Infantry flamethrowers. Flamethrowers in the First World War Flamethrowers in the Second World War

Appearing 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. A strange way to pacify your own citizens by burning them to the ground.

In the early morning of July 30, 1915, 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. “Completely unexpectedly, the first lines of troops at the front were engulfed in flames,” an eyewitness recalled with horror. “It was not visible where the fire came from. The soldiers seemed to be surrounded by furiously spinning flames, which were accompanied by a loud roar and thick clouds of black smoke; here and there drops of boiling oil fell into the trenches or trenches. Screams and howls shook the air. Throwing down their weapons, the British infantry fled in panic to the rear, leaving their positions without firing a single shot. This is how flamethrowers entered the battlefield.

Fire behind you

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 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.

Flamethrower tank OT-133 based on the T-26 light tank (1939)

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 ones for offensive operations, and heavy ones for defensive operations. 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 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 flamethrower fire 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 sprayed (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.

World War II hit - ROKS-3 backpack flamethrower

Cocktail

All the terrifying power of flamethrower-incendiary weapons lies in incendiary substances. Their combustion temperature is 800–10000C or more (up to 35000C) 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.

American M1A1 flamethrower from World War II

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 this is something else.

I was born in 1926 in a Volga village (now it does not exist). There were seven children in the family, I was the third. In 1940, the family moved to the city of Yoshkar-Ola (Mari Republic), where the father worked as a carpenter at an ammunition factory.

I stayed to finish the village seven-year school. I met the war as a sixteen-year-old boy. I was just in the city - I remember there was some kind of holiday there, and then the radio announced that the war had begun. I returned home to the village, and our men were already being taken away. Then our turn came, I was drafted into the army in the fall of '43.

The training ground was near Moscow, and there the distribution by branches of the military took place. I don’t know by what criteria we were selected, but I ended up in the flamethrowers. They showed everything there, and they let me shoot from a flamethrower, though with water! Apparently they were afraid that someone would set themselves on fire. It must be said that the flamethrower is a terrible weapon, and effective. There is no need for any infantry here: three flamethrowers can maintain the entire line of defense. It is impossible to hide from such a fire (1500 0 C) - everything is burning. If a fire drop hits a person, then there is no use in extinguishing it, just tearing off clothes, and even then you won’t have time - everything happens instantly. The inconvenience was that the range was short. To attack, you had to crawl 20 meters. After the war, they made flamethrowers that could shoot at more than 200 meters.

Upon graduation, I was given the rank of corporal and sent to the front. There he soon received a junior sergeant, and then a sergeant. He commanded a flamethrower unit on the 1st, 2nd Baltic and 3rd Belorussian fronts. I had to fight as part of assault groups. The task was to destroy the enemy’s equipment and manpower and clear the way for the infantry. All artillery and engineering groups walked behind. The attack always began with artillery barrage - they were supposed to bombard us, but sometimes they also hit us. Well, communication back then was not like it is now, when you can reach any corner.

I had ten people under my command. This is how we went on missions: we chose the worst weather. Slush, rain, snow, fog, night - that’s our job. We were as dirty as pigs. Any obstacle can be overcome as quickly as possible - crawl as close as possible. It’s very difficult with a person. I was experienced in this regard. Always knew his subordinates. And now I remember everyone’s names – Vanya, Kolya, Fedya. Three of us went on missions, it was no longer possible. They killed us like I don’t know who... So I take three of them and instruct: “If it’s just a rocket and you raised your hand like that, don’t take it away, just keep it there. Raise your head, don’t nod.” There, if you did something wrong, that’s it, you’ll be killed.

Well, what do I remember? This is my first operation. It was just our offensive in Belarus. The Germans began to retreat, but we deliberately did not cross their path. He told his friends: “Lie down and don’t move.” And we settled down in the bush. At first they sent reconnaissance past us. We walked further, closer - we don’t touch them. Then the equipment arrived and they began to remove ammunition. And this is more important to us. When the cars started moving, I aimed at the center, swiped a segment - the cars caught fire. And as soon as I managed to jump away, everything there exploded, but the craters remained - you can’t get through, you can’t get through.

Then here's another task of mine. It happened near the city of Proekul, in Latvia. I already had a lot of experience, but by that time I had lost 10 people (one remained). I asked for replenishment, they gave me young people. And young people - it’s worse than that. When a soldier is under fire, he at least thinks. During the offensive, they set up an ambush near the road. I see a passenger car like our Moskvich coming. My comrade (name was Tolya) and I jumped out from both sides, pointed guns, stopped the car. I open the door and look - there are officers there. He grabbed the first one by the chest and pulled him out. They didn’t resist because they simply weren’t expecting us, we did everything so smartly. After all, their reconnaissance had passed, the infantry had passed through, they were told by radio that everything was calm. We waited for this moment.

This means that I myself led someone like a general. When I grabbed him, in a sinful act, I tore off the order and the cross from him, I thought, I’ll be alive, even if I show it to people. I took him off the road, but he doesn’t go any further and says something in his own way. I don’t understand their language, but I have to walk 200 meters and still have no time to figure it out. How I slapped him! My nerves can't stand it. It's simple there. I hit him, he fell, I kicked him: “Come on!” Get up! I take him to the commander’s headquarters. The translator sat there and translated it: the sergeant of the flamethrower unit beat the general. And the commander still comes up to me, hugs me - “well done!”, he says.

In general, they respected me. He was the first from the battalion to receive the Order of Glory, then he was the first to receive a second award, and a third. They killed us often. No one surrendered to me as a prisoner. Everyone was afraid of this, but it didn’t happen. My task was according to instructions, a secret one: if I was surrounded, I had to kill myself (I had a pistol) - yes, this was my duty, like every flamethrower. The infantry did not have this. And I also had to open the flamethrower, release the fuel, scatter the cartridges, in general, destroy the weapon. And no one even thought about captivity, under any circumstances. Everyone knew their instructions and signed them upon joining the flamethrower troops. And the internal attitude was: I’d rather die, but I won’t give up.

In 1943 the Germans were still very stubborn. I don’t even know what helped us then. There were few weapons then; they appeared more in 1944. Here are our Katyushas, but at first they weren’t there either. When I arrived, there weren’t enough machine guns. Once it even happened like this: I saw a dead soldier lying there, he was swollen, and the canvas belt was crushing his body. What should I do? But you need to take off your weapon. So, I pressed it with my boot, turned everything around, took off the disk and hung it on myself. So I armed myself. Where to go?

Outfit? Well, what’s there, the only thing is that they gave me boots. So I wore them all out. The overcoat was given to me at the beginning, and I wore it until the end of the war. In Eastern Europe, the weather was always almost the same: slush, endless mud. The cold couldn't have been more than minus ten. But you can still freeze. Wrap yourself up in whatever you have on. There was an incident, they said. Zhukov arrived, conducted a review, and the soldiers were all barefoot: some had a footcloth on their feet, some had their soles tied. He ordered the commander to be shot, and the soldiers were shod. Pests were everywhere. I knew one staff clerk, a foreman under the commander. He also boasted that he always had a lot of money. The division is being replenished - 25 thousand people, and when the fighting is over, there are not many people left. But the money came for everyone. The order was this: the soldier had to receive it or they would send it to their relatives. So the staff officers didn’t do this, but instead filled their own pockets full.

They ate, I don’t even know what. Well, I ate porridge once when I came back from my first mission. Before assignments, it sometimes happened: the elder calls and says: “Who are you taking with you?” Then they take us into a room, and there on the table there is sausage, alcohol - as much as you want. I take half a glass of alcohol, dilute it with water, drink it, and eat some sausage. And you can’t eat much of everything there. They say, take as much as you want with you, otherwise you might get stuck somewhere during a mission, who will feed you there. How much can you take? Half a ring of sausage will fit into my pocket - I don’t take it anymore. When you come another time, there is no kitchen. What to eat? Everyone was starving more and more. Well, it was a difficult time, there was a lot missing. If only to end the war, the main thing was...

Newspapers? Radio? Oh, maybe they only show this in some movies. There was nothing like that. In general, I have not seen a single film that would show how everything really happened. I don’t know what they are hiding...

And when we went to Europe, nothing changed much. First, we were transferred to another front - we covered 95 kilometers in 24 hours. Once we stopped for a rest. And they carried all the equipment on themselves - a flamethrower on their backs, and they also took an additional machine gun. Then we walked across Poland. We had this order in our relations with the Poles. We knew that they were harmful (we were warned). They were unfriendly and looked at us as if we were an enemy. If one of them did anything, I had the right to kill him right away, immediately. And this was practiced. And so, when this began, the Poles became smart and began to respect us. In Latvia and Lithuania they also did the same thing against the Poles. We were also instructed “not to talk” and that’s all.

There we also had the right to go into the store and buy something. Well, you go in: they treated us there not very attentively, not well. And then, one of ours disappeared there. They killed him, they didn’t even find his body. Then they started walking around in threes and with machine guns. One remains at the door, two enter the store. One is shopping, the other is on guard. Immediately the attitude changed: they ran to serve us, and the attacks stopped.

There was no such attitude in Ukraine, only in Western Ukraine. And the Belarusians received us very well. We shared everything with the local partisans...

What can be said about the reasons for our failures and victories? Our people are resilient. It was scary there: under fire all the time. You need a dog's endurance and fighting spirit. Our soldier is more stubborn, more persistent. He will lie there until he is crushed. More weapons. We had a good one, but if from the very beginning of the war there had been as much of it as there was in 1944, they would not have gotten anywhere. But if the commander is cowardly, panic results. If he doesn’t set an example, the soldier won’t go anywhere. Basically, of course, everything depends on the commander. However, not from everyone. Well, I saw the battalion commander once, but I don’t know what to call him. I only found out the company commander when the war ended, and I won’t tell you that – the soldiers almost killed him. He disappeared and was never seen again. They were hiding, you know. Everything rested with the squad leader and platoon commander...

One incident became an example of personal heroism for me. I once saw Marshal Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan inspecting the positions. He walked at a strolling pace, waving his cane. And suddenly their guns fired a volley, the shells exploded very close. So all the commanders around fell into the grooves. And he moves on calmly. So they all felt ashamed. Here's how. I then wrote him a letter expressing personal respect...

Why did they retreat in the first year of the war? There was betrayal. Even in forty-three. I was just near Moscow, recovering from an injury. There was a military plant nearby - it was blown up. Yes, they fooled around so that one shift worked, the second took over, and the third was also at the plant, since it was necessary to increase production. All three shifts were blown up - it was the spies who were working!

How was life after the war? In 1945 I was admitted to a hospital in Pskov. It was such a broken building, half of it was just ruins. After he was sent to Moscow to a collection point for those who had recovered. Here they trained, were given the rank of lieutenant and were taken to Krasnoyarsk, where new units were formed. He served here in the city of Nazarov until 1955. It was like an ordinary combat company, only almost only front-line soldiers served there. And we all wondered why they were keeping us for so long. Then I found out, they told me in confidence that they were preparing for an attack on Alaska and they needed experienced, trained people. They have already invented weapons for preliminary shelling, such that they can hit Alaska directly from our Chukotka. And there were many small parts like ours scattered around. So, if you pulled them together, the force would be great!

I served in this special company for a year, only then they let me go home on leave. Where should we go? At home, the whole village fell apart, and my male friends did not return. What to do? I went to the city where my brother lived. There I met a kindergarten nurse. The next day he proposed, and a day later we signed (I, as a front-line soldier, was signed at the registry office without a 15-day period on the day of submitting documents). The next day I went back to get settled. In the unit they gave me an apartment. Then my wife arrived and brought her mother-in-law with her.

It was only in 1955 that I was allowed to demobilize. We moved to Novosibirsk: my wife’s brother lived here and had been calling him for a long time. He got a job at the Turbogenerator Plant. He worked under the supervision of A. A. Nezhevenko. There was such a case once: they were making equipment for China and India. And so one generator had to be installed on four-meter pins. To secure them, I had to drill holes on top. But as? You can't lift the machine up there. So, when there were a day left before the project was due, the director came to me: no one knew what to do. This is where a small Austrian machine, which I once picked up from a landfill and repaired, came in handy. After that, the director is nowhere without me. And when he went to work at the Institute of Nuclear Physics, he invited me to join him. He needed me here. This was in 1961. I got a job as a waste-coordinator. We made parts for rockets. And six months later Nezhevenko died. Of the workers, I was the only one invited to the funeral.

The director of the institute was Academician Budker, and we also had a good relationship with him. He was easy to communicate with and often visited production sites. There was a case, I remember this: he personally brought me a task, drawings in an envelope, even the shop manager didn’t know about them. The same device was ordered from the Leningrad plant. Then it turned out that I did better than them. A month later, when I had even forgotten about this task, they brought me a sealed envelope. I opened it during the break, and there were 500 rubles. I got scared and secretly went to ask the director what it was, maybe some kind of provocation. And he told me that the bonus was for an important task. And this also happened. Budker comes up and asks: “Kolya, when did you rest? “You’ll go tomorrow.” Then, as soon as I write a request for leave, I know that they will let me go.

I am not a party member myself. I didn’t want to join the party because I saw how they violate everything and steal. This is not for me. And all the time they called me to the party, dragged me...

Now I head the Veterans Council at the plant. He always organized celebrations on the occasion of Victory Day. Today there is almost no one to invite. I always negotiated with our canteen. Four managers have changed, and I’m still working here...

Recorded by Daria Sheremeteva

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. Solodovnik 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 — striking knife; 7 — lighter mounting stand; 8 — control lever; 9 - shield.

NikolaiIIinspects 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

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.

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 oxidizing agents 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.

Today we will take a closer look at some types of flamethrowers in service with various armies around the world. Despite their “short range”, flamethrowers are quite powerful and terrifying weapons in terms of their damaging factor.

Flamethrower LC TI M1

A flamethrower used by the Brazilian army. This is a more modern form that replaced the American flamethrowers used during World War II. The flamethrower consists of two cylinders intended for fire mixture and compressed air separately, they are connected together, and also include a supply hose and a starting device. After the flamethrower is launched, gas under high pressure flows through the reducer and solenoid valve into two cylinders at once.

The flamethrower's starting device consists of eight 1.5 V batteries, a voltage converter with a switch, a check valve, and an incendiary spark device. After the release hook is pressed, current is supplied to the electromagnetic valve, after which air under high pressure enters the cylinders with the fire mixture. The fire mixture goes through a hose to the launcher, after which it is thrown at the target using a valve and a “barrel”.

To achieve the desired ignition of the fire mixture, the voltage converter is 20,000 V.

For this flamethrower, an unthickened mixture is most often used, which includes diesel fuel and vegetable oil. The use of thickened fire mixtures is also implied. The disadvantages of the flamethrower are the need for a diesel compressor to charge the high-pressure cylinder.

The main characteristics of the flamethrower are determined by the following parameters: the length of the launcher is 635 mm, the volume of the cylinders is 2x9 liters, the compressed air pressure reaches 200 atmospheres, when loaded the flamethrower weighs 34 kg, when unloaded - 21 kg, the distance over which the thickened fire mixture is launched, is 70 m.

Flamethrower LPO-50

A flamethrower, which is designed to eliminate enemy firing points located in cover. The flamethrower is also used to destroy armored and automotive structures, the enemy himself and create a fire. The development began in the USSR, the main goal of which was to replace high-explosive flamethrowers. Currently, this flamethrower is not used in the Russian army, but is used in other armies of the world.

The production of the flamethrower belongs to China. The design includes the following elements: three cylinders that are filled with fire mixture, while they are connected; they also include a supply hose and a launcher that looks like a rifle with a bipod. The cylinders have a neck used when pouring the fire mixture, a squib designed to create pressure, and a check valve connected to the hose through which the fire mixture flows.

All cylinder hoses are connected into a single tee, from where the fire mixture goes to the starting device. The starting device has an electrical unit. It is located in front of the handle. The electrical unit consists of four batteries and contacts. There is a fuse on the left side, and in the muzzle there are 3 squibs designed to ignite the fire mixture. When the fire mixture is started, press the safety catch to the “fire” position, and then press the trigger. The direction of the current goes from the batteries, then to the squib, which releases the fire mixture from the pressure of the powder gases.

The check valve is opened by the action of the trigger, after which the squib in the muzzle is initiated. If the fire mixture begins to burn from the squib charge, it will be ejected from the barrel of the weapon directly to the target. The duration of each start varies between 2-3 s. If you press the trigger again, the next squib will fire. The launcher has a butt and also a mechanical sight, consisting of a front sight and rear sight. A modification of this flamethrower is the Type 74; its design is no different from the LPO-50, produced in China.

The main characteristics of this flamethrower are the following parameters: the caliber is 14.5 mm, the length of the launcher reaches 850 mm, the volume of the cylinders is 3x3.3 liters, the weight of the flamethrower, which contains a fire mixture, is 23 kg, and the weight of the flamethrower without a fire mixture is 15 kg. The longest launch distance for an unthickened mixture is 20 m, and for a thickened mixture - 70 m.

The disadvantages of a flamethrower are the fact that a very small amount of mixture can be supplied, and the launch occurs only after the squib has begun to burn, which is also unprofitable. Thus, the fire mixture can only be fired 3 times.

Backpack flamethrower

Flamethrower attached to the back. Throws the burning mixture 40 m using compressed air. The charge is designed for 6-8 shots. The main design element of a backpack flamethrower is a steel container filled with a fire mixture: flammable liquid or compressed gas. The volume of such a container is 15-20 liters. The fire mixture is thrown through a flexible rubber hose into a metal fire nozzle and is ignited by an igniter at the outlet of the fire nozzle. The mixture exits the container after opening a special tap valve. Used for offensive purposes. The backpack flamethrower is most effective in a combat situation with a narrow corridor. The main disadvantage of using a backpack flamethrower is its short range. To protect flamethrowers from burns, special fireproof suits are used.

Jet flamethrower

A flamethrower, the operating principle of which is based on the use of a rocket projectile that pushes out a fire mixture enclosed in a sealed capsule. The range of action of such a flamethrower is hundreds and thousands of meters. The disadvantage of a “classic” flamethrower is its short firing range, which is 50-200 m. And even in the event of high pressure, this problem remains unresolved, since the fire mixture burns during flight and only a small part of it reaches the target. Accordingly, the greater the distance, the less fire mixture will reach.

The problem can be solved by increasing the amount of fire mixture and increasing the pressure, but such an operation also sooner or later reaches a limit. With the advent of the jet flamethrower, this problem was resolved, since it does not involve the use of a burning liquid, but a projectile that contains a fire mixture. And the fire mixture begins to burn only when the projectile reaches the target.

An example of a rocket-propelled flamethrower is the Soviet RPOA, also called Shmel. Modern jet flamethrowers involve the use of thermobaric compounds that replace the fire mixture. If such a mixture reaches the target, it is sprayed, and after a certain time an explosion occurs. In the area of the explosion, both temperature and pressure increase.

Flamethrower "Lynx"

A rocket-propelled infantry flamethrower, the main purpose of which is to eliminate enemy firing points located in cover. The flamethrower is also used to destroy armored and automotive structures, the enemy himself and create a fire. Development was carried out during 1972-1974. at the Instrument Design Bureau of the city of Tula (KBP). Became used in the Soviet army since 1975.

The flamethrower includes the following elements: a launcher, which includes some parts from the RPG-16 hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher; there are also two types of missiles, the warhead of which is filled with a fire mixture. Its composition is either smoke-generating (“Lynx-D”) or incendiary (“Lynx-Z”). To fire a flamethrower, you need to attach an additional plastic container to the launcher. Inside it there is a capsule containing a fire mixture and a jet engine running on solid fuel.

If you connect the launcher and the container, this connection will be secured by three clamps that are located on the outside of the container. When an electrical impulse is received, which is generated from an electrical mechanism, the capsule is released, the flame travels through the tube that conducts the fire, the jet engine ignites, and its charge burns out. After this, the body is separated from the capsule itself.

The capsule has a tail unit, which allows it to fly along a relatively smooth trajectory, since the tail unit contributes to the rotation of the axis of this capsule. The sight itself is framed and consists of a front sight and a movable rear sight, which hinges on the sight frame. To achieve greater stability of the flamethrower, a bipod is provided; it is located in the front part of the launcher. At the end of the 1980s. The Lynx flamethrower was replaced with the Shmel RPOA, which featured a more advanced device.

The main characteristics of the flamethrower are the following parameters: the length in the firing position reaches 1440 mm, the mass in the firing position is 7.5 kg, and the mass of the launcher is 3.5 kg, the content of the fire mixture reaches 4 liters, the sighting range is 190 m, and the maximum firing distance is 400 m, transferring to a combat position takes 60 s.

Flamethrower T-148

Weapons designed in Italy. The main purpose was to provide support that was needed on the battlefield. The advantages of the flamethrower are reliability in use and simplicity of design; it was these qualities of the flamethrower that the Italian developers focused on. For this reason, the flamethrower’s operation scheme was quite simple.

Cylinders intended for fire mixtures are filled with napalm 2/3 by volume. After this action, air is pumped into the check valve, the pressure of which is 28-30 kg/cm2. A special indicator located on the valve shows whether the operating pressure has been reached or not. After start-up, the pressure causes the fire mixture to flow into the check valve through the hose, after which it is ignited by electricity and thrown out to the target.

The electronic device that allows you to ignite the fire mixture is powered by nickel-cadmium batteries. The device remains sealed and operates even if water gets into the flamethrower. But besides the advantages, there are also disadvantages. One of them is low pressure in the system itself, which decreases during startup. But you can also find positive features in this property. Firstly, this makes the flamethrower lighter, and secondly, its maintenance is greatly simplified, since it can also be charged with air from combat compressor equipment. Diesel fuel can serve as a substitute for the fire mixture.

The main characteristics of the flamethrower are the following parameters: the length of the launcher is 380 mm, the volume of the cylinders reaches 15 liters, the weight of the unloaded flamethrower is 13.8 kg, and the weight of the equipped flamethrower is 25.5 kg. The launch duration is 2-3 s, the launch range at the maximum distance reaches 60 m.

Flamethrower TPO-50

A heavy infantry flamethrower, the action of which is based on the ejection of a fire mixture. The ejection of the fire mixture is facilitated by the pressure of the powder gases; they are formed when the powder charge is burned. This process works as follows. The gas presses on the liquid, which, in turn, enters through a piston-obturator, designed to separate liquid and gas in the barrel of the flamethrower. After this, the fire mixture, flying out of the nozzle, is ignited by a special mechanism.

The flamethrower consists of three barrels and a carriage, which replace each other. The replaceable barrel consists of a body and a head, which are connected by a union nut, a powder chamber, a nozzle, a piston-obturator, as well as a mechanical fuse and an electrical contact. The body contains a fire mixture and there is pressure inside it. The body also has sight frame pads and a triple clamp stop. The bottom of the body is presented in the shape of a sphere; it implies the presence of an ear for attaching the barrel to the gun carriage. The barrel is carried by a special handle attached to the ear holes. One of the main parts of the barrel is the head. It is designed to accommodate the working components of a flamethrower.

The head shape is sphere, made from sheet steel. The head has a ring that connects it to the body. The head includes a siphon bushing, a powder chamber bowl and a safety valve bushing. The siphon sleeve gradually transforms into the siphon pipe, which is designed to eject the fire mixture from the barrel. The siphon pipe implies the presence of a bell, due to which a smoother exit of the fire mixture is achieved. The lower part of the pipe and the piston-obturator bushing have a special hole to allow residual gases to escape.

The purpose of the shutter piston is to uniformly distribute the pressure of the powder gases on the fire mixture and its exit from the barrel when fired. The powder chamber contains an ignition device, a powder charge, a grate, a gas nozzle, as well as other parts that ensure the formation of a shot. The powder chamber is located on the head cup. There are holes in its cover intended for a flare tube of capsule contact, as well as for a mechanical fuse. The flare tube is used to provide an outlet for the incendiary star, which ignites the flamethrower jet.

If the flamethrower is activated by mechanical action, then the ROKS-3 ignition cartridge is used. The mechanical fuse must be placed in the sleeve of the powder chamber cover, after which it is secured with a union nut. Before a shot is fired, the mechanical fuse must be cocked. If the flamethrower is activated by operations involving electrical signals, then from the current source, that is, from the battery, there is a conductor connected to an electrical contact. In this case, the PP-9 squib cartridge is used. The entire sequence of shot formation consists of several stages.

First, the ROKS-3 cartridge is ignited using a mechanical fuse, after which the flame passes from the incendiary star to the powder charge. Then the gases in the powder chamber enter the gas region of the barrel through the nozzle. Due to the action of gases, the pressure reaches 60 kgf/cm2, and the piston-obturator releases the fire mixture through the siphon pipe. The nozzle membrane is cut off and the fire mixture is thrown onto the target. The fire mixture in the barrel develops a speed of 3 to 36 m/s, this is explained by the fact that there is a large difference in the dimensions of the barrel and siphon pipe, which are 200 mm and 5 mm, respectively.

When the fire mixture flies directly out of the nozzle, its speed reaches 106 m/s, which is explained by the conical narrowing of the siphon pipe. After the fire mixture has flown out of the barrel, it is ignited using an incendiary star. A nozzle with a diameter of 32 mm forms and directs the jet to the target. The nozzle includes a body and a shut-off device. The shut-off device is designed to ensure that a working pressure of 60 kgf/cm2 is achieved in the working housing.

The nozzle body consists of two parts - conical and cylindrical. The cone angle is 10 and the length of the cylindrical part is 96 mm. The head has a safety valve, its diameter is 25 mm. The valve is designed to prevent pressure from increasing above 120 kgf/cm3. The sight device includes elements such as a sighting frame, clamps and front sights. There are numbers written on the clamps that determine the throwing range with a direct shot, where the height is 1.5 m. That is, 1, 1.2 and 1.4 indicate ranges equal to 100, 120 and 140 m.

The flamethrower is transported using a carriage. It is designed so that it can be either on wheels or on skis. The carriage is also used if there is a need to change the barrel and change its elevation angles. The carriage includes a frame with openers, handles for moving, a bracket with clamps, which are designed to install replaceable barrels.