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American flamethrower tanks provided a horrific edge during island fighting in the Pacific. U.S. portable flamethrowers were first used in combat during the Guadalcanal campaign in January 1943. It quickly became apparent that the exposed flamethrower operator was vulnerable to Japanese small arms fire. So the idea arose to mount the portable flamethrowers in a tank as a means to reach Japanese bunkers without excessive casualties. After some experimentation in New Caledonia in the autumn of 1943, the first combat use of American flamethrower tanks took place in January 1944 on Bougainville in a little-known encounter against an enemy stronghold called the “Hornet’s Nest.”

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