The M202 FLASH (FLame Assault SHoulder) is a US-made 66mm infantry multiple rocket launcher that entered service in the late 1960s.
Profile[]
Designed to replace obsolete and dangerous WW2-era infantry flamethrowers with a safer and longer-ranged delivery system for incendiary rounds (as indeed was its Soviet counterpart the RPO "Rys," ancestor of the RPO-A 'Shmel'), it firede M74 rockets whose M235 warhead was filled with with 1.34 pounds of thickened pyrophoric agent (TPA), which consists of triethylaluminum (TEA) thickened with polyisobutylene. This substance burns at around 2,200 degrees F (1,200 degrees C), far hotter than conventional flamethrower fuels, and is quite capable of burning underwater. While sometimes said to be derived from the experimental XM191, the XM191 designation actually refers to the "weapons system" of M202 launcher and M74 rocket clip, a designation dropped by the time the weapon was standardized in early 70s. The launcher itself has always been known as M202.
History[]
The United States Army issued M202s as needed, with each rifle company's headquarters being authorized a single launcher, generally issued as one per rifle platoon. While vastly more lightweight than the M2 flamethrower it replaced, the weapon was still bulky to use and the ammunition suffered from reliability problems. As a result, the weapon had mostly been relegated to storage by the mid-1980s, even though it nominally remains a part of the U.S. Army arsenal.
In USMC service, the M202 was issued to dedicated teams of 0351 Assaultman at the battalion level. The Weapons Platoon's assault section contained three squads, each with a launcher team. With the introduction of the SMAW in the mid 1980s, the M202 was phased out and replaced by SMAW launchers.
Usage In Hellsing[]
Luke Valentine and Jan Valentine ambushes the Hellsing Manor and to prevent them to escaping, Luke uses this to blow up The Round Table's cars.