Tanks, flame throwing

From Laboratory to Field, for details of the development work in Hawaii, (j) In his brief t-page final report to the Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, General Richardson paid tribute to this resourceful and inventive CWS group which developed a flame-throwing tank that was of "incalculable value." Final Rpt of CG AFMIDPAC to CofS USA, 15 Mar 46,... 

Flame-Throwing Tank Attacks Enemy Infantrymen dug in along an old road on Okinawa,... 

Before the infantry attack the flame thrower and conventional tanks moved out to burn off the remainder of the foliage from Hill 89 and its approaches, which they left an ugly blackened mass of jagged coral. On the second day the flame-throwing tanks advanced in increasing numbers to pour thousands of gallons of burning fuel into caves and crevices. Then the infantry, supported by flame tanks, medium tanks, and artillery, successfully stormed the hill. 

In the zone of interior the Armored Force Board had never been enthusiastic about any flame-throwing tank that was a special-purpose weapon, that Is, if it had the flame thrower as its main armament, or if it had a distinguishing silhouette. The British Crocodile met the first requirement, but its fuel-carrying trailer certainly made it readily identifiable. In any event, the board urged the Chemical Warfare Service to concentrate its efforts on the auxiliary model, one that main- tained the normal armament of the vehicle, which was then under development. The result was an auxiliary flame thrower which was interchangeable with the bow machine gun of either the light or medium tank. 

The American forces did not have mechanized flame throwers when they were first committed to action in France, nor did they have them in any numbers for almost five months after the Normandy landings. This initial lack of experience and training with flame-throwing tanks probably did as much as anything to set the pattern for the insignificant role the weapon was to have in Europe, a role in decided contrast to... 

Ltr, CG Ninth Army to CG 12th Army Group, 31 Oct 44, sub Special Equip (Flame Throwing Tanks), lath Army Group Reds, 470.71—Apparatus. 

In November, 12th Army Group allotted the ijo E4-J units on hand as follows First Army, yy Third Army, 30 Ninth Army, 43. Third Army had never established a requirement for the flame-throwing tank and held its 30 4-3 flame throwers in an Army depot. ... 

Troops in the Pacific early discovered the value of flame throwers in overcoming fortified positions. By 1944 experience with flame warfare convinced them of the need for main armament flame throwing tanks. The weapons were not available for the reasons noted above and servicemen in the Central Pacific Area produced their own. 

For the part played by the CWS in developing flame throwing tanks in the Pacific see (1) History of Chemical Section, U.S. Army Forces Middle Pacific, 7 Dec 41-2 Sep 45, vols. II and III, in OCMH (2) Col George H. Unmacht, "Flame Throwing Seabees, Armed Forces Chemical Journal, III (July 1948), 48-50, reprinted from United States Naval Institute Proceedings (April 1948). 

Under Colonel Unmacht the composite group of Army, Navy, and Marine personnel produced more main armament flame throwing tanks than did engineers in the United States, but the problems which they faced were much simpler. The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps in the Pacific were anxious to get the weapons and gave the Chemical section all necessary assistance and supplies, whereas Edgewood could not get the Army to set up a requirement for a main armament flame thrower and had great diffi-... 

American troops did not see Japanese flame throwing vehicles until they captured eight on Luzon in 1945. The weapons were placed on amphibious tractors, similar to American DUKW s. The Japanese did not have fuel thickeners comparable to American napalm, and had to use mixtures of crude oil, gasoline, and kerosene. Since Japanese troops employed portable flame throwers against Americans from early 1942 onward, it is difficult to explain why they did not use mechanized flame throwers. American troops learned by trial and error of the value of flame tanks, and perhaps the Japanese never threw off their conservatism sufficiently to give the tanks full-scale battle tests. ... 

---