Marines crouch low to avoid enemy fire as they move up to enemy positions in the northern ridges of Iwo Jima.
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He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose
There are no great men, only great challenges that ordinary men are forced by circumstances to meet.
Gotta hand it to the flamer carrying a thing like that on your back one hole and your a flamer, mind you the warrens the IJA built they had to either satchel charge (Cave in) them of burn up all the O2 with the flame that would be a most horrifying experience in a pill box and that lot come through the slit to toast you good and proper.
One hole and your a flamer - Perhaps in the movies.
Originally Posted by CINDERS
Gotta hand it to the flamer carrying a thing like that on your back one hole and your a flamer, mind you the warrens the IJA built they had to either satchel charge (Cave in) them of burn up all the O2 with the flame that would be a most horrifying experience in a pill box and that lot come through the slit to toast you good and proper.
Perhaps in the movies. I worked with a WW2 vet whose job it was to repair flame throwers in the ETO and recall him indicating that he often had to patch the tanks.
The flamethrower operator was not usually in any real danger if his weapon was hit. The fuel-air mixture did not have a surefire method of ignition unless the trigger was pulled and the mixture reached the ignition charge at the muzzle of the gun. Nitrogen and air are basically not flammable when hit by normal bullets. If the tank was hit, the filling would just hiss out harmlessly. The only danger the operator would face if his pressurized tank was compromised would be if it somehow burst like when an aerosol can is heated or punctured; he could be hit and injured or even killed by pieces of shrapnel from the exploding tank. If the fuel cylinders were hit by a normal bullet, the mixture would just harmlessly leak out; incendiary bullets posed a bit more danger. In either case, the weapon would be disabled, and would need to be returned to the Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) for refurbishment or scrapping if damaged badly enough.
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose
There are no great men, only great challenges that ordinary men are forced by circumstances to meet.
If you have ever seen one in action you had to be impressed. One of the annual GCA Conventions was held at Alan Cohrs's tank farm, and he put on a re-enactment of a Marine squad attacking a pillbox. It was complete with mortar prep, the guns fired and there were explosions on the target, really well done. The squad assaulted until the flame thrower guy could get close enough, then he cut loose. Wow! The audience was absolutely blown away., what a show!
Last edited by Mark in Rochester; 09-11-2020 at 10:37 PM.
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose
There are no great men, only great challenges that ordinary men are forced by circumstances to meet.
Brought back memories for me as a young Cub Scout in the late 1950s in Hamilton, Ohio. All the scouts did a paper scrap drive for which we were rewarded with a firearms demonstration at the local National Guard Armory. The three weapons I still remember to this day were a 1919 30 cal machinegun shooting tracers, a bazooka firing a round, and then a flamethrower that was used to burn a large bush in the field next to the armory. We were all in awe with that show.
We watchd a fire power demo at Northam '71 or 72 had a squad demo with the SLR's etc but what took us all in was the 3" mortar crew unloaded 10 rapid in the air before the first hit the dirt they just sailed way up high. We did a compass march the usual tarped up in a truck find your way home 5 of us cadets well we came up over the mortar range & Brian Dowelling picked up a dud 2" mortar and wondered why the 4 of us fled as fast as our hobnails would take us. He hid it in a toilet at camp and smuggled it in his kit bag back home I made sure I sat well away from him in the bus going back home........
I would think it isn't just that he was a flamer, but that once identified as such, everyone would focus on stopping him before he got closer, to the near exclusion of all else. Panic in the defender, would really have called for discipline to keep a defense intact.
PM
Originally Posted by CINDERS
