Lagonda flamethrower
Encyclopedia
Flamethrower
A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...
s during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Initial developments were for defence against expected German attacks. It was believed that it would act as a deterrent to Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
dive-bomber
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
s targeting the lightly defended Merchant Navy ships and coastal bases of the Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
. The project was jointly managed by special-weapons departments of the Navy and the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
.
Later on they produced flamethrowers for fitting to armoured vehicles.
History
After the evacuation of the BEF from Dunkirk when the invasion of the United Kingdom seemed imminent, the flamethrower was seen as a suitable defensive weapon. The Petroleum Warfare Department under Donald BanksDonald Banks
Major-General Sir Thomas MacDonald "Donald" Banks KCB DSO MC TD was distinguished soldier, senior civil servant and a founder member and first Chairman of the Guernsey Society.-Family:...
was set up. Rather than use petrol, a thickened fuel was developed (by R P Fraser at London University) which could be handled safely by pumps. To test this a Commer lorry was modified by the Lagonda Car Company
Lagonda
Lagonda is a British luxury car marque, founded as a company in 1906 in Staines, Middlesex by a former opera singer from Ohio, but of Scottish ancestry, named Wilbur Gunn . He named the company after a river near the town of his birth, Springfield, Ohio, United States...
to carry a turret with a projector.
A parallel development was the "Heavy Pump Unit" from AEC
AEC
AEC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:Governance* African Economic Community* ASEAN Economic Community* Asian European Council, a Paris-based non-partisan policy research organization...
which used a six-wheeler heavy lorry. The Heavy Pump Unit had two projectors: the main one mounted in a turret capable of projecting up to 300 ft for anti-aircraft use, the other on a detachable carriage. The same AEC lorry chassis was used by the PWD and Lagonda for the "Heavy Cockatrice" while a smaller version on a Bedford QL chassis the gave the "Bedford Cockatrice".
AEC used their Matador
AEC Matador
The AEC Matador was an artillery tractor built by the Associated Equipment Company for British and Commonwealth forces during the Second World War.AEC had already built a 4 x 2 lorry, also known as the Matador ....
chassis to produce a prototype of a similar vehicle named the "Basilisk".
For assault rather than defence, it was seen that a tracked vehicle would be a better basis. A Universal Carrier
Universal Carrier
The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrong. Produced between 1934 and 1960, the vehicle was used widely by British Commonwealth forces during the Second World War...
was employed for a prototype. This led to interest from Canada who, with Lagonda's help, produced their own design of flamethrower which - capable of firing flame 40 yds - received the codename "Ronson".
Lagonda also worked with Major Oke to produce a tank mounted flamethrower that used the tank's auxiliary fuel tank as a reservoir. Under the auspices of the Combined Operations
Combined Operations
Combined Operations Headquarters was a department of the British War Office set up during World War II to harass the Germans on the European continent by means of raids carried out by use of combined naval and army forces...
, it would be used in action on the Dieppe Raid
Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied...
.
With the Ronson handed over to the Canadians, Lagonda worked on their own flamethrower installation for the Universal Carrier. The resulting Wasp was produced in two Marks; the second capable of shooting over 100 yards.
For operations in the jungles of Burma a tank mounted flamethrower was a "desirable weapon". However the Churchill Crocodile
Churchill Crocodile
The Churchill Crocodile was a British flame-throwing tank of late Second World War. It was a variant of the Tank, Infantry, Mk VI Churchill Mark VII, although the Churchill Mark IV was initially chosen to be the base vehicle....
was considered unsuitable because the fuel and propellant were in a wheeled trailer. An internal system with the projector in the turret - known as "Salamander" - was not satisfactory so Lagonda developed an external system codenamed "Adder" (if fitted to a Sherman tank0 or "Cobra" (on the Churchill tank). An 80-gallon armour-protected fuel tank was mounted at the rear of the tank and the supply routed along the exterior of the hull to a projector on the front near the co-driver who would control it. Propelled by an inert gas, Adder had a 100 yard range.
Method of operation
The basic premise of the project was to create a weapon capable of shooting a jet of flame high and wide enough to force incoming bomber pilots to either pull out of their dive or brave a pillar of flame potentially capable of damaging or destroying their plane. Designs were solicited from a number of sources, and the feasibility of the plans received was checked by a panel of consultants brought in from the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Military engineers then constructed prototypes of the most promising designs and, after testing, demonstrated their capabilities in front of a number of different admirals and generals. The most effective was a design submitted by the LagondaLagonda
Lagonda is a British luxury car marque, founded as a company in 1906 in Staines, Middlesex by a former opera singer from Ohio, but of Scottish ancestry, named Wilbur Gunn . He named the company after a river near the town of his birth, Springfield, Ohio, United States...
car company, which fired eight gallon
Gallon
The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...
s of a diesel oil/tar
Tar
Tar is modified pitch produced primarily from the wood and roots of pine by destructive distillation under pyrolysis. Production and trade in tar was a major contributor in the economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America. Its main use was in preserving wooden vessels against rot. The largest...
fuel mixture per second, igniting to produce a continuous gout of flame with a range of nearly 100 feet (30.5 m), which at its widest point was roughly 30 feet (9.1 m) in diameter. According to Gerald Pawle, an engineer working on the project, the Lagonda flamethrower
Flamethrower
A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...
universally inspired both awe and horror in all staff officers invited to watch the demonstrations. Further refinements were made to the design which increased its effective range to 200 feet (61 m), though a much larger quantity of fuel was needed to maintain the flame for any significant period of time.
Trials and operation
A trial at sea was arranged to test the effectiveness of the weapon as a deterrent to German aircraft. A prototype flamethrower was installed onto the deck of the FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
trawler La Patrie, modified to fire vertically. When the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
pilot arrived the team responsible for the construction of the flamethrower, worried that the weapon would prove too effective, briefed him on exactly what he could expect to happen. The results of the test were less than impressive: as instructed, the pilot made his first dummy attack without approaching too closely the area directly above the weapon, which was rigged to fire vertically upwards, but on subsequent runs flew closer and closer to the flame to the point of almost bringing his aircraft directly into the line of fire. The pilot's report made it very clear that he did not believe the weapon to be a very effective deterrent, but admitted that the trials may have been biased by his foreknowledge of their nature. With this in mind, a second trial was arranged with a different pilot. No information at all was given to the man about what he could expect. The results were depressingly similar to those of the first trial — the pilot never wavered in his attack, actually brushing half of his wing into the jet of flame. However, it was discovered afterward that there might be another reason behind the failure of the second test. The pilot chosen for the runs had worked in a circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
prior to the war, driving cars through rings and walls of fire on a regular basis. In the belief that the Luftwaffe would have very few men with circus experience, limited production of the Lagonda naval flamethrower began, with weapons being installed onto coaster
Coastal trading vessel
Coastal trading vessels, also known as coasters, are shallow-hulled ships used for trade between locations on the same island or continent. Their shallow hulls mean that they can get through reefs where deeper-hulled sea-going ships usually cannot....
s working in and around the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. The flamethrowers were welcomed by captains at first, until they discovered that the weapon required a very high level of maintenance and expert handling if the weapon was to have sufficient fuel-pressure to be effective, and the crew wished to avoid being coated in tar.
While the installed flamethrowers did not produce a single confirmed enemy casualty before the end of the war, information gathered by the British Secret Intelligence Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
suggested that the weapons had two noticeable effects upon the German armed forces. Firstly, trials were observed of a similar naval defensive flamethrower project involving a long mast-mounted pipe, which suffered similar setbacks to the British weapon — a number of trials ended with the attending officers and all others on the shore nearby being coated with oil. Secondly, partly as a result of the Lagonda flamethrower and partly due to other deterrent weapons such as the Parachute and Cable (PAC) system and the Holman Projector
Holman Projector
The Holman Projector was an anti-aircraft weapon used by the Royal Navy during World War II, primarily between early 1940 and late 1941. The weapon was proposed and designed by Holmans, a machine tool manufacturer based at Camborne, Cornwall...
, the average height of German bombers attacking merchant ships increased to well above 200 ft, the altitude at which bombs had been successfully hitting on roughly 50% of the drops.
Service history
The Bedford Cockatrice was ordered for the defence of the coastal bases of the Fleet Air ArmFleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
in the event of glider
Military glider
Military gliders have been used by the military of various countries for carrying troops and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g...
- or parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
-dropped invasion troops. It was estimated that such troops would need roughly one minute upon landing to detach themselves from their equipment and open fire, and so the Cockatrice was believed to be the ideal fast-response defence vehicle, able to kill or terrorise into surrender
Surrender (military)
Surrender is when soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and eventually become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. A white flag is a common symbol of surrender, as is the gesture of raising one's hands empty and open above one's head.When the...
a force of the small size expected to be attacking such remote airfields. Sixty Cockatrice were built and served at Royal Navy Air Stations. The RAF received six Heavy Cockatrice for airfield defence.
Three Oke-equipped Churchill tanks were used on the Dieppe Raid
Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied...
.
See also
- Flamethrower, Portable, No 2Flamethrower, Portable, No 2The Flamethrower, Portable, No 2 , also known as the Ack Pack, was a British design of flamethrower for infantry use in the Second World War...
, or "Ack-pack", a portable flamethrower used by British infantry in the same period. - Churchill CrocodileChurchill CrocodileThe Churchill Crocodile was a British flame-throwing tank of late Second World War. It was a variant of the Tank, Infantry, Mk VI Churchill Mark VII, although the Churchill Mark IV was initially chosen to be the base vehicle....
- List of flamethrowers