Umgebauter Flammenwerfer 40 (Converted Flamethrower 40) is a backpack

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 Wa ...

converted to shoot a powerful jet of water solution of

CN gas Phenacyl chloride, also commonly known as chloroacetophenone, is a substituted acetophenone. It is a useful building block in organic chemistry. Apart from that, it has been historically used as a riot control agent, where it is designated CN. It ...

as a

riot control Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irra ...

device.{{Cite web, url=http://www.ssi-media.com/pigbrother/Dokgas.htm, title=PigBrother.info {{! Dossier "Tränengas" 2/3, website=www.ssi-media.com, access-date=2019-12-09 The device was first used by the

Swiss police Law enforcement in Switzerland is mainly a responsibility of the 26 cantons of Switzerland, who each operate cantonal police agencies. Some cities also operate municipal police agencies as provided for by cantonal law. The Federal administrati ...

in 1970. They are found today to be mounted on a variety of trucks and are used to help disperse protesters without the use of potentially harmful or deadly force. Some Converted Flamethrower 40s were loaned to the German police for use at the protests against building the Runway West (''Startbahn-West'') at

Frankfurt-am-Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its nam ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

in 1979. The Cold War era

Bundesgrenzschutz Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS; en, Federal Border Guard) is the former name of the German ''Bundespolizei'' (Federal Police). Established on 16 March 1951 as a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the BGS originally was prima ...

may also have had some examples in their inventory. Some police forces still regularly use them, for example in

Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capit ...

in Switzerland.

References

Teargas solution squirters Control, Riot Riot control weapons Flamethrowers