Flamethrower M2
The M2 flamethrower was a portable incendiary weapon that was primarily used in World War II . The M2-2 version of the flamethrower was introduced by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army in 1944 and replaced by the M9A1-7 in 1956 .
description
Like its predecessor M1, the M2 flamethrower consisted of two assemblies: On the one hand, it consisted of three tanks carried on the back, two of which were elongated tanks of the same size and contained the incendiary agent (a mixture of diesel fuel and gasoline ) and a smaller pressure vessel placed in the middle containing the propellant nitrogen . The fuel tanks were filled through tank lids at the top. The tanks were attached to a frame with shoulder straps; a wide strip of canvas was stretched between the two sides of the frame , which lay on the shooter's back when carried. The other assembly was the jet pipe, which was connected to the tanks by a hose. It consisted of an elongated tube with two handles attached to the bottom. The trigger on the rear handle was a safety catch , the one on the front triggered an ignition cartridge for the incendiary agent.
commitment
As with its predecessor, two people were needed as an operating team to operate the M2: a shooter and an assistant who opened the valves on the tanks and carried additional equipment. When deployed, the assistant opened the valves between the propellant tank and the fuel tanks and the valve between the fuel tank and the hose. The pressure that built up pressed the fire agent through the hose, the shooter opened the safety device by operating the rear trigger and ignited the mixture that was now escaping through the jet pipe using the trigger on the front handle.
The tank capacity was sufficient for a fire duration of 10 to a maximum of 20 seconds; the range of the weapon was 25 to a maximum of 40 meters. This exceeded the performance of the M1, whose propellant hydrogen had led to a more rapid burn-off of the incendiary agent and whose electrical ignition system had been unreliable; However, the tendency towards vehicle-based flamethrowers prevented the weapon from becoming very widespread, which made the shooter very vulnerable due to its high weight and profile and at the same time relatively short range. During the storming of bunkers in the course of the attacks on the Japanese- occupied Pacific Islands and the landing in Normandy , the flamethrowers proved useful as long as the operating crew received fire protection from riflemen .
Technical data (M2-2)
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| Tank capacity | about 18 liters |
| total weight | 32 kg |
| Incendiary agent | Mixture of diesel fuel and gasoline |
| Range | 25 to 40 m |
