Italian and Soviet portable flamethrowers (pics)

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JTV
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Italian and Soviet portable flamethrowers (pics)

#1

Post by JTV » 26 Jun 2003, 10:44

Does anyone have information about Italian and Soviet portable flamethrowers of WW2? During Continuation War (1941 - 1944) Finnish Army used two portable flamethrower types:
- Flamethrower M/40, which was Italian made.
- Flamethrower M/41-R, which was captured Soviet one (probably what Soviets called ROKS-2). I have been trying to find information about them for my website (http://www.ankkurinvarsi.net/jaeger/LIB ... PAGE.shtml), but with little success. Information about technical details is just about only thing I managed to find, so I would be very grateful if anyone has any other information or even suggestions of sources from which I could find more information about them.

Some technical details, which might help in identifying these flamethrowers:

M/40 (Italian made):
- Weight in battle: 25.5 kg
- Weight with empty tanks: 10 kg
- Fuel capacity: 12.5 litres
- Maximum range of flame: about 20 metres
- Flame capacity per fill: 20 seconds of constant flame or 25 - 30 short flames lasting about 1 second.
- Two steel tanks with intermediate floors dividing them to two chambers. The upper chambers of tanks are connected to each other and filled with
nitrogen. The lower chambers contain flamethrower fuel.
- The fire tube has two flints, which springs push against spark producing wheels.

M/41-R (Captured Soviet. Probably ROKS-2?):
- Weight in battle: 25 kg
- Weight with empty tanks: 8.5 kg
- Fuel capacity: 10 litres
- Maximum range of flame: about 30 metres
- Flame capacity per fill: 5 - 6 seconds of constant flame or 6 - 8 short flames lasting about 1 second
- Two steel tanks containing fuel and seperate nitrogen tank under fuel tanks. The fire tube is somewhat rifle-shaped.

And here are some drawings of them both:
Attachments
flamethrower_M40_1.jpg
flamethrower_M40_1.jpg (45.71 KiB) Viewed 4560 times
flamethrower_M40_2.jpg
flamethrower_M40_2.jpg (28.12 KiB) Viewed 4561 times
flamethrower_M41R_1.jpg
M/41-R
flamethrower_M41R_1.jpg (42.91 KiB) Viewed 4584 times

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JTV
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Re: Italian and Soviet portable flamethrowers (pics)

#2

Post by JTV » 26 Jun 2003, 10:47

And flame tube of M/41-R:
Attachments
flamethrower_M41R_2.jpg
flamethrower_M41R_2.jpg (23.69 KiB) Viewed 4558 times


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Robert Hurst
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#3

Post by Robert Hurst » 26 Jun 2003, 13:58

Hi JTV

On the Non-Axis Equipment and Militaria section of this Forum, you will find on page 5 a post of mine with regard to Allied portable flamethrowers.

In that post there is a section dealing with Soviet flamethrowers of that period, which may be of some help to you.

Regards

Bob.

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#4

Post by JTV » 27 Jun 2003, 08:37

Robert Hurst wrote:Hi JTV

On the Non-Axis Equipment and Militaria section of this Forum, you will find on page 5 a post of mine with regard to Allied portable flamethrowers.

In that post there is a section dealing with Soviet flamethrowers of that period, which may be of some help to you.

Regards

Bob.
Thanks, great article. I spotted one interesting thing in it:
1. The photo of ROKS-2 you included to that article doesn't look quite the same as the ones I found from Finnish WW2 era military manuals. Especially the way the fuel tanks and pressure tank (aka nitrogen tank) are placed is very different and the flame tube looks bit different also.
2. The text in your article mention that "The only noticeable flamethrower features were the small gas pressure bottle under the 'pack'", but the arrangement of fuel and nitrogen tanks in drawing you attached shows all three tanks in upright position. You also wrote that ROKS-3 2 "did away with the pack appearance and instead used two cylinders on a frame carried on the back."

Could it be that the flamethrower drawing attached in your article is actually ROKS-3?

If you have any additional info concerning introduction and manufacturing of ROKS-2 and ROKS-3, it would be most welcome.

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Italian flamethrowers

#5

Post by SM79Sparviero » 27 Jun 2003, 20:57

Italian Army in 1940 had 1500 flamethrowers: each armed corp ( of 14) had one company "L" (" Lanciafiamme") on two platoons each int two teams , each team had 8 flamethrowers.Each infantry division had , then, one team with 8 flamethrowers.Each alpine regiment had one platoon on two teams each with twelve flamethrowers.
In August, 1940 the "Scuola Guastatori" ( "Destroyers-Engineers specialization school" ) was created in Civitavecchia ( Rome), the purpose of Guastatori was a support to the assault troops by the use of flamethrowers and explosive charges similar to "Bangalore tubes". Italy began the war with 3 Guastatori bataillons ( 30th, 31th, 32th), during the war seven more bataillons were created.
Lanciafiamme Spalleggiabile Model 35 weighted 28Kg,had a storage of 12 lts of flammable fluid for 20" of continual flow jet or 10 brief jets, 20 mts far..The main deficiency of the weapon was the ignition system: a small torch "Bengala" Type ( "bengalotto") at the extremity of the barrel had to be ignited before the beginning of the combat , it burned slowly but could be easily seen by an enemy....

Lanciafiamme Spalleggiabile model 1940 weighted 27 Kgs for 18 lts of fluid storage , its performances were very similar to the ones of the previous weapon but the ignition system was electric: the high-pressure fluid jet pushed the blades of a small rotor as a turbine, the magnetized rotor worked as a dynamo and the electric energy was carried by wires to a sparking plug at the extremity of the barrel.....

Lanciafiamme d' Assalto Mod 41 was a very good assault weapon,it was still in 1990 in the arsenal of the airborne-frogmen COMSUBIN of Marina Militare.Its handling was comparable to a rifle because the body of the weapon WAS in the same time the tank of the fluid and of the nitrogen propeller.The barrel was articulated and could be oriented up to 90 grades, so the soldier could shoot behind a protection.It had a dynamo-turbine ignition system.It weighted 9 kgs for 3 kg of fluid storage, it had a range of 23 mts for a 4 " continual flow jet or 4 intermittent brief jets.

Lanciafiamme Pesante Carrellato Model 42 was not commonly employed by infantry troops.It had a range of 50 mts and more, 100 lts fluid storage propelled by nitrogen or by a motorized pump.
It was considered a complex and heavy weapon not useful for assault employements.
Attachments
lanciafiamme1.jpg
Lanciafiamme spalleggiato Mod 1935
lanciafiamme1.jpg (35.79 KiB) Viewed 4436 times
lanciafiamme2.jpg
lanciafiamme spalleggiato mod 1940
lanciafiamme2.jpg (71.04 KiB) Viewed 4435 times
lanciafiamme3.jpg
lanciafiamme d' assalto mod 1941 and Lanciafiamme Carrellato mod 1942
lanciafiamme3.jpg (37.52 KiB) Viewed 4438 times

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#6

Post by SerbTiger » 28 Jun 2003, 05:40

Hello SM79Sparviero ,

Do you have any information of how successfully these flamethrowers were used in combat by the Italian troops?

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flamethrowers

#7

Post by SM79Sparviero » 28 Jun 2003, 19:01

Guastatori platoons with flamethrowers mod 35 and 40 were the arrowhead of Italian and German troops that conquered Tobruk and, in June 24-29, 1942, Marsa Matruk. The flamethrowers were useful to defeat bunkers and armoured vehicles too, at short range.
I would like to remember in particular major Paolo Caccia Dominioni Di Sillavengo who had the German Second Class Iron Cross for the action at the Ruweisat hill during the battle of Alam El Halfa, in 1942, 30-31 August.
The officer leaded his Guastatori of XXXI bataillon who attacked Newzealand and Indian fusiliers together with the German airborne troops of Brigade Ramke at 02.00. Rommel's orders were: "penetrate into enemy lines at least 4 Kms.Capture prisoners. Create confusion among the enemies and use your flamethrowers maximally.Come back to your lines".
The avantgarde met a buried Crusader tank that begun a machine-gun fire .Guastatore Marsilio Giulianini advanced and directed a flame jet to the turret that was immediately silenced, three Allied soldiers came out and surrended.

A flame jet impact had not only psycological results:In Spanish civil war during Guadalajara battle an Ansaldo L3 Tankette burned by its flamethrower ( comparable to Lanciafiamme Pesante mod. 42) the T-26 Russian tank that had irreparably damaget it.
Attachments
marsamatruk1.jpg
Guastatori at marsa Matruk battle, 1942 ( from Rivista Italiana Difesa October 1991)
marsamatruk1.jpg (48.28 KiB) Viewed 4388 times
cacciadominioni.jpg
Major Paolo Caccia Dominioni di Sillavengo.
cacciadominioni.jpg (9.81 KiB) Viewed 4387 times

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#8

Post by SerbTiger » 29 Jun 2003, 06:39

SM79Sparviero

Thank You also are the pictures from a website or do they belong to you personally?

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flamethrowers

#9

Post by SM79Sparviero » 29 Jun 2003, 13:40

This site about Paolo Caccia Dominioni is in italian:

http://www.ana-parma.it/ana-parma_paolo ... inioni.htm

I took the other photos about flamethrowers from various italian specialized magazines:
Rivista Italiana Difesa, Storia Militare, Storia e Battaglie.

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Re: flamethrowers

#10

Post by JTV » 30 Jun 2003, 09:51

Thanks SM79Sparviero. Excellent information. Finnish flamethrower M/40 seems to be the same weapon as Italian Lanciafiamme spalleggiato Mod 1935. Any idea about manufacturer of this weapon?

Finnish soldier practicing using flamethrower M/40 during WW2:
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Flamethrower_M40_in_use.jpg
Flamethrower_M40_in_use.jpg (40.67 KiB) Viewed 4313 times

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Finnish flamethrowers

#11

Post by SM79Sparviero » 30 Jun 2003, 11:47

You are right.In 1940 Italy exported 500 flamethrowers Model 35 and 40 to Finland, and an unprecised number to Romania.

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Re: Finnish flamethrowers

#12

Post by JTV » 30 Jun 2003, 15:27

SM79Sparviero wrote:You are right.In 1940 Italy exported 500 flamethrowers Model 35 and 40 to Finland, and an unprecised number to Romania.
Is that information about Italian Model 40 also being sold to Finland from reliable source? I am asking because I have seen Finnish military manuals of only Finnish M/40 (Italian Model 1935) and Finnish M/41-R (Soviet ROKS-2). Those two flamethrowers (M/40 and M/41-R) also seem to be only flamethrower types Finnish books mention as flamethrowers used by Finnish Armed Forces.

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#13

Post by Daniel L » 02 Jul 2007, 13:28

Are there any further data on the Lanciafiamme Pesante Carrellato Model 42?

Best regards/ Daniel

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Re: Italian and Soviet portable flamethrowers (pics)

#14

Post by karlik » 18 May 2009, 20:03

Hi All !

Tell me please from a book this page ???
Image

Thanks!

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