Intro
The flamethrower has been around for a very long time, as far back as the 5th century b.c. Now recently in the last 100 years made a reappearance and this time it is even more deadly than before. The reoccurrence of popularity came about in around 1915 when a German scientist named Richard Fiedler came up with the first modern flamethrower. The flamethrower is a weapon that if you couldn’t tell by reading the name, it shoots out flames. How a flamethrower actually works is not as hard as it sounds “These took the form of lengthy tubes filled with burning solids (such as coal or sulphur), and which were used in the same way as blow-guns: by blowing into one end of the tube the solid material inside would be propelled towards the operator's…show more content… “Flamethrowers have also proved controversial because of the dangers they pose to soldiers who operate them. The back mounted weapon is very visible and explosive. As a result, soldiers who operate flamethrowers have often found themselves the target of snipers.
Flamethrower operators are often viewed with particular scorn and were rarely taken prisoner in past wars. Typically, flamethrower operators have been executed once captured.
The controversy and dangers posed by flamethrowers have led to calls for the weapon to be banned in international treaties. However, to date, there are no treaties that explicitly ban the use of the weapon in combat. The U.S. is one of the few countries to voluntarily discontinue use of flamethrowers. The weapon has proven popular with terrorist organizations ranging from Al Qaeda to the Irish Republican Army.”