generates temperatures at 1,500 - 2,200 degrees fahrenheit.” Kim had third degree burns all over her body.