Krabster
09-01-2010, 01:38 PM
Just watched this show on DVR, and found many inaccuracies, and I'd like your comments. It was supposed to be a documentary of the history of the use of fire in warfare, but the structure of it seemed pretty odd to me. Quite a bit of time was spent on Greek Fire, flaming arrows, and the use of trebuchets and catapults to launch flaming projectiles into ancient cities. Quite a bit of time was spent on flamethrowers, but details were lacking. I felt that napalm and white phosphorous got short shrift. They were mentioned more-or-less in passing, while they are extremely important in the history of flame weapons. Thermobaric weapons were referred to as "the ultimate incendiary", which is just wrong. The primary function of thermobaric weapons is to form a blast wave, with secondary effects such as eliminating oxygen temporarily from the immediate area.
The narrator also says that in the European theater in WWII, because of the massive losses suffered by the Allies during daytime "precision" bombing raids, that the Allies switched to nighttime carpet bombing raids. This is maybe a half-truth in that the British switched to mostly nighttime bombing, but the Americans continued the daytime raids. He also states that "2000 pounds" of incendiaries were dropped on Dresden. I'm guessing he meant tons.
The Korean War is hardly mentioned at all. I believe that the use of flamethrowers and napalm reached its peak during the Korean War. Flamethrowers had significant reliability and other problems during WWII, but were well-developed by the end of the war and were available in improved forms in Korea. Flame tanks and napalm were also widely used in Korea.
No mention is made of British, Australian, or Russian flamethrowers, or for that matter any modern flamethrower other than the German or American models.
Also, the flamethrower is characterized as a weapon for making enemy soldiers abandon their positions, surrender, etc. My understanding of the flamethrower is that while these are desireable effects, the primary function of the flamethrower is to set things and people on fire. It is an incredibly brutal weapon, and if I had seen my comrades blasted with burning napalm, I'd probably either run away or surrender, too. The program seems to avoid confronting the harsh reality that burning people to death is what these things do.
They also fail to mention the WWI Zeppelin raids over London, which used incendiary bombs as well, but were less effective.
In other words, I thought the program didn't do a very good job of explaining the uses of fire as a weapon.
The narrator also says that in the European theater in WWII, because of the massive losses suffered by the Allies during daytime "precision" bombing raids, that the Allies switched to nighttime carpet bombing raids. This is maybe a half-truth in that the British switched to mostly nighttime bombing, but the Americans continued the daytime raids. He also states that "2000 pounds" of incendiaries were dropped on Dresden. I'm guessing he meant tons.
The Korean War is hardly mentioned at all. I believe that the use of flamethrowers and napalm reached its peak during the Korean War. Flamethrowers had significant reliability and other problems during WWII, but were well-developed by the end of the war and were available in improved forms in Korea. Flame tanks and napalm were also widely used in Korea.
No mention is made of British, Australian, or Russian flamethrowers, or for that matter any modern flamethrower other than the German or American models.
Also, the flamethrower is characterized as a weapon for making enemy soldiers abandon their positions, surrender, etc. My understanding of the flamethrower is that while these are desireable effects, the primary function of the flamethrower is to set things and people on fire. It is an incredibly brutal weapon, and if I had seen my comrades blasted with burning napalm, I'd probably either run away or surrender, too. The program seems to avoid confronting the harsh reality that burning people to death is what these things do.
They also fail to mention the WWI Zeppelin raids over London, which used incendiary bombs as well, but were less effective.
In other words, I thought the program didn't do a very good job of explaining the uses of fire as a weapon.