Flamethrowers in the First World War. Hellfire: Fire to Kill How a flamethrower works
Are backpack flamethrowers still in use? October 2nd, 2017
Chinese military training with jet backpack flamethrower ().
How many meters does he hit? It seemed to me that the armies of the world now only have jet (manual or mechanized) flamethrowers in service. Are there really backpack flamethrowers still in service?
A little history:
The backpack fire device was first proposed to the Russian Minister of War in 1898 by the Russian inventor Sieger-Korn. The device was found difficult and dangerous to use and was not accepted for service under the pretext of “unrealism.”
Three years later, the German inventor Fiedler created a flamethrower of a similar design, which was adopted without hesitation by the Reuter. As a result, Germany managed to significantly outstrip other countries in the development and creation of new weapons. The use of poisonous gases no longer achieved their goals - the enemy now had gas masks. In an effort to maintain the initiative, the Germans used a new weapon - flamethrowers. On January 18, 1915, a volunteer sapper squad was formed to test new weapons. The flamethrower was used at Verdun against the French and British. In both cases, he caused panic in the ranks of the enemy infantry, and the Germans managed to take enemy positions with few losses. No one could remain in the trench when a stream of fire burst through the parapet.
On the Russian front, the Germans first used flamethrowers on November 9, 1916 in the battle near Baranovichi. However, here they were unable to achieve success. The Russian soldiers suffered losses, but did not lose their heads and stubbornly defended themselves. The German infantry, rising under the cover of flamethrowers to attack, encountered strong rifle and machine-gun fire. The attack was thwarted.
The German monopoly on flamethrowers did not last long - by the beginning of 1916, all the warring armies, including Russia, were armed with various systems of these weapons.
The construction of flamethrowers in Russia began in the spring of 1915, even before their use by German troops, and a year later a backpack flamethrower designed by Tavarnitsky was adopted for service. At the same time, Russian engineers Stranden, Povarin, and Stolitsa invented a high-explosive piston flamethrower: from it the flammable mixture was ejected not by compressed gas, but by a powder charge. At the beginning of 1917, a flamethrower called SPS had already entered mass production.
How they work
Regardless of the type and design, the principle of operation of flamethrowers is the same. Flamethrowers (or flamethrowers, as they used to say) are devices that emit jets of highly flammable liquid at a distance of 15 to 200 m. The liquid is thrown out of the tank through a special fire hose by the force of compressed air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen or powder gases and ignites when it exits fire hose with a special igniter.
In World War I, two types of flamethrowers were used: backpack flamethrowers for offensive operations, heavy ones for defense. Between the world wars, a third type of flamethrower appeared - high-explosive.
A backpack flamethrower is a steel tank with a capacity of 15-20 liters, filled with flammable liquid and compressed gas. When the tap is opened, the liquid is thrown out through a flexible rubber hose and a metal fire nozzle and ignited by an igniter.
The heavy flamethrower consists of an iron tank with a capacity of about 200 liters with an outlet pipe, a tap and brackets for manual carrying. A fire hose with a control handle and an igniter is movably mounted on a carriage. The flight range of the jet is 40-60 m, the sector of destruction is 130-1800. A shot from a flamethrower hits an area of 300-500 m2. One shot can knock out up to a platoon of infantry.
A high-explosive flamethrower differs in design and principle of operation from backpack flamethrowers - the fire mixture is ejected from the tank by the pressure of gases formed during the combustion of a powder charge. An incendiary cartridge is placed on the nozzle, and a powder ejection cartridge with an electric fuse is inserted into the charger. Powder gases eject liquid at a distance of 35-50 m.
The main disadvantage of the jet flamethrower is its short range. When shooting at long distances, the system pressure needs to increase, but this is not easy to do - the fire mixture is simply pulverized (sprayed). This can only be combated by increasing the viscosity (thickening the mixture). But at the same time, a freely flying burning jet of fire mixture may not reach the target, completely burning out in the air.
Flamethrower ROKS-3
Cocktail
All the terrifying power of flamethrower-incendiary weapons lies in incendiary substances. Their combustion temperature is 800−1000C or more (up to 3500C) with a very stable flame. Fire mixtures do not contain oxidizing agents and burn due to oxygen in the air. Incendiaries are mixtures of various flammable liquids: oil, gasoline and kerosene, light coal oil with benzene, a solution of phosphorus in carbon disulfide, etc. Fire mixtures based on petroleum products can be either liquid or viscous. The former consist of a mixture of gasoline with heavy motor fuel and lubricating oil. In this case, a wide swirling jet of intense flame is formed, flying 20-25 meters. The burning mixture is capable of flowing into the cracks and holes of target objects, but a significant part of it burns out in flight. The main disadvantage of liquid mixtures is that they do not stick to objects.
Napalms, that is, thickened mixtures, are a different matter. They can stick to objects and thereby increase the affected area. Liquid petroleum products are used as their fuel base - gasoline, jet fuel, benzene, kerosene and a mixture of gasoline with heavy motor fuel. Polystyrene or polybutadiene are most often used as thickeners.
Napalm is highly flammable and sticks even to wet surfaces. It is impossible to extinguish it with water, so it floats on the surface, continuing to burn. The burning temperature of napalm is 800−11000C. Metallized incendiary mixtures (pyrogels) have a higher combustion temperature - 1400−16000C. They are made by adding powders of certain metals (magnesium, sodium), heavy petroleum products (asphalt, fuel oil) and some types of flammable polymers - isobutyl methacrylate, polybutadiene - to ordinary napalm.
Lighter people
The army profession of a flamethrower was extremely dangerous - as a rule, you had to get within a few tens of meters to the enemy with a huge piece of iron behind your back. According to an unwritten rule, soldiers of all armies of World War II did not take flamethrowers and snipers prisoner; they were shot on the spot.
For every flamethrower there was at least one and a half flamethrowers. The fact is that high-explosive flamethrowers were disposable (after operation, a factory reload was required), and the work of a flamethrower with such weapons was akin to sapper work. High-explosive flamethrowers were dug in front of their own trenches and fortifications at a distance of several tens of meters, leaving only a camouflaged nozzle on the surface. When the enemy approached within firing distance (from 10 to 100 m), the flamethrowers were activated (“exploded”).
The battle for the Shchuchinkovsky bridgehead is indicative. The battalion was able to fire its first fire salvo only an hour after the start of the attack, having already lost 10% of its personnel and all its artillery. 23 flamethrowers were blown up, destroying 3 tanks and 60 infantrymen. Having come under fire, the Germans retreated 200-300 m and began to shoot Soviet positions from tank guns with impunity. Our fighters moved to reserve camouflaged positions, and the situation repeated itself. As a result, the battalion, having used up almost the entire supply of flamethrowers and having lost more than half of its strength, destroyed by the evening six more tanks, one self-propelled gun and 260 fascists, barely holding the bridgehead. This classic fight shows the advantages and disadvantages of flamethrowers - they are useless beyond 100m and are terrifyingly effective when used unexpectedly at point-blank range.
Soviet flamethrowers managed to use high-explosive flamethrowers on the offensive. For example, in one section of the Western Front, before a night attack, 42 (!) high-explosive flamethrowers were buried at a distance of only 30-40 m from a German wooden-earth defensive embankment with machine gun and artillery embrasures. At dawn, the flamethrowers were blown up in one salvo, completely destroying a kilometer of the enemy’s first line of defense. In this episode, one admires the fantastic courage of the flamethrowers - to bury a 32-kg cylinder 30 m from a machine-gun embrasure!
No less heroic were the actions of flamethrowers with ROKS backpack flamethrowers. A fighter with an additional 23 kg on his back was required to run to the trenches under deadly enemy fire, get within 20-30 m of a fortified machine-gun nest, and only then fire a volley. Here is a far from complete list of German losses from Soviet backpack flamethrowers: 34,000 people, 120 tanks, self-propelled guns and armored personnel carriers, more than 3,000 bunkers, bunkers and other firing points, 145 vehicles.
Costumed Burners
The German Wehrmacht in 1939-1940 used a portable flamethrower mod. 1935, reminiscent of flamethrowers from the First World War. To protect the flamethrowers themselves from burns, special leather suits were developed: jacket, trousers and gloves. Lightweight "small improved flamethrower" mod. 1940 could be served on the battlefield by only one fighter.
The Germans used flamethrowers extremely effectively when capturing Belgian border forts. The paratroopers landed directly on the combat surface of the casemates and silenced the firing points with flamethrower shots into the embrasures. In this case, a new product was used: an L-shaped tip on the fire hose, which allowed the flamethrower to stand on the side of the embrasure or act from above when firing.
The battles in the winter of 1941 showed that at low temperatures German flamethrowers were unsuitable due to unreliable ignition of flammable liquids. The Wehrmacht adopted a flamethrower mod. 1941, which took into account the experience of the combat use of German and Soviet flamethrowers. According to the Soviet model, ignition cartridges were used in the flammable liquid ignition system. In 1944, the FmW 46 disposable flamethrower was created for parachute units, resembling a giant syringe weighing 3.6 kg, 600 mm long and 70 mm in diameter. It provided flamethrowing at 30 m.
At the end of the war, 232 backpack flamethrowers were transferred to the Reich fire departments. With their help, they burned the corpses of civilians who died in air-raid shelters during air raids on German cities.
In the post-war period, the LPO-50 light infantry flamethrower was adopted in the USSR, providing three fire shots. It is now produced in China under the name Type 74 and is in service with many countries around the world, former members of the Warsaw Pact and some countries in Southeast Asia.
Jet flamethrowers have replaced jet flamethrowers, where the fire mixture, enclosed in a sealed capsule, is delivered by a jet projectile hundreds and thousands of meters. But that is another story.
sources
Incendiary weapons in World War II
Flamethrower and incendiary weapons that were in service with the Soviet Army during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army was equipped with flamethrower weapons. In terms of its tactical and technical characteristics, it was significantly superior to similar flamethrowers of other armies.
The success of the actions of flamethrower units of all types largely depended on how accurately the target locations were identified, the safest routes to the flamethrowing line were correctly selected, and reliable communications were established with supporting units. The night operations of flamethrowers were especially effective.
During the war, Soviet aviation used large incendiary bombs with dispersed action (ZAB-500-300TSh, ZAB-100-65TSH and ZAB-100TSK), equipped with thermite balls and thermite segments; fifty-kilogram solid fuel bombs and small concentrated bombs. She also used granular phosphorus using aircraft incendiary devices (ZAP). The main incendiary agent was tin ampoules AZh-2 with a phosphorus self-igniting mixture of KS.
The most widely used incendiary artillery ammunition in the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War were 76 mm shells and 120 mm mines. The anti-tank artillery fired armored incendiary shells, destroying enemy tanks, assault guns and armored vehicles. Anti-aircraft artillery used incendiary ammunition to fire at aircraft and other air targets.
By the beginning of 1941, the automatic tank flamethrower ATO-41 was designed and put into service, which could be mounted on any linear tank, and the artillery armament was retained. Thanks to this, the flamethrower not only did not reduce the firepower of the tank, but, on the contrary, increased it.
The ATO-41 flamethrower mounted on the T-34 tank had a fire mixture supply of 100 liters and could fire 10 one-second shots at a distance of up to 100 meters. According to the principle of operation, the ATO-41 was a multiple-action piston flamethrower and at the beginning of the war it was one of the most advanced examples of tank flamethrowers.
In 1942, designers created the ATO-42 tank flamethrower. In it, they increased the supply of flamethrower mixture by using spare motor fuel tanks on the medium T-34 tank to 200 liters, and on the heavy KV tank to 570 liters. As a result, the flamethrower on the T-34 could fire 20 ten-liter shots, and on the KV tank - 57 shots. In addition, the ATO-42 had a greater flamethrowing range than previous systems (up to 120 m). The rate of fire of the ATO-42 is one shot every two seconds. Flame throwing could be carried out with single shots and automatic bursts.
Experience in the combat use of flamethrower units and subunits during the war period 1941-1945.
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The German army, at the start of the war with the USSR, was equipped with Flamenwerfer 35 backpack flamethrowers, the jet flight range was 25-30 m, the flamethrower weight was 35.8 kg, the volume of the combustible mixture was 11.8 liters. A characteristic feature of the development of the views of Soviet military science on the use of flamethrowers in the pre-war period was that these views never denied the importance of flamethrowers in modern warfare. Meanwhile, most foreign armies, as a result of an incorrect assessment of the experience of the First World War, came to the Second World War with an underestimation or even complete denial of the importance of flamethrower weapons. The experience of the war in Spain, the fighting at Khalkhin Gol, and especially the experience of the Soviet-Finnish war confirmed that flamethrower weapons. And in general the use of fire as a weapon. Not only has it not lost its importance as a melee weapon, but on the contrary, it is acquiring a major role in modern warfare, especially when breaking through fortified defenses with powerful long-term structures. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army had well-established views on the use of flamethrower weapons in battle. It was believed that the flamethrower did not solve independent combat missions. Therefore, flamethrower units were to be used only in close cooperation with infantry and tanks, artillerymen and sappers. |
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Flame throwing had to be combined with rifle and machine gun fire and a bayonet strike. The task of flamethrowers in an offensive was to burn out the defending enemy from cover. The practice of using flamethrowers in battles has shown that after flamethrowing, unaffected personnel, as a rule, left cover and came under fire from small arms and artillery. One of the tasks of subunits and units of high-explosive flamethrowers in the offensive was to hold captured lines and bridgeheads. In defense, flamethrowers were supposed to be used suddenly and en masse at the moment when the attacking enemy approached the range of a flamethrower shot. Relevant instructions and manuals were published on the combat use of flamethrowers and the training of flamethrowers. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the flamethrower units and units of the Red Army were armed with: the ROKS-2 backpack flamethrower and the ATO-41 automatic tank flamethrower. |
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In addition, in border fortified areas and in arsenals, a small number of old-style flamethrowers (Tovarnitsky, SPS, etc. systems) have been preserved. In April 1941, the FOG-1 high-explosive flamethrower was designed, intended to combat enemy infantry and tanks.
Backpack flamethrower ROKS-2 The failure was represented by a metal tank worn by the flamethrower on his back, connected by a flexible hose to the gun, which allowed the flammable mixture to be released and ignited. The practice of combat use of backpack flamethrowers has revealed a number of shortcomings, and above all the imperfection of the incendiary device. In 1942, it was modernized and named ROKS-3. It featured an improved ignition device, improved firing mechanism and valve sealing, and a shorter gun. In the interests of simplifying the production technology, the flat stamped tank was replaced by a cylindrical one.
In 1942, the ATO-41 automatic tank flamethrower, which was in service, was also improved. The new ATO-42 flamethrower, installed on the T-34 tank, had a fire mixture supply of 200 liters, which made it possible to fire 20 shots at a range of up to 130 meters. The ATO-42 flamethrower installed on the KV tank had a fire mixture reserve of 570 liters for 57 rounds.
High explosive flamethrower FOG-1 was adopted for service at the beginning of the war by decree of the State Defense Committee of July 12, 1941. The high-explosive flamethrower was a single-use weapon and consisted of a cylinder with a guide barrel (fire hose), through which a flammable mixture was ejected under the pressure of powder gases. The incendiary device was mounted on the fire nozzle. At the position, the flamethrower was installed in a special trench and carefully secured.
In 1942-1943, a gradual transition was made from the FOG-1 high-explosive flamethrower to the FOG-2 flamethrower. In the new model, the guide barrel (fire cannon) was shortened, which made it possible to move (roll) the flamethrower on the ground under enemy fire. For ease of transportation (rolling), axles with ears were welded to the barrel and bottom of the flamethrower, to which a rod (cable, twine) was attached. The electrical method of activating the flamethrower (detonation) was supplemented by a more reliable mechanical method using a mine universal fuse (MUF).
On the eve of the war, units of backpack flamethrowers (flamethrower teams) were organizationally part of rifle regiments. However, due to the difficulties of using them in defense due to the short range of flamethrowing and the unmasking features of the ROKS-2 backpack flamethrower, they were soon disbanded. Instead, in November 1941, teams and companies were created, armed with ampoules and rifle mortars for throwing brass (glass) ampoules and incendiary bottles at tanks and other targets. Filled with a self-igniting KS mixture, they also had significant drawbacks and were withdrawn from service in 1942.
In May-June 1942, at the direction of the Supreme Command Headquarters, the first eleven separate three-platoon companies of backpack flamethrowers (orro) were formed. The company had 120 backpack flamethrowers. Subsequently, the formation of companies continued.
In June 1943, most of the ORROs were reorganized into separate battalions of backpack flamethrowers (obro). The battalion consisted of two flamethrower and one motor transport companies. In total, the battalion had 240 backpack flamethrowers. The battalions were intended to operate as part of assault detachments and groups of rifle units and formations when breaking through fortified enemy areas and fighting in large cities. At the beginning of 1944, part of the obro was included in the engineering and sapper brigades.
At the beginning of the war, flamethrower tanks were removed from tank regiments and at their expense, in the summer of 1942, five separate flamethrower tank battalions (10 KV tanks and 11 T-34s in each) and one separate flamethrower tank brigade of the RVGK of three battalions were formed (59 tanks). In addition, in 1944, flamethrower tank regiments were created as part of the assault engineering brigades.
The formation of high-explosive flamethrower units was started by decision of the Supreme Command Headquarters in August 1941. By the end of September 1941, fifty separate companies of high-explosive flamethrowers (orfo) were formed, and by January 1942, another 93 companies were intended to strengthen rifle units and formations in anti-tank terms. A separate company of high-explosive flamethrowers consisted of three platoons of 60 high-explosive flamethrowers each. In total, the company had 180 high-explosive flamethrowers, which were transported on 32 horse-drawn carts. Combat operations already in the winter of 1941 revealed the low maneuverability of companies of this composition, and in January 1942, 5 trucks with a carrying capacity of 3 tons were introduced into their staff for transporting flamethrowers, and the number of flamethrowers was reduced to 135.
Further experience in the combat use of units and subunits of high-explosive flamethrowers showed the advisability of their massive use on fire lines of significant length. This led to the enlargement of parts of high-explosive flamethrowers. In mid-1943, from the existing separate companies of high-explosive flamethrowers, the formation of two types of battalions began: separate motorized anti-tank flamethrower battalions (omptob) and separate flamethrower battalions (oob).
Omptob consisted of three flamethrower companies and an automobile company. Considering that in combat practice the battalion had to solve problems independently, without cover by infantry and its firepower, in December 1943 a machine gun company was introduced into its composition, which was armed with 9 heavy machine guns. In total, the command center had 540 high-explosive flamethrowers and 72 vehicles.
The OOB consisted of three companies with 216 flamethrowers each and support units. To transport flamethrowers and property, the battalion had 27 vehicles and horse transport (45 horses). Flamethrower battalions were intended to destroy enemy tanks and manpower by flamethrowing.
All flamethrower units (individual companies and battalions) were included in the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters and were assigned to the fronts for reinforcement.
For the first time, massive units of high-explosive flamethrowers were used during the defense on the distant and near approaches to Moscow (October-November 1941). During the same period, the most rational methods of combat use of high-explosive flamethrowers and combat formations of units were developed. Combat experience led to the creation of “flamethrower bushes”, which are an ordinary full-profile rifle trench with a slight overlap and a communication passage entering the general communication entrance or trench. In front of the trench, at a distance of 1 to 4 meters, 5-8 flamethrowers were installed with the direction of flamethrowing on the most likely paths of movement of enemy tanks and infantry, as well as towards neighboring “flamethrower bushes” to create a continuous field of fire and to the rear, the flamethrowers were located in the trench.
“Flamethrower bushes” were installed at a distance of 100-200 meters from one another along the front and in depth. Based on the possible maximum flamethrowing range. Each “flamethrower bush” could be put into operation independently or together with neighboring ones.
Some cases of decentralized use of flamethrower companies during defensive operations in the fall of 1941 turned out to be inappropriate. The centralized combat use of flamethrower companies ensured massing and a fairly wide front of fire cover. The companies were located in firing positions in one or two echelons. With a single-echelon arrangement, their battle formation was built in a line, angled back (forward), with a ledge behind one of the flanks. Flamethrower company. By placing flamethrowers in "bushes" it could cover a front 1500-2500 meters long.
The battle formations of the flamethrower battalions were identical to company formations. One battalion could create a continuous flamethrowing zone at the front up to 3.0-3.5 km with a battle formation depth of up to 400-800 meters.
During the offensive leading to combat operations in large populated areas (cities), as well as when performing special tasks (burning barriers and various objects, participating in ambushes, destroying individual targets, etc.), combat experience showed the possibility of decentralized use of high-explosive flamethrowers.
Already in the first baptism of fire, individual companies of high-explosive flamethrowers showed themselves well in solving the following tasks: securing joints and flanks of formations; strengthening anti-tank defense in tank-hazardous areas deep in our battle formations; ensuring the preparation of counterattacks by second echelons and reserves.
The units of backpack flamethrowers received their first combat test during the Battle of Stalingrad. Experience has shown that the centralized combat use of units of backpack flamethrowers during counterattacks (i.e., in offensive operations) and even in defense is impractical due to the short range of destruction of the enemy. At the same time, good results were achieved when individual flamethrowers (or small groups) were included in infantry units. This use of backpack flamethrowers, as a rule, was very effective and provided great assistance to the infantry in conditions of street combat among rubble and destruction.
Flamethrower companies and battalions of backpack flamethrowers were used, as a rule, in the direction of concentrating the main efforts (main strikes) of formations, by subordinating them entirely (in some cases by company or platoon) to combined arms commanders.
The use of flamethrower tanks was basically similar to the use of linear tanks, however, a tank flamethrower, having in some cases a greater psychological impact on the enemy than a cannon, required significant proximity to the target.
The principles and methods of combat use of flamethrower units were mainly developed by the end of 1943.
The main operational-tactical principles of the combat use of flamethrower units were the following:
1. Massive use in the main direction of the front and army.
During the period when the enemy tried to break through to Stalingrad through Kotelnikovo-Abganerovo (early August 1942), 12 out of 18 companies were used to strengthen the defense of the southwestern front of the outer defensive circuit. 12 flamethrower units took part in the Iasi-Kishinev operation as part of the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts, 13 took part in the assault on Koenigsberg - 16, Budapest - 14, Berlin - as part of the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts flamethrower units.
2. Close interaction with other branches of the military and types of flamethrower and incendiary weapons.
3. Echeloning of flamethrower-incendiary weapons along the depth of the combat formation of units and formations, as well as the operational formation of the front and army.
Separate battalions of high-explosive flamethrowers, as a rule, were used centrally and were intended to provide flanks and joints of formations and formations; holding captured lines and bridgeheads; repelling enemy counterattacks and counterattacks together with second echelons or reserves; destruction (burning out) of garrisons of long-term engineering structures and fortified buildings during combat operations in large cities, as well as as part of mobile barrage detachments.
Individual companies and battalions of backpack flamethrowers, which had high maneuverability, were used decentralized as part of assault groups and detachments. They were entrusted with the task of burning out enemy garrisons from long-term fire installations and fortified buildings, blocking enemy strongholds and fighting tanks, assault guns and armored personnel carriers.
Particularly successful were the actions of backpack and high-explosive flamethrowers in street battles, where they demonstrated high combat effectiveness and, at times, indispensability in solving a number of problems. In addition to losses in manpower and military equipment, flamethrowers inflicted great moral damage on the enemy, as evidenced by many cases of panicked flight of the Nazis from strong points and fortifications at which flamethrowing was carried out.
Numerous examples of combat operations testify to the effectiveness of flamethrower weapons and the courage of flamethrowers. Let's look at some of them.
During the period of defensive operations near Moscow, the 26th separate company of high-explosive flamethrowers (company commander Lieutenant M. S. Sobetsky) on December 1, 1941, equipped firing positions in the battle formations of rifle units of the 32nd Infantry Division (5th Army, Western Front) . The company operated as a platoon, covering individual directions of possible attacks by enemy infantry and tanks. During the battle, the company's 1st flamethrower platoon repelled an enemy attack, and the 2nd flamethrower platoon, operating in the depths of our defense, destroyed three tanks and a large group of machine gunners. In total, during the battle, the Nazis lost 4 tanks and more than 120 soldiers and officers. For the exemplary performance of the combat mission, the 26th separate company of high-explosive flamethrowers was the first of the flamethrower units to be awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
War with the flame
Flame is the oldest and most universal means of destruction. When studying the military history of civilization, one is struck by the colossal role played by incendiary weapons.
“Bannas of the Great Mughals
In addition, it should be noted that Russia occupied and occupies a leading position in this area - in our country in the 60s. In the 19th century, they designed the world's first incendiary bullet (even for smooth-bore weapons!), backpack jet and high-explosive flamethrowers. During the Soviet Union, our scientists strengthened these positions by creating an effective thickened fire mixture in 1939 (the famous “Molotov Cocktail”), and then developing thermobaric ammunition.
" Molotov cocktail "
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, in August 1941 in Saratov A. Kachugin, M. Shcheglov And P. Maltovnik We have developed an easy-to-use version of the incendiary mixture. The flammable mixture itself consisted of gasoline, kerosene and naphtha, and was ignited using a fuse consisting of sulfuric acid, bertholite salt and powdered sugar (the so-called Kibalchich fuse). The Molotov cocktail was produced in some factories to replace the shortage of anti-tank guns in the Red Army. Tula gunsmiths developed and put into production (in the semi-handicraft conditions of the front line, when almost all the equipment was evacuated to the rear) a fuse for bottles, consisting of 4 pieces of wire, an iron tube with slots, a spring, two ropes and a blank cartridge from a TT pistol . Handling the fuse was similar to handling the fuse for hand grenades, with the difference that the “bottle” fuse only worked when the bottle was broken. This achieved high safety in handling and increased secrecy and efficiency of use, as well as expanded the range of weather conditions suitable for using bottles. But due to the change in the nature of the war from defensive to offensive, further production of bottle fuses was stopped.
It is believed that weapons of mass destruction are a privilege of the 20th century. It traditionally includes chemical, bacteriological and nuclear weapons. But the effectiveness of incendiary weapons is no less. With the help of fire, strategic combat missions have been successfully solved for centuries - cities have been wiped off the face of the earth, crops and forests of entire countries have been destroyed. Therefore, it remains in service even in our atomic, laser, space and electronic age.
The flamethrower has a strong psychological effect on the enemy: there were cases when soldiers fled only when flamethrowers appeared on the battlefield. But this weapon is extremely dangerous for the flamethrowers themselves; the enemy hunts for them first of all. Moreover, according to the unwritten laws of war, it is not even customary to take them prisoner - like snipers and saboteurs, flamethrowers are shot on the spot.
This is apparently a consequence of the fact that incendiary weapons are considered one of the most barbaric and their use is limited by international conventions - although when there is a war, does anyone look at any laws there... In fact, no one has ever fully understood military conventions did and will not do. Moreover, in conditions of a life-and-death struggle! They are just a tool of information warfare, with which you can blame the other side and justify any of your actions. In general, international humanitarian law evokes very controversial feelings. And it’s hard to say what is more in him: true humanism or traditional Western hypocrisy. The very idea of dividing weapons into humane and inhumane is strange - war and killing people are in themselves immoral. And it doesn’t matter how to kill - with a club, fire or neutron radiation.
Flamethrower is a device that emits a stream of burning liquid. Siphons, which spewed a burning mixture at the enemy, were used in antiquity. However, only at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The development of technology has made it possible to create fairly safe and reliable flame-throwing devices. Flamethrowers are considered the most effective melee weapon. They are designed to defeat the attacking manpower and destroy the defending enemy entrenched in trenches and bunkers. The positional stalemate during the First World War forced the warring powers to urgently seek new combat weapons. And then we remembered jet flamethrowers, which immediately proved their enormous effectiveness.
Regardless of the type and design of flamethrowers, the principle of their operation is the same. They eject a stream of fire mixture from the tank at a distance of 15 to 200 m through a fire nozzle using the force of compressed air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen or powder gases. The liquid is ignited when leaving the fire nozzle by an automatic igniter. Fire mixtures usually consist of various flammable liquids. The combat action is determined by the range of the burning jet and its burning time.
The first known creator of a backpack flamethrower is considered to be the Russian inventor Sieger-Korn (1893), who proposed a new weapon to the Minister of War in 1898. In 1901, German engineer Richard Fiedler created the first serial flamethrower, which was adopted by the Reichswehr in 1905.
During the First World War, two types of flamethrowers were developed: backpack (small and medium, used in the offensive) and heavy (half-trench, trench and fortress, used in defense). They threw out a stream of fire at 15-60 m. Germany was significantly ahead of other countries in the development of new weapons. The fire mixture (a mixture of raw benzene with fuel oil or oil) was released using compressed air, CO 2 or nitrogen. The first standard German backpack flamethrower was the Kleif apparatus (Kleif - Kleine Flammen-werfer - small fire ejector).
German soldier with a flamethrower "Kleif M. 1915"
The Germans first used new weapons in 1915 in the battles of Verdun and Ypres. In the early morning of July 30, the British troops were stunned by an unprecedented spectacle: huge flames suddenly burst out from the German trenches and lashed with hissing and whistling towards the British. Throwing down their weapons, they ran to the rear in panic, leaving their positions without firing a single shot.
Wehrmacht demonstration exercises to destroy bunkers
At the end of February 1915, the Germans used flamethrowers on the Eastern Front north of the city of Baranovichi against the Russians. But if the British fled as a result of the German fire attack, this number did not work in Russia. In addition, flamethrowers were also used by the Austro-Hungarians in the Carpathians in May 1915.
The German monopoly on flamethrowers did not last long - in 1916, all the warring armies, including Russia, were armed with various systems of these weapons and regular flamethrower units. The design of flamethrowers in Russia began in the spring of 1915, even before their use by German troops. In September 1915, Professor Gorbov's flamethrower was tested. At the end of 1916, flamethrowers of the Livens and Vincent systems were ordered in England. In 1916, the backpack flamethrower of the “T” system (i.e., Tovarnitsky’s design) was adopted.
Tovarnitsky backpack flamethrower.1 - tank with flammable liquid; 2 - tap; 3 - hose; 4 — fire hose; 5 - lighter; 6 — striker knife; 7 — lighter mounting stand; 8 — control lever; 9 - shield.
NikolayIIexamines Tovarnitsky's flamethrower
Tovarnitsky half-trench flamethrower. 1 - tank with flammable liquid; 2 - tap; 3 — tap handle; 4 - container with compressed air; 5 — air tube; 6 — pressure gauge for determining the pressure in the tank; 7 - long canvas hose; 8 — fire hose; 9 — lighter; 10 — stick for controlling the fire hose; 11 - tee; 12 - pin; 13 — outlet tube; 14 - lifting device.
The French army adopted the Schilt flamethrower and backpack flamethrowers (No. 1 bis, No. 2 and No. 3 bis). The British Trench Warfare Department developed several samples (on French patents) - the Livens system (shot range up to 200 m) and Lawrence, the Vincent system heavy flamethrower.
Livens Large Flamethrower Battery in Russia
Livens' large flamethrower battery salvo
Between the First and Second World Wars there was a real flamethrower boom.
In the Red Army by the end of the 30s. Each rifle regiment included a chemical platoon armed with mounted and backpack flamethrowers.
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army units had twice as many flamethrowers as the Wehrmacht. The first Soviet backpack flamethrower ROKS-1 was created in 1940. During the war, their modifications appeared - ROKS-2 and ROKS-3. Weighing 23 kg, they threw 6-8 portions of fire mixture at 30-45 m.
ROKS-3
The Red Army units armed with ROKS received their first real combat test during the Battle of Stalingrad in November 1942.
In urban combat they were often indispensable. Covered by smoke screens, with the support of tanks and artillery, flamethrowers as part of assault groups penetrated to the target through breaks in the walls of houses, bypassed strongholds from the rear or from the flanks, and brought down a barrage of fire on embrasures and windows. As a result, the enemy panicked and the strong point was easily captured. In the offensive operations of 1944, the Red Army troops had to break through not only positional defenses, but also storm fortified areas. Here, units armed with backpack flamethrowers operated especially successfully.
The Germans managed to get ahead of the entire planet in the creation of backpack flamethrowers, including the Americans, who were rapidly rushing to redistribute the world. Already in the interwar period, German infantry had light and medium flamethrowers. On September 1, 1939, there were about 1,200 of them in the Wehrmacht; during the war, this number increased sharply. Already in 1934, the Germans created a successful infantry backpack flamethrower, the Flammenwerfer 34 (FmW.34). It could operate for 45 seconds continuously or fire up to 36 dosed shots. The only drawback of the FmW.34 was its heavy weight - 36 kg.
German flamethrowers destroy a firing point
During World War II, the Wehrmacht used several types of flamethrowers: portable flamethrower mod. 1935, light backpack ".kl.Fm.W." model 1939, "F.W.-1" (1944), medium flamethrower "m.Fm.W" (1940), Flammenwerfer 40 klein ("small") (1940), Flammenwerfer 41 (better known as FmW.41) ( 1942). Then the Flammenwerfer mit Strahlpatrone 41 (FmWS.41) was developed, which can be considered the best flamethrower of World War II.
In 1944, the Wehrmacht adopted a disposable flamethrower analogue of the Faustpatron, designed to destroy enemy personnel Einstossflammenwerfer 44 - the easiest weapon to manufacture and at the same time quite effective, as well as the disposable Einstossflammenwerfer 44/46 (FmW 44/46) .
In the USA, the F1-E1 flamethrower was developed in 1939. These devices were used in battles in Papua New Guinea, but turned out to be unreliable and inconvenient to use. Then M1, M1A1 and M2 were created. The first production copies of these devices were of low quality. Only in 1943 did the M2-2 flamethrower of acceptable quality appear.
In Great Britain, the development of the Backpack Flamethrower No. 2 Mk 1 began in 1941. In 1944, the Backpack Flamethrower No. 2 Mk 2 appeared - the main flamethrower of the British troops. It was widely used during the Normandy landings, in operations in Europe, and the Far East. The British also had the heavy “Table Flamethrower No. 1 Mk1” (1940), which received the nickname “Harvey” among the troops.
English flamethrower tank “Churchill”
American flamethrower during World War II
Japan entered World War II with the Type 93 backpack flamethrower (1933). In 1940, it began to be replaced by a simplified version - the Type 100 backpack flamethrower, which was actively used throughout the war.
Immediately after the war, many armies abandoned flamethrowers, but soon the war broke out in Korea, then in Vietnam, and then the Middle East flared up... The result of this was the renaissance of flamethrower weapons.
After the war, the USSR adopted the LPO-50 light infantry flamethrower. This is a backpack, powder, pistonless, multiple-action flamethrower with an electrical method of controlling flamethrowing. The device is operated by one person. The weight of the equipped device is 23 kg. The flamethrowing range is at least 70 m (30% of the mixture reaches the target), mounted - up to 90 m. The most effective distance is considered to be 40-50 m. The flamethrower has long been removed from service with the Russian army, but is produced in China under the name Type 74. Our army's weapons also include the TPO-50 heavy infantry flamethrower. The installation, weighing 173 kg, is mounted on a wheeled carriage and allows you to fire three shots of 21 liters of fire mixture at a distance of 180 m. If necessary, each barrel weighing 45 kg can be removed and used separately. In 2005, the Varna jet infantry flamethrower was adopted by the Russian Army. Sighting range - 70 m, maximum - 120.
“ Varna-S“
In the United States, the ABC-M9-7 portable (backpack) flamethrower and its modified version M9E1-7 are currently used. These devices use napalm as fuel, which is ejected by compressed air. American special forces are also armed with the M8 single-action backpack flamethrower. The Type 74 backpack flamethrower is currently in service with the armies of China and many other countries. Italy has the T-148 flamethrower, and Brazil has the LC T1 M1.
Heavy flamethrower from the First World War:
1
- iron tank; 2
- tap; 3
- faucet handle;
4
- canvas hose; 5
— fire hose;
6
— control handle; 7
— igniter;
8
— lifting device; 9
- metal pin.
World War I backpack flamethrower:
1
— steel tank; 2-tap; 3-handle;
4
- flexible rubber hose; 5— metal hose;
6
— automatic ignition;
7—compressed gas; 8—fire mixture.
American backpack flamethrower M2A1-7
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Soviet light infantry flamethrower LPO-50:
1
- backpack; 2
- hose; 3
- gun; 4
- bipod.
Combat crew of the German Flammenwerfer M.16 flamethrower and the flamethrower itself
Backpack flamethrowers, widely used by the armies of dozens of countries in many conflicts, have not changed fundamentally over time. Only individual elements were improved and weight was reduced. And gradually, the fundamental drawback of the jet flamethrowers that were in service became more and more apparent - the short range of the shot - from 70 to 200 m. Therefore, already in the late 60s. military designers began creating a fundamentally new hand-held flamethrower. Jet flamethrowers have replaced jet flamethrowers, where a fire mixture enclosed in a sealed capsule is delivered by a jet projectile to hundreds and thousands of meters.
A flamethrower is a melee weapon that hits the enemy with a jet of burning fire mixture. The flamethrower is designed to burn the enemy out of field fortifications, tanks, stone buildings, trenches, machine gun nests, to create fires in populated areas and forests, and to destroy manpower.
Regardless of the type and design, the principle of operation of flamethrowers is the same. Flamethrowers (or flamethrowers, as they used to say) are devices that emit jets of highly flammable liquid at a distance of 15 to 200 m. The liquid is thrown out of the tank through a special fire hose by the force of compressed air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen or powder gases and ignites when it exits fire hose with a special igniter.
The first new type of weapon to appear in the industrial 20th century was the jet flamethrower. Moreover, the manufacturers initially planned it not as an army weapon, but as a police weapon to disperse demonstrators. The first backpack flamethrower was created by the German scientist Richard Fiedler in 1901, which was adopted by the Reichswehr in 1905. Flamethrowers were used back in the Balkan War and were widely used already in the First World War to destroy enemy firing points. Two types of flamethrowers were used: backpack ones for offensive operations and heavy ones for defensive operations. During the interwar period, a third type of flamethrower appeared - high-explosive.
According to the principle of operation, flamethrowers were divided into jet (a separate type of which are high-explosive) and capsule (ampoulothrowers). In turn, among jet flamethrowers, a distinction is made between backpack (“carryable”, “light”, served by one flamethrower) and heavy (served by several flamethrowers) flamethrowers.
IN jet flamethrowers the entire stream of fire mixture flying towards the target was burning. It was ignited using an incendiary cartridge directly at the muzzle. The force of the flame instantly ignited almost the entire jet. The fiery “snake,” stretching for tens of meters, had very high fighting qualities, inflicting significant physical and moral damage on the enemy. At the same time, the bulk of the mixture burned out while still on the trajectory, without reaching the target. The main disadvantage of the jet flamethrower is its short range. When firing at long distances, it was necessary to increase the pressure in the system, which caused splashing of the fire mixture. This could only be combated by increasing the viscosity of the mixture, calculating the range of the jet so that it would not completely burn out before reaching the target.
Backpack flamethrower It was an oval or cylindrical steel tank with a capacity of 10–25 liters, filled with flammable liquid and compressed gas. The operating pressure in the system was 12-15 atm. When the tap is opened, the liquid is thrown out through a flexible rubber hose and a metal nozzle and ignited by an igniter. The backpack flamethrower is carried using straps over the shoulders. The direction of the liquid stream was carried out using a control handle attached to the fire hose. It was also possible to control the stream by holding the fire hose directly with your hands. To do this, in some systems the outlet valve was located on the fire hose itself. The empty weight of the flamethrower (with hose, tap and fire nozzle) is 11-14 kg, loaded - 20-25 kg.
Heavy Flamethrower consisted of an iron tank with a capacity of about 200 liters with an outlet pipe, a tap and brackets for carrying by hand. The compressed gas was in a special bottle and, using a rubber connecting tube, a tee and a pressure gauge, was supplied to the tank during the entire duration of the flamethrower’s operation, i.e., a constant pressure was maintained in the tank (10-13 atm.). A fire hose with a control handle and an igniter was movably mounted on a carriage. The igniter in a heavy flamethrower could be the same device as in a backpack one, or ignition was carried out by electric current. The weight of an empty heavy flamethrower (without a hose and lifting device) is about 95 kg, when loaded it is about 192 kg. The flight range of the jet was 40–60 m. A shot from such a flamethrower affected an area of 300–500 m2. One shot could knock out up to a platoon of infantry. A tank caught under a flamethrower stopped and in most cases caught fire.
High Explosive Flamethrower in design and principle of operation it differed from backpack ones - the fire mixture was ejected from the tank by the pressure of gases formed during the combustion of the powder charge. An incendiary cartridge was placed on the nozzle, and a powder ejecting cartridge with an electric fuse was inserted into the charger. An electric or special sapper wire was connected to the fuse, stretched at a distance of 1.5-2 km to a source of electric current. Using a pin, the high-explosive flamethrower was fixed in the ground. Powder gases ejected liquid at a distance of 35–50 m. High-explosive flamethrowers were installed on the ground in groups of 3 to 10 pieces.
Flamethrowers used incendiary substances whose combustion temperature was 800–1000 ° C or more with a very stable flame. Fire mixtures did not contain oxidizers and burned due to atmospheric oxygen. Incendiaries were mixtures of various flammable liquids: oil, gasoline and kerosene, light coal oil with benzene, a solution of phosphorus in carbon disulfide, etc. Fire mixtures based on petroleum products could be either liquid or viscous. The first consisted of a mixture of gasoline with heavy motor fuel and lubricating oil. In this case, a wide swirling jet of intense flame was formed, flying 20–25 meters. The burning mixture was able to flow into the cracks and holes of target objects, but a significant part of it burned out in flight. The main disadvantage of liquid mixtures was that they did not stick to objects.
Viscous or thickened mixtures include napalm. They can stick to objects and thereby increase the affected area. Liquid petroleum products were used as their fuel base - gasoline, jet fuel, benzene, kerosene and a mixture of gasoline with heavy motor fuel. Polystyrene or polybutadiene were most often used as thickeners. Napalm was highly flammable and stuck even to wet surfaces. It is impossible to extinguish it with water, so it floats on the surface, continuing to burn. The burning temperature of napalm is 800–1100C°. Metallized incendiary mixtures (pyrogels) had a higher combustion temperature – 1400–1600C°. They were made by adding powders of certain metals (magnesium, sodium), heavy petroleum products (asphalt, fuel oil) and some types of flammable polymers - isobutyl methacrylate, polybutadiene - to ordinary napalm.
The following requirements were imposed on flammable liquids used for flamethrowers;
a) the liquid must have a possibly higher specific gravity (otherwise it is sprayed in front of the flamethrower’s mouthpiece), which affects the flight range of its scab;
b) should not burn too strongly in the air, otherwise it burns 70-80% in the air and only a small amount of it reaches the target;
c) must ignite without fail.
Viscous mixtures most fully satisfy the specific requirements of flamethrowing. At the same time, they also have disadvantages, one of which is their instability. The properties of viscous mixtures vary depending on the time of year and ambient temperature. In some cases, due to the climatic characteristics of the theater of military operations, the formulations of flamethrower mixtures could be different and fluctuate in the ratio of one or another component. Thus, there were “winter” and “summer” recipes with the same components, but with an increase or decrease in them depending on sharp temperature fluctuations.
By the beginning of World War II, flamethrowers were in service with most developed countries, and were also produced on a massive scale during the war. Thus, Great Britain had 7.5 thousand flamethrowers, Germany - 146.2 thousand, Italy - 5 thousand, Poland - 0.4 thousand, USSR - 72.5 thousand; USA – 39 thousand, Japan – 3 thousand. Finland had several hundred captured flamethrowers. In total, about 274 thousand infantry flamethrowers of various types were used during the war.
During the war, Great Britain and the USSR produced a type of flamethrower - ampulomet. In it, a capsule (ampoule, bottle) with a fire mixture that did not have its own engine was delivered to the target using a propellant charge. The British invention practically did not take part in military operations, while the Soviet invention found widespread use in the defense of Stalingrad. Subsequently, the Red Army used ampoules sporadically. This weapon did not bring any tangible effect, but in successful individual battles it gave a positive result.
The practice of using flamethrowers has developed special tactics for their use in battle. Military experts noted that along with the defeat of enemy equipment, fortifications and manpower, flamethrowers were also characterized by a significant psychological impact on the enemy in combination with small arms, tanks and artillery.
For the successful use of flamethrowers, the guidance documents indicated the need to carry out such activities as preparing flamethrower crews for joint actions in combat formations of troops, thorough reconnaissance of targets to be hit, blocking targets and approaches to them using artillery and mortar fire and smoke weapons, fire supporting the actions of flamethrower crews, selecting appropriate flamethrowers, close interaction with infantry, maneuvering forces and fire, supplying and reloading flamethrowers. At the same time, it was necessary to take into account the capabilities of flamethrowers in the consolidated plan for fire support, anti-tank warfare and obstacles.
If backpack flamethrowers were primarily used to destroy firing points, as well as openly located enemy personnel, then high-explosive flamethrowers could also be used against tanks. High-explosive flamethrower units were intended to destroy enemy tanks and manpower. Their defensive tasks were numerous: to cover tank-dangerous areas, repel massive attacks by enemy tanks and infantry, protect the flanks and joints of formations and units, and strengthen the stability of troops on captured bridgeheads. In offensive battles, their duties included securing captured lines and repelling counterattacks by enemy tanks and infantry. Small groups of flamethrowers armed with FOGs mounted on special carts or skis were included in assault detachments and groups to destroy fortified enemy firing points.
