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| Flamethrower in village of Niinisalo July 1 1942 |
A flame or lava weapon is a device designed to fire and to mechanically control the flame flow for a very long time. These machines have been widely used since being used during World War I.
In some models, the flow of flame is formed by flammable liquids, and in some models the system works with gas. Flammable liquids have been used in most military flamethrowers, but natural gas and pressurized propane are considered safer at higher levels in commercial flame engines. The controlled burning capacity used by the military has been used by other people in agriculture (eg sugar cane fields) or other field work. These machines can either be carried by an operator or they can be designed to be installed by truck.
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| Soldier using flamethrower for smoke 1917 |
Military Flame Machines
The first military flame machines were used in close combat between the trenches during World War I, II. World War II has expanded its usage areas. Portable ones consist of two parts; The tank that the user carries on his back and the gun he holds. The reservoir part usually consists of two or three different cylinder shaped tubes. In two-cylinder systems, there is a combustible gas (usually nitrogen) compressed in one of the cylinders, and a diluted combustible liquid in the other. In the three-cylinder system, compressed gas is in the middle tube, and the other two are inflammable liquid in the outer tube. The pressurized gas pushes the fuel out of the cylinder and conveys it to the cylinder through the flexible fuel hose. The flame is sprayed with the retraction of the throttle. The flame machine is physically extremely painful for the user exposed to it, psychological for the user. So much so that they were forbidden at that time. As a consequence of the spraying of flame-retardant, flammable liquid compositions comes up to an effective range of 50-80 meters.
Military flame machines bring many risks for the user;
- One of the biggest disadvantages is the weight that limits the user's mobility.
- Because they consume fuel very quickly, use requires special care and attention. The soldier who uses it must use it sparingly.
- It's very easy to spot it on battlefields. This makes the user an obvious target, especially for sharp markers.
- Soldiers carrying flame machines are always a priority target for wars.
- Since the range is much shorter than other weapons, the user who has to approach as close as possible to the target will have to risk his life.
