The ''Wechselapparat M.1917'' (''Wex'') was a

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 ...

German

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 ...

introduced in early May of 1917 to replace the earlier '' Kleif''. It was developed by engineer workshops within the Guards Reserve Pioneer Regiment (Garde-Reserve-Pionier-Regiment), which was the main flamethrower unit of the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

. It was the first flamethrower in the German arsenal which could be used by one soldier if needed. The Wex was deployed in a group of four: two operators (one to carry the tank and the other to wield the lance), one officer, and a grenadier. It had a doughnut-shaped backpack fuel container with a spherical

propellant A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or another motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicle ...

container (

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

) in the middle that propelled the flame oil. A corrugated rubber hose led from the tank to a brass

stopcock A stopcock is a form of valve used to control the flow of a liquid or gas. The term is not precise and is applied to many different types of valve. The only consistent attribute is that the valve is designed to completely stop the flow when clo ...

that enables the tank carrier to release the fuel under

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...

to the lance which has a brass stopcock for firing. The Wex used a

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

based igniter system which was held in a housing around the

nozzle A nozzle is a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow (specially to increase velocity) as it exits (or enters) an enclosed chamber or pipe (material), pipe. A nozzle is often a pipe or tube of varying cross ...

. When inserted into the housing, the igniter is pressed against a spring and then held in place by a hinged metal fork on the housing. Once the igniter was spent, the fork was removed and the igniter was ejected by the spring. The Wex was used from 1917 until the end of the war in 1918. It saw use in the

German Revolution of 1918-1919 German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ger ...

by the

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European paramilitary volunteer units that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenaries or private military companies, rega ...

and

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

. Some Wex flamethrowers survived the Revolution despite the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

and have been used by the Finnish and the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

armies in the 1920s. The design may have inspired the later Flammenwerfer 40. The doughnut-shaped container design was copied by the British during

World War II 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 ...

as the

Flamethrower, Portable, No 2 The Flamethrower, Portable, No. 2 (nicknamed ''Lifebuoy'' from the shape of its fuel tank), also known as the ''Ack Pack'', was a British design of flamethrower for infantry use in the Second World War. Description It was a near copy of the Ger ...

. "''Wechselapparat''" is German for 'exchange apparatus'. The flamethrower was named after a quick-release coupling found where the hose meets the tank, unique among the previous German flamethrowers of World War I. Wechselapparat IWM 2

References

* ''Flamethrowers of the German Army 1914-1945'' by Fred Koch * ''German Flamethrower Pioneers of World War I'' by Thomas Wictor

External links

* 1916 establishments in Germany Flamethrowers of Germany World War I German infantry weapons {{weapon-stub

See also

References

External links