Description
TM 9-1370-203-12 Change 3 Military Pyrotechnics Technical Manual Update, May 1975
Item Overview
This Change 3 publication updates TM 9-1370-203-12, Military Pyrotechnics, originally issued on March 15, 1973. Dated May 1975, it offers collectors a record of the Army’s continuing updates to its technical references. This listing is for the Change 3 supplement only. The complete base manual, pyrotechnic devices, and related equipment are not included.
Publication Details
The parent manual’s “-12” designation identifies operator and organizational maintenance coverage. This level of publication served equipment users and personnel responsible for care at the unit level.
- Manual number: TM 9-1370-203-12
- Publication title: Military Pyrotechnics
- Update designation: Change 3
- Update date: May 1975
- Base manual date: March 15, 1973
- Service: U.S. Army
- Language: English
Purpose and Publication History
Numbered changes allowed Army units to revise selected material while keeping an existing manual in service. Change 3 appeared more than two years after the base edition, at the close of the Vietnam War era. It belongs with that edition when assembling a historical reference set. Its designation identifies the third numbered change; it does not establish that earlier changes are included.
History of Military Pyrotechnics
Military pyrotechnics include several families of devices that produce light, colored signals, or smoke. By World War II, the U.S. military had established separate ground and aircraft types with standard names and model designations. The Army’s 1943 Military Pyrotechnics manual documented these devices and their roles. Later publications continued this tradition of organizing technical information for the people who used and cared for military signaling and illumination equipment.
History of Use
Ground signals helped troops communicate with other units and aircraft, while flares provided light for observation and nighttime operations. During the Vietnam War, C-47 and C-123 aircraft flew flare missions to illuminate areas for supporting aircraft. A documented January 1967 mission involved a South Vietnamese C-47 at Tan Son Nhut Air Base. Its unit worked with U.S. Air Force advisers to provide illumination for allied ground forces and air support. These missions illustrate the broader service history behind military pyrotechnics publications.
Collector and Research Value
This supplement is useful for comparing revisions within a collection of Army manuals. Paired with the correct base edition and other updates, it helps researchers track the publication’s development. It also provides a dated reference for exhibits about Cold War military support equipment and the printed manuals that accompanied it.
Ideal For
This publication suits the following collections and research interests:
- U.S. Army technical-manual collections
- Military pyrotechnics history
- Cold War signaling and illumination exhibits
- Vietnam-era military reference libraries
- Technical-publication revision studies
- Museum and archival collections
Approx length 8", Approx width 11", Approx height .15", Approx weight .2lbs.
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