iPedia Free Information Center

Information about Flame Tank

Enlarge picture
Marine M67 in Vietnam, 1968. A M1919 Browning machine gun is mounted to the right.
A flame tank is a term commonly applied to a tank or other armoured fighting vehicle equipped with a flamethrower.

Flame tanks are used to supplement combined arms attacks against fortifications or other obstacles. They only reached significant use in the Second World War, during which the United States, Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom (including members of the British Commonwealth) all produced flamethrower-equipped tanks.

A number of methods of production were used. Typically they were modifications (either field or factory) of existing tank chassis. 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).

Combat effectiveness

Flame tanks were of great use attacking fortifications or infantry in short range assault or urban environments. They did not suffer from the same vulnerability as man-portable flamethrowers, carried much more fuel, and fired longer-ranged flame bursts. 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.

World War II Axis

  • Panzer II Flamm, a variant of the German Panzer II Ausf D/E.
  • Flammpanzer 38, a variant of the Jadgpanzer 38(t) tank destroyer.
  • Panzerkampfwagen B2 (F), a variant produced by the Germans based on capture 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.
  • L3 Lf, a variant of the Italian L3/35 tankette.

World War II Allied

Enlarge picture
An M4A3R3 USMC tank during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

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.[1]
Enlarge picture
Churchill Crocodile flame tank

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 fitted with flamethrower.

Modern 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.

Computer games

Flametanks have appeared in computer games, such as Command & Conquer. Flametanks also appear in Company of Heroes featuring the M4 Sherman "Crocodile" tank on the Allied side and are excellent at razing buildings and infantry. Strategy Games such as Sudden Strike also introduce such tanks ; the "Crocodile", as in Call of Duty, for example among other units. Their effectiveness is clearly aparent in urban combat.

See also

Endnotes

1. ^ R. P. Hunnicutt, Sherman: A History of the American Medium Tank, Presidio Press, Novato, CA, 1994, p. 420-421.

External links

tank is a tracked armoured combat vehicle designed to engage enemies head-on, using direct fire from a large-calibre gun and supporting fire from machine guns. Heavy armour as well as a high degree of mobility give it survivability, while the tracks allow it to cross even rough
..... Click the link for more information.
An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is a military vehicle, protected by armour and armed with weapons. Most AFVs are equipped for driving in rugged terrain.

Armored fighting vehicles are classified according to their intended role on the battlefield and characteristics.
..... Click the link for more information.
flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.

Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame.
..... Click the link for more information.
Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects.

Though the lower-echelon units of a combined arms team may be of homogeneous types, a balanced mixture of such units are combined into an
..... Click the link for more information.
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defense in warfare. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs.
..... Click the link for more information.
Allied powers:
 Soviet Union
 United States
 United Kingdom
 China
 France
...et al. Axis powers:
 Germany
 Japan
 Italy
...et al.
..... Click the link for more information.
Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
..... Click the link for more information.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (abbreviated USSR, Russian: (help info ) ; tr.
..... Click the link for more information.
This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.
You can assist by [ editing it] now. A how-to guide is available, as is general .
This article has been tagged since August 2007.
..... Click the link for more information.
Anthem
Il Canto degli Italiani
(also known as Fratelli d'Italia)


..... Click the link for more information.
Motto
"Dieu et mon droit" [2]   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
"God Save the Queen" [3]
..... Click the link for more information.
Headquarters
(and largest city)
Official languages English
Membership 53 sovereign states
Leaders
 -  Head of the Commonwealth Queen Elizabeth II
..... Click the link for more information.
The Churchill Crocodile was a British flame-throwing tank of late World War II, it was a variant of the Tank, Infantry, Mk VI (A22) Churchill VII, although the Churchill IV was initially chosen to be the base vehicle. Eight hundred were built.
..... Click the link for more information.
Panzer II is the common name of a German tank used in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen II (abbreviated PzKpfw II). Designed as a stopgap while other tanks were developed, it played an important role in the early years of World War II, during
..... Click the link for more information.
Panzer III is the common name of a medium tank that was developed in the 1930s by Germany and used extensively in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen III (abbreviated PzKpfw III).
..... Click the link for more information.
assault gun is a gun or howitzer mounted on a motor vehicle or armored chassis, designed for use in the direct fire role in support of infantry when attacking other infantry or fortified positions.
..... Click the link for more information.
A self-propelled anti-tank gun, or tank destroyer, is a type of armoured fighting vehicle. Tank destroyers are used primarily to provide anti-tank support in combat operations but do not fit all the criteria of a tank.
..... Click the link for more information.
Panzer IV is the common name of a medium tank that was developed in the late 1930s by Germany and used extensively in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen IV (abbreviated PzKpfw IV
..... Click the link for more information.
Infantry or footmen are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, bicycles, or other means.
..... Click the link for more information.
An anti-tank rifle is a rifle designed to penetrate the armour of vehicles, particularly tanks. The usefulness of rifles for this purpose ran from the introduction of tanks into the Second World War, when they were rendered obsolete.
..... Click the link for more information.
bazooka is a man-portable anti-tank rocket launcher, made famous during World War II where it was one of the primary infantry anti-tank weapons used by the United States Armed Forces.
..... Click the link for more information.
Panzerschreck" (German: tank terrorizer; lit. armor fear or tank's fright) was the popular name for the Raketenpanzerbüchse ('rocket tank rifle', abbreviated to RPzB), an 88 mm calibre reusable anti-tank rocket launcher developed by the Germans
..... Click the link for more information.
Piat may refer to:
  • The WW2 weapon, the PIAT
  • A brand of French wine, Piat D'Or
  • A district in the Philippines, Piat, Cagayan
  • The Peabody Individual Achievement Test
  • Saint Piatus (Piat, Piato, Piaton)
  • Church of Saint-Piat, in Tournai

..... Click the link for more information.
Jagdpanzer 38(t) (Sd.Kfz. 138/2), after World War II known as Hetzer ("baiter"), was a German tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified pre-war Czechoslovakian Panzer 38(t) chassis.

The name "Hetzer" was at the time not commonly used for this vehicle.
..... Click the link for more information.
A self-propelled anti-tank gun, or tank destroyer, is a type of armoured fighting vehicle. Tank destroyers are used primarily to provide anti-tank support in combat operations but do not fit all the criteria of a tank.
..... Click the link for more information.
Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251 (SdKfz 251) half-track was an armored fighting vehicle designed and first built by Nazi Germany's Hanomag company during World War II. They were produced throughout the war.
..... Click the link for more information.
half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels on the front for steering, and caterpillar tracks on the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load.
..... Click the link for more information.
Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III) assault gun was Nazi Germany's most produced armoured fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the Panzer III tank.
..... Click the link for more information.
assault gun is a gun or howitzer mounted on a motor vehicle or armored chassis, designed for use in the direct fire role in support of infantry when attacking other infantry or fortified positions.
..... Click the link for more information.
A tankette is a type of armoured fighting vehicle resembling a small tank, mainly intended for infantry support or reconnaissance. Tankettes were designed and built by several nations between about 1930 and 1935, and saw some combat (with limited success) in the Second
..... Click the link for more information.


This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus


page counter