Richard Fiedler was a German scientist who invented the modern
flamethrower
A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World ...
. This is a weapon that projects a stream of nitrogen. He submitted
evaluation models of his Flammenwerfer to the
German Army (German Empire)
The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...
in 1901. The most significant model submitted was a man-portable device, consisting of a vertical single
cylinder
A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...
4 feet (1.2 m) long, horizontally divided in two, with pressurized gas in the lower section and flammable
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
in the upper section. On depressing a
lever
A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or ''fulcrum''. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, load and effort, the lever is div ...
the propellant gas forced the flammable oil into and through a
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
tube and over a simple igniting wick device in a
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
nozzle
A nozzle is a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow (specially to increase velocity) as it exits (or enters) an enclosed chamber or pipe.
A nozzle is often a pipe or tube of varying cross sectional area, a ...
. The weapon projected a jet of fire and enormous clouds of smoke some 20 yards (18 m). It was a single-shot weapon - for
burst
Burst may refer to:
*Burst mode (disambiguation), a mode of operation where events occur in rapid succession
**Burst transmission, a term in telecommunications
**Burst switching, a feature of some packet-switched networks
** Bursting, a signaling m ...
firing, a new
igniter
In pyrotechnics, a pyrotechnic initiator (also initiator or igniter) is a device containing a pyrotechnic composition used primarily to ignite other, more difficult-to-ignite materials, such as thermites, gas generators, and solid-fuel rockets. The ...
section was attached each time it was used for battle or other uses of any sorts. It was first used on the western front both by the Central Powers and the Entente.
It was used extensively in World War II by both Allied and Axis troops.
Biography
Prior to the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Fiedler studied engineering and worked as an engineer in Berlin. The development of the flame thrower resulted from his focus on nozzles for spraying liquids.
Fiedler originally performed a trick called "Brennender See" (Burning Lake) at festivals in
Berlin-Weißensee
() is a quarter in the borough of in Berlin, Germany, that takes its name from the small lake (literally 'White Lake') within it. Before Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, was a borough in its own right, consisting of the quarters of , , , ...
. The trick entailed pouring a flammable liquid onto a water surface and setting it on fire. A first flamethrower patent was granted in 1901, and Fiedler turned to the German army who granted him financial support for continuing development of the device. In 1905, he presented his flamethrower to the ''Preußisches Ingenieurs-Komitee'' (Prussian engineering committee) at the Garde-Pionier-Bataillon in Berlin and received suggestions for improving the device.
Independently of Fiedler,
Bernhard Reddemann
Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
*Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar
*Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 1946 ...
(1870–1938) had also begun developing flamethrowers, prompted by reports of kerosene pumps that the Japanese had used against bunkers in the siege of Port Arthur. Fiedler and Reddemann met for the first time in 1908 and cooperated at the onset of the First World War on further developing the flamethrower. Reddemann advanced to the rank of major of the ''Pioniere'' (pioneers), was chief of the firefighters of Breslau and Leipzig and was the author of monographs on firefighting. After the war, he wrote a book on the history of the flamethrower.
Fiedler founded the Fiedler Flammenapparate G.m.b.H. (Fiedler Flame Devices, limited liability company), which he managed as director until 1917. His successors were to be Hauptmann (Captain) Arthur von Steynitz, Kaufmann (merchant) Arthur Bock and Kaufmann (merchant) Kurt Mayen.
[''Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift'' Bd. 20, 1917, S. 25]
Vorschau
/ref> Fiedler was granted 11 German patents on flamethrowers, from 1901 until 1918, the last one being for an airplane flamethrower.
References
Further reading
* Benhard Reddemann: ''Geschichte der deutschen Flammenwerfer-Truppe.'' Verein ehem. Angehöriger d. Garde-Reserve-Pionier-Regiments, Berlin, ca. 1933 (53 pages).
* Thomas Wictor: ''German Flamethrower Pioneers of World War I.'' Schiffer Publ., 2007, .
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiedler, Richard
Engineers from Berlin
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
19th-century births
20th-century deaths
Weapon designers
20th-century German inventors
20th-century Freikorps personnel