The ''Abwehrflammenwerfer'' 42 was a German static defensive

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 ...

flame fougasse A flame fougasse (sometimes contracted to Fougasse (weapon), fougasse and may be spelled foo gas) is a type of land mine, mine or improvised explosive device which uses an explosive charge to project burning liquid onto a target. The flame foug ...

or flame mine used during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The design was copied from Russian FOG-1 mines that were encountered in 1941 during

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

. These were usually buried at intervals of covering road blocks, landing beaches,

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

walls and other obstacles. They were normally mixed in with other mines or emplaced behind

barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire or bob wire (in the Southern and Southwestern United States), is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the ...

and could be command detonated or triggered by

tripwire A tripwire is a passive triggering mechanism. Typically, a wire or cord is attached to a device for detecting or reacting to physical movement. Military applications Such tripwires may be attached to one or more mines⁠especially fragme ...

s or other devices. The mine consisted of a large fuel cylinder high and with a capacity of containing a black viscid liquid; a mix of light, medium, and heavy oils. A second, smaller cylinder, in diameter and high, was mounted on top of the fuel cylinder; it contained the propellant powder, which was normally either

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

or a mixture of

nitrocellulose Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...

and

diethylene glycol dinitrate Diethylene glycol dinitrate (DEGDN) is an explosive nitrated alcohol ester with the formula C4H8N2O7. It is commonly used as a plasticizer in propellant or explosive formulations. While chemically similar to numerous other high explosives, pure d ...

. A flame tube was fixed centrally on top of the fuel cylinder, it was a diameter pipe that rose from the centre of the fuel cylinder and curved to extend horizontally approximately . When the mine was buried, only the flame tube was normally above ground. When the mine was triggered, a squib charge ignited the propellant, creating a burst of hot gas which forced the fuel from the main cylinder and out of the flame tube. A second squib ignited the fuel as it passed out of the end of the tube. The projected stream of burning fuel was wide and high with a range of about , and lasted about 1.5 seconds.

References

* TM-E 30-451, ''Handbook on German Military Forces'', War Department * ''Flamethrowers of the German Army 1914-1945'' by Fred Koch * * Flamethrowers of Germany Land mines of Germany World War II weapons of Germany {{landmine-stub Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942 Tripwire weapons

See also

References