Flamethrower, Portable, No 2

Flamethrower, Portable, No 2

Type	Flamethrower
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
Used by	British Army, Canadian Forces
Wars	Second World War
Production history
Produced	1943–1944
Number built	7,000
Specifications
Weight	64 lb (29 kg)

Action	cordite igniter
Rate of fire	10 igniters only
Maximum firing range	120 ft

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 German Wechselapparat ("Wex") from 1917.

The Mark 1 was used as a training weapon, while the improved Mark 2 was used in action. Over 7,000 units were produced from 1943 to 1944. They were ready for service during Operation Overlord (the Allied invasion of Normandy).

The Ack Pack was a harness carrying a doughnut-shaped fuel container with a capacity of 4 Imperial gallons (18 litres) of fuel on the operator's back. In the middle of the "doughnut" was a spherical container holding nitrogen gas as a propellant, which was pressurized to 2,000 lbf/in² (140 Bar). This was sufficient to propel the burning fuel 120 feet (36 metres). A hose from the fuel tank passed to the nozzle assembly which had two pistol grips to hold and aim the spray. The back grip had the trigger.

In some versions the nozzle was fitted with a 10-chambered cylinder which contained the ignition cartridges. These could be fired once, each giving the operator 10 bursts of flame. In practice this gave 10 one-second bursts. It was also possible to spray fuel without igniting it to ensure there was plenty splashed around the target, then fire an ignited burst to light up the whole lot.

At some 64 pounds (29 kg) the flamethrower was considered heavy.

Popular culture

A flamethrower of this type can be seen in the film A Bridge Too Far, when the British troops decide to try a night assault on the Arnhem bridge, after their first daylight assault fails. The assault team misses the pillbox slit, instead igniting the shack behind the pillbox which explodes, as it has apparently been used to store ammunition. One of the operators is British actor Alun Armstrong.

References

Bishop, Chris (2002). The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II: The Comprehensive Guide to Over 1,500 Weapons Systems, Including Tanks, Small Arms, Warplanes, Artillery, Ships and Submarines. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-1-58663-762-0.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flamethrower, Portable, No 2.

British Commonwealth small arms of World War II and Korea

Side-arms	Webley Mk IV & Mk VI Revolvers Enfield No. 2 Mk I Revolver Browning P-35 "High Power" Pistol M1911/M1911A1 pistol Smith & Wesson "Victory" Revolver Welrod

Rifles & submachine guns	SMLE No.1 Mk III* & Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk.I Pattern 1914 Enfield Lee-Enfield No.5 Mk.I "Jungle Carbine" Ross Rifle Mk.III De Lisle Commando Carbine Sten Lanchester Sterling Austen Kokoda Owen Gun Welgun M1921/M1928/M1 Thompson

Machine-guns & other larger weapons	Besa machine gun Bren Gun Charlton Automatic Rifle Lewis Gun Vickers MG PIAT Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55 in, Boys 29 mm Spigot Mortar "Blacker Bombard" SBML 2inch Mortar Projector, 2½-inch Mk. II "Northover" ML 3-inch Mortar ML 4.2 inch Mortar 3-inch Mk. I OSB Gun "Smith Gun" No.2 "Lifebuoy" Flamethrower

Grenades	British grenades of WWI and WW2 Mills Bomb

Small arms cartridges	.303 British 9mm Parabellum .45 ACP .455 Webley .38/200 .38 Special .50 BMG .55 Boys 15×104 mm Brno

Weapons of the British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations 1722–1965

Handguns	Beaumont–Adams revolver Enfield revolver Webley revolver Mk. I–VI Enfield No. 2 revolver Browning Hi-Power

Rifles and carbines	Brown Bess musket Ferguson rifle Nock gun Baker rifle Brunswick rifle Enfield 1853 Rifled Musket Snider–Enfield Martini–Henry Martini–Enfield Lee–Metford Lee–Enfield Ross rifle Lee–Enfield No.5 Mk.I "Jungle Carbine" Howell Automatic Rifle Huot Automatic Rifle Reider Automatic Rifle De Lisle Commando Carbine L1A1 SLR

Submachine guns	Lanchester Sten Owen gun Sterling L2 F1 submachine gun Thompson submachine gun

Rapid-fire weapons	Bira gun Nordenfelt gun Gatling gun Gardner gun Maxim gun QF 2 pdr "Pom-Pom" Vickers Gun Lewis Gun Vickers–Berthier Vickers K machine gun Charlton Automatic Rifle Besa Besal Bren gun

Anti-tank weapons	Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55 in, Boys PIAT 2 pdr Anti-Tank Gun 6 pdr Anti-Tank Gun 17 pdr Anti-Tank Gun L6 Wombat

Field guns and other weapons	25 pdr Field Gun Congreve rocket SBML 2-inch Mortar Ordnance ML 3 inch Mortar No.2 "Lifebuoy" Flamethrower Stokes Mortar OTO Melara Mod 56

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Flamethrower, Portable, No 2

Description

See also

Popular culture

References

External links