Modern flamethrowers were first used during the trench warfare conditions of World War I; their use greatly increased in World War II. They can be vehicle mounted, as on a tank, or hand-carried by infantry.
The flamethrower consists of two elements: backpack and gun. The backpack element usually consists of two or three cylinders. One cylinder holds compressed, inert propellant gas (usually nitrogen), and the other two hold flammable liquid - typically petrol with some form of fuel thickener added to it. A three-cylinder system often has two outer cylinders of flammable liquid and a central cylinder of propellant gas to improve the balance of the soldier who carried it. The gas propels the fuel liquid out of the cylinder through a flexible pipe and then into the gun element of the flamethrower system. The gun consists of a small reservoir, a spring-loaded valve, and an ignition system; depressing a trigger opens the valve, allowing pressurized flammable liquid to flow and pass over the igniter and out the gun nozzle. The igniter can be one of several ignition systems; a simple type is an electrically-heated wire coil, another used a small pilot flame, fueled with pressurized gas from the system.
Flamethrower in Days of Infamy[]
When the US Marines entered the city of Honolulu during the retaking of Hawaii, they were forced to use the Flamethrower to blast out the strong pockets of resistance of the Japanese forces that refused to surrender.
Flamethrower in Southern Victory[]
A flamethrower was an infantry weapon that shot a stream of flame first used during the United States Great War. Gordon McSweeney was among the first soldiers to use this weapon against Mormon and Confederate States forces. While mainly an offensive weapon, it was slowly introduced to the CS Army by early 1917, despite the army being on the defensive everywhere. However, due to the small number that were issued, they didn't see much action.
During the Second Great War, Confederate general Clarence Potter was given a brigade command under General George Patton, commander of the forces attempting to stop the U.S. drive into Georgia. Potter's insistence that Patton's relentless counterattacks were wearing down the Confederate Army and that an elastic defense strategy would be more effective infuriated Patton so greatly that he challenged Potter to a duel and demanded that Potter choose the weapons.
Potter chose flamethrowers, shocking Patton into retracting his challenge.
See also[]
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