Volume l0 Issue l18

Published by
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: -=-:s33ce Publlshrnq Ltd 1985

ltr,:nag'ng Editor: Sian Morse

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S-bscription Manager:
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Falklands campaign.
Picture ackno$rledgements
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 Flamefhrowers
of WbrldWll
Liqtid fire was used in medieval times by the Byzantine
narry, but its 20th-centuty use stems from Ilamethrowers
introduced by Germany during World War L By World War II
such oterror' weapons were in widespread sewice, adding
new horror to the conflict,
Fire rn all its guises has been an established weapon of war since ancient
times, but when the flamethrower appeared in its modern form on the
battleflelds of World War I it seemed that a new aspect of its horrors had
arrived Despite the outcnes of drsgnrst that arose on all sides, the
flamethrower qulckly became an established mriitary weapon and by
World War II most armies either had the flamethrower in their armouries
or were making active plans to place them there, These early World
War II flamethrowers were very drfferent beasts from those that came
later in the war, for they were usually not much different from World War
i models and in some cases, such as the several improvised designs
rushed out in the UK during 1940, virtually identical, Flamethrower tanks
had also been developed, although few armoured commanders knew
how to use them to best effect when they flrst encountered them The
potential of the mobile and armoured flamethrower was enormous, as
the Britrsh Wasp and Crocodile were to demonstrate durlng 1944 and
1945. Portable flamethrowers had many tactlcal uses as well, but gener-
a]ly speaking the portable equtpments lacked the range and impact ol
their vehrcle-borne counterparts,
Fire is a dreadful weapon for not only are rts effects dreadful to bear
and behold but it has a powerful morale effect, Mankind has an instinc-
tive dread of frre in all rts forms, and when rt is used offensively in the
7
'4
E
r b:n1iia
__- -a! r.,{r.r,, :.;i,jj
. ,..: f., .:'*;,..
:.|....|.} 1
'..
T
The Germans made extensive use of
flamethrowers during the battles
around theVerdun forts in I I I 6.
Here a Wehrmacht flamethrower
team practises for the second round
in 1939.
flamethrower's positive and obvious manner, its impact on an ene:r.- :1,.
be considerable, At times during World War II the mere slg:- :, .
flamethrower in action was enough to make the enemy break a:-j :--
often towards its operators in order to surrender. There are ::.r:
types of battlefreld target against which the flamethrower can :a','= -=.,
effect, but they are not many,
So why are they but little used today? That question ts hard ic a:-s-,'.'=:
though the main reason seems to lie in the fact that flamethro..-;::: =-=
essentrally short-range assault weapons best used in confined :::--.
Modern warfare rs expected to involve mobile forces moltnl -::-..
open country, where flame weapons can be of only little use. T:- . -: .
nrce assumption to make but it may not be borne out in practice I: *:.: ='
or close-quarter warfare is ever necessary in future, the flame::i::','.'=:
may well reappear And if it ever does the contents of thrs s:;l',' '.'. -,
provide an indication of what might be expected, Let us hope ri,'e ::'..=:
have lo encounler them agarn
AUS Marineuses anM2-2 flamethrower againsf a/apanesestrongpoint an
Okinawa. This model was adopted in March I944 and was first used in actiar
duringluly 1944 during operations onGuam. The M2-2 was produced in
greater numbers than any other American portable flamethrower, and was
used mainly in the Pacific theatre.
li,rrlrtlll]-'I]llnlr;i
,,rii.. i_tlt t,fr:ir:(&1,.r,ir
@dM1,r,,..... r r''@,...:.'rrl
 German flamethrowers
The first time the German army used The Flammenwerfer 4 l, seen here
flamethrowers was in 1914, when some resting on its side, used a hydrogen
were used against the French during ignition system that proved to be too
the Argonne fighting, but their flrst unreliable under the extreme winter
large-scale use was against the French conditions ofthe Eastern Ftont, so it
(again), this time durinq the 1916 Ver- was later replaced by a cartridge
dun campaign. These early igmition system. The larger of the two
flamethrowers were large things that tanks contained the fuel; the other
needed up to three men to handle nitrogen.
them, but development led to a much
hghter version that weighed 'only'
35,8 kg (79 1b), This was the Flammen-
werfer 35, which was issued to the new
German army dwinq the 1930s. In de-
sign terms it owed much to the World
War I equipment, and it remained in
productron in 1941,
The Flammenwerfer 35 was g[a-
dually supplemented by the Flammen-
werfer klein verbessert 40, a much
lighter 'lifebuoy' model that caried
less inflammable fuel, but relatively
few of these were produced as they
were soon replaced by the Flammen-
werfer 41, which reverted to the twin-
tank arranqement, Thrs remarned the
standard German flamethrower until
1945, though one tmpofiant modiflca-
tion was introduced after the grrm wm- was one odd model produced for use carried on a small trolley, If this were made as much use as possible of cap-
ter of 1941-2, when the intense cold by parachutists and assault troops. not enouqh there was also a much lar- twed equipments.
prevented the normal flame ignirion This was a single-shot model known as ger model carried on a trailer towed
system fuom workrng, This system was the Einstoss Flammenwerfer traqbar behind a light vehicle: this carried Specification
replaced by a cartridge iqmtron de- which flred a l/2-second burst of flre to enough fuel to produce flame for 24 Flammenwerfer35
vrce that was much more reliable at a range of about 27 m (30 yards), Not seconds, Finally, for use in static situa- Weisht: 35,8 ks (79 lb)
other temperatures as well, When full many were produced, tions there was a device known as the Fuel capacity: 1 1 B litres (2.6 Imp gal)
,

this version, which was otherwise
identical to the i941 model, weiqhed
18.14 kg (40 lb) and the range at best
was 32 m (35 yards),
All these German equipments used
:he trnnn-tank operating process one
:ark contarninq the inflammable liquid
and the other a compressed gas for
propulsion. They were a1l capable of
producing multiple bursts but there
It should not be thought that the
above were the only German
flamethrower equipments, for in this
field as in all others the Germans were
liable to produce proliferatrons oi
models. For instance, in addition to the
back-pack Flammenwerfer 35 men-
tioned above there was also a tvvo-man
versron known as the mittlerer Flamm-
nwerfer, which had its main fuel tank
Abwehrflammenwerfer 42, a singrle-
shot device to be buried rnto the
ground with only the flame projector
nozzle above ground and pointing to-
wards a target area, This was set offby
remote control as an enemy
approached, and was the German
variatron of the old fouqasse weapon
used for many years in fortrfications.
Needless to say, the Germans also
Range: 25.6 to 30 m (28 io 33 yards)
Durationof fire: l0 seconds
Thefearsome blast of aman-pack
flamethrower is seen during a night
attack at S talingrad. Flamethrower
operators had to be well protected
by friendly infantry as they werc
vulnerable and highly conspicuous.
German fl amethrowers (continued) Flamethrowers of World War trI

A Flammenwerfer35isseen jn action against a concrete emplacement in
Poland after the 1939 campaign. The Flammenwerter 35 hail a range of 25.6 to
30 m (28 to 33 yards) and carried enough fuel for I 0 seconds of use-, but it
weighed 35.8 kg (79 lb) and so was often carried into action by two men.
AGermanassaultpioneer team is seenwithone member of the team carrying
the weight and bulk of a Flammenwerfer 35. This equipment weighed
kg and w as an aw kwar d-lo ad-for one m an to cirrj, tut ine idi, p^"
3 5. 8
-
remained in production until I g4l . Its basic design diied from t S t d. ",

re! E#*"n flamethrower tanks

Throughout World War II the Germans
were not particularly energetic in the
deployment of flamethrower tanks,
even though they were fieldlng a light
flamethrower tank at a time when no
other nation was doing so, This was in
194I when, following a period of trials,
a PzKpfw I was converted to take
Flammenpanzer 40 flame projector ln
place of one of the machrne-gmns in the
turret, This produced the Flammpan-
zer I, and the first ofthem were used in
action by the Deutsches Afrika Korps
in North Africa. This expedient was
soon followed by another, this time the
Flammparuer II which was a conver-
sion ol the otherwise little-used
PzKpfw Il Ausf D or E On thrs conver-
sion tvuo flame projectors were used,
one on each side ofthe front hull, Each
projector had a range of about 36.5 m
(40 yards). Not many ofthese conver-
sions were made, and most appear to
have been used on the Eastern Front
The most nullerous conversions ro
the Flammpanzer role were made with
the PzKpfw III Ausf H or M, At least 100
ofthese tanks were converted to take a
flame projector in place of the main
gmn, and there was capacity rnternally the French tanks captured by the Ger- tanks, each containing 700 hres .,:-
for 1000 litres (220 Imp gal) of fuel. mans in 1940, but once aqain the num- lmp gal) of fuel, enough for 8l :r:-
These Flammparuer III vehicles were ber rnvolved was not grreat, probably second bursts of flame. Each:;e_ .-_.'
very effective but do not appear to about 10, supphed its own projector. c:.: :-:::
have been much used, mainly as a re- For much of the war the German side of the open vehicte rear s.::.
sult of their inability to defend them- army relied upon the SdKfz 251 half- had a thtrd but smailer pro]ectcr :. :-=
selves against enemy tanks, for track for the flamethrowing role, The fronr. bur on mosl vehicles this p:-i:--:
a whenever they were used in action versron used was the SDKfz 25Ii 16 mit- was occupied by a machrne-qi-:. _-.:
other 'gun' tanks had to be used to tlerer Flammpanzerwagen, first used usual range of these projectors -r,-
guard them, during 1942. This carried two fuel about 35 m (38 yards),
Apart from the odd trials model, no
PzKpfw IV was converted to the oper-
ational Flammpanzer role. Apparently
there were plans to convert various
marks of Panther and Tiger II to the
flame role, but none appear to have
seen fruition, Instead the little Flamm-
panzer 38(t) was placed into produc-
tton durrng 1944 as the standard flame
tank of the land forces. This small tank
was well suited to the role as it used the
low and easily concealed hutl of the
Hetzer tank destroyer, Once again the
flame gmn took the place of the matn
gmn and some of the internal space was
devoted to fuel for the projector.
A few captured tanks were used by
the Germans for the flame role. One
example was the larqe Char B, one of

4Flammpanzerlll with aflame projector in place of the usualgun. Above : O ne of the forw ar d - moun ted
These vehicles used later Panzer III chassis: a machine-gntnwas
flame projectors carried by the
nounted co-axially and thefuelwas carried internally intwo tanks,
enough for 70 to 80 two- to three-second burs ts. The normal crew Flammpanzer II, whichwere mainly
was threemen. used on the E as ter n F ront althougi
not manywefe actually produced.
This projector is firing a rod of unJit
fuel that could be ignited later when
it lay on the ground.
Flame Technologg
Flamethrowers might have appeared to be brutally simple
weapons, but in fact they presented ahost of complex design
problems;fuel composition, propellant gas and ignition
systems all underwent considerable development during the
war. Fortunately for the Allies, it was their scientists who
produced the better models.
AnV flamethrower, static, man-portabie or vehicle-borne, has four maln compo-
nerits, They aie the f uei, the f uel system, the pressure system and the pro.iector
and ignitioir system. With so few iomponents to worry about, i-l.is not,too
iuiprising thai all the f lamethrower weapons in.use during World War ll had
mairy fac.-tors in common and many even looked alike
Hciwever, tirere was one area in which Axis and Allied flamethrowers dif fered
consjderably, and that was in the type of fuel that produced the flame, When the
wiritarted ijoth sides were usrnq'what were basically the same fuels, those of
Woria Wff l. There were severJl of these, but typ cal was that used by the
Gerrnans, whlch was of the.petrol/tar-oil variety. Generally speaking this f uel
wis raifrejr tnin in qualrty and ii had the tactically unfortunate property of burnrng
up as sooh as'it left the proiector nbzzle Thus although the flame
"tmostcould be very spectaculai lti efTects on target were ofte-n sltght and
pi-oduced
i"n""ni Ranges were also short. The only way to improve the performance of
the flame iet rias to thrcken the viscosity of the fuel. 1f this could be done the
resultant fiame iet would form what wai known as a'rod'which could travel
much f urtherto'carry its burning properties with it. Research demonstrated the
abrljties of these thick f lame rod-s io smack against a target and so add to the f inal

Fuelthickening
The problem *u, ho* to thicken the fuel. At first all manner of substances
were tlied, including such obvious agents as rubber, thick tars and creosote, but
tnese mjCe little difference. The bieakthrough came when it was discovered
tn.iu group of chemicals known as aluminitrm 'soaps'added to petroJ would Above:Theflame projector of the Below: An L3 Lanciafiamme
providdall ihe properties required. These'soaps'had virtually nothing in com- Wasp Mk II was sifuated tn the front demanstrates its abilities. On these
ron witf' the f'amiliar washing substances; the tYpe most cornmonly-used to hultin place of the usualBren small andlightvehicles the flame
machine-gun.It could be elevated was more often a morale weapon
tniiken petrol was an agent kiown as aluminium stearate. Although difficult to
manufaiture Ln quantit\ito the requlred qualitY thrs agent, when added to petrol, and traversed to a limited degree, rather than a practical one, due
ih:ckened a flamethrower jet to such an extent that when it struck a target rt and was so small that it was usually mainly tothe light armour on the
jmpossrb/e to spot as a flamethrower vehicle, although it was dreadfully
would break up into small blobs of burning f uel ihat could scatter over a wide
a rea By varyinb the mount of the agent add"ed, thickened f uels of varyrng
weight unti/ it il/as use d in action. effective against native troops in
and vls'cosiiy c,'ould be produced tb suit various types ol flamethrower' Ethiopia.
 Flamethrowers of World War ii
Fortunately only the.Allies made this discovery. Throughout the war ihe used. The earliest-methods were crude io an extrerle \'1:s .. -
Germans, Japanese and ltalrans had to cqniinue.to.use.their o1d petiol/tar-oil f.amerhrowers had r;srallv nad a wad of so.rretr^ing ,.e cc.-.- :
mixtures with all their shon aange and other disadvantages, while the Allies, gnated wjlh parqffin, held ciose to the projector mutzl€ ani a: e.: _ -. -
rncluding. the Soviets, could pioduce. weapons with much longer ranges and War.ll design; the Harvey, used dxactlv this method- Hcwer':r -::.
,._ , :
other use{ul properties such.aE the ability to produce flame rodS that could ll designs were more advanced,.The'uSualone was 10 place e : :-._
s-. : _-
cr ^:
-- _: - -
bounce arouhd the interiors of Stiuctures to reach..areas out of the direct line o'f 4 th_e'path of a flammabrle gas or liquid to produce an 'gn t ::
fire- .flamm.able substdnae was usuaily pelrol or a gas such as -hyclrcg€r : -

Coupled with the fuel w6re the fuel systems,. ln. the main thege simply the.ignition.srTstem1oraslong'asthetrurstwasrequired..Tns-,.1=:.-:::'::
consisted of .a tank or tanks with the necessary Vaives and..hoses to conneet wasnormallytheelectrical,so.urce, usuallyasmall torch-sizeoba:::-- .-= . ,
them to the f lame prolector. The f larne proiector itself was usually a very siniple oftenfailedunderdamp.orcoldcondjtjon,s,,leavtngafiamethrc\.\.,ei::---: --: -

pipe along whrch the fuel was.propelled to the ign;tion System at the muzzle of
the projector. The pressUre system was.responsible loi'this propulsion, and
consisted usually of a compressed gas contained within one oT more pressure
cylinders and released at a fixediate for the proBulsion procesl. Attemp{s were
made lo use Bumping system.s in place of .compression sistems, but non6- of
them worked, especially with thickened fuels, as the pumping action usually
broke up the ,fuel structure and destroyed its rod propeities. Thus the compress:
ed gas systems were used almost universally, the exceptions being a few.odd
.parlous situation. On the large vehicle-borne equifments more pcs : , - : : ,-- .
al svstems, u.sing higher Voltages and f lammable liquid such as ce:-: : _ - : : -
used with f.ar.less uncertaint!;,bul the portable equipments :3: .: __.
something better, usually in the fqrm of A blank cartridge that p;6 ; - - ; ; . . -.
nlmberolhotsparkswhenoetonatedbyape'c.tssionTrec^a-s- :--':
tim6 the war ended there were various types of spark-producers C-: _ -= : _ -
the.US M2-2 portable flarnethro{,er had.a revolver chamber ro -: I -.-: ,: -
tridgesandindextqthenextcartr,ldgeforeachburst.Usingthtsder.c: -: ., . ,

cases {such as, the improvized British Ho.me Guard mo.delsl and some tank virtuaily ceriain flame'jets- could be irroduced befor.e .mo rd - -
ca rt r dg;s : : -:=
flamethrowers. insened.
Propulsionsystems Terrorweapon
The gases vaned, coirpressed air being used on som.e models as it was eaby So much for the mechanics of the flamethrower. but a few .- '. -- .
wcris
and cheap to produce, but it had the disadvantage..of burnrng when it came into I
ate ?rlso in oider Flamethrowerd are essentially;ssault weapons, a^ . : -- : :
contact with fuel. Thus various inert gases Were favoured, among th6m carbron We.apens cjf this nature they are.close"range devices. more akjn to:re .. : .- --
drcxide, nitrogen or an inert gas formed by buintng ofi oxygeri from the air; if -::::
machine-gun than anrl others. They,are at their best when used en :-_
required this last could be produced out in the lield using special apparatus. when large-scale use.can be augmented with surprise theLr e:;::: ::- :-
Hydrogen was anotherallernative, for although it ls inflammable it could be u.sed greOtly magnified. They cannot produee results on their own. As ..!:- :.:-
for the ignition system as well, As the war ended the Allies wer.e carrying...out o:lher type of weapon they require suppoit and co,operatton fror ct-:- ,'--.
experiments wlth. slow-burning cordite to create working pressure, but other and they require infantry to'follow up their iesults. They aLso req- -. -.-,:'-
combustible powders were also under investigation. The war endbd before reconnaissance, for not every target is suitable for their frery outp": .-: :--
these experinaents came to,anything, and the compressed gas systems re' those that are suita.ble must be approached in a safe and appropr,a.ie -.--:'
mained in.use for all but rsinole-shot'flamethrowers. Perhaps,the greatest ef.fect of the flamethrower is not on maie-. i-'. -
morale,All rnankindhasaninstinctivedreadoffire,andwhenthei;3r3.^-;.--
Compressedgases is used.as a long-range probirig weapon (as was often the cose ri,',, - .t, . : -
As it turned out, dif ferent types of weapon used varying types of pressurizing any soldierwill immediately dread the results. Time and time aqar. 3-- - r, - - _-

gas. The Crocodile. used nitrogen or.inert qas and the Wasp used carbon dioxide: War ll the mere sight of arflame burst was enough to make ine it-:::. .- _
The Lifebuoy used hydrogen. whil6 the ltalian flamethrowers Ljsilallv, used best-trained soldier:s turn ahd run. - .

nitrogen. The Japanese chose to use compressed air. On the Allled side,it was
never decrded whether these qases should be.delivered as a form of emmuni'
tron or made in the field, and rn the end both.procedures were useo.
The ignition system was all too often the weakest pornt in the design of any
f lamethrower, As the fuel gushed from the projector muzzle it had to be ignited
ln some way, and throuqhout World War ll mainly unsatrsfaitory methods weie
A US Army flamethrower tean is shown on Boagainvilte, April I 944. The
ri{}eman is supposed lospotenemlr snipers before they sioot the operaic:
The dkcovery that aluminium siearate couJd increase the viseosity o{ the ::e .
ensured that Allied tlamethrowers were longer-ranged and more jeth a i : a :. :
their Axis equiya,lents.

:{
.-i
"-i .s
:.l JAPAN

Portable Flamethrower Types 93 and 100

If war{ime propaganda photogrraphs
are to be believed, the Japanese army
and marines made extensive use of
flamethrowers during World War IL
This impression came largely from a
long series of 'official' photographs
taken during Japan's protracted war
against the Chinese, where weapons
such as flamethrowers could have a
morale effect that far outweighed their
usefulness as combat weapons.
Against the flimsy structures used as
housing throughout mainland China
flame weapons could gain impressive
results, and accordingly the Japanese
made much use of them,
At first the main verslon used by the
Japanese was the Portable
Flamethrower Type 93. This was flrst
rssued durrnq 1933 and was an ortho-
dox desrgn that made much use of Ger- TheJapanese Modelg7 and 100 -
man experience in World War I. It portable flamethrowers were almost
used three cylinders on a rather awk- identical - this k the Model 93 - and
ward back-pack arranqement, hvo of differed only in the shape of the
the cylinders containing the fuel and flame gun and other minor changes.
the central (and smalier) cylinder con- Twotanks heldthefueland the other
taining the compressed gas, When the was the nitrogen pressure tank,
T}pe 93 was first issued this was com- providing a flame iet duration of I 0 to
pressed mtroqen, but this was soon l2 seconds.
changed to compressed air, From 1939
onwards a small petrol-drtven ait com- was identical to the TVpe 93, The new only one attemptwas made to produce TVpe 98 medium, whose onlY other
pressor was issued with each equip- flame gmn was shorter than the earlier flamethrower tanks and this was a armament was a single machine-gnrn
ment. This was the Type 99 compress- model- 901 mm (35.5 in) as opposed to smali unit of specialized combat
or and when not in use it was trans- 1.197 m (47.125 in). The nozzle of the enineenng tanks that were encoun- Specification
ported in a small wooden case. flame gun could also be easilY tered on Luzon in 1944, These turret- Portable F lamethrower TYPe 100
For various reasons the flame pro- chaneted on the TYPe 100, whereas on less tanks were fltted wrth obstacle- Weight: 25 ks (55 lb)
jector ofthe Tlpe 93 was considered to the TVpe 93 it was frxed. clearing equipment on the front hull Fuel capacity: 14.77litres (3,25 Imp
be unsatisfactory, and in 1940 it was Although the JaPanese infantrY and mounted a single flamethrower sal)
chanqed to a new type. This was made use of flamethrowers, the forward, Both internal and external Range: about 22.91o27.4 m (25 to 30
known as the Portable Flamethrower Japanese tank formations made only fuel tanks were carried. The tank used
Type 100, but in every other aspect it limited use of the weapon, Apparently as the basis appear to have been the Dwationof fire: 10to 12seconds

fion"Ut" Flame-Thrower Mt and MIAI

==
rAihen the US Army requested a new
porlable flamethrower rn July ]940, the t. i't.
Chemical Warfare Service had abso-
lutely no knowledgte base upon which rii 4:
:o work, and so had to start from
scratch. Using a model known as the . 1',9

Flame-Thrower EI, qradual develop-

:rent reached the stage where the
E lRI was ready for troop trials, some of
-;hrch were carned out under combat
::ndrtions in Papua, The E1R1 was far
::m perfect for it was easilY broken
ld the controls were difficr:lt to reach,
: -r a more rugged verslon was
:::epted for sewice as the Portable
Flame-Thrower Ml, This Ml was much
the E]Rl in that it had tvvo tanks,
-<e
::-e for fuel and the other for com-
p::ssed hydrogen.
-he Ml went into productron in
1.1.::h 1942, and the weapon was In
-:::r dwinq the Guadacanal oPera-
-:- ol January 1943, It proved to be
s:::-et.].ing of a disappointment, for the
I.l- -r;as prone to all manner of produc-
,::- :aulG, and these often meant that
-j-: -,';eapon failed in action, The igni-
-,^:- 3[cu1t used e]ectrical
power sup-
;--=d by battertes that often failed
'i-aer active semce condrtions, and
-:,: .::ks were liable to pin-hole corro-
fuels previously employed, This thick- MlAls were used in Italy and the The American M I flamethrower was
:,::- sDots that allowed pressure to Far East; their use rn Europe after June adevelopment of the earlier EIRI
:s:rpe A special repair and insPec- er fuel qave better flame effects and a
: : s=r..ice had to be established to range of up to 45,7 m (50 Yards) com- 1944 appears to have been somewhat which, although technicallY an
pared with the maximum of 27,4 m (30 restricted once the Normandy cam- experimental model, was used in
=:i-:3 a sewiceable resewoir of Mls yards) of the Ml. Unfortunately the paiqn was over, action in 1 943. The M I was used for
::-:; lCr aCttOn,
the first time during the Guadalcana'
l-; lure 1943 a new model was in troublesome ignition system was not
campaign ofJune 1942, and used the
-'--- iris was the MIAI, of which altered in any way and the prevlotts
Specification old'thin'typeof fuel.
-1 ,,, exampies were produced, The problems persisted to the point where
1,1 -:,,',';as an Ml modified to make use troops in action sometlmes had to Portable Flame-Thrower M lA I
ignite the flame jets with matches or Weight: 31,8 kq (70 ]b) I to 45.7 m (45 to 50 Yards)
:- :: :ev,' thicker fuels produced bY Range: 4
pieces of burninq paper. F\relcapacity: lB.2litres (4 Imp gal) Duration of fire: B to 10 seconds
,:-=:-:,J additives in the petrol-based
E fion"Ute Flame-Thrower M2-2 Flamethrowers of World War tr

Above: Ina typicalllamethrower action theflame gunopetator is given

coveringfire by an infantry team.The flameweaponis anM2-2, beingused
against a J apanese bunker to burn out the occupants, who were usually loth to
surrender to anything but flamethrowers - and often not even then.

Left: The Portable Flame-Thrower

By mid-i943 the Chemical Warfare
Sewice had better idea ofwhat
a much
kind of portable flamethrower the
troops requfed and set about design-
ing a new type, Based on an ex-
penmental design known as the E3,
the Portable Flame-Thrower M2-2 was
evolved, and this featured several im-
provements over the old MlAl, The
M2-2 contrnued to use the new thick-
ened fuel but it was a much more mg-
ged weapon carried on a back-pack
frame (very similarto thatusedto carry
ammunition) but the main improve-
ment was to the ignition, This was
changed to a new cartridge system
usrng a revolver-t1pe mechanism that
allowed up to sx flame jet shots before
new cartridges had to be inserted. It
proved to be much more reliable than
the old electrical methods,
The M2-2 was first used in action on
Guam in July 1944 and by the time the
war ended almost 25,000 had been
produced, more than the totals of MIs
and MlAls combined, However, pro-
duction was not easy and some troops
rn the Pacific theatre continued to use
the old MIAI until the war ended, It
was March 1945 before the first M2-2s
arrived in Italy,
M2-2s were used by armies other
than that of the Americars, Some were
passed to the Australian army, bring-
lng to a halt the development of an
tndigenous Australian flamethrower
known as the Ferret,
Although theM?-Z was an improve-
ment over the Ml and M]A], the US
Army still considered that it was not
what was really wanted, and develop-
ment continued to find a better and
lighter weapon, Some work was car-
rred out to evolve a singie-shot
flamethrower that could be discarded
after use, A model that used a com-
bustible powder to produce presswe
to eject 9litres (2 Imp gal) of thickened
petrol-based fuel from a cylinder was
under development as the war ended,
but the project was terminated soon
M2-2 was produced by the
Anericans ingreater numbers than
anyother We, andwas firstusedon
Guam in J uly I 944. I t was to remain
the stand ar d Amer ican flatne
weapon for many years after 1945
and saw action in Korea.Its
maximum range under good
conditions was 36.5 m (40 yards).
afterwards. It would have had a rang:
of 27,4 m (30 yards).
Specification
Ponable Flame-Thrower M2-2
Weight: 28. l to 32,7 kg(621o72lb)
Fuel capacity: 18.2 litres (4 Imp qal)
Range: 22,9 to 36,5 m (25 to 40 yards)
Duration offire: B to 9 seconds
In addition to their noise,
flamethrowers had a powertul visual
eftect on morale, and the mere sight
of their flame jetwas oftenenoughto
make even the strongest men quail.
This is an American M2-2 in adion on
IeShimainJune Jl945.

.ffi.
',*ry' I

..,,:":l
.-

j
rS .lll ,t
 R*"rican tank flamethrowers
=
I'iie flrst American tank flamethrower
-,'ras produced in 1940, and this Flame
Projector E2 mounted in an M2
rredrum tank was demonstrated to US
Army tank offlcers in mld-1940. They
..r/ere not impressed and the project
'was allowed to lapse, It was not long
before opinions changed but by that
trme the Chemical Warfare Service
designers had to start once again lrom
the beginninq and before long had a
pump-operated Flame Projector E3
mounted in the turret of an M3 Lee
medium tank, The pump system
tended to break up the fuel structure
and so reduce flame performance and
ranqe but when the pump was re-
placed by a compressed air system
these drawbacks were eliminated,
At the same nme as lhese experl-
ments were under way, another prog-
ramme to produce a service weapon
rapidly was rnitiated under the 'Q'
(Quickle) designatron. The British./
Canadran Ronson flame system was
obtained from Canada, but initial trials
had to be conducted with the system
mounted on the rear of a truck as no
tanks were available, The 'Q' project
continued until an installation to be
itted to the turret of the MSAI light
:ank was developed, but the tanks into
,'ihrch this system was supposed to be
lstalled were simply not forthcoming
and the 'Q' project thus turned out to be
an1'thing but a quickte. In fact it was
early 1945 before any of the 'Q' sys-
tems, by then known as the M5-4, were
ready for service in the Far East. Four
were used in the Philippines,
While all this development work
was being conducted in the continen-
tal USA, troops in Hawaii were busy
producing actual weapons, Usrng the
Ronson flame projector as their basis,
they mounted flame systems in place
of the oldturret gnrns on obsolete M3A1
light tanks whichwere renamed Satan
Once installed these Satan systems
used compressed carbon dioxide as
the propellant qas, and could fire
thickened fuel to a range of 73 m (80
yards); each vehicle could carry 773
litres (170 Imp gal) of fuel, The initial
'production run was for 24 Satans, and
by June 1944 rhey were in action on
Saipan,
The success of the Satan in action
prompted commanders to request a
similar installation in the M4 medium
tank, Old 75-mm (2.95-in) tank gLrn bar-
rels were used to mount the Ronson
flame projectors and this new tank ver-
sion, known officially as the POA-CWS
'75'H-I (H denoting Hawali), was used
in action during the Ryukyus opera-
tion, The type was iater used on Okina-
wa, in a special application to flame out
defending Japanese from deep caves:
several lengths of fire hose were con-
nected together and taken deep in the
caves, one end then being connected
to the M4 flamethrower tank which
pumped fuel alonq the hose to be
ignited at the other end by an operator
using a portable flametfuower,
Both of these flame-producrng sys-
tems mounted the flame projector in
place ol the main armament, a feature
not greatly liked by the 'tankies', who
wanted to retain some form of defen-
sive armament, Attempts had already
been made to mount a flame projector
alongside the main qun on some M4
flame tanks and in the latter stages
some M4s mounting 75-mm quns or
lO5-mm (4. 134-in) howitzers also car-
rred co-axial flamethrowers, but lack of
spare parts prevented many conver-
sions being made.
Other earlier attempts to mount
portable flamethrowers that could fire
through pods at the front of light tanks
had been made but without much suc-
cess, so in October 1943 the Chemical
Warfare Service was asked to produce
a flamethrower that could be mounted
in place of the bow machine-gnrn on
M3, M4 and M5 tanks, so that if re-
quired the machine-gun could be re-
installed, Consequently 1,784 M3-4-3
flamethrowers were produced for in-
stalling in M4 tanks and 300 ESR2-M3
flamethrowers for use on M3 or M5
tanks, Many of these were used in
Europe and in the Pacific theatre,
Many tank commanders dtd not like
the idea of losing their bow machine-
Cnrns, so analternative installation that
could be mounted next to the comman-
der's periscope on the turret top was
Below : The S herman C rocodile was a
British developmenl fo use Sft ermans
in the fl am e- throwing role, bu t only
fourwere ever produced as US Army
interest in the projectwaned almost
rted. The flame gun
as soon as if sta
was mounted to the right of the hull
gunner's escape hatch.
developed, One of these, the n:i=,
M3-4-EGR3 was placed rnto pro:-:-
tion but was too late for war use.
Once again the troops stationei :-
Hawaii did not wait for weapons to a:-
rive from the continental USA, and s:
about producing their own auxlia:-,.-
flamethrowers, This time the MlA-
portable flamethrower was used as the
basis for a projector that could be
mounted in place of ihe bow machine-
gmn of an M4 medium tank. Some 176 of
these conversrons were made, anci
were on hand for the Okinawa and Iwo
Jima campaigns but they were nct
much used as the troops preferred the
'local' conversions with the turret-
mounted systems on M4 medium
tanks,
Mention must also be made of the
installation of the 'Q' project M5-4
flamethrower in the LVT-4 amphibious
carrier. Six of these were used on
Peleliu, but the carrier proved to be
rather unsatisfactory for flame opera-
tions, Although they were used very
effectively the LVT-4 was really too
lightly armoured.
The Satan flamethrower was used on
US M arine C orps M 3A I Wht tanks in
place of the main turret gun. This
example is in use on Saipan during
July 1944, and theSalan wasso
successfu/ lft a I many more old M 3A 1
Iight tanks wete converted to the
flame warfare role-
"&* "* .l
'
"i'.r*
rys*
TheFqllof lwo limcl
Thecapture of lwoJimafulfilled twoAmericanobjectives:firstly, itenabled theAir
Forceto provide fighter escort for the B-29 Superfortresses on their bombing raids
againstmainland]apan;and, secondly, thefallof anislandtraditionallypartof the
Home Islands might at lastbringJapan'sleaders to realize that the days of their
P acific E mpire were numbere d.

By the end of 1944 it had become qulte evident Force carried out massive bombardments, The
to the US commanders rn the Pacrfic that in the US Navy began its assault in November 1944
near future they would have to mount a larqe- with flre from the guns of slx destroyers and
scale attack on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. four heavy crursers which lasted a whole morn-
Three factors made the decision inescap- ing and was repeated at regular rntervals until
able, First, healry Boelng B-29 bomber raids on February, while on 8 December Consolidated
the Japanese mainland, then belng mounted B-24s and North Amerrcan B-25s began an
from the Marianas, were proving prohrbitively assault which was to last 72 days before climax-
expensive as even North American P-51 Mus- ing on the morning of 19 February with an
tangs could not escort them on the 4505-km attack by I2O carrierborne planes, dropping
(2 800-mrle) round trip, and they thus lacked
essential fighter protection over the target Right: IwoJimawas defended by a labyrinthof
areai Iwo Jima lies only 1060 km (660 miles) tunnels, caves and bunkers whichwere invariably
from Tokyo and possessed two airflelds, one of defended to the last man. Here a US demolition
which could take B-29s immediately, Second, team blow in the roof of a cave connected to a three
storey blockhouse, burying the surviving
even with no further advance towards Japan members of the garrison in the ruins of their
Iwo Jima was a highly desirable link in the position.
defences of the newly-captured Mananas, And
thirdly, the island was traditionally a part of the
Japanese homeland (it was administered by
the Tokyo prefecture), and rts fall would thus
constitute a severe psychologlcal blow to the
Japanese people, The island must therefore be
captured; isolatron would not be enough,
Strategic importance
Unlortunately for the Amerrcans, the
Japanese high command possessed just as
keen an understanding of strategic realities,
and had long appreciated the necessity of de-
nying Iwo Jlma to the Americans. One staff
officer even went so far as to sugqest that as
Japanese air and naval strength had suffered an
apparently irreversrble erosion, serious con-
sideratron should be given to a project of sink-
rrg the island into the Pacific, or if not the whole
sland then at least the half whrch contained the Below: LVTs manned by crews Irom the US Above: The US forces knew what to expect in re!::-s
narn airfield, Iwo Jima is, alter all, only 8 km (5 Coastguard bring the 4th Marine Division ashore of fortificationon IwoJima, and began a series o:
rrles) long averaging 4 km (2 5 miles) wrde, on Iwo Jima. The Japanese chose not to contest the preparatory bombardments in November tt
a:rd at rts tailest pornt (the summit of Mount landings initially, but putup fanatical resistance as readiness for landings not scheduled until
the Marines attempted to advance off the beach. February. Regular shelling from warshtps anc
S'.uibachl) only 168 m (550 ft) hrqh. By the end of the first day 30,000 Marines were an aerial bombing intensified in the days before te
The suggestion was turned down, but as ear- Iwo, and the battle began in earnest. actual assault and the landings were successi';-
--,- as June 1944 the highly regarded General
:i':ibayashi was sent to organize the defence
:- ie rsland, and given clearly to understand
:-a: in case of failure he should not expect to
.== his family or homeland again; the same
::-l:rre applied to the 14,000 veteran troops
':-:-: followed him to Iwo Jima during the
: : :- ns which followed, As they were provided
r---i- rleavy and medium artillery, anti-aircraft
: r:=ies, heavy and iight machine-gnrns, mor-
-.:,. together with relevant ammuni-
:-:.'r=Contanks,
an ample scale, their morale was in
:r- -.';i-,- cast down by their predicament,
3'lrkers andtunnels

:,= lefenders this was as well as, in

- ::-:en up' the rsland before the land-
:e US Nary and the US Army Air
The Fall of IwoJima
napalm along the strip of ground just inland of
the proposed landing beaches, From then on
the bombardment took the form of a creeping
barrage from the massive guns of seven bat-
tleships, four heavy cruisers and three light
cru$ers.
Fow hundred and fifty vessels of the US Sth
Fleet were offshore at dawn on the morning of
19 February, and around and among them
swarmed 482 landing craft of various descrip-
tions, bearing the men of eight US Martne
battalions; and at 09,02 the first wave hit the
landing beaches, Sth Marine Dlvision platoons
on the left, 4th Marlne Division platoons on the
right.
Heavyresistance
For the first 20 minutes it seemed as though
the US Navy and the USAAF had done the job
ior the US Marrnes, who met only sporadic and
scattered resistance, apparently totally unorga-
nized. Then as the Marines moved up towards
a low sand ridge, concentrated fire from con-
cealed machlne-gun and mortar posts opened,
and a deadly rain of metal swept the L6-km
(l-mile) strip; the most costly operation in the
history of the US Marrne Corps had begun,
For a matter of seconds the shock of the
sudden deluge of Japanese fire froze the
Marines where they 1ay, then training and the
realities of the situatlon galvanized them lnto
action, They could not stay where they were
and live; they could not go back, for despite the
shot and shell which furrowed the beach be-
hind them LCVs were still swimming in
through the surl and waves of supporting com-
panies were flooding ashore and packing the
-leach-head, ".#L
Sheer pressure drove the leadlng platoons savaqe battle of attrition was fought as the
forward out of the maelstrom behind them lnto Marines assaulted the defence lines to the
and over the nearest Japanese defensive posi- north, Bayonet, rifle, flamethrower and gre-
tions, some of which they destroyed, leaving nadewere the weapons withwhlch the fiqhting
others to their comrades coming up behlnd; was conducted for the next 2l days, for &e
and in less than an hour they had widened the Japanese defenders were not only fightilg
beach-head to 0,8 km (0 5 mile). Seven whole from well dug-in positions, but followed the
Marine battalions were ashore with their practice of waiting in deep cover untrl the
essential equipment, forward patrols had Marines were closed up to wrthin 45 m (50
reached the edge of the main airfield and yards) or less before manning their gmns and
another was in sight of the western beach, thus betraying their positions, seemingly to
Undoubtedly Kuribayashi had made a fun- vanish again after a violent spasm ofvicious and
damental error rn allowing that first wave of costly close-quarter battle,
Marines to get ashore, for by the end of the day
30,000 Marines and their weapons and stores Japanesetunnels
had been landed, and they were there to stay, Time after time the Marines moved in be-
Their casualties had been high (that had been hind an apparently devastating barrage, to be
expected), but the combination of pressure gneeted when the gnrns lifted by fierce resist-
from behind and desperation had flung the ance from virtually invisible positions. Then
leadrng elements straight across the neck of after half an hour of bitter and costly fightinqr,
the island, isolating Mount Suribachl and its they would rush the post to find only a few dead
garrison from the main defendrng force, and Japanese and perhaps one wrecked machine-
placrng the southern end of the main airfield gnrn; and as they moved forward again the post
firmly in American hands. would spring to life behind them as the defen-
The ensuing four days were spent in captur- ders reoccupied the post through the funnels.
ing Mount Suribachi (the most famous photo- By D+ 10 many Marine formations were
grraph in American history, of the flag being dornm to half strength, and although the 3rd
raised by a Marine patrol on the summit, was Marine Division had now been put ashore, it
taken on 23 February), and from then on a soon found itself blocked by a positive lattice of
defensive positions which constituted the
'Bunker by bunker' northern half of the island. Complexities of
Thebattlefor lwoJimawas themostcosUyoperation in the history of theUS MarineCorps. ThemoonJike
landscapeof thevolcanicislandwas riddledwithcaves,which theJapanese had reinforced and linked to
b/ockftouses an d bunkers by a tunnel network. From their concealed positions ffte/apanese garrison of
2l ,500 men commanded by General Kuribayashi fought with fanatical courage. The Marines slowly
advanced inland, engagingeach pillboxwith a deadly combinationof flamethrower and demolition
charges.
I
{l
 Flamethrowers of World War Il

Below: The US Ilamethrower teams gave the
defenders a horrible chaice of abandoning their
positions or being burned to death, but frequently
theMarineswould capture a position only to be
ejected by a sudden J apanese counter-attack. In
this bloody battle of attrition the Marines sustained
over 20,000 casualties.
Above: Men of the Sth Marine Division call upon
the occupants of a cave to sufiender. ,Sucfi p/eas
were invariably ignored, and the Marineswould
either seal the cave with explosives or pump it full
of gasoline before dropping incendiaries inside.
Above: A Marine directs suppressive machtne.
gun fire againstJapanese positions on I Marcr
1945. Extensive tunnelling enabled the Japanese ::
appear and disappear with bewildering speec.
and they knew that if they stayed sufficiently cics:
to the Marines the Americans would not be able ::
provide support fire for fear of friendly casuai::e:

rJ
;-!l
i
':,:,r::.
=:':. i"-'t
:
,=-
-_ a.
The Fall of lwoJima

underground bunkers faced them, and mazes

of interwoven caves; in one area 9i5 m (1,000
yards) wide and I80 m (200 yards) deep 800
pillboxes, blockhouses and dug-outs each held
fanatrcal defenders every one of whom, it was
afterwards revealed, had sworn to kill at least
i0 Marines,
It was not until D+ I89 that the first Marine
patrols reached the north east shore of the
tsland, and then it became possible to partition
the area still rn Japanese hands rnto small
pieces and gnaw away at each piece until the
defence was crushed. But at last it was done,
On the night of 25/26 March the last defenders
launched a ftnal Banzal charge agatnst their
attackers, and the following morninq the
bodles of the 300 devoted servants of the
Emperor who had carried rt out littered the
giround around the entrace to their last position,
By thrs time the first B-29s had landed on the
island's main airstrip, and by the end of March
squadrons of P-Sis were flying in to take up
their role oi escorting the heavy bombers
against the Japanese mainland, It all formed a
srgnificant step in the defeat of Japan, but it had
cost the Marines 6 821 kl]]ed and three times
that number wounded; and of the 23 000
Japanese who had been on the lsland when the
irst landlngs took place, only I 083 were ever
:aken prrsoner, most of lhem Qadly wounded.
Iwo Jima was less than 26 km' ( 10 sq miles) in
area. It had taken 72 days of air bombardment,
'trree days of concentrated naval hammering Above: The 'thousand mile stare'. The fixed Below: MountSuribachi looms overthe lunar
and 36 days of the most bitter lnfantry flqhtlng expressions on the faces of these Marines as they landscape of lwoJima as US mortars pound
io conquer it, come out of the line are eloquent testimony to the Japanese positions. The garrison fought to
ferocity of the fighting. The resistance on lwoJima practically the last man and the body of its
How 1ong, and at what cost, would it take to gave some indication of what the Allies could comn ander, General Kuribay ashi, w as never
conquer the Japanese homelands by the same expect if they tried to invade Japan itself. found.
methods?
 USSR
ROKS-2 and ROKS-3
'.,::r the USSR entered the war tn
,:i, it had been developing flame
''=i-oons for some years but at a re-
.--',-ely low prionty In 1941 rt had a
: -:.able flamethrower type known as
:-= ROKS-2 (ranzewiij oqtnemjot KS-2).
l,: details of the RCKS-I have been
:-s:cvered but it is llkely that this was
. ievelopment model only, In desiqn
:rms there was nothrng really re-
::rkable about the ROKS-2 apart from
.,: attention paid to the appearance of
:: weapon, One of the tactical lessons
-::rned dunnq World War I reqardinQt
- rmethrowers was that any soldier
.. .cecl by the enemy to be carrying a
:--:me weapon immedtately became
::e target of every weapon tn sight, so
he appearance of the flamethrower
::uld be altered in some way the user
: rd a better chance of survival. Accor-
:-ngly the Soviet designers went out of
:er way to make the ROKS-Z appear
: be an ordinary tnfantry weapon. The
::,ain fuei tank was configured like a
s:ldier's ordinary back-pack and the
i:rne projector was made to look like
= ordinary rifle, and in fact the butt oi
.---e projector was taken from the stan-
i:rd Sovret Mode] l89l/30 rrfle The
,- :ly noticeable flamethrower features
r,:re the small gas pressure bottle
-:der the 'pack', the hose leadrnq to
':.: projector. and the ra her prom.n-
=:-t iqnition device at the muzzle of the
::cjector. On the battlefreld these fea-
:r:es would probabiy have merged
:-.0 the general background.
After the German invasron of the
-SSR rn l94l most of the nation's in-
-:;trial facilities were soon in a state of
-:reaval as factories were overun or
:-:ved to the east. Flamethrower pro-
:,:tion was affected along with every-
--,:g else, and in the struggle to meet
:: ever-increasing demands for
''::pons or all kinds t',e desigr nice-
=s of the ROKS-Z had to be omrtted,
A lp.:a:.::.::11.
and srmpler model known as the
,-,:',-.
?CKS-3 came into being, and this dld
.'',ry with the pack appearance and
.:-..:ad used two cylinders on a frame
- : '.ed on the back. The flame pro jec
--: silll resembled a rifle, but lt was
.----:: simpler and easier to make in
---r:-iity.
- inng their investigations
.::,: warfare the Soviets discovered
into
- .'.' :o make the thickened fuel that
:-,: :rved flame effects and range and
rhrs new fuel rn both the ROKS-2
-.=:
. r-CKS-3 Usingthickenedfuelboth
.:-.ments had a maximum possible
-..-;: of 45.7m (50 yards) though
,;-:=:,onal ranges vrere rather shor-
tactrcal usefulness, and there were
also many technical drawbacks, Most
of these were ehminated with the in-
troduction of the ATO-42 equipment,
which could accommodate more fuel,
A few of these improved equipments
vrere installed in the KV-1S heavy tank
to produce the KV-8S, but most of the
ATO-42s were installed in place of the
bow machine-gun ofthe T-34/85 which
then became the TO-34, The ATO-42
could fire four or five flame bursts in 10
seconds, and the maximum range with
thickened fuel was 120 m (131 yards)
The Soviet flamethrower tanks were
used in special three-company batta-
lions
Specification
ROKS-2
Weight: 22,7 ks (50 lb)
Fuel capacity: 9 litres (2 lmP gal)
Range:36,5 to 45,7 m (40 to S0Yards)
Dwation of fire: 6 to B seconds
Right : The S oviet ROKS -2 was carried
as a backpackwith the cylinder
tanks vertical. The flame gun was
desrgned foresemble arifle to
conceal its function, as flamethrower
operators usually attracted a great
deal of enemy attention and fire. The
Iarge tank contained enough fuel for
about eight seconds ofuse.
Below: Finnish troops surround a
S oviet OT- 2 6 fl amethrower tank in
1941 . This was a version of the twin-
turret T-26 light infantry tank, with
internal fuel tanks taking the place o!
one of the turrets and the other
mounting a flame gun.
i'ri's
l
$
sirl, '
u'fl.:,*,.--r.t"g:
,1,;
1?,.*:,,;*'l
l-r
1,
i,,
ld
:*
X n*pof"njot I94l
The weapon that was known as the
Ampulenjot I94l System Kartukov
appears rarely in Westem literature
and it is still somethrng of a mystery
weapon, It was not a flamethrower in
the usual sense used elsewhere in this
study. bul rather an incendiary projec-
trle launcher, During World War II
these were little used by any com-
batant, although there were plans to
produce similar weapons in the UK
during the dangerous days of 1940; the
abortive Newton Mortar was one of
these, The Kartukov gmn appears to fall
Lntoexactly the same category, for it
was produced in 1941 when the Ger-
man army was rapidly overrunnlng
most ofthe western areas ofthe USSR,
These western areas contained the
vast bulk of the USSR's industrial
potentlal, As many as possible of the
machine tools and other raw materials
cf productron were hurriedly uprooted
aad taken away to the east beyond the
Urals. Durrng this periodof reorganiza-
-.ron and confi-sion the Soviet Army was
losing vast quantities of war weapons
cf every kind, and something had to be
ploduced quickly to replace them,
lhis was where the Kartukov gun
:ame in, for it was a very simple
'i;eapon that could be produced with
-:e absolute minimum of facilrties and
:aw materials,
The Kartukov was what is now
jererally know as a 'pipe grun', i.e. it
;as srmple length of steel pipe closed
:: cne end and wrth a minimum of fire-
::ltrol equipment, It would appear
rai gun
'jedtheatKartukov was meant to be
static locatrons, for the only
System Kartukov
illustrations seen show the gun
mounted on a srmple yoke arrange-
ment mounted on a steel post, There
were no elevation or traverse controls
other than two rudimentary handles,
located behind the 'breech', with
which the firer armed the weapon. The
breech itself was a yery simple affair:
when opened, the breech block
moved back alongT a short slide to
allow the charge to be inserted, It
seems almost certain that the charge
was only a small black-powder car-
tridge and that the projectile was
loaded from lhe muzzle, To aim the
weapon a f,xed raised sight that
aligned wrth a small 'pip' on the muzzle
was used, holes in the raised sigtht
being used to vary the range, Firinet
was by percussion, The projectile had
a diameter of 127 mm (5 in) and was of
a type once known during the Middle
Ages as a carcass'. Ths was an in-
cendrary device that burst into flames
as it struck the target and spread
flames or burning material in the
general tarqet area, Although it cannot
be stated for a fact, it seems that the
Kartukov grun used some form of phos- T heS ov iet Am pulenj ot I I 4 I Sy s tem K ar tukov w as a simp/e pipe' gun th at
phorus mixture allied to a thick oil- used a small black powder charge to fire an incendiary'carcass' projectile. It
based fuel. The range at best was only was an expedient defence weapon used for a short period in I94l . The
about 250 m (274 yards). maximum range was only 250 m (274 yards).
The advancing Germans captured
numbers of these Kartukov gruns, and It would appear that by 1942 the Kar- Weight: 26 kq (57,3 lb)
the only references now available re- tukov gn-rns were no longer required Elevation: 0 to * 12"
garding these weapons are to be found and were scrapped Traverse:360'
among German intelligence reports. Muzzlevelocity: 50 m (164 ft) per
Understandably enough the Germans Specification second
did not have a very high opinion of Ampulenjot I 94 I System Kartukov Maximum range: 250 m (274 yards)
them as weapons and they reqarded Calibre: 127 mm (5 ln) Projectile weight: 1.5 or LB kg (3,3 or
them as 'primitive' Length: overall 1.02 m (40. 16 in) 3 97Ib)

>K brocodile
-:-e fust qreneral staff specification for
= lamethrowinq tank was put forward
- early as 1938, although at that time
::-ere was no research department
::alng speciflcally with flame war-
:-e Some desultory trials led to a
:-'::ber of experimental models, but
:----::ng deflnite was achieved until a
:p:cial Petroleum Warfare Depart-
::-e:r: was established, and then some
::-::e definite work was commenced,
-:-: PWD concentrated on a type of
!::_ector that used compressed hyd-
r: ;ler to propel the flame fuel jet, and
:- -_ne thrs led to the Crocodile,
The Churchill Crocodile was one of
he mostwidely usedof allthemany
Churchill tankvariants, and towed a
special trailer that carried both the
framefuel and the nitrogengas
cylinders. The flame gunwas
:nounted in the hullfront and the
turret retained the main71-mm
(2.95-in)wn.
The Crocodrle was meant to be used
with the Churchill infantry tank, hence
Churchill Crocodile. When it flrst
appeared tn 1942 a change of War
Office policy meant that there was
offrcially no longer a requirement for
the flamethrower tank, but work
nevertheless went ahead. It was just as
well, for in April policy
1943 another
change meant that the Crocodile was
wanted once more and in Augnrst 1943
an order for 250 was placed, these
vehrcles being needed to equip units
that would take part in the forthcoming
Normandy landings,
The order was made desplte the fact
that no troop trials had taken place,
Although the initial plan was that the
Crocodiles were to be mounted on the
Churchill Mk IV, most productron
weapons were rnstalled rn the Chur-
chill Mk VIL The main part of the Cro-
codile was installed in a two-wheeled
trailer towed behind the Churchill tank
and connected to the tank via a univer-
sal joint through which the pressurized
fuel had to pass. The projector itself
was at the front of the tank, installed in
place of the hull machine-gnrn, The
Churchill's main 75-mm (2,95-in) gun
and turret machine-gnrn were retained
to enable the vehicle to be used as a
normal gmn tank if required. The trailer
could be jettisoned when empty or if
the occasion demanded. The trailer
contained enough fuel and compress-
ed gas to produce about B0 one-
second flame bursts, and the usual
operational range was about 73 m (80
yards), although under favowable con-
ditions 110-m (120-yard) ranqe was
possible.
The Churchill Crocodiles f,rst went
into action on D-Day, 6 June 1944,
Thereafter they were used in all
theatres of war and came to be very
effective weapons that were greatly
feared by the enemy. There were
plans for Crocodiles to be used on
Sherman tanks operated by the US
Army and although some desrgn work
was carried out only sx were built and
of those only four were used in action
by the Americans in Europe,
By the time the war ended 800 Chur-
chrll Crocodiles had been produced.
The main British army user was the
79th Armoured Division, although
other formations also had the type.
Once the war was over most were
withdrawn from use,
The Churchill Crocodile
First used in action during the D-Day landings, the Churchill Crocodile proved tobe
tfte mosf successfu I flamethrower tank of the war. In the battles across France and
Germany the appearance of a Crocodile spraying liquid firewas enough to shatter
the nerve of ffte mosf resolute defence.
The Crocodiie had an inauspicious start to its
service career, Out of the six that were sup-
posed to have landed at H+ 45 on D-Day (6 June
i944) only two survived: hvo troops of Croco-
diies, each of three tanks, were to have landed,
but all the vehicles of one troop became
casuaities ofthe rough seas or beach obstacies,
and in the other troop one vehicle foundered in
an underwater crater. The two that siruggled
ashore found themselves being used not as
famethrower tanks but as ordrnary gmn tanks in
support of the 7th Battalion, The Green Ho-
'vards, and at times on that momentous day the
.nfantry swarmed onto the Crocodries as they
:leared their way throueth the village of l,a
hvidre.
These two Crocodiles belonged to the l41st
i.egiment, Royal Armoured Corps (141 RAC),
re first unit to be equipped with them. When
-41 RAC landed it had been given oniy a very
seort period of time to train with its new equip-
::ents, and it was about to learn how to use its
-.:ve1 charges operalionally, Iiteralty in the
:.eat of battie, On the morninq after the landing
:e Crocodiles and their crews stood to on the
: *skirts of the small village of Crepon, and
;,'ren it was light they tound themselves only a
,=-,',. hundred metres irom a German artillery
:::iery hldden in a wood. A hasty attack was
:-ar.ned using nearby Qunners and signallers
.. infantry, with two Sherman Crabs acting as
;-: tanks. The Crocodiles moved forward and
'-:C only eight flame shots before the wood
::lame a mass of white flags as 150 Germans
-:--.;ed forward to be taken prisoner. The sur-
prise use of flame had completely demoralized
the battery: it was an encouraging augnrry for
the future.
Over the next few days the hvo Crocodiles
were aerain used as gnrn tanks, but meanwhile
the vehicles that had foundered on the first day
were recovered and on 14 June they had a
brush with a troop of Panther tanks, resulting in
two Panthers being knocked out (by gmns, not
by flame) and one Crocodile damaged. Fol-
Iowing this scrap the nearby village of La
Senaudiere was flamed in a spectacular action
and the occupying Germans were driven out.
Dunng this flame action one Crocodile was
destroyed by a German tank, Once this action
was over the two D-Day troops were with-
drawn. Therr brief operational- life had been
busy, but little was iearned about the oper-
ational use of their flame weapors,
Earlyactions
This was to become very apparent once the
remalnder of i4l RAC landed in France be-
tween 22 and 24 June. Almost as soon as they
landed the squadrons were broken up into
small groups in support of various formations.
The commanders of these formations often had
no knowledge of flame tanks and even less
idea of how to use them in action, and the
period that followed was unfortunate for the
Crocodrle crews. A1l too often they were called
upon to take part in actions where their capabl-
lities could not be used to the i:11 and at times
they were simply asked to do too much. A
typical examplewasthe actionat La Bijude on8
By I 944 the Churchill tank was oflrin jfed use as a
battle tank, so its conversion to the Crocodile
flame role provided itwith a useful lease of Me.
Although slow and ponderous the Churchill was
ideal for the close support flame role as it was we[
pratected and was able to retain its main gan.
luly. A squadron was supposed to take par :-
an attack but as a result of the adminisira:-.-=
dislocation of the squadron, which was spre:'
out over a wide front, two troops did not e;3:-
start, As a thlrd troop moved forward one Cl--
codile was knocked out by a German rcck=.-
launcher and another was hit by an arrii-:-.:
gnrn. Fortunately the fourth troop appearei a:-:
in a spectacular flame action cleared the -,---
lage.
One of the main users of the ChurchillCrocodile
was theT9thArmouredDivision, which had thr*
regiments equipped with them. Other regimens
were formed later, bu t the C hurchill C rocodile
wasused only during the lastyearof thewar in
Europe andwas mainly retained in support of
infantry operations.
The Churchill Crocodile

Apart from the enemy-rnflrcted casualtles,

::e Crocodile that took part in thts actton was
'-:iable to function for purely technical reasons.
3eicre a Ctocodile could be ready for action
-::e nitrogen or inert gas used to pressurize the
r,rstem took about 30 minutes to work up to
:perating levels, Once at operating pressure
re Crocodile system became prone to leaks
other malfunctions that could render the
=d
sisiem inoperative, All too often the Crocodtles
::ai to fit into attack plans made by other forma-
:cn commanders who drd not appreciate or
':::Cerstand these technical points, so all too
:ien any delays or holds meant that some be-
lame rnoperative, At other times co-operation
be:ween the infantry and the Crocodiles was
not as good as rt might have been, and ali too
often reconnaissance was elther hasty or in-
complete, leading to some nasty moments and
casualties,
Assault on Carpiquet
Not al1 these early actions were abortive, for
some small-scale actions were great succes-
ses. Very often lhe German defenders either
gave up or simply moved off to the rear as soon
as the first flame shots were made, Sometimes,
such as during a Canadian action against the
airfi.eld at Carpiquet, the Germans attempted
Above : During I 944 and I 945 the German army Below : One unpleasant faskca rried out by
to leave their trenches and swarm all over the
made use of all sorts of cover to form defensive ChurchillCrocodileswas the burning of the
advancing Crocodiles and their trailers. This strongpoints that could only be reduced either by typhus-ridden huls at lft e Be/se n concentration
hrghllghted the need for supporting infantry heavy artillery fire or by flamethrowers.The camp after the unfortunate occupants had been
during such actions, but in the event the Ger- Churchill Crocodile was widely used to deal with removed. Evacuating them took many weeks,
mans were beaten off by Besa machine-gmn them. duringwhich the contaminated huts remained
flre from another Crocodile troop, infectious to allwho entered them.

{
,l
,{
I
{
 Flamethrowers of World War II

-: was during this July period that the use of

-rne against concrete defensive structures
::came established procedure, Ifa bunker
an
,-aC weapons slrts the flame jeis could easily
l:t inside and clear the unfortunate occupants
::m the interior. However, if the interior rooms
-.',-ere sealed by doors and gas seals the occu-
lants were unaffected by the flame and were
-ble to remain unharmed for as long as they
-ked, This was rarely 1ong, for the opening
lame jets were usually enough to make any
such occupants lose any ideas oi holding out,
By the end ofJuly the Crocodrles had earned
,he respect of Alhed commanders, who in-
:reaslngly gave them the lead in the planning
:i attacks. Gradually the Crocodile comman-
Cers were given the chance to plan their own
lctions, carry out their own reconnaissance
and, perhaps most imprtant of a}l, say whether
or not the Crocodiles could carry out a specific
task, These changes brought about the use of
Crocodiles in larger numbers than the pre-
vious one- or two-troop actions, during whtch
some vehicles usuaily had to drop out as a
result of technical failures,
Sguadronattack
The first squadron action was against May-
sur-Orne on 8 Augnrst. Infantry attacks had pre-
viousiy failed to clear the vrllage of the enemy,
who were well dug in. Three Crocodile troops
took part in the attack under fire support pro-
vided by the gun tanks of the troop comman- A ChurchillCrocodile opens fire on the fortfied
ders, and by a barrage lard down on the village village of StJoost, supporting an attackby two
itself, As the Crocodiles moved forward they platoons of the I st Rifle Brigade in J anuary I 945.
used their main guns to blow a hole in each Flamethrowers were excellent weapons for
suppressrng defensive fire. Here the attacking
building, through whlch jets of flame were then infantry hurry along the roadwhile theCrocodile
directed to clear the interior, and any ditch or ensures ffte Germans have their heads down.
hrding place likely to be used by the enemy
was liberally doused with flame, The tnfantry operations that were required were usually
moved up close behind the Crocodiles and carried out by Wasps, During October l4l
continued the clearing process, The operation RAC was ;oined by the Crocodrles of the ]st
'ruas a complete success, The Germans left the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry and from then on the
rillage, and the attacking Crocodiles and infan- two reglments both took part in some of the
:ry suffered no casualties at all, Operations actions that took place in the aftermath of Op-
such as this contrnued all through August, erations 'Market 'and 'Garden', The battles of
the approaches to the Rhrne followed, with the
Channelports clearrng and capture of Frasselt, Cleve, Gen-
By the end of Augnrst 1944 the Allies were nep, Hassim and Goch, In the close fighting that
advancrnq at such a speed that not only could took place in the gloomy Reichswald the Cro-
-,ne slow-moving Crocodiles not keep pace but codiles were the only weapons that could be T he C hurchill C rocodile had a norma I o p et a - :' : i
irere was littie for them to do, They according- used for effective support of the infantry, the range of about 73 m (80 yards), although unce:
-.i settled down for a brief respite of rest and long tongues of flame being able to clear the favourable conditions they could manage i . | ::.
:epairs to their trouble-prone vehicles. But Germans from therr forest defences where (120 yards). Enough fuel was carried for 8C ar.e-
reir rest was to be short-lived, for although the tanks could not make thetr way through the second bursts, but this was nrely attaineC as :.=
closely-wooded undergrowth. A11 through gas cylinders were prone to leakage.
-:ilies had advanced almost to the French bor-
jers in places, the Channel ports in their rear
:, ere still held by their German garrisons. The
lrccodiles were used during their subsequent
-:-'.estments and in one of these actlons, at Le
..--"'re, the Crocodiles were used for the flrst
-:::e during a night action, Thts took place on
:: nrght of 10 September, when the flame guns
'',':re inrtrally frred well outside thetr maximum
:.:ge of any target, The sight of the
=:iroaching jets of flame had a terrifying effect
-:-::e enemy, who promptly surrendered, This
.-.:l operation made a hole in the Le Havre
:::-neter defences and on the following day
-.: process was repeated wtth similar success,
'.'.-as during the Le Havre operation that an
.--'.:e German platoon was caught in the open
- Crocodile attack and every man tn the
-: 'ln',-rere
was burned to death. Similar opera-
-,=-s carried out at Brest, Calais and
--.: autumn operations of 1944 rarely
-= - : i the use of flame tanks, and those flame
>K i,it"uoo,
Development of what was to become
officially known as the Flame-Thrower,
Portable, No. 2 Mk I, began during
1941. It appears to have been rnflu-
enced by the German Flammenwerfer
40, but thebasic design ofany portable
flamethrower is fixed by physical con-
stuarnts, This results from the fact that
for a vessel that has to contain gas at
high pressure the sphere is the best
possible shape, On a flamethrower the
fuel tank has to contain as much fuel as
possible within as small a volume as
can be managed. These design
criteria virtually dictate the shape of
the resultant equipment, i.e, a central
sphere with a fuel tank having a crcu-
lar cross-sectlon wrapped around it.
This produces the classic shape which
gave the British equipment its Life-
buoy nickname, a nalne that stuck.
The first pilot model was ready by
mid-1942 and a production order soon
followed, despite the fact that the usual
series of troop and other trials had not
been completed, This was unforfunate,
for after only a short time in service the
Lifebuoy began to demonstrate a num-
ber of serious defects, many of them
caused by hurried manufacture of the
complex shape ofthe tanks. As always,
igmrtion proved to be somewhat unreli-
able, and the position of the fuel valve
ulder the tanks proved to be awkward
to use in action, As a result the first
production run of the Lifebuoy, the Mk
i. was withdrawn and used for trainingr
cnly foom mrd- 1943 onwards. It was not
';ntil the followrng year that the im-
proved Flame-Thrower, Portable, No.
2 Mk II appeared. It was this version
'nat the Bdtish army used until the war
ended, and for many years after, In
appearance there was little to diffe-
rentiate the Mk I from the Mk IL
The Mk II was ready for servrce by
J'-ne 1944, and was r.rsed during the
Normardy landinqs and after them, rn-
sluding the campaigns in the Far East,
Hcwever, the British army never was
:eally enthusiastic regarding portable
lamethrowers and decided that not
r:any would be requrred. Production
NTIZ ::-
wasp
--<
l1e first British use of flamethrowers in
:,:rnechon with mobile warfare was
:rrinq 1940, when the newly-
Petroleum Warfare De-
=s:abhshed
pa:tnent developed a flame projector
as the Ronson, This had a re-
-<:c-.rr'n
-a:-rely shorl ranqe and was mounted
::- a Universal Carrier with the fuel and
:.:npressed gas tanks over the rear of
-:e velncle. For various reasons the
tslr.sh army decided not to proceed
T-:j'] lhe Ronson. requestrng more
::rge, but the Canadians persevered
-r-r the desrgn, and later in the war it
;as adopted by the US Army, who cal-
-ei it the Satan,
Br' 1942 the PWD had developed the
:.::€on to the staqe where ranges of 73
:: 3-.5 m (80 to l0O yards) were being
:=ached. and thrs improved device
-fi- put mto production as the Wasp
Mk I. In September i942 an order for
- l'-lt" was placed and by November
--:: ::llowing year all had been deli-
-;:reC These Wasp Mk Is used a larqe
:ra-eCor gln that was routed over the
::: :: rhe Carrier and connected to two
--:el tanks inside the Carrier hull,
-::;ever, these Mk Is were deemed
';:sj-table for service as by then a
of the Mk II endedas early as july 1944,
after 7,500 had been made, Even the
Mk II proved to be generally unreli
able as it depended on a small battery
to ignite the flame, and in the wet or
Wasp Mk II hadappearedwith a much
smaller and handier flame projector
mounted at the front in place of the
machine-qun otherwise carried, This
new flame projector was a great adv-
ance over the previous design and
gave a much better flame perform-
ance even though rhere was no im-
provement in range; the same type of
projector was also used with the Chur-
chill Crocodile. It was also easier to
aim and much safer to use,
The Wasp Mk Ii first went rnto action
during the Normandy fightinq of July
1944, They were used mainly in sup-
port of rnfantry operations, whereas
the Crocodrle was used in conjunction
with armoured formations. They were
dreadfutly effective weapons, and
greatly feared by the unfortunate Ger-
mans who had to bear their effects,
though for fear of these effects German
infantry opposrtion very often ceased
once the Wasps had arrived on the
scene.
It was not lonqr before the Wasp Mk
IIs were joined by yet another Wasp
variant, this time the Wasp Mk IIC, the
suff,x denotrng Canada for the Cana-
dians had also developed their own
after even a short penod of use the
battery often failed. The old produc-
tion problem ofquality control was car-
ried over as well, and as always the
troops complained about the weight,
version of Wasp. They decided that to
devote a Universal Carrier to the
flamethrower role only was rather
wasteful in vehrcles and they rede-
signed the Wasp so that the Carrier
could also function as a normal Carrier
if it had to. Accordingrly they moved
the fuel tanks to a location outside the
rear of the vehicle, and replaced the
arrangement of two tanks with a single
34llitre (75-lmp gal) tank This gave
room insrde the open hull for a third
crew member, who could carry a light
machine-gmn Thrs gave the Wasp Mk
Above : The Mk I version of the F lame
Thrower, Portable, No. 2 was usually
known as the Lifebuoy from its
s hape, but it was nol a grea I success
and saw only limited operational use
hefore being replaced in late 1943 by
theMkll.
Left: The Mk II version of the Lifebuoy
became the standard British
flamethrower from early I 944
onwards, butitwas nevet apopular
weapon andwas used operationa@
only in limited numbers lts shape
was cft osen to provide the maximum
possiblevolume msrde a pressure
vessej.
The offlcral solution was to produce a
smaller device known as the Ack-
Pack which weighed 21,Bks (4Blb),
not for use in Europe but for possible
use in the Far East, In the event the
Ack-Pack was gdven such a low de-
velopment priorrty that it was not pro-
duced until after the war was over, So
ended the rather unfortunate Lifebuoy
project.
Specification
Lifebuoy
Weight: 29 kg (64 lb)
Fuel capacity: 18,2 litres (4 imp gal)
Range: 27,4 to 36.5 m (30 to 40 yards)
Duration of fire: l0 seconds
The W asp M k I I C was the Canadian
version of the BritishWasp, and
carried its fuel in a single tank at the
rear ; the British Wasp M k I I had two
internal tanks. The Wasp was a
conversion of the Universal Carrier
for the flame role first tested in I943.
IIC much more tactrcal flexibility, anci
it gradually came to be the preferred
type, ln June 1944 all Wasp productron
was swrtched to the Mk IIC standard
and field conversions were also made
Wasp(continued) Flamethrowers of World War II
using the existing Mk II 272.7Jitre (60
Imp gal) tanks. Operational expen-
ence demonstrated the need for more
foontal armour, and many Wasp Mk
llCs were frlted wLlh plastic armour
cver the front hull plates,
Some Wasps were fitted with spe-
cial smoke-producing equipment, and
a few had wading screens installed for
possible use during amphibious op-
erations. The Canadians demons-
trated their interest in flamethtower
-anks by fittrng Wasp eqlupments to
old Ram tanks to produce the Badger.
These conversions were carned out Ln i':,
the UK for the Canadian lst Army. Ear-
}y Badgers did not have turrets, thouefh
later versions did, the turretless ver-
srons being based on Ram Kangaroo
personnel carrrers. They w-ere used
by the Canadians from Februarv 1945
onwards.
During early 1945 three Wasps and
a quantity of their thlckened fuel were
sent to the USSR What the Soviets
made of them has not been recorded

TheWasp Mk II differed from the

earlier Mkl in having a much smaller
flame projector mounted in the front
hull. BritishWasps had a crew of two
while the Canadians had three. one
otwhom usually operated a
machine-gun or light mortar.

>K fi"*"y flamethrower

-{&! l'-

:--:,: i -,..-:'-. the projector and Thiswas theflame jet produced by the Harvey flamethrower, a static
--:-,'.ath
.- .:: :.= .:- jt
ler pornt. probably
_-.= defensive.device producedin 1940 mainlyfor the HomeGuard. Although
:.:::,: -i=;:=: -: s:me fashion, When a meanf to be used in a static role, it could be moved on a simple two-wheeled
!', -:--a :-:::: apprcached the flame caftiage, butitwas a cheiap and crudeweapon.
'.'.
aj .l- -:: - -:.= .::l rushed rhrough
-:-= ::: :-:: ::-l=: cressure. 1iked, but they worked after a fashion. Specification
-.'-: ':., -----.-=-.: ,',-+re sSued tO Some of them even lound their way to Hawey
; +L-
-, - -;.- -. .'.e UK,but it the Middle East where they were used Weight: not knoum
;;i ::. --:-;: :=,,:: :iHome Guard not for flame work but for smoke pro- Fuel capacity: 127.3 litres (2E Ir:-: :=
i:. --.-:.
-:.-:-:
duction. They were never used oper- Range: about 46 to 55 m (50 tc €,-'.'-..
:-:-= ::-i .'.::: f-Ot greatly ationally in a flame role, Durationoffire: l2seconds
Gt i.,attci*tiamme modello 35 e 40
As lts deslgnation implies the ltalian
lenciafiamme modello 35 entered ser-
rrce in 1935, just in time to make its
cperational debut during the ltalian in-
.;asion of Abyssinia, There this
ilamethrower terrorized the hapless
nalrves who had to endure its efficren-
cy, and from this the weapon gtained
for itself a reputation for lethality wlthin
ihe ltalian army,
From a design viewpoint there was
nothing really remarkable about the
modello 35, It was a relatively portable ty::,i*1.,i:,
twin-cylinder back-pack equipment
that used a rather cumbersome flame
projector, Thrs projector was fltted at
the end with a large collar houstng the
rlame ignition system, For various
reasons this ignition system was not
corsidered rehable enough, so it was
modfied to produce the Iranciafiamme
modello 40, In general appearance
and use the modello 40 was otherwise
identical to the modello 35,
These flamethrowers were used by
special troops known as Guastori, or
assauit pioneers, In action these
ilamethrower troops had to wear thrck
protective clothing and their faces
were covered by normal service gas
respirators, When so clothed therr
cperatronal mobrlity and vision was
restricted so they were usually
gnrarded by teams of supporting infan-
iw
ry. On the move their flamethrower
equipments were usually carried on
loecial brackets fitted to trucks or, if
:re formation was not mechanized, they appear to have been little used, Above: The flame projector of the L3 Below : The L3 Lanciafiamme was the
nules with special harnesses were Lanciatiamme was mounted in place most widely used of the Italian
employed, The fuel for the Specification of the machine-gun carried on the flamethrower tanks. The fuel w as
ilamethrowers was carried in specially Lanciafiamme modello 35 L3 / 38 tankettes. These flamethrower carried in a trailer weighing 500 kg
tanks were of very limited tactical ( 1, 1 02 Ib), but some later models
narked jerricans. Weisht:27 ks (59,5 Ib)
Both of these flamethrowers were Fuel capacity: I LB litres (2.6 Imp gal) value as they were v'ery lightly used a much sm aller fuel tank
used in some numbers by Italian Range: about 22 B m (25 yards) armoured and had acrew ofonly mounted over the rear hull.
3oops operating in North Africa and Duration offire: 2O seconds two.
by the hapless ltalian troops who had
ic fight alongside the Germans on the
Eastern Front, In both theatres ofwar
-,le modello 35 and 40 worked well
enough, but it was increasingly
:oticed that they lacked rangte com-
pared with contemporary equivalents,
and especially the later German de-
signs. This did not stop the Germans
usinq them from time to time
=cm it suited them.
','.'hen
Incidentally, the success of
lamethrowers in Ethiopia moved the
I:alian army authorities to flt a special
;ersron of a lanciafiamme, much larger
-rar the man-pack version, to the little
- 3 tankette As space wrthin the low
:ull of this L3-35Lf vehicle was very
rmited the fuel was carried externally
:: a lightly armoured trailer, with a
ccrrugated pipe passing the fuel to the
projector from the trailer, There was
also a version that dispensed with the
:ailer and carried a much smaller flat
-:el tank over the top of the vehicle
lear, Although much was made of
::ese two flame-throwing tankettes The ltalian L3 Lanciafiamme carried its fuel in a trailet
connected to the flame gun by a flexible hose. The
propellant gas was contained in a cylinder on the iear
of the chassis, but later versions carried both fuel and
gas actually on the hull exterior. The L3 Lanciafiamme
was the most widely used of the ltalian mobile
flamethrowers.
 Armed Forces of the World

Niccffcgucl
' 979 Nicaragua fell to the Sandinista Natonal
'1

-beration Front after about a year of bloody cvil

,.'ar. Since then the army has been built up with
luban and Soviet help to become the largest in
lentral Amerrca; Ntcaragua has thus come to be
':garded by the t-tS administration as the prrmary
.^ -:at to stability
rn the region. The Americans there,
',': sJpport a number of guerrilla forces whose aim
: .: :\'erthrow the Sandinistas, and who are collec-
.: . ca led the 'Contras'. These guerrilla bands
: :: -.:e across the borders from both Honduras and
,:. -: Blca.
-^e Nrcaraguan army numbers more than 60,000
j- r coror ses the lollowing units:
: ^e motorized infantry battalion,
:^ree aTmoured battalions,
-
2 infantry battalions,
.rree lrght infantry battalions,
:ne enqineer battalion,
:ne air-defence regiment (under air force control)
and
:wo field artillery regiments (with three battalions
each).
Weapons come from a number of countries, but
.re major source is now the Eastern bloc, with
:el very usually via Cuba. There are around 3,000
lrban and 1 00 Soviet advisers :n the country at any
:re time. Listed below are the army's primary types
,rd numbers of equipment.
.'mour: '1
10 T-54 and T-55 MBTs and PT-76 light
amphibroustanks; 20 BRDM-2 and2}f 17
Staghound armoured cars; 1 00 plus BTR-40, BTR-
60 and BTR-1 52 APCs
.tillery:US M1/M29 B1-mm (3.19,in), Soviet
M 1 931 I 1 941 I 1943 B}mm (3.23-in), Soviet
lvl1938/1943 120-mm 14.12-n) and lsraeli Soltam
120-mm mortars; 12 US 105-mm (4.13-in) M101
howitzers; 24M1938122-mm (4 8-in), 12 D-30
1 22-mm, 1 2 D-20'1 52-mm (6-i n) Soviet
howitzers; 30 M 1942 76-mm (3-in) Soviet field
guns; 12 BM-21 Soviet multiple rocket-launchers
. r m o u r w e a po n s : 57 -mm (2.24-in) lV 1 8, 73-
1 t i -a

mm (2 B7-in)SPG-9 and l06-mm (4 17-rn) M40A1

recoliless rif les; Soviet RPG-7 and French 6B-mm
2.68-in) SARPAC rocket-launchers
r

. ^i;-aircraft weapons. SA-7'Grail' SAMs, SA-B

'Gecko' SAMs, SA-9'Gaskin' SAMs; "14.5-mm
) 51-in) ZPI-I1214 guns, 23-mmZU-23 guns, 37-
r
- M 1939 guns. 4O-mm M 1 guns and 57-mm
-i-60 guns
--
'.., :rms. Americarr M'1 64'1 , lsraeli Galil, Soviet
- r.*7 and AKM assault nf les; lsraelt Uzi sub-
--::^ ne guns; Amelcan M60, Soviet RPD, RPK
=-: ir-46 light machine-guns; 7 62-mm
- --^., ng medrum machine-guns; Soviet DShK
-l - 'r^m" (0
5-in)and Brown ng 12.7-mm heavy
--::'-e-gUnS. mixture of older Western aircraft which mostly pre- A soldier of the Nicaraguan army mans a
date the civil war. The air force's composition is as checkpoint in the capital, Managrua. Since
^= ^a,.'y:s a sma I coastal defence force of some follows: ovetthrowing the US-backed Somoza regr,n:e -:
, --^ wrth 15 patrol craft and a single LCIV. Of
, 1979 the Sandinistas have acquired man',, o! :-:e
'= ..-.'a boats the most important are the four one fhter/g round-attack sq uadron with three
ig
trappings of a regular army but rerna jn es"-e::. -_;'

:'r: l:c.tt'c ass craft armed with 20-mm cannon a guerrilla force with very limited offensi,'e
Lockheed T-33As, three North American AT-28Ds,
capacity.
-' :- rr,achine-guns. six SlAl-Marchetti SF.260 Warriors, six Aero L-39s,
-- =a.;
'- -:
'
= = '3rce rs llm ted in stze to 1,500 men or so, and six Mil Mi-24'Hind-Ds' To support tnese ''onr- fl€ €=-:-.i -.'- , =
:oss brlity at present of acquiring high- one transport squadron with one CASA C-2'l 2, one 60,000 reservists together with 4,All ::':=' : -.- _=
. - -:-^-:^ie MiG fighters because of the threat of lAlArava. four Douglas C-47s, one Dassault- andacivirian'rilitaof aO,OOO -: -:-',- t'..'
-- - ,.' 3'e-ernptive arr strikes. The major offen- Breguet Falcon 20, and two or three Antonov An-2 security in <ey areas t.tere are o:: ::^ - . . '_
- -:::: :v s l mited to the recent acquisitlon of LOIlS 3,000 Ministry of the lnter or trccos - ,' .---=
'.'--- 'l rd-D' gLnsh,p nericopters plus one helicopter squadron with two Aerospatiale second line units are armeci io tz','J :-.=- -:'i:
'-,- - ---::.cjdual-ro e CzechAero L-39 jettrarn-a Alouette llls, two H ughes OH-6As, and two or three and usually come into contaci ,,", :^ l:-.-. _- -.
- : --. ..'.'.: a rcraft. These supplement a varied MilMi-B'Hips'. during the course of therr dui es.
 rD pa-sg
Armed Forces of the World

ElScilv dor
El Salvador is the most densely populated of the
countries in Central America, and since 1977 has
suffered major internal subversion with the US-
supported right-wing government fighting in-
creasingly better-armed and better-trained left-wing
g.-rerrilla groups which receive support from the
Soviet Union and Cuba. The country is divided into
:'ree zcnes (the Western, Central and Eastern De-
':r:ce Zones) which cover the 14 individual depart-
-ents or states. Military service is now compulsory
':r all male citizens between the ages of 1B and 60 in
:.der to maintain the unit levels required by the
:nree sei-vices.
The army has a manpower strength of more than
10,000 and comprises the following units:
:- ree infantry brigades (each of two infantry
:egiments with one regular and two reserve
cattalions apiece)
:re :nfantry brigade (with four specialist anti-
g..rerrilla infantry battalions),
:. r--e ndependent special f orces battalions,
:

:ae mechanized cavalry regiment,

:-e artillery regiment (with two battalions),
- lndependent light infantry battalions (one per
aepartment),
- -: reserve infantry regiments (with three
:attalions each),
: -e engineer battalion,
: - e Daratroop battalion (under air force control) and
: ^: a;riefence battalion (under air force control).
-re equipment used by these units comes f rom
- --Der of sources including (surprisingly) Yugosla-
, :. and although sparse in some areas is relatively
- cdern. The standard of training is improving slowly
as ihe Arnerican influence increases, but the army
51 , psriodically suffers defeats at the hands of the
-:rels. Listed below are the army's primary types
:ri numbers of equipment.
.'ttour: 1 2 AMX-1 3 light tanks, 1 B AM L-90
rmoured cars, 20 UR-41 6APCs, 1 0 M1 1 3APCs
and an unknown number of locally modified M1 14
APCs
z t' I I e ry : 81 -mm (3. 1 9-i n) Hotch kiss-B randt mortars
and Yugoslav 120-mm (4.72-in) UBM-52 mortars;
1 2 Yugoslav M56 1 05-mm (4.13-in) howitzers, 30
105-mm M101 howitzers,andsixMl 14155-mm
1-in) howltzers
'6
2 nt-armou r weapons : 57 -mm (2.24-inl M 1 B and 75-
nm (2.95-in) M20 recoilless rifles;66-mm (2.6-in)
Ml 2 and Israeli B0-mm (3. 1 5-in) rocket-launchers
3 nt -a i rc raft w ea pon s : 20-mm B reda, Yugoslav 20-
rrm M55 triple and 40-mm Bofors L/60 guns
so.all arms: M1 Garandand M'14 rifles; lsraeli Galil,
US M1642 and West German G-3 assault ri{les;
lsraeli Uzi sub-machine guns; 7.62-mm (0.3-in)
Madsen Model M1954and 7.62-mm M60 light
machine-guns ; 7 .62-mm Browning medium
rnachine-guns ; and 1 2.7 -mm (0.5-in) Browning
neavy machine-guns.
To back the army there is a small but potent air
=orce of around 1,500 men. The air force flies both
+merican and ex-lsraeliwarplanes which are tasked
,,rith both COIN and army close-support missions.
One recent addition to the inventory has been a
s,ngle Douglas AC-47 'Spooky' gunship conversion
of the venerable Dakota. Although not armed with
Miniguns, this has three single 12.7-mm heavy
rrachineguns and operates on exactly the same
crnciples as the Vietnam War gunships in orbiting a
:3rget to bring it under fire. lf the aircraft proves
a Above: EI Salvador's latest revolutionary war is
noweightyears o[d, and the armymustpatrol
constanily to retain control of the countryside;jeep
patrols like this are always vulnerable to
landmines, even neat the capital.
successful Lhen a second will be procured. Other-
wise air strikes are confined to rockets, general-
purpose bombs with extended fuses, and cannon or
machine-gun fire.
The air force comprises the following units:
Escuadrilla de Caza with 1B Dassault-Breguet Super
Mystdres;
Escuadrilla de Caza Bombarda with 1 1 Dassault-
Breguet Ouragans; Aguerrilla poses by the site oIa successfu/
Escuadrilla de Ataque with 1 7 Cessna A-37 ambush on the coastal highway. Generations of
Dragonf lies, seven 46rospatiale C. M.1 70 oppressive government have created fertile
ground for Soviet-backed revolution.
Magisters and one Douglas AC47 'Spooky';
Escuadrilla de Transporte with two Fairchild
C-l23Ks, two Douglas DC-6Bs, five lAl Aravas
and five Douglas C-47s;
Escuela de Aviacion Militar with three C.M.1 70
Magisters, six Cessna T41 s, eight North
American T-6 Texans, three Beech T-34 Mentors,
seven Cessna 1 80s, one Cessna 1 82 and one
Cessna 1 85; and
miscellaneous: six Cessna O-2As, three
46rospatiale SA 31 5B Lamas, two A6rospatiale
Alouette llls, one Fairchild-Hiller FH-1 100, 1 Bor
more Bell UH-1 Hs and one Hughes 500D.
Not all of the aircraft are airworthy at the same
time. some being mothballed for spares and others
undergoing maintenance or battle damage repairs.
The Salvadorean navy is based on the long Pacific
coast, and is used for patrols against gun runners
and for customs work. The navy has a strength of
130 men to man seven patrol boats and a smalltug. Government troops have improved in
The patrols are meant to restrict the influx of effectiveness, thanks to an influx of US aid: the
weapons and supplies that are channelled to the machine-gunner carries an American M60 GPMG,
rebels via El Salvador's near neighbour Nicaragua. his number two an M I 6A I rifle.