The ROKS-2 and ROKS-3 (Shortened from Russian, ''Rantseviy Ognemyot Kluyeva-Sergeyeva''; ''Ранцевый Огнемёт Клюева — Сергеева''; "Kluyev-Sergeyev backpack flamethrower") were man-portable

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

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 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 ROKS-2 was designed not to draw attention, so the fuel and gas tanks were concealed under a sheet-metal outer casting resembling a knapsack; the flame projector was designed to resemble a standard

Mosin–Nagant The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, Bolt action, bolt-action, Magazine (firearms), internal magazine–fed military rifle. Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891, in Russia and the former Soviet Union as Mosin's rifle (, ISO 9: ) and inform ...

rifle. The purpose of this was to prevent the operator from being specifically targeted by the enemy. The flame shots were ignited by firing specially modified 7.62×25mm Tokarev cartridges. The ROKS-2 was used, amongst other engagements, during the close-range fighting during the first days of the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...

in 1943.''World War II'' - Willmott, H.P.,

Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...

, 2004, Page 189, The ROKS-3 was a simplified model designed to be easier to manufacture. It did away with the disguise for the backpack, though it retained the flame projector designed to resemble a rifle. Both models carried around of fuel. The fuel was propelled by nitrogen gas pressurized at and, under ideal circumstances, had a maximum range of around . A Finnish soldier with a captured ROKS-3 flamethrower, June 1943 The Finnish designation for captured ROKS-2 units was liekinheitin M/41-r. Captured Soviet flamethrowers saw some use by Finnish forces during the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

. They were operated by two-man teams of combat engineers. They were well regarded by the Finns, although flamethrowers of all kinds saw little use by Finnish forces. Some ROKS-3 units were supplied to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

Kingdom of Yemen The Kingdom of Yemen (), officially the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen () and also known simply as Yemen or, retrospectively, as North Yemen, was a state that existed between 1918 and 1970 in the northwestern part of the modern country of Yemen ...

(via Czechoslovakia), and

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

Users

* * − Captured ROKS-2 and ROKS-3 * * * − ROKS-3 supplied by the USSR * − 50 delivered in 1957, former Czechoslovak stock

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Information on the ROKS flamethrowers

Pictures of a ROKS-3
{{WWIIUSSRInfWeapons Flamethrowers of the Soviet Union World War II infantry weapons of the Soviet Union Military equipment introduced in the 1930s Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1935

Users

See also

References

Bibliography

External links