Flame thrower

The flame thrower is a mechanical device designed to throw flames or, more correctly, to project a liquid fired. Its use is in particular Militaire but is also used by those which need to burn timbered grounds and spaces, as in the Agriculture or the forest Aménagement.

Many modern nonmilitary flame throwers do not use a jet burning of liquid, but fire a flammable gas jet with high pressure, such as the Propane or the Natural gas, and are considered surer for the agricultural, industrial, or entertaining use.

Operation

Nowadays, a flame thrower is a portable device which is composed of two cylindrical tanks generally related to the back. The first cylinder contains flammable oil; the second a gas pressurized in the lower section and the higher section. Models exists with three tanks: flammable oil is simply distributed on two containers for a more symmetrical distribution of weight and to have a more compact size. There can also be a small additional bottle of gas (approximately 0,5 L) being used to light the flame of lighting (also called night light) if necessary. Thanks to a lever, the gas forces the exit of the flammable liquid by a tube and a wick puts fire at the device in a nozzle out of steel.

The compressed gases used are Azote, Carbon dioxide, Propane or Natural gas. The flammable product is him a derivative of the Pétrole: gasoline, Gas oil or Napalm.

History

The first flame thrower, in the modern direction, is usually credited with the Chinese, who about the 11th century developed a machine with “continuous fire” launching a liquid fuel by a system of pumps and put at fire by a wick, which was well the first military use of the Gunpowder before its use which gave him its name.

A principle differ but generally associated with the flame thrower Greek fire is the which goes back to worms 670.

Lastly, in occident, the modern and military version of the flame thrower must with research of the German Scientifique Richard Fiedler. It subjected models of evaluation of sound Flammenwerfer to the German army in 1901. The most significant model could project a jet blazing and of enormous clouds of smoke up to 18 m with two minutes of time of firing. It was a single device of shooting. The gas used was Azote and the flammable product a derivative of the Pétrole.

It is only in 1911 that the German army accepted the device, creating a specialized regiment of twelve companies equipped with Flammenwerferapparate . In spite of this, the weapon was used at the time of the First World War that in February 1916 where it was briefly employed against the French with Verdun. Then, it was not used any more until July 1916 when it was employed against the British trenches with Hooge , where it had a limited but impressive effect. Indeed, the adversary was demoralized by fear to burn sharp and, panicked, it left its position. In 1915, fifty firemen of the fire brigade of Paris integrated the rows of the 1st regiment of French genius to test the flame thrower French on an attack; but as in Germany, one forsook the invention quickly.

It was discovered that the weapon had certain disadvantages: barbarian machine, it was cumbersome and difficult of use and could only be used since a trench, thus limiting its sure use to the sectors where the unfavourable trenches were distant 18 m, which was not common. The operators of flame thrower were excessively vulnerable, and only were seldom made captive, particularly when their targets survived. The British and French tested their own systems of flame thrower but give up them very quickly. The German army continued to deploy them throughout the war and they were employed with more than 300 occasions, usually by teams of six flame throwers.

French side, the Brigade of firemen of Paris tested with the face of the flame throwers to the hillock of Vauquois. For lack of experiment, because of a head wind and more raised target, a score of between-them died flarings, victims of their own material.

Flame throwers were used intensively during the Second world war. The vulnerability of the operators to foot coupled with the short range of the weapon imposed tests on systems embarked by Tank (called in this case of the Tank flame thrower ). The navy American used the flame thrower M2A1-7 and found it particularly useful to pacify the Japanese Tranchée S and undergrounds in the battle of the Pacific. Where the Japanese were indélogeables because deeply cut off, the flames could not reach them but consumed oxygen, causing suffocation. The navy thereafter ceased employing their m2-2 with the arrival of the alternative M4A 3R 3 Flamethrower equipped with the Système Ronson of the tank Sherman M4. The flame throwers are also effective against the armored vehicles. They were also used to release the bunkers and the Blockhaus at the time of the Bataille of Normandy ( Opération Overlord ): the Unloading in Normandy of 1944. The Germans considerably used their flame thrower (called Flammenwerfer 35 ) during the invasion of Western Europe but it was limited soon to the operations of reprisals. However, on the Russian Face, its use on the battle field continued until the end of the war because it corresponded well to the policy of the “burned Earth”.

Military flame throwers

Military examples of flame throwers used during the Second world war:

  • individual portable System:

    • Flammenwerfer 35 and Flammenwerfer 41 , Germany
    • Lifebuoy Mark I , the United Kingdom
    • M2A1-7 Flamethrower , the United States of America
    • ROKS-2 , the U.S.S.R.
  • System assembled on vehicle:
    • M4A 3R 3 Flamethrower , alternative of the Sherman M4, the United States of America
    • Tank Churchill Crocodile (fact left the “Hobart' S Funnies”), the United Kingdom
    • Murray FT and Frog , alternatives of the Char Matilda, the United Kingdom and Australia
    • Badger , Char RAM adapted with a lance-flame, Canada
    • Mark II FT , alternative of the light tank Mark , Germany
    • Variante Hetzer of the light tank Jagdpanzer 38 (T) of Czech origin (Škoda), Germany
    • SdKfz 122 , alternative of the tank Panzer II, Germany
    • SdKfz 251/16 , alternative of the half-tracked armoured tank SdKfz 251 , Germany
    • Flammpanzer I, II and III , Germany
    • Alternative of the light tank FIAT L6/40 , Italy
    • OT-28 , alternative of the Tank T-28, the U.S.S.R.
    • OT-26 , OT-130 , OT-133 , OT-134 , alternatives of the Tank T-26 , the U.S.S.R.
    • Alternative of the Tank T-34, the U.S.S.R.
    • Alternative of the Tank T-35, the U.S.S.R.

Private detention

The flame throwers are subjected in France like overall in European Union, with the laws of control concerning the weapons of war and it is impossible for a civilian to legally acquire some. With the the United States of America, there is no restriction on private detention with title of flame thrower.

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