Kleinflammenwerfer
Encyclopedia
The first German
man-portable flamethrower
was called the Kleinflammenwerfer (small flamethrower) or "Kleif". Fuel was stored in a large vertical, cylindrical backpack container. High-pressure propellant was stored in another, smaller container attached to the fuel tank. A long hose connected the fuel tank to a lance tube with an igniting device at the nozzle. The propellant forced the fuel through the hose and out of the nozzle at high speed when a valve was opened. The igniting device at the nozzle set fire to the fuel as it sprayed out. The flamethrower was operated by two soldiers, one carrying the fuel and propellant tanks, another wielding the lance. Wex
, a replacement for the Kleif, was introduced in 1917 after the third battle of Ypres.
This was created by and developed by Richard Fiedler
, alongside the Grossflammenwefer, which was a larger flamethrower.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
man-portable 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...
was called the Kleinflammenwerfer (small flamethrower) or "Kleif". Fuel was stored in a large vertical, cylindrical backpack container. High-pressure propellant was stored in another, smaller container attached to the fuel tank. A long hose connected the fuel tank to a lance tube with an igniting device at the nozzle. The propellant forced the fuel through the hose and out of the nozzle at high speed when a valve was opened. The igniting device at the nozzle set fire to the fuel as it sprayed out. The flamethrower was operated by two soldiers, one carrying the fuel and propellant tanks, another wielding the lance. Wex
Wechselapparat
The Germans introduced another small flamethrower design in 1917 to replace the earlier Kleif. The Wechselapparat had a doughnut-shaped backpack fuel container with a spherical propellant container in the middle. This design was updated during the Second World War to become flamethrower model 40...
, a replacement for the Kleif, was introduced in 1917 after the third battle of Ypres.
This was created by and developed by Richard Fiedler
Richard Fiedler
Richard Fiedler was a German scientist who invented the flamethrower, which is a weapon that projects a stream of ignited liquid, usually oil. He submitted evaluation models of his Flammenwerfer to the German army in 1901...
, alongside the Grossflammenwefer, which was a larger flamethrower.