Tanks with flamethrowers in WW2

The fuel tank is almost as big as the Valentine :lol: Tell me this is for trials only, the lack of armour is telling

 

Valentine was trials only.

Valentine tank - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Valentine Flamethrowers


Valentine flamethrower (gas-operated equipment).



Valentine flamethrower (cordite-operated equipment).


Two Valentine tanks were modified by Petroleum Warfare Dept to determine which system was best for a tank-mounted flame projector. One used a projector ignited by cordite charges and one used projector operated by gas pressure. The fuel was carried in a trailer and the flame projector was mounted on the hull front. Trials started in 1942 and it showed that gas-operated system was better. From this test installation was developed the Crocodile equipment for the Churchill flamethrower used in the NW Europe campaign in 1944-45.

 

Photograph of The Nuttall Flame Thrower, from The Record of the 24th Staffs (Tettenhall) Battalion Home Guard

Some weapons - such as the Nuttall Flame Thrower - were not strictly standard military issue! The Nuttall Flame Thrower vehicle (named after its designer) consisted of a forty-five gallon drum fitted to an Austin 7 car chassis towed behind a vehicle. The weapon was capable of throwing a flame seventy-five feet for three minutes!
As Allied Forces began to have successes in Europe the risk of an invasion of Britain was significantly reduced. Consequently the Home Guard was 'stood down' on 3rd December 1944.

Fighting for Britain - Wolverhampton History

 

Holy cow, that looks like a fertiliser pump, and most probably it was one!!!

 

Looks like it doesn't take much to make one LOL.

 

713th Flame Throwing Tank Battalion​

The 713th Flame Throwing Tank Battalion was created from the 42nd Armored Regiment of the 11th Armored Division. The regiment was organized on August 15, 1942, at Camp Polk, Louisiana. Later it was broken into battalions. The 713th Battalion was the Third Battalion of the 42nd Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas L. McCrary of Arlington, Virginia.
While the rest of the 11th Armored Division fought in Europe in World War II, the 713th Battalion headed for the Pacific, where it was attached to the 7th Infantry Division. The battalion was organized, equipped and trained as the only armored flame throwing battalion in the army.
On November 10, 1944, the battalion moved to Oahu, Hawaii, where it was converted from standard tank battalion to a flamethrowing unit Ronson-type flamethrowers were inserted in the barrels of 75-millimeter Sherman tank guns. The flamethrower guns would be operated under high pressure with a 300- gallon fuel capacity. The effective range of each flamethrower tank was 80 to 100 yards. All 54 tanks in the battalion were made over as flamethrowers.
The flamethrowing battalion was organized like a regular armored battalion. The total number of men and their grades and ratings were to stay the same. The only major change was the deactivation of the light tank company and the mortar platoon so the size of the Service Company could be increased to handle the greatly increased supply problem.
On January 6, 1945, the battalion received word it had been approved for the conversion. But modification of the tanks for the battalion began on December 1, 1944. Standard Sherman tanks were drawn from ordnance and converted to flamethrowers at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. The battalion received its first five flamethrowing tanks on December 25; the last tank arrived on January, 25, three days before the battalion was assigned to Operation Iceberg, the capture of Okinawa.
The battalion left for Okinawa aboard 10 LSMs and APA 201. The convoy left Pearl Harbor or March 4 and steamed westward across the Pacific Ocean. Aboard were 726 officers and enlisted men and the battalion's tanks and other vehicles.
After stopovers at Eniwetok and Saipan Islands, the 713th Battalion arrived at Kerama Retto Okinawa on April 2. On April 7, the battalion went ashore on the Hagushi beaches.
On April 1, Army and Marine divisions began the invasion of Okinawa. The Japanese did not defend the beaches but fell back to prepared cave and tunnel defenses on hills inland where they fought fiercely until late June.
The flame throwing companies were attached to other units on the island. Two companies were attached to the 1st and 6th Marine divisions. The flame throwing tanks proved very effective against the strong enemy defenses. The tanks worked closely with the infantry and regular tank units. Most times the flame throwing tanks were closest to the enemy positions because of the limited range of their firing.
Initially a platoon of Company C took up defensive positions at Kadena Airfield. The rest of the battalion was placed in group reserve where the tankers helped protect the XXIV Corps unloading and supply sector.
On April 19, elements of the battalion supported infantry and standard tanks in attacks on Japanese positions near Hill 178 and Kakazu. On April 23, battalion flamethrowing tanks went into action against ridges and woods. Four days later, 713 tanks turned their flamethrowers on caves and pillboxes near Onaga and Machinato Airfield.
The tankers continued forward with the infantry, working over caves and other enemy strong points. Japanese soldiers who fled the flames were shot down by infantry. Few surrendered.
Steadily, the 713th moved up with the infantry. On May 11, the flamethrowers operated with infantry and standard tanks near Zebra Hill. The operation was highly successful.
The next day, the flame throwing tanks moved through the standard tanks to burn the town of Gaja and nearby high ground. One tank was credited with killing 75 to 100 enemy soldiers. On May 15, the First Platoon of Company A helped standard tanks and infantry assault another Japanese strong point. The attacking armor blasted away with 75millimeter guns and flame-throwers. Three Japanese soldiers tried to reach the tanks with satchel charges but were killed. Tanks from Company B and C were busy supporting infantry and burning out caves.
Throughout May and June the battalion worked closely with Army and Marine infantry and armor. By May 20, the 713th had killed 1,288 enemy soldiers while losing 22 tanks to enemy action and 50 to accidents and other reasons. In burning Japanese troops out of caves and other strong points, the battalion used up more than 76,000 gallons of napalm.
By the time Okinawa was in American hands, the 713th battalion killed 4.788 Japanese soldiers and captured 49 among the few who surrendered to U.S. forces. Battalion losses were comparatively light: 8 killed. 111 wounded or injured in action and one listed as missing in action. Among the wounded was Colonel McCrary. Enemy anti-tank fire and mines claimed 16 of the battalion's flame-throwing Shermans. Another 25 were listed as operational losses.
Okinawa was the largest battle in the Pacific Theater, ultimately involving 584,000 American soldiers. sailors, airmen and Marines and 1,300 ships. In desperation, the Japanese launched suicide attacks against the Americans. It was to no avail. In mid-May, Naha, the island capital, fell to the Americans. On May 29, Shuri Castle, the linchpin of the Japanese defense line was taken by Marines. On June 18, Army and Marine forces launched their final offensive. Four days later, the Japanese Island commander killed himself. That same day military historian Robert M. Leckie wrote, "the Japanese soldiers began to surrender for the first time in the war." The American brass said the Okinawa campaign was over. Among the heroes of the long hard fight were the men of the 713th battalion, which earned a naval Presidential Unit Citation.
After the surrender of Japan, the 713th, now under the command of Colonel James L. Rogers of Harlingen Texas, was sent to Korea. In Korea, the tankers rounded up enemy prisoners and guarded a large prison, which housed high-ranking Japanese officers awaiting trials for war crimes. Afterwards, the men of the 713th were systematically returned to the United States for discharge or reassignment.

713th Flame Throwing Tank Battalion

 

I honestly don't know much about them, save the Churchill Flamethrower vehicle and the SPW 251/16D Flamethrower halftrack.

Does anyone know how and when they were deployed in action? How effective and common they were?

 

You might want to try the search function. This has come up before.

http://www.ww2f.com/weapons-wwii/25022-tanks-flamethrowers-ww2.html

 

I am rather intrigued about the Flammpanzer 38 (Hetzer).

Hetzer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Joe, See post #16 in the other flamthrower vehicle thread

 

ah thanks, I missed that gem of a thread

 

Some more allied Flame throwers

View attachment 5247 Scorpion U.S. anti personel device not used

View attachment 5248 Scorpion fires

View attachment 5249 Adder British for use in Far East not used

View attachment 5250 M4A2 Sherman Badger Post War development Canada

View attachment 5251 Ram Badger used in NWE Canada

 

View attachment 5254 M4A4 Sherman Crocodile in U.S. Service

View attachment 5253 H5 Used post war in Korea


Used briefly in Europe found to be ineffective

 

Another Flame Thrower in U.S. Service in the Pacific campaign was the E6R3 and had various fuel arangements including fitting M3-4-3 bow fuel system, allowing the hull MG to be retained, they had a comparatively short range of 25yards and often failed to produce enough power to destroy a target such as a bunker, but they would have been useful against attacking suicide squads.

View attachment 5277

176 were available for the fighting in Iwo Jima and Okinawa to be issued at a rate of 18 per battalion. but not very apparent in the fighting as main armament POA types were preferenced.

 

This is the T33 M4A3E2 Jumbo Sherman flame thrower tank under development for Operation Downfall in 1945-46.

This tank would have carried the majority of the 600 main armament flame throwers The Chemical Warfare Service had on-contract in August 1945.

See:

M4A3E2 Jumbo Assault tank :: T33 at Ft Knox test picture by Donmor3 - Photobucket

M4A3E2 Jumbo Assault tank :: T33 Flame Thrower Tank picture by Donmor3 - Photobucket

M4A3E2 Jumbo Assault tank :: T33 Turret Detail picture by Donmor3 - Photobucket

Deleted repeat post

 

This is a picture of the only prototype T35 Flame thrower tank based on the M26 Pershing. It was the other flame thrower tank being developed for the invasion of Japan.

The T-35 Pershing at Fort Jackson, SC was to be fitted with a bow mounted E-5R2 flame gun, replacing the Browning 30-cal machine gun normally mounted in that position.

The 90-mm gun was to be retained, but with main gun ammunition reduced from 70 to 50 rounds. The bow gunner position and a portion of the 90-mm ammo stowage were to be utilized by a 300 gallon flame fuel tank, with the flame gun being operated remotely.

Columbia, SC: Fort Jackson - Pershing on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

http://www.jackson.army.mil/Units/leader/archives/August%2021%2008PDFs.pdf

 

Deleted repeat post

 

I would hate to be on the receiving end of any one of these tanks .Not a nice way to go .

 

My father was in the 713th Flame Throwing Tank Battalion. The battalion was organized, equipped and trained as the only armored flame throwing battalion in the army.

Link to my site on 713th & invasion of Okinawa:
and According to Joe

 

Even the Japanese and Italians used Flame-Thrower Tanks,

Armoured Engineer Vehicle SS (Japan)
Introduced in 1931, it had a crew of 5 and had 2-3 Flame-throwers, it could also do a multitude of task (up to 10) only 119 produced.

L3/35 Lancia-Flamme (Italy)
It was a basic L3/35 (CV.35) with a Flame-Thrower instead of its MGs, I am not sure what year this was first made and how many was produced. but it was used in Africa and one was issued to eack Tank Platoon (I think).