A Flame tank is a type of tank equipped with a flamethrower, most commonly used to supplement combined arms attacks against fortifications or other obstacles. The type only reached significant use in the Second World War, during which the United States, Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom (including members of the British Commonwealth) all produced flamethrower-equipped tanks.
A number of methods of production were used. Flamethrowers were either modified versions of existing infantry flame weapons (Flammpanzer I and II) or specially designed (Flammpanzer III). They were mounted externally (Flammpanzer II), replaced existing machine gun mounts, or replaced the tank's main armament (Flammpanzer III). Ammunition for the flame weapon was either carried inside the tank, in armoured external storage, or in some cases in a special trailer behind the tank (Churchill Crocodile).
Flame tanks are generally considered obsolete. Today, thermobaric weapons such as the Russian TOS-1 are considered to be the successor to flame tanks.
Combat effectiveness
Flame tanks did not suffer from the same vulnerability as man-portable flamethrowers, carried much more fuel, and fired longer-ranged flame bursts. Further, they were often well supported by infantry, such as in Iwo Jima, when massed Japanese attacks against the flame tanks were repelled by rifle fire.
However, in an open battlefield, the flamethrower was virtually useless because of its short range.
Experience of combat use of flamethrower tanks was mixed. German flamethrower variants of Panzer II and Panzer III were both discontinued due to unsatisfactory performance and converted into assault guns or tank destroyers. The Panzer IV was never converted into a flame variant, despite being used for just about every purpose imaginable on the battlefield.
The mixed results were in part due to the development of infantry anti-tank weapons. At the start of the Second World War most infantry units had weapons with some effectiveness against armoured targets at ranges of thirty to fifty metres, like anti-tank rifles. Towards the end of the war, more powerful anti-tank weapons such as the bazooka, Panzerschreck, and PIAT were introduced which were fatal to tanks at ranges longer than the tank's flamethrower could reach.
While crews of 'flame' tanks were not necessarily more vulnerable than those crews in the regular, standard version of the tank (a Churchill 'Crocodile' flame tank being more or less just as vulnerable to anti-tank weapons as the standard Churchill), the crews of flamethrowing tanks were often treated differently should they be captured alive by enemy troops. Because of the relative inhumanity of the weapon itself, captured crews of such tanks were often treated much less humanely than crews of regular tanks. Instances of Allied 'flametankers' being executed by German troops upon capture were not uncommon.
Additionally, flame tanks were not necessarily more prone to catching fire. Tanks such as the Churchill 'Crocodile', which towed the liquid container behind the actual tank held no greater risk of fire than standard tanks.
World War II Axis
German Army ( Wehrmacht Heer )
- Panzer II Flamm, a variant of the German Panzer II Ausf D/E.
- Flammpanzer 38, a variant of the Jagdpanzer 38(t) tank destroyer.
- Panzerkampfwagen B2 (F), a variant produced by the Germans based on captured French Char B1 tank chassis.
- Flammpanzer III Ausf M/Panzer III (F1), a variant of the German Panzer III Ausf M.
- Sdkfz 251/16 Flammpanzerwagen, a variant based on the Sdkfz 251 series of half-tracks.
- StuG III (FLAMM), a variant based on a variety of pre-Ausf F StuG III assault gun chassis.
Italian Royal Army ( Regio Esercito )
- L3 Lf flame tank, a variant of the L3/35 tankette.
- L6 Lf flame tank, a variant of the L6/40 light tank.
Imperial Japanese Army ( Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun )
- Japanese Army Type "SS" Armored Engineer Vehicle Models Bo,Ko,Otsu,Hei,Tei
- Flamme tank model of Type 97 Chi-Ha Tank.
World War II Allied
M3 Stuart
- M3 "Satan" Improvised conversion of M3 light tank with Canadian Ronson
Medium Tank M4 (General Sherman)
- M4A3R3 : Sherman tank used during Operation Overlord (1944) and in the Battle of Iwo Jima (1945)
- M4 Crocodile : four M4 tanks converted by British for US 2nd Armored Division in NW Europe with the same armored fuel trailer as used on Churchill but the fuel line went over the hull.
- Sherman Badger : Canada's replacement of its Ram Badger, the Sherman Badger was a turretless M4A2 HVSS Sherman with Wasp IIC flamethrower in place of hull machine gun, developed sometime from 1945 to 1949. The 150 gallons at 250 psi was effective to 125 yards, with elevation of +30 to -10 degrees and traverse of 30 degrees left and 23 degrees right. This inspired the US T68.
Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) (Churchill)
- Churchill OKE : Churchill II with "Ronson" flamethrower. 3 used at Dieppe in 1942.
- Churchill Crocodile : Churchill VII with an armored fuel trailer. The flamethrower replaced the hull machine gun leaving the main armament unaffected. Used after the Normandy landings (1944)
Tank, Infantry, Mk II, Matilda II (A12)
- Matilda Frog (25): 25 Matilda II tanks converted to flame tanks by the Australians in late 1944.
- Matilda Murray : Australian improvement over the Frog, produced in 1945.
Other
- Ram Badger : Canadian Ram tank adapted with flamethrower.
- LVT(A)-4 Ronson : (1944) With full tracks, armor, and a turret, arguably the LVT was a swimming light tank; this was a fire support version with M8 Howitzer Motor Carriage turret but the 75 mm howitzer replaced with the Canadian Ronson flamethrower.
- LVT-4(F) Sea Serpent : British version armed with flamethrowers, but unarmored.
- OT-34 : created from various models of the T-34, including the T-34/85.
- OT-26 : variation of T-26.
- OT-130 : variation of T-26.
- OT-133 : variation of T-26.
- Wasp : not strictly a flame tank, the Universal Carrier (a small lightly amoured tracked personnel/equipment carrier) fitted with the Wasp flamethrower - a continued development of the Ronson by the Petroleum Warfare Department.
Post-war and Cold War tanks
- M67 Zippo: a variant of the US M48 Patton tank.
- OT-55: a variant of the widely used Soviet T-55 tank.
- OT-62: a variant of Soviet T-62 MBT.
See also
- Hobart's Funnies
- Flamethrower
Notes
- ^ Bishop p269
- ^ R. P. Hunnicutt, Sherman: A History of the American Medium Tank , Presidio Press, Novato, CA, 1994, p. 420-421.
- ^ Bishop p272
References
- Bishop, Chris (2002). The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II: The Comprehensive Guide to Over 1,500 Weapons Systems, Including Tanks, Small Arms, Warplanes, Artillery, Ships and Submarines . Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 9781586637620 . http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JZ9cSQNeK9cC&pg=PA272&lpg=PA272&dq=lifebouy+flamethrower&source=bl&ots=hwznrZ8hZe&sig=5E7GdgWxaKKoC0Lm0ZIm1aqpT68&hl=en&ei=n6HoSY3TJ8-2jAeuwoWfCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10 .
Further Reading
Doyle, Hilary; Sarson, Peter
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