M132 Zippo Flamethrower

I'd be willing to bet that these vehicles did not remain in service long enough to get the MERDC scheme applied. I had thought that they were retired very shortly/quickly after returning from SEA just like the Marine M67's were in the late 60's. (Are the M67's still in storage in Barstow CA?)

I have never heard of the 132 remaining in service post VN but, I am no expert. Unless you can find some photo proof, I'd keep it your basic army-green and there ain't nothing wrong with army-green. That's the color that most would relate the Zippo to.

My curiosity searching came up empty so... happy hunting and please do let us know what you find.

You'd probably be hard pressed to find photos of one in a more modern camouflage scheme. The M132 could be converted back into a standard M113 fairly easily. Once the vehicle type was considered obsolete, it would have been sent to depot to go back to its standard personnel carrier configuration.

That being said, my camouflage pattern painting manual was dated 1975, so it could be possible that a unit with M132s would have been painting them camouflage.

http://gallery.kitmaker.net/showgallery.php/cat/14775

Hi guys,

Sorry for not answering rightaway !

Thanks for all the info, but right now I'm waiting for a book Squadron Signals M113 in Vietnam to see for some pictures !

Will be continued !!!

Gé

I have to concur with the comments made above. The only disruptive pattern paint job I have seen is OD with a light green 'mickey mouse' ear type shown on Bureau No. 12EZ96, an 11 ACR Zippo  in Vietnam bearing the nickname HOLOCAUST (Can't remember the exact 11 ACR Sqn and Tp designation but the unit bumper markings will give you that in one of the photos). The US Army experimented with various cammo schemes earlier on in the war (65-67) but came to conclusion that due to the terrain and type of warfare conducted it produced very little benefit so stuck with the OD.

Whilst the Squadron publication above is an excellent M113 in VN reference you will be disappointed if looking for M132 reference photos.

You'll find a whole lot of other vietnam era zippo photos (130+) on this link along with a wholehost of other M113 variants and a whole lot other VN era hardware (thousands of photos!) which the gentleman concerned must have spent an inordinate amount of time assembling and has been generous enough to share on the web.

http://picasaweb.google.com/zippo132

Excellent link bottomfeeder and welcome aboard!

Yep, plenty of M106s and M125s to feed your appetite as well Minimortar.

Thanks Bottomfeeder,

Great pictures !

This will be a great help !!

Gé

I was on the m132 flamethrowers in Vietnam, as far as I know none were made with that pattern.  I built a 1/6 scale of one for a unit displayI dont think my attachments are working- send me your email and I will send you photos of my model and real photos of one working, hatch shots as well

parkertwo@roadrunner.com

bottomfeeder

 The US Army experimented with various cammo schemes earlier on in the war (65-67) but came to conclusion that due to the terrain and type of warfare conducted it produced very little benefit so stuck with the OD.