[Will Smith] I’ve got to get me one of these ![/Will Smith] 
“The fact that the flamethrower exists means that, sometime, somebody said to himself, ‘You know, I’d love to set that guy on fire, but he’s just too far away.’” (George Carlin)
The Germans were the first to use the modern flamethrower in combat, during the First World War:
http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/flamethrowers.htm
It wasn’t the most effective weapon then, for reasons already cited here: it was a short-range weapon; it could easily blow up the operator; and whenever it appeared in battle, the enemy troops tended to focus their firepower on it. A flamethrower operator who was captured by the enemy was not shown much mercy.
Still, not a pleasant weapon to be on the receiving end of.
Okay, now I need a Humvee, with that flamethrower attachment, and a 1920’s style “Death Ray” on the roof, and I would never have a problem with traffic jams again.
Actually it was the Byzantines who invented the flamethrower in the seventh century. Back then naval battles were fought between wooden ships fighting at close range. The Byzantines invented a liquid that they could ignite on fire and pump through a high pressure hose at enemy ships to set them burning. The actual ingredients of “Greek Fire” were a carefully guarded secret and have been lost in history but it was an effective weapon for centuries.
It always grates on me when I read that they don’t know how to reproduce “Greek Fire.”
Are we not a society of the most advanced chemical engineers ever to walk the face of the earth??? They can’t find out how the ancient Byzantines mixed up a fluid by experimenting with various materials that the ancient Byzantines had access to!!! Is there any chance that they just invented napalm millenia before its time???
I want ANSWERS, dammit! Not “lost in mists of time” bullshit…
In fact, I’ll open a thread on it, keep an eye on the GQ board.