The
M2, which was the WWII model, had hexagonal gas caps and hourglass frames. It was also called the
M2-2, M2 for the tank groups and -2 for the wand type. The
M2A1-2 is the variation of the M2 devised during the
Korean War. These had straight sided backpack frames, vented gas caps, a cylinder sized regulator and a safety valve. These are much more common today than WWII models.
M2A1-7 was a
flamethrower used by the American troops during the
Vietnam War. It is the updated version of the M2A1-2 unit used during The Korean War. It has four controls: • Back of the rear grip: firing safety catch. • Front of the rear grip: firing trigger. • On top of the front part: igniter safety catch • Under the front part: igniter trigger. The
M9A1-7 was the most common model used in Vietnam and is much lighter and easier to use. Tanks for this weapon are commonly found, but most wands were destroyed after the Vietnam war. Some
U.S. Army flamethrowers have a front handgrip with the same shape as the rear handgrip. In these models the igniter controls are on the front handgrip, arranged in the same way as the rear handgrip controls. The M2 was replaced by the M9A1-7 flamethrower which was used in Vietnam. The M9A1-7 was replaced by the
M202A1 FLASH. ==Operators==