M202A1 FLASH

Launcher, Rocket, 66mm, 4-Tube, M202
Type	Multishot incendiary rocket launcher
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	See Operators
Production history
Designed	1970s
Produced	1978–present
Variants	M202, M202A1
Specifications
Weight	11.5 lb (5.22 kg) empty 26.6 lb (12.07 kg) loaded
Length	27 in (686 mm) closed 34.75 in (883 mm) extended
Cartridge	M235 Incendiary TPA
Caliber	2.6 in (66 mm)
Action	Single shot
Muzzle velocity	375 ft/s
Effective firing range	22 yd (20 m) minimum
Maximum firing range	820 yd (750 m) (area target) 219 yd (200 m) (point target)
Feed system	4 rocket clip
Sights	Reflex

The M202 FLASH (FLame Assault SHoulder Weapon) is an American rocket launcher, designed to replace the World War II–vintage flamethrowers (such as the M1 and the M2) that remained the military's standard incendiary devices well into the 1960s. The M202 is based on the prototype XM191 napalm rocket launcher that saw extensive testing in the Vietnam War.

The M202A1 features four tubes that can load 66 mm incendiary rockets. The M74 rockets are equipped with M235 warheads, containing approximately 1.34 pounds (0.61 kg) of an incendiary agent. The substance, often mistaken for napalm, is in fact TPA (thickened pyrophoric agent).

TPA is triethylaluminum (TEA) thickened with polyisobutylene. TEA, an organometallic compound, is pyrophoric and burns spontaneously at temperatures of 1200 °C (2192 °F) when exposed to air. It burns "white hot" because of the aluminum, much hotter than gasoline or napalm. The light and heat emission is very intense and can produce skin burns from some (close) distance without direct contact with the flame, by thermal radiation alone.

As the caliber is shared with the contemporary M72 LAW antitank rocket launcher, it would have been theoretically possible to fire HEAT anti-tank rockets in lieu of the incendiary payload; the XM191 prototype was capable of this. No such round was developed for the M202.

...
Wikipedia