Editing Flamethrower (section)

=== World War II ===
The flamethrower was used extensively during [[World War II]]. In 1939, the [[Wehrmacht]] first deployed man-portable flamethrowers [[Defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig|against the Polish Post Office in Danzig]]. Subsequently, in 1942, the [[U.S. Army]] introduced its own man-portable flamethrower. The vulnerability of infantry carrying backpack flamethrowers and the weapon's short range led to experiments with [[tank]]-mounted flamethrowers ([[flame tank]]s), which were used by many countries.

==== Axis use ====
=====Germany=====
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-299-1808-15A, Nordfrankreich, Soldat mit Flammenwerfer.jpg|A German soldier operating a flamethrower in 1944
File:German soldier with flamethrower c1941.jpg|A German soldier using a flamethrower in Russia
File:Belgisch-soldaat-slachtoffer-vlammenwerper.jpg|Belgian soldier wounded by a flamethrower (World War I)
</gallery>

The Germans made considerable use of the weapon ([[Flammenwerfer 35|''Flammenwerfer'' 35]]) during their invasion of the Netherlands and France, against fixed fortifications. World War II German army flamethrowers tended to have one large fuel tank with the pressurizer tank fastened to its back or side. Some German army flamethrowers occupied only the lower part of its wearer's back, leaving the upper part of his back free for an ordinary rucksack.

Flamethrowers soon fell into disfavour. Flamethrowers were extensively used by German units in [[urban warfare|urban fights]] in [[Poland]], both in 1943 in the [[Warsaw Ghetto Uprising]] and in 1944 in the [[Warsaw Uprising]] (see the [[Stroop Report]] and the article on the 1943 [[Warsaw Ghetto Uprising]]). With the contraction of the Third Reich during the latter half of World War II, a smaller, more compact flamethrower known as the [[Einstossflammenwerfer 46]] was produced.

Germany also used flamethrower vehicles, most of them based on the chassis of the [[Sd.Kfz. 251#Variants|Sd.Kfz. 251]] half track and the [[Panzer II#Panzer II Flamm|Panzer II]] and [[Bergepanzer III|Panzer III]] tanks, generally known as [[Flame tank#German Army|''Flammpanzers'']].

The Germans also produced the [[Abwehrflammenwerfer 42]], a flame-mine or [[fougasse (weapon)|flame fougasse]], based on a Soviet version of the weapon.<ref name="lonesentry">{{cite web
| url        = http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/static-defenses/index.html
| title      = Fougasse Flame Throwers from Intelligence Bulletin, November 1944 
| work       = lonesentry.com
| access-date = 3 August 2010
}}</ref> This was essentially a disposable, single use flamethrower that was buried alongside conventional land mines at key defensive points and triggered by either a trip-wire or a command wire. The weapon contained around {{convert|8|USgal|L|order=flip}} of fuel, that was discharged within a second, to a second and a half, producing a flame with a {{convert|15|yd|m|adj=on|order=flip}} range.<ref name="lonesentry" /> One defensive installation found in Italy included seven of the weapons, carefully concealed and wired to a central control point.<ref name="lonesentry" />

=====Finland=====
[[File:Swedish volunteers with ROKS-2 flamethrower (36446136521).png|thumb|300px|Flamethrower used in exercises in the [[Reserve Officer School (Finland)|Reserve Officer School]] during the war.]]

During the [[Winter War]] Finland adopted the Italian [[Lanciafiamme Modello 35]] as the Liekinheitin M/40; 176 flamethrowers were ordered but only 28 arrived before the end of the war.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=FINNISH ARMY 1918 - 1945: PORTABLE FLAME-THROWERS |url=https://www.jaegerplatoon.net/FLAMETHROWER.htm |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=www.jaegerplatoon.net}}</ref>

Those flamethrowers were not used in the Winter War; but were issued to engineers during the [[Continuation War]] along with captured [[ROKS flamethrowers|ROKS-2 flamethrowers]]<ref name=":5" />

[[T-26 variants|OT-130]] and [[T-26 variants|OT-133]] flame tanks were captured from the Soviet Union and issued at the start of the Continuation War; they were considered impratical and later retrofitted with cannons.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FINNISH ARMY 1918 - 1945: FLAME TANKS |url=https://www.jaegerplatoon.net/TANKS4.htm |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=www.jaegerplatoon.net}}</ref>

In 1944 they developed and adopted the [[Liekinheitin M/44]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://smallarmsreview.com/flames-in-ice-and-snow-flamethrowers-of-the-finnish-army/|title=Flames in Ice and Snow: Flamethrowers of the Finnish Army - Small Arms Review|date=June 6, 2023}}</ref>

=====Italy=====

Italy employed man-portable flamethrowers and [[L3/35|L3 Lf]] [[flame tank]]s during the [[Second Italo-Abyssinian War]] of 1935 to 1936, during the [[Spanish Civil War]], and during [[World War II]]. The L3 Lf flame tank was a [[L3/33|CV-33]] or [[L3/35|CV-35]] tankette with a flamethrower operating from the machine gun mount. In the [[North Africa Campaign|Northern Africa Theatre]], the L3 Lf flame tank found little to no success.<ref name="Willmott165">''World War II'', Willmott, H.P., [[Dorling Kindersley]], 2004, Page 165, {{ISBN|1-4053-0477-4}}</ref> An L6 Lf flametank was also developed using the [[L6/40]] light tank platform.

=====Japan=====
[[File:Type 93 flamethrower.jpg|thumb|A Japanese soldier firing a Type 93 flamethrower]]
Japan used man-portable flamethrowers to clear fortified positions, in the [[Battle of Wake Island]],<ref>Devereux, Col. James P. F. "There are Japanese in the Bushes..." in ''The United States Marine Corps in World War II'' compiled and edited by S. E. Smith, Random House, 1969, p.50.</ref> [[Battle of Corregidor|Corregidor]],<ref name="Willmott121">''World War II'', Willmott, H.P., [[Dorling Kindersley]], 2004, Page 121, {{ISBN|1-4053-0477-4}}</ref> [[Battle of the Tenaru]] on [[Battle of Guadalcanal|Guadalcanal]]<ref>p.108 Hinton, David R. ''Letters from the Dead: Guadalcanal'' 2005 Hinton Publishing</ref> and [[Battle of Milne Bay]].<ref>Boettcher, Brian ''Eleven Bloody Days: The Battle for Milne Bay'' self published 2009</ref>

=====Romania=====
Flamethrowers were also used by the [[Romanian Armed Forces#World War II|Royal Romanian Army]]. They were also planned to become self-propelled; the [[Mareșal tank destroyer]] was planned to have a command vehicle version armed with machine guns and a flamethrower.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Scafeș |first=Cornel |date=2004 |title=Buletinul Muzeului Național Militar, Nr. 2/2004 |trans-title=Bulletin of the National Military Museum, No. 2/2004 |language=ro |journal=[[National Military Museum, Romania|National Military Museum]] |location=Bucharest |publisher=Total Publishing}}, p. 229</ref>

==== Allies ====
=====Britain and the Commonwealth=====
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:IWM-H-37975-Flame-thrower-lifebuoy.jpg|A British [[World War II]]–type [[Flamethrower, Portable, No 2|"lifebuoy" flamethrower]] in 1944
File:Churchill Crocodile 01.jpg|A Churchill tank fitted with a Crocodile flamethrower in action.
File:Flamethrower Tarakan (108558).jpg|An Australian soldier fires a flamethrower at a Japanese bunker
</gallery>

The British World War II army flamethrowers, "Ack Packs", had a doughnut-shaped fuel tank with a small spherical pressurizer gas tank in the middle. As a result, some troops nicknamed them "lifebuoys". It was officially known as [[Flamethrower, Portable, No 2]].

Extensive plans were made in 1940–1941 by the [[Petroleum Warfare Department]] to use [[flame fougasse]] static flame projectors in the event of an invasion, with around 50,000 barrel-based incendiary mines being deployed in 7,000 batteries throughout Southern England.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yeovil's Virtual Museum, the A-to-Z of Yeovil's History - by Bob Osborn |url=https://www.yeovilhistory.info/fougasse.htm |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=www.yeovilhistory.info}}</ref>

The British hardly used their man-portable systems, relying on [[Churchill Crocodile]] tanks in the European theatre. These tanks proved very effective against German defensive positions, and caused official Axis protests against their use.{{Citation needed|date=May 2018|reason=Reliable source needed for this declaration}} This flamethrower could produce a jet of flame exceeding {{convert|150|yd|order=flip}}. There are documented instances of German units summarily executing any captured British flame-tank crews.<ref>{{cite book |title=Tank Tactics: From Normandy to Lorraine  |last=Jarymowycz |first=Roman Johann |year=2001 |publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers |isbn=1-55587-950-0 |page=199}}</ref>

In the Pacific theatre, Australian forces used converted [[Matilda II|Matilda tank]]s, known as Matilda [[Matilda II#Variants|Frogs]].

=====United States=====
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:USm2flamethrower.jpg|A soldier from the [[33rd Infantry Division (United States)|33rd Infantry Division]] uses an [[M2 flamethrower]]
File:Flamethrower at Adelup Point.jpg|Marines engaging Japanese positions on [[Guam]] with a flamethrower.
File:Flame Throwing Tank, Saipan, circa June 1944 (7160583407).jpg|2nd Marine tank Battalion "Satan" incinerates Japanese [[Pillbox (military)|pillbox]] on Saipan
File:Flamethrower-iwo-jima-194502.jpg|An American flamethrower operator runs under fire
File:Usafl rend.jpg|Front and rear views of a man with an M2A1-7 United States Army flamethrower
</gallery>

In the Pacific theatre, the U.S. Army used M-1 and M-2 flamethrowers to clear stubborn Japanese resistance from prepared defenses, caves, and trenches. Starting in New Guinea, through the closing stages on Guadalcanal and during the approach to and reconquest of the Philippines and then through the Okinawa campaign, the Army deployed hand-held, man-portable units.

Often flamethrower teams were made up of combat engineer units, later with troops of the chemical warfare service. The Army fielded more flamethrower units than the Marine Corps, and the Army's Chemical Warfare Service pioneered tank mounted flamethrowers on Sherman tanks (CWS-POA H-4). All the flamethrower tanks on Okinawa belonged to the 713th Provisional Tank Battalion, which was tasked with supporting all U.S. Army and Marine infantry. All Pacific mechanized flamethrower units were trained by Seabee specialists with Col. Unmacht's [[Seabees in World War II|CWS Flamethrower Group]] in Hawaii.

The U.S. Army used flamethrowers in Europe in much smaller numbers, though they were available for special employments. Flamethrowers were deployed during the [[Normandy landings]] in order to clear [[Axis powers|Axis]] fortifications.<ref>{{cite book|last = Holderfield| first = Randy| title = D-Day: The Invasion of Normandy, June 6, 1944 | publisher = Da Capo Press| year = 2001| page=76| isbn =1-882810-46-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last = Drez| first = Ronald| title = Voices of D-Day: The Story of the Allied Invasion, Told by Those Who Were There | publisher = Louisiana State University Press| year = 1998| pages=35, 201–211| isbn =0-8071-2081-2}}</ref> Also, most boat teams on [[Omaha Beach]] included a two-man flamethrower team.<ref>{{cite book|last = Balkoski| first = Joseph| title = Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944 | publisher = Stackpole Books| year = 2004| page=368| isbn =0-8117-0079-8}}</ref>

The Marine Corps used the backpack-type [[M2A1-7 flamethrower|M2A1-7]] and [[M2-2]] flamethrowers, finding them useful in clearing Japanese trench and bunker complexes. The first known USMC use of the man portable flamethrower was against the formidable defenses at Tarawa in November 1943. The Marines pioneered the use of Ronson-equipped M-3 Stuart tanks in the Marianas. These were known as SATAN flame tanks. Though effective, they lacked the armour to safely engage fortifications and were phased out in favour of the better-armoured M4 Sherman tanks. USMC Flamethrower Shermans were produced at [[Schofield Barracks]] by Seabees attached to the Chemical Warfare Service under Col. Unmacht. CWS designated [[M4 flame fuel thickening compound|M4s]] with "CWS-POA-H" for "Chemical Warfare Service Pacific Ocean Area, Hawaii" plus a flamethrower number. The Marines had previously deployed large Navy flamethrowers mounted on LVT-4 AMTRACs at Peleliu. Late in the war, both services operated LVT-4 and −5 amphibious flametanks in limited numbers. Both the Army and the Marines still used their infantry-portable systems, despite the arrival of adapted Sherman tanks with the Ronson system (cf. [[Chemical Warfare Service: Flame Tank Group Seabees|flame tanks]]).

In cases where the Japanese were entrenched in deep caves, the flames often consumed the available oxygen, suffocating the occupants. Many Japanese troops interviewed post war said they were terrified more by flamethrowers than any other American weapon. Flamethrower operators were often the first U.S. troops targeted.

===== Soviet Union =====
[[File:Finnish soldier with a ROKS-3 flamethrower SA-kuva 131383.jpg|upright|right|thumb|A Finnish soldier with a captured Soviet ROKS-3 flamethrower, June 1943. The flame projector has been designed to resemble a standard infantry rifle.]]

The FOG-1 and −2 flamethrowers were stationary devices used in defense. They could also be categorized as a projecting incendiary mine. The FOG had only one cylinder of fuel, which was compressed using an explosive charge and projected through a nozzle. The November 1944 issue of the US War Department ''Intelligence Bulletin'' refers to these "[[Fougasse (weapon)|Fougasse]] flame throwers" being used in the Soviet defense of Stalingrad. The FOG-1 was directly copied by the Germans as the [[Abwehrflammenwerfer 42]].

Unlike the flamethrowers of the other powers during World War II, the Soviets were the only ones to consciously attempt to [[camouflage]] their infantry flamethrowers. With the [[ROKS-2 flamethrower]] this was done by disguising the flame projector as a standard-issue rifle, such as the [[Mosin–Nagant]], and the fuel tanks as a standard infantryman's rucksack. This was to try to stop the flamethrower operator from being specifically targeted by enemy fire.<ref name="Bishop2002">{{cite book |author=Chris Bishop |title=The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MuGsf0psjvcC&pg=PA270 |year=2002 |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company |isbn=978-1-58663-762-0 |pages=270–}}</ref> This "rifle" had a working action which was used to cycle blank igniter cartridges.