The M132 armored flamethrower (nicknamed "Zippo")[1] was a United States built flamethrower armed variant of the M113 and M113A1 armored personnel carriers developed in the early 1960s. Approximately 350 were accepted into service.
History
The first prototype of the vehicle was produced in August 1962 when a flamethrower was mounted on a M113. This prototype was only used in combat situations four times that year.
In December 1964, the First Armored Cavalry was sent two M132 flamethrower armored vehicles. Based on combat experiences with the vehicle the Army Concept Team advised that four M132s and two M113s be shipped to each regiment.
Standard operating procedure was to use the 7.62mm coaxial machine-gun to suppress the target until the M132 could be maneuvered into the flamethrower range.[1] Sometimes a “wet burst” of unignited fuel would be sprayed into the target first, only to be ignited by a second “flaming burst.”[1]