Nicknamed the Zippo, these flame tanks gave soldiers and Marines a tactical advantage against fortified enemy units.
Moreover, smoking is even prohibited during basic training.
Yet, there was a time when smoking and the U.S. military went hand in hand.
A U.S. Marine Corps flame thrower tank in action during January 1966. Image: NARA
Even today, Zippo produces a line of military-themed commemorative lighters.
However, the lighters arent the only connection between Zippo and the U.S. military.
Though it was the last flamethrower tank used by the U.S. military, it wasnt actually the first.
A pair of U.S.M.C. M67 flamethrower tanks engage targets in a Department of Defense training film. Image: NARA
World War I also introduced the tank to the battlefield.
It isnt any significant surprise to find that the worlds armed forces might want to combine the two.
In place of its main gun, it was fitted with a Ronson flamethrower.
A German assault team trains how to attack enemy trenches with flamethrowers and grenades.
During the Korean War, the U.S.M.C.
sought a more effective platform to replace the aging M4 Sherman.
Enter the M67
Production of the M67 began in 1952 and continued until 1954.
A Marine M3 Satan flamethrowing tank turns on the heat to wipe out a Japanese pillbox on Saipan. Image: Cpl. Clifford G. Jolly/U.S.M.C.
The tank was, however, too late for the war in Korea.
Nevertheless, the Marine Corps leadership apparently liked what they saw in the newly designed flame tank.
The only difference was in said chassis, as the flamethrower was identical on all models.
A Marine flamethrower tank based on the M4 Sherman lays down a stream in heavy fighting near Naha, Okinawa. Image: Cpl. Robert Cusack/U.S.M.C.
Externally there were a few differences from the basicM48 Patton medium tank.
However, the mock-up gun was fitted to the M67 to disguise it while on the move.
This required that a hydraulic equilibrator machine be introduced so as to balance the weapon.
A U.S. Marine M67 flame tank of the 1st Marine Division burns out a Viet Cong position on July 7, 1967. Image: U.S.M.C.
Instead, a huge fuel tank was placed in the loaders position within the turret.
It wasnt an ideal setup, but there werent really any other options available.
All tanks can be described as cramped, and the M67 even more so.
The M67 “Zippo” tank was fitted with a lookalike 90mm main gun. The iconic muzzle brake was not needed to launch a stream of fire.
The total burn time in operation was around a minute, depending on the size of the nozzle employed.
Nozzles of 19 mm (.75-inches) and 22 mm (.88-inches) were the most common.
The flame tube had an approximate range of 280 yards (256 meters).
A Marine tank fires flame into some brush north of Camp Carroll where Viet Cong occupied tunnels. Image: J.L. Blick/U.S.M.C.
It was, of course, in that conflict where the M67 Zippo saw its only actions.
Urban Combat with the Zippo
It wasnt just in the jungles where the M67 saw success.
The M67 proved even better suited to the urban combat in Hue than it did in the jungles.
A M67 flame tank from C Co. 1st Tank Bn. fires its deadly flame into an enemy position 10 mines south of DaNang in May 1967. Image: Cpl. R. P. Curry/U.S.M.C.
Another issue that limited the success of the M67 was that the flamethrower was noisy even by tank standards.
There are reports of tank commanders putting their heads out of the turret so as to direct the gunner.
In a firefight that was also far from ideal.
Flame tanks of the 1st Tank Battalion engage Viet Cong combatants during Operation Doser near Binh Son in the Quang Ngai Province. Image: NARA
It was employed in a limited role by the United States Army.
Soon after the U.S. withdrew its forces from Southeast Asia, the Zippo was essentially snuffed out.
The M67 was officially retired from service in 1974 without a replacement.
These Marines demonstrate the power of the M67 in a 1970 U.S. Navy training video. Image: NARA
It was the last flamethrower tank to be employed by the U.S. military.
Of the 109 that were produced, it is an actual mystery as to how many actually survive.
Another can now be found outside the Engineering School at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
Based on the success of the M67, the American armed forces looked to incorporate flamethrowers in other contexts. Here a U.S. Navy patrol boat tests a Zippo in January 1969. Image: NARA
These serve as the final reminders of the M67 Zippo.
