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How Flamethrowers Work

Although other nations deployed flame throwers in WWI the US only began in WWII. The M2-2 and close variants, shown in this photo, were also used in the Korean War.

The napalm-gasoline fuel was propelled by a gas system of pressurized nitrogen, flow rate controlled by the rear hand grip. Leaving the nozzle the fuel was spark-lit by a battery-powered pyrotechnic ignition system controlled by the trigger in the front hand grip.

Radio Hill, Wolmi-Do, 9/15/50 Marine burns out North Korean weapons emplacement

By World War II, forces on both sides used a range of flamethrower weapons on the battlefield. The most impressive innovation was the handheld flamethrower. This long, gun-type weapon has an attached fuel tank that soldiers can carry on their back.

The backpack contains three cylinder tanks. The two outside tanks hold a flammable, oil-based liquid fuel, similar to the material used to make Greek fire. The tanks have screw-on caps, so they can be refilled easily. The middle tank holds a flammable, compressed gas (such as butane). This tank feeds gas through a pressure regulator to two connected tubes.

Link to diagram of flamethrower
Be sure to follow mouse click instructions at the bottom of the graphic to make the flamethrower work!

One tube leads to the ignition system in the gun. The other tube leads to the two side fuel tanks, letting the compressed gas into the open area above the flammable liquid. The compressed gas applies a great deal of downward pressure on the fuel, driving it out of the tanks, through a connected hose, into a reservoir in the gun.

The gun housing has a long rod running through it, with a valve plug on the end. A spring at the back of the gun pushes the rod forward, pressing the plug into a valve seat. This keeps the fuel from flowing out through the gun nozzle when the trigger lever is released.

When the operator squeezes the trigger lever, it pulls the rod (and the attached plug) backward. With the valve open, the pressurized fuel can flow through the nozzle. Some flamethrowers can shoot a fuel stream as far as 50 yards (46 meters).

As it exits the nozzle, the fuel flows past the ignition system. Over the years, there have been a variety of ignition systems used in flamethrowers. One of the simpler systems was a coil of high-resistance wire. When electrical current passed through these wires, they released a lot of heat, warming the fuel to the combustion point.

When the ignition valve is open, compressed flammable gas from the middle cylinder tank on the backpack flows through a long length of hose to the end of the gun. Here it is mixed with air and released through several small holes into the chamber in front of the nozzle.

The gun also has two spark plugs positioned in front of the nozzle, which are powered by a portable battery. To prepare the gun, the operator opens the ignition valve and presses a button that activates the spark plug. This creates a small flame in front of the nozzle, which ignites the flowing fuel, creating the fire stream.

In World Wars I and II, as well as in the Vietnam war, similar flamethrower designs were mounted on tanks.

German Panzer

Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

www.diggerhistory.info/
www.stormpages.com/ The FReeper Foxhole Studies Flamethrowers - November 28th, 2003

............

To the Marines on the ground during the battle for Iwo Jima in February 1945, the Sherman M4A3 medium tank equipped with the Navy Mark I flamethrower was the best thing going. The Marines had come a long way in the tactical use of fire in the 15 months since Tarawa, when only a handful of backpack flamethrowers were available to combat the island's hundreds of fortifications.

The Iwo Jima landing force still relied on portable flamethrowers, but many Marines saw the value of going one step further and marrying the technology with armored vehicles.

In the Mariana Islands in 1944, the Marines modified M3A1 light tanks with the Canadian Ronson flame system to good effect; the problems came instead from the vulnerability of the small vehicles. At Peleliu, the 1st Marine Division mounted the improvised Mark I system on a thin-skinned LVT-4; again, vehicle vulnerability limited the system's effectiveness. The solution seemed to lie in mounting the flamethrower on a medium tank.

The first modification to Sherman tanks involved the installation of the small E4-5 mechanized flamethrower in place of the bow machine gun. This was only a marginal improvement; the system's short range, modest fuel supply and awkward aiming process hardly offset the loss of the machine gun. Even so, each of the three battalions employed E-4-5-equipped Shermans during the battle for Iwo Jima. The best solution came from an unlikely joint task force of Navy Seabees, Army chemical-warfare service technicians and Marine tankers in Hawaii.

According to Lt. Col. William R. Collins, commander of the 5th Tank Battalion, this inspired group modified the Mark I flame thrower to operate from within the Sherman's turret, replacing the 75mm main gun with a look-alike launch tube. The modified system could then be trained and pointed like a conventional turret gun. Unfortunately, the ad hoc modification team had only sufficient time and components to modify eight M4A3 tanks with the Mark I flame system; four each went to the 4th and 5th Tank Battalions. The 3rd Tank Battalion, then in Guam, received neither the M4A3 Shermans nor the field modifications in time for Iwo Jima, although a number of their A2 tanks had the bow-mounted E4-5 system.

The eight modified Sherman flame tanks proved ideal against Iwo Jima's rugged caves and concrete fortifications. The Japanese feared this weapon greatly; time and time again suicide squads of "human bullets" would assail the flamethrowing tanks directly, only to be shot down by Marine riflemen or scorched by the main weapon.

Enemy fire and the rough terrain took their toll on the eight flame tanks, but maintenance crews worked around the clock to keep them running. In the words of Capt. Frank C. Caldwell, a company commander with the 26th Marines: "In my view, it was the flame tank more than any other supporting arm that won this battle." Demands for the flame tanks never diminished.

Late in the battle for Iwo Jima, as the 5th Marine Division cornered the last Japanese defenders,the 5th Tank Battalion expended 10,000 gallons of napalm-thickened fuel per day. The division's final action report stated that the flame tank was "the one weapon that caused the [Japanese] to leave their caves and rock crevices and run."

Fuel hose stretches up hill

Tanks advance up hill

Flame hits hill

Burned out Japanese survivor

Enemy position burned out

On this Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on February 04:
1646 Hans A Freiherr von Abschatz Silesian poet
1688 Pierre De Marivaux Paris France, writer (Marianne)
1747 Tadeusz Kosciusko, Poland, patriot, American Revolution hero (built West Point)
1778 Augustin P de Candolle Swiss botanist (Théorie élémentaire)
1819 Joshua Norton San Francisco CA, Norton I, emperor of USA
1826 Halbert Eleazer Paine Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1905
1841 Clément Ader French inventor (1st to fly a heavier-than-air craft)
1875 Ludwig Prandtl German Federal Republic, physicist (father of aerodynamics)
1888 Paul Althaus German theologist (The Christian Truth)
1893 Raymond Dart Australian paleoanthropologist (Australopithecus)
1902 Charles A Lindbergh Detroit MI, pilot (1st fly solo across Atlantic)
1904 MacKinlay Kantor Webster City IA, novelist (Andersonville)
1905 Eddie Foy Jr New Rochelle NY, actor (Eddie-Fair Exchange)
1906 Clyde William Tombaugh US, astronomer (discovered Pluto)

1906 Dietrich Bonhoeffer German theologist (Confessing Church)

1912 Byron Nelson Fort Worth TX, PGA golfer (won 19 tournaments in 1945)
1913 Rosa Lee Parks civil rights activist (bus protester)
1913 Woody Hayes [Wayne], college football coach (Ohio, 1968 coach of year)
1914 Ida Lupino London England, actress (Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Jennifer)
1915 William Talman Detroit MI, actor (Crashout, Hamilton-Perry Mason)
1917 Aga Yahya Khan Pakistan military/politician
1921 Betty Friedan Peoria IL, feminist writer (Feminine Mystique)
1923 Conrad Bain Alberta Canada, actor (Maude, Diff'rent Strokes)
1925 Russell Hoban US children's book author (Riddley Walker/Pilgermann)
1936 Gary Conway Boston MA, actor (Burke's Law, Land of the Giants)
1939 Jane Bryant Quinn newspaper & television reporter
1940 George A Romero actor/director (Creepshow, Martin, 2 Evil Eyes)
1944 Florence LaRue Gordon Pennsylvania, rocker (5th Dimension-One Less Bell)
1945 David Brenner Philadelphia PA, comedian/TV talk show host (Nightlife)
1947 Dan Quayle (Senator-R-IN)/(44th Vice-President-R 1989-93)
1948 Alice Cooper [Vincent Furnier], Detroit MI, rocker (School's Out)
1950 Pamela Franklin Tokyo Japan, actress (Satan's School for Girls)
1959 Lawrence Taylor [LT], NFL's greatest linebacker (New York Giants)
1959 Zenani Mandela daughter of Nelson & Winnie Mandela
1962 Clint Black Long Branch NJ, country vocalist (A Better Man)
1966 Marissa Laakso Boston MA, Miss Massachusetts-America (1990)
1969 Chastity Bono Los Angeles CA, daughter/actress (Sonny & Cher Show)
1973 Oscar De La Hoya Los Angeles CA, boxer (Olympics-gold-92)

Deaths which occurred on February 04:
0211 Lucius Septimus Severus emperor of Rome (193-211), dies at 64
0708 Sisinnius Greek-Syrian pope (708, 20 days), dies
1505 Joan of Valois Queen of France/saint, dies at 40
1746 Robert Blair Scottish poet (Grave), dies at 46
1815 Geert Reinders Dutch cattle breeder/inoculation proponent, dies at 77
1911 Peter A "Piet" Cronje South Africa Boer General, dies at about 75
1957 Joseph Hardaway creator of Bugs Bunny, dies at 66
1966 Gilbert H Grosvenor president National Geographic Society, dies at 90
1969 Thelma Ritter actress (All About Eve, Pillow Talk), dies at 63
1983 Karen Carpenter singer/drummer (Carpenters), dies of anorexia at 32
1987 Liberace pianist (Liberace Show, Evil Chandell-Batman), dies at 67
1989 Kenneth "Jethro" Burns country singer (Homer & Jethro), dies at 69
1992 John Dehner actor (Apache, Cowboy, Boys from Brazil), dies at 76
2000 Former House Speaker Carl Albert died in McAlester, Oklahoma, at age 91.

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1967 BOMAR JACK W.---FORT MADISON IA.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1967 COLLAMORE ALLAN P. JR.---WORCHESTER MA.
1967 DAVIES JOHN O.---READING PA.
[02/18/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1967 DOBY HERB---OREGON CITY OR.
[09/30/77 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV]
1967 FER JOHN---HELMUT CA.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1967 POOR RUSSELL A.---WARSAW IN.
1967 THOMPSON DONALD E.---WELLSVILLE NY.
1967 WILBURN WOODROW H.---CORPUS CHRISTI TX.
[REMAINS RETURNED ID 01/03/90]
1968 BROOKENS NORMAN J.---FAYETTEVILLE PA.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG INJURED]
1968 O'CONNER MICHAEL F.---WARREN MI.
[03/05/73 RELEASED BY PRG, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1968 TALLAFERNO WILLIAM P.
[02/13/68 ESCAPED]
1968 UTECHT RICHARD W.---FAYETTEVILLE NC.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG]
1970 WALTON WILBERT---FAYETTEVILLE NC.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 24 SEPT 92]
1972 COOPER DANIEL D.---MEDFORD OR.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0708 Sisinnius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1194 Richard I Lion Hearted pays Leopold O Fenrik VI's ransom of 100,000
1508 Maximilian I assumes imperial title without being crowned
1600 Tycho Brahe & Johannes Kepler meet for 1st time outside of Prague ("Tycho my main man! How it going? Johnny! Baby! How they hangin?")
1657 Oliver Cromwell grants residency to Luis Caravajal
1783 Worst quake in 8 years kills some 50,000 (Calabria, Italy)
1787 1st Anglican bishops of New York & Pennsylvania consecrated in London
1787 Shays' Rebellion (of debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers) fails
1789 1st electoral college chooses Washington & Adams as President & Vice President
1794 French National Convention proclaims abolishment of slavery
1797 Earthquake in Quito, Ecuador kills 40,000
1822 Free American Blacks settle Liberia, West Africa
1824 J W Goodrich introduces rubber galoshes to the public
1846 Mormons leave Nauvoo MO for settlement in the west
1847 1st US telegraph company established in Maryland
1849 University of Wisconsin begins in 1 room with 20 students

1854 Alvan Bovay proposes the name "Republican Party", Ripon WI

1855 Soldiers shoot Jewish families in Coro, Venezuela
1861 Confederate constitutional convention meets for 1st time, Montgomery AL, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi & South Carolina elect Jefferson Davis President of Confederacy
1864 Skirmish at Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi
1866 Mary Baker Eddy cures her injuries by opening a bible
1887 Interstate Commerce Act authorizes federal regulation of railroads
1895 1st rolling lift bridge opens, Chicago
1899 Revolt against US occupation of Philippines
1904 John Millington Synges "Well of Saints" premieres in Dublin
1913 Louis Perlman patents demountable auto tire-carrying wheel rim
1914 US Congress approves Burnett-anti-immigration law
1930 1st tieless, soundless, shockless streetcar tracks, New Orleans
1933 German President Von Hindenburg limits freedom of the press
1936 1st radioactive substance produced synthetically (radium E)
1938 Hitler seizes control of German army & puts Nazi in key posts
1938 "Our Town", by Thornton Wilder opens on Broadway

1941 United Service Organization (USO) founded

1942 Clinton Pierce becomes 1st US General wounded in action in WWII
1944 US 7th Infantry Division captures Kwajalein
1945 FDR, Churchill & Stalin meet at Yalta
1948 Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) gains independence from Britain (National Day)
1949 Failed assassination attempt on Shah of Persia
1956 AL plans to test automatic intentional walk during spring training
1957 1st electric portable typewriter placed on sale (Syracuse NY)
1958 Hall of Fame fails to elect anyone for 1st time since 1950
1959 Israel begins exporting copper ore
1962 Russian newspaper Izvestia reports baseball is an old Russian game
1964 24th Amendment abolishes Poll tax
1964 FAA begins 6 month test of reactions to sonic booms over Oklahoma City OK
1967 "Wild Thing" hits #20 on the pop singles chart by Senator Bobby
1968 Bowie Kuhn replaces William Eckert as 5th commissioner of baseball
1969 John Madden is named head coach of the NFL's Oakland Raiders
1969 Yassar Arafat takes over as chairman of PLO
1971 Apollo 14 lander Antares lands on Moon (Shepard & Mitchell)
1971 British car maker Rolls Royce declared itself bankrupt
1973 Reshef, Israel's missile boat, unveiled
1974 Patricia Hearst (19), daughter of publisher Randolph Hearst kidnapped by Symbionese Liberation Army
1974 Benzine rationing ends in Netherlands
1976 7.5 earthquake kills 22,778 in Guatemala & Honduras
1980 Bani Sadr sworn in as premier of Iran
1984 Frank Aquilera sets world frisbee distance record (168 meters) Las Vegas
1985 Naval exercises canceled when US refuses to tell New Zealand of nuclear weapons
1987 President Reagan's veto of Clean Water Act is overridden by Congress
1988 Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega indicted on drug charges
1990 10 Israeli tourists murdered near Cairo
1990 Cheering protesters thronged Moscow streets to demand that the Communists surrender their stranglehold on power
1991 US postage raises from 25¢ to 29¢
1991 Hall of Fame's board of directors vote 12-0 to bar Pete Rose
1996 Pres. Clinton and Monica had their 6th....encounter at the White House
1997 Secretary of State Margaret Albright announces she just discovered that her grandparents were Jewish
1998 Bill Gates gets a pie thrown in his face in Brussels Belgium
2002 The CIA believed that it killed a top al Qaeda official with a Hellfire missile, Predator aerial drone, near Zawar Kili, Afghanistan

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Sri Lanka : Independence Day (1948)
US : Kosciuszko Day
US : Homemade Soup Day
US : Muffin Mania Week (Day 5)
Cat Health Month

Religious Observances
Anglican : Commemoration of Cornelius the Centurion
Feast of St Gilbert of Sempringham
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Andrew Corsini, bishop of Fiesole/confessor
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St John of Britto, Portuguese Jesuit

Religious History
1441 Pope Eugene IV published the encyclical "Cantante domino." It asserted that the biblical canon of the Roman Catholic Church contains both the 66 protocanonical books (i.e., the complete Protestant Bible) and 12 deuterocanonical (aka "apocryphal") books 78 writings in all.
1810 The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized in Tennessee as an outgrowth of the Great Revival of 1800. Standing between Calvinism and Arminianism, the denomination holds a "medium theology" which affirms unlimited atonement, universal grace, conditional election, eternal security of the believer and salvation of all children dying in infancy.
1873 Birth of George Bennard, American Methodist evangelist. He penned over 300 Gospel songs during his lifetime, but is primarily remembered today for one: "The Old Rugged Cross."
1874 English poet and devotional writer Frances Ridley Havergal, 37, penned the words to the popular hymn of commitment, "Take My Life and Let It Be [Consecrated, Lord, to Thee]."
1950 American missionary and martyr Jim Elliot resolved in his journal: 'I may no longer depend on pleasant impulses to bring me before the Lord. I must rather respond to principles I know to be right, whether I feel them to be enjoyable or not.'

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Never do anything that you wouldn't want to explain to the paramedics."