Livens projectors

Publishing Co, Brooklyn, NY (1941), 288 4) Anon, Livens Projector , US War Dept Tech Manual TM 3-325 (1942)... 

LHMA, FOULKES 6/5, Papers relating to the Livens Projector (1915-1921). 

Uses As incendiary agent in drop bombs and artillery shells. Also suitable in other incendiary devices, such as Livens projector drums and trench-mortar bombs. 

FIGURE 2.1. British Livens Projector, Western Front, World War I. 

This problem was finally solved by the British, who first devised special (Livens) projectors which were adapted to fire in one salvo a large number of high-capacity bombs for a maximum distance of 1,800 yd., and thus create extremely heavy gas concentrations within the enemy s... 

Solid oil is also suitable for use in other large incendiary devices, such aa Livens projector drums, artillery shell, and trench-mortar bombe. 

The British Livens Projector was a large-scale mortar developed for delivering large amounts of chemical warfare agent. 

These problems were greatly relieved by the invention, in 1916, of the British Livens Projector (See Fig. 1.4) [859a,891]. This consisted of a steel tube, about three or four feet long and... 

Fig. 1.4 The Livens projector, with associated "accessories (reproduced with permission from the Imperial War Museum).

The British first launched a full-scale attack using the Livens Projector at the Battle of Arras on 9 April 1917 ... 

Porton Down made use of this logic between 1919 and 1939 to carry out a mass of offensive research, developing gas grenades and hand contamination bombs a toxic air smoke bomb charged with a new arsenic codenamed D M was tested anti-tank weapons were produced and Porton developed an aircraft spray tank capable of dispersing mustard gas from a height of 15,000 feet. At the same time the weapons of the First World War — the Livens Projector, the mortar, the chemical shell and even the cylinder - were all modified and improved. 

This defensive work included improvements to many First World War weapons, including gas shells, mortar bombs, the Livens Projector and toxic smoke generators and the development of apparatus for mustard gas spray from aircraft, bombs of many types, airburst mustard gas shell, gas grenades and weapons for attacking tanks . The various inventions were tested in north Wales, Scotland, and in installations scattered throughout the Empire, notably northern India, Australia and the Middle East. 

The British improved on the delivery system, developing the Livens projector, an 8-in. mortarlike tube that shot or projected the cylinder into the... 

Fig- 2 -9. A battery of dug-in Livens projectors, with one gas shell and its propellant charge shown in the foreground. Electrically controlled salvo firing was the usual mode of operation. Emplacement was a slow process, and it limited the surprise factor for attack. Photograph Chemical and Biological Defense Command Historical Research and Response Team, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. 

Being electrically fired, a battery of Livens projectors required extensive preparation and could not be moved once set up. Normally, a battery could only be emplaced and fired once a day. This limited mobility required the element of surprise to prevent the Germans from taking counter actions. 

British 4-in. trench mortars, called Stokes mortars (Figure 2-11), provided a solution to some of the problems with Livens projectors. The Stokes mortar did not require extensive preparation and could be moved as needed. Since it was not rifled, the range was only 1,200 yd, which meant about a 14-second flight time. The small size of the shell only held about 6 to 9 lb of agent, but experienced gunners could fire 25 rounds per minute. American troops used both Livens projectors and Stokes mortars during the war. Ordnance officers tried making their own Stokes mortars, but none reached the front before the end of the war. 

During the 1930s, the CWS stockpiled the chemical weapons used by World War I ground forces in preparation for a future war. These were primarily Livens projectors, Stokes mortars, and portable cylinders. In addition, there were chemical shells for 75-mm, 105-mm, and 155-mm artillery pieces (Figures 2-22 and 2-23). 

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