List of flamethrowers

This page is a list of flamethrowers of all forms from around the world.[1]

Man-portable

Name/
designation		 Year of
intro		 Country of
origin		 Notes
Flamethrower, Portable, No 2 1943  United Kingdom The Flamethrower, Portable, No 2 (nicknamed Lifebuoy from the shape of its fuel tank), also known as the Ack Pack, was a British design of flamethrower for infantry use in the Second World War. It was a near copy of the German Wechselapparat ("Wex") from 1917.
Flammenwerfer 35 1935  Germany The FmW 35 was the one-man German flamethrower used during World War II used to clear out trenches and buildings. This was a deadly weapon that was extremely effective at close range. It could project fuel up to 25m from the user. This weapon was also known as the "skinsteal", because using this weapon at close range would usually result in severe skin loss. The burning liquid compound used produced fumes very similar to lachrymatory agents.
Flammenwerfer 41 1941  Germany The Flammenwerfer 41, or FmW 41 was the German flamethrower used during late World War II, used to clear out trenches and buildings. It was the more upgraded version of the Flammenwerfer 35. It could project fuel up to 32m from the user.
Flammenwerfer M.16. 1916?  Germany The Flammenwerfer M.16. was a flamethrower used by German infantry during World War I for clearing trenches and killing riflemen. It was used in 1918 in the Battle of Argonne Forest in France. The Germans in the 1940s created a further development, the Flammenwerfer 35. German riflemen would often be positioned behind flamethrower carrying infantry. The flamethrowers would kill large numbers of enemy infantry, enabling the riflemen to attack the remaining troops with a high probability of success.
Handflammpatrone 1965  West Germany The Handflammpatrone DM34 was a single-shot, disposable incendiary weapon issued to the German Armed Forces from 1965 to 2001. It fired a red phosphorus round that would explode after 8 m on hard contact, or after 1.3 seconds by fuse. The fuel spreads across an area approximately 15 m wide and 50 m long and burns at 1,300° C. Max range 90 m.
Harvey Flamethrower 1940  United Kingdom The Harvey flamethrower comprised a welded steel cylinder containing 22 gallons (1000 l) of creosote and a standard bottle of compressed nitrogen at 1,800 pounds per square inch (120 bar) mounted on a sack truck. It could produce a jet of fuel lasting about 10 seconds at a range of up to 60 ft (18 m).
Home Guard Flamethrower 1940  United Kingdom The Home Guard Flamethrower stored fuel in a barrel mounted on hand cart that was light enough to be wheeled along roads and possibly over fields to where it was needed. A hand operated pump would give a flame of up to sixty feet (18 m) in length.
Kleinflammenwerfer 1911  Germany The first German man-portable flamethrower, known as the Kleif ('Klei'n'f'lammenwerfer). Fuel was stored in a large vertical, cylindrical backpack container. High-pressure propellant was stored in another, smaller container attached to the fuel tank. A long hose connected the fuel tank to a lance tube with an igniting device at the nozzle. The propellant forced the fuel through the hose and out of the nozzle at high speed when a valve was opened. The igniting device at the nozzle set fire to the fuel as it sprayed out. The flamethrower was operated by two soldiers, one carrying the fuel and propellant tanks, another wielding the lance. There was also a Grof ('Gro'ss'f'lammenwerfer), also introduced in 1911.
K pattern flamethrower 1944  Poland The K pattern (Polish: wzór K) was a man-portable backpack flamethrower, produced in occupied Poland during World War II for the underground Home Army. These flamethrowers were used in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.
LPO-50 1950  Soviet Union Soviet Army flamethrowers had three backpack fuel tanks side by side. Its user could fire three shots, each emptying one of the tanks. The mechanism used to empty the tank was not a pressurized gas cylinder but a black powder cartridge on each fuel cylinder. This type is used in two versions, the "Light Infantry Flamethrower" (Легкий Пехотный Огнемёт) LPO-50 (ЛПО-50), and the "Heavy Infantry Flamethrower" (Тяжёлый Пехотный Огнемёт) TPO-70 (ТПО-70); a heavier, wheeled version was remotely triggered.
M1A1 Flamethrower 1940  United States The M1 and M1A1 were portable flamethrowers developed by the United States during World War II. M1 weighed 72 lb, had a range of 15 meters, and had a fuel tank capacity of 5 gallons. The improved M1A1 weighed less at 65 lb, had a much longer range of 45 meters, had the same fuel tank capacity, and fired thickened fuel (napalm).
M2 flamethrower 1943  United States The M2 flamethrower (M2-2) was an American man-portable backpack flamethrower that was used in World War II. It was the successor to the M1 and M1A1 flamethrowers.
M9 flamethrower 1960s  United States The M9 flamethrower was an American man-portable backpack flamethrower that was used in the Vietnam War. It was lighter and easier to pack than the M1 and M2 series flamethrowers.
Marsden flamethrower 1941  United Kingdom The Marsden flamethrower comprised a backpack with four imperial gallons (18 l) of fuel pressurised to 400 pounds per square inch (28 bar) by compressed nitrogen gas, the backpack was connected to a "gun" by means of a flexible tube and the weapon was operated by a simple lever. The weapon could give 12 seconds of flame divided into any number of individual spurts.
ROKS flamethrowers 1935  Soviet Union The ROKS-2 and ROKS-3 were man-portable flamethrowers used by the USSR in the Second World War. The ROKS-2 was designed not to attract attention so the fuel tank was square and resembled a regular backpack, and the nozzle looked like a service rifle. The propellant tank was a small bottle underneath the backpack fuel tank. ROKS-3 was a simplified design and had a regular cylindrical fuel tank. The Finnish designation for captured ROKS-2 units was m/41-r.
Type 93 and 100 flamethrowers 1933  Japan The Type 93 and Type 100 Flamethrowers (九三式/一〇〇式火炎放射器, Kyūsan-shiki/Hyaku-shiki kaenhōshaki?) were flamethrowers used by the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy's SNLF during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.
Wechselapparat 1917  Germany The Germans introduced another small flamethrower design in 1917 to replace the earlier Kleif. The Wechselapparat ("Wex") had a doughnut-shaped backpack fuel container with a spherical propellant container in the middle. This design was updated during the Second World War to become flamethrower model 40. However, model 40 was considered too fragile so it was soon replaced by model 41, a simpler construction with smaller, horizontal, cylindrical backpack containers. The doughnut-shaped container design was copied by the British during World War II.

Static

Name/
designation		 Year of
intro		 Country of
origin		 Notes
Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector 1916  United Kingdom Livens Large Gallery Flame Projectors were large experimental flamethrowers used by the British Army in World War I.
Abwehrflammenwerfer 42 1942  Germany The Abwehrflammenwerfer 42 was a German static defensive flamethrower, flame fougasse or flame mine used during the Second World War. The design was copied from Russian FOG-1 mines that were encountered in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa. These were usually buried at intervals of 12 to 30 yards (11 to 27 m) covering road blocks, landing beaches, harbor walls and other obstacles. They were normally mixed in with other mines or emplaced behind barbed wire and could be command detonated or triggered by tripwires or other devices.
Grossflammenwerfer  Germany In addition to man-portable units, the Germans designed heavy flamethrowers before and during the First World War. The large flamethrower (Grossflammenwerfer or "Grof") was designed to be used from the trenches. The fuel and propellant containers were too large and heavy for mobility, but the hose could be long enough to be carried out of the trenches closer to the enemy. Multiple propellant and fuel containers could be connected together to improve range and usage time.

Vehicle mounted

Name/
designation		 Year of
intro		 Country of
origin		 Notes
Blaster 1998  South Africa The Blaster (AKA the "BMW Flamethrower" hence the production video) was a 1998 invention by South African inventor Charl Fourie to provide a defence against carjackings. The invention came at a time when crime rates were rising and armed assault and carjackings became a serious public concern in South Africa. The Blaster was a liquefied petroleum gas flamethrower installed along the sides of the vehicle under the doors. Should a carjacker approach, the driver could raise his hands, faking surrender, then activate a pedal or switch and violent flames would erupt from the sides of the vehicle, "neutralizing" the assailant. The inventor claims it is unlikely to kill but would "definitely blind" the assailant. In South Africa, it is legal to use lethal force in self-defence if in fear of one's life and ownership of flamethrowers is unrestricted.
Churchill Crocodile 1943  United Kingdom The Churchill Crocodile was a British flame-throwing tank developed during the Second World War. It was a variant of the Tank, Infantry, Mk VI (A22) Churchill Mark VII], although the Churchill Mark IV was initially chosen to be the base vehicle. The Crocodile was introduced as one of the specialised armoured vehicles developed under Major-General Percy Hobart, informally known as "Hobart's Funnies". Production started in October 1943, in time for the Normandy invasion of 1944.
Cockatrice flamethrower 1940  United Kingdom The Cockatrice was mounted on a wheeled, armoured vehicle. This had a rotating weapon mount with elevation to 90 degrees and it had a range of about 100 yd (91 m), stored about two tons of fuel and used compressed carbon monoxide as a propellant.
KV-8 1939  Soviet Union A KV-1 fitted with the ATO-41 flame-thrower in the turret, beside a machine gun. In order to accommodate the new weapon, the 76.2mm gun was replaced with a smaller 45 mm Gun M1932, though it was disguised to look like the standard 76 mm (The cannon was placed inside 76mm tube). Other variants include the KV-8S (25) -- the same as KV-8, but based on KV-1S and equipped with ATO-42 flamethrower (improved version of ATO-41) -- and the KV-8M, an upgraded version of KV-8S equipped with two flamethrowers.
M132 Armored Flamethrower 1962  United States The M132 was a United States built flamethrower armed variant of the M113 and M113A1 armored personnel carriers developed in the early 1960s. Approximately 350 were accepted into service. The first prototype of the vehicle was produced in August 1962 when a flamethrower was mounted on a M113. This prototype was only used in combat situations four times that year.
M67 Flame Thrower Tank 1955  United States The M67 "Zippo" was a United States built flamethrowing tank, a variant of the M48 Patton series of medium battle tanks. Served with the US Army and Marine Corps, 109 of these units were built, and served in the Vietnam conflict.
Ronson flamethrower 1940  United Kingdom The Ronson system was a flamethrower developed by the British in World War II and used by the United States Marine Corps during World War II.
Royal Navy 1942  United Kingdom For the 1918 raid on the port of Zeebrugge the Royal Navy equipped HMS Vindictive with two fixed flamethrowers and several hand-held 'Hay Flame Guns' for use ashore. They were operated by 34-40 men from the Admiralty Experimental Station at Stratford and included at least one Royal Engineer. They trained at Wembley. The fixed flamethrowers were damaged by shellfire during the approach and only succeeded in pumping unignited fuel over the deck but the hand-held units were reportedly effective.
Wasp flamethrower 1942  Canada United Kingdom The wasp was based on a small, tracked, open-topped vehicle known as the Universal Carrier. Initially mounting a Ronson flamethrower, the weapon was steadily improved so that a range of 80 to 100 yards (73 to 91 m) was achieved.

References

  1. ↑ Small Arms Illustrated, 2010

See also

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