Flammenwerfer 35 (FmW 35)

History

During the First World War (1914-1918), crew-portable flamethrowers were used to break the deadlock in trench warfare and cause terrible physical and enemy psychological trauma. Wartime use of flamethrowers was first revealed by the German Army at Argonne's battle with the French in 1914, and more widely used at the Battle of Verdun in 1916.

By World War II (1939-1945), the weapon class was still in use, only refined into portable systems with longer range and higher lethality. While this type proved very useful to American personnel in the Pacific when trying to root out zealous Japanese defenders, flamethrowers were also used to some extent in Europe.

To clear fortifications with minimal damage to attackers, the flamethrower is a proven weapon.

Under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, the expanding German army in the 1930s adopted the Flammenwerfer 35 in 1935 - the word literally means "flame thrower" or "flame thrower". The weapon is a complete system consisting of a projector with a fuse, a fuel line and a fuel tank. The two-can unit is carried as a backpack, supported by shoulder straps, while the projector assembly is used with both hands as a simple service rifle. This leaves the operator without viable secondary weapons - possibly limited to pistols or daggers. The dual tank arrangement consists of one tank filled with 3 gallons of gasoline/tar compound as the actual fuel and another tank filled with nitrogen as the propellant.

Ignition was via a hydrogen unit, which eventually proved to be limited in harsh winter weather (later designs like the FmW 41 required replacement of the cartridge system). The FmW 35 has an effective range of up to 25 meters and up to 30 meters from the projector point, reaching over 80 feet, while the hydrogen ignition allows about 10 seconds of continuous streaming. When shooting into small spaces such as enemy bunkers, the lethality of the flames is even greater than that of the ground air flow. The operator can also freely "fire" at embedded enemies by bending the water flow behind the defensive wall.

The entire FmW 35 system weighs 80 pounds and requires special training for maximum efficiency. Despite the size and limitations, the FmW 35 series proved to be a huge upgrade over the larger and heavier three-person systems used by the German army in World War I.

Flamethrowers are inherently inhumane weapons, and there is no doubt that they are capable of being used in a killing or killing environment on the battlefield. Instead, it becomes very obvious to enemy snipers for the operator to operate their flamethrower, and a direct hit to the can makes them useful, as the pressure of the escape can cause the operator to fall forward (under the right circumstances) , fuel spray might ignite - molotov cocktails say - but not as Hollywood would have you believe). In part to counter this threat from remote observers, the projector has been modified to look like a standard service rifle. The extent to which this deception was successful is unknown.

Flamethrowers are often protected by nearby infantry personnel, for obvious reasons - flamethrowers are unmistakably special forces.

The FmW 35 series was in standard service until 1941, after which the improved and improved Flammenwerfer 41 was introduced. The FmW 41 featured a lighter, more portable design and improved upon the original in several ways, including the later introduction of cartridge firing. Production of the FmW 35 itself continued until 1941, before attention shifted to the FmW 41 series.

The makeshift "FmW 40" was another German WWII flamethrower in the form of a "lifebelt" backpack, but it was not released or manufactured on a large scale.

The flamethrower 35 system was still used in Stalingrad during the Eastern Front's offensive against the Soviet Union.

Specification

Base

Year of Service

1935

Origins

Nazi Germany

Categories

Portable Flamethrower

Manufacturer

National Factory - Nazi Germany

Operator

Nazi Germany

Roles

Special weapons for specific characters on the battlefield.

Dimensions and Weights

Curb Weight

78.93 lbs

35.80 kg

Attractions

Not applicable.

Action

Hydrogen ignition system

Cartridges and Paper Feeds

Caliber*

Not applicable

Circle/Feed

1 x 3 gallon compound fuel tank; 1 x nitrogen fuel tank

POWER

Maximum efficiency. Arrived

88 feet

(27m | 29m)

VARIATIONS

Flamethrower 35 - Original World War II-era flamethrower, based on WW1 design; produced until 1941; twin-tank arrangement; 79 lbs. FmW 35 - Short for Medium Flamethrower - Two-person version of the Flamethrower 35; fuel is transported on a trolley.

Defensive Flamethrower 42 - Single shot, fixed defensive variant.