Livens Large Gallery Flame Projectors were large experimental

flamethrower A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World W ...

s used by the British Army in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, named after their inventor, Royal Engineers officer

William Howard Livens William Howard Livens, (28 March 1889 – 1 February 1964) was an engineer, a soldier in the British Army and an inventor particularly known for the design of chemical warfare and flame warfare weapons. Resourceful and clever, Livens' successf ...

History

Four Livens Large Gallery Flame Projectors were deployed in 1916 in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

and one in 1917 in an offensive near

Diksmuide (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, Nieuwkapelle, Oostkerke ...

, Belgium. As part of the British preparations for the Battle of the Somme,

183rd Tunnelling Company The 183rd Tunnelling Company was one of the tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers created by the British Army during World War I. The tunnelling units were occupied in offensive and defensive mining involving the placing and maintaining of m ...

from February 1916 onwards dug dozens of Russian saps for the attack in the front sector allocated to XV Corps. Small charges could be blown from the end of these tunnels and they could then be used to reinforce the captured positions. Four saps were equipped with Livens Large Gallery Flame Projectors, ready to cover the German front line with liquid fire. In order to protect them from enemy fire, the flame throwers were hauled into the saps just hours before the battle. Two tunnels which housed such weapons – located at Kiel Trench south-west of Mametz, and between

Carnoy Carnoy (; ) is a former commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Carnoy-Mametz. According to one report fifty German soldiers immediately surrendered after use of the Livens Flame Projector. The weapon was used in Belgium in 1917, but was found too cumbersome to use, requiring bringing to the front line and assembly by 300 men, dangerously loading it with flammable fuel, and then being able to fire only three bursts before emptying. It was also vulnerable to being damaged or buried by shellfire. Its use was abandoned.

Specifications

A Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector was long, weighed , and took a carrying party of 300 men to bring it to the front line and to assemble it underground in a shallow tunnel (

sap Sap is a fluid transported in the xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a s ...

) dug under no man's land for that purpose. The weapon consisted of several tanks containing the fuel, a diameter pipe and a nozzle on the surface. The nozzle, along with the rest of the machine, was hidden underground until needed, stored in a chamber at the end of the sap. A Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector was usually operated by a crew of eight. For the attack, the nozzle would be pushed upwards through the earth by a pneumatic cylinder. Compressed gas would then drive a piston forward in the main body of the device, forcing fuel out of the underground tanks into the surface nozzle, to be ignited and directed at the target. The maximum range of the weapon was . It could be fired for only three ten-second bursts.

Archaeology

Historians Peter Barton and Jeremy Banning with archaeologists

Tony Pollard Tony Randall Pollard (born April 30, 1997) is an American professional American football, football running back for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Memphis Tigers football, Memphis T ...

and Iain Banks from the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

were successful in May 2010 in finding at Mametz the remains of one of the Livens Large Gallery Flame Projectors. This project was undertaken for Special episode 42 of the archaeological television programme ''

Time Team ''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4, Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned in 2022 on online platforms YouTube and Patreon. Created by television produce ...

'' first broadcast on 14 April 2011. A full size, working model of the weapon was constructed with support from the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

to prove its efficacy.

Popular culture

The Livens flame projector was the inspiration for the cinematographic representation for the fire-breathing of the

Smaug Smaug () is a dragon and the main antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel ''The Hobbit'', his treasure and the mountain he lives in being the goal of the quest. Powerful and fearsome, he invaded the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor 171 years prio ...

principal antagonist character, a "fire breathing drake

ragon Ragon may refer to: People Surname * Charles Ragon de Bange (1833–1914), French artillery officer and Polytechnician * Heartsill Ragon (1885–1940), United States Representative from Arkansas * Henriette Ragon (1918–2015), stage name Pat ...

from the north, in

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

's story, ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ...

'', as presented by

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

in '' The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'' (the second part of his film trilogy based on the book).

References

External links