Napalm= Naptha + Palm oil....
But there were lots of mixtures used, right from the beginning...
And yes, USMC had flamethrower Shermans in the Pacific..
W flame projector and 75mm gun...
According to my pop, who was there!!! On the ground, doin the biz....
And they didn't call them Croc's either... That was a british thing...
Argue if ya want
RC
Developed by a team of Harvard chemists in 1942-1943 led by (noted organic chemist) Louis Fieser, Napalm's name is a combination of the names of its original ingredients, coprecipitated aluminum salts of
naphthenic and
palmitic acids. Naphthenic acid is produced by oxidizing naptha. Palmitic acid can be obtained from palm oil, but dairy products will work as well. So you're basically correct, however further chemical reduction of the naptha & palm oil is required. The combined acids were packaged in a powdered form and mixed with gasoline in the field.
Oddly enough,
modern Napalm isn't napalm at all, but a mixture gasoline, benzene & polystyrene.
to your Pop, but Brits did modify four Shermans into flame tanks with the same armored tanker trailer as the Churchill Croc. And since the Brit's created them, they felt compelled to call them "M4 Crocodiles".
Just the facts
