The Flamethrower, Portable, No. 2 (nicknamed ''Lifebuoy'' from the shape of its fuel tank), also known as the ''Ack Pack'', was a British design of

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 W ...

for infantry use in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Description

It was a near copy of the German Wechselapparat ("Wex") from 1917. The Mark 1 was used as a training weapon, while the improved Mark 2 was used in action. Over 7,000 units were produced from 1943 to 1944. They were ready for service during

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

(the Allied invasion of Normandy). The Ack Pack was a harness carrying a

doughnut A doughnut or donut () is a type of pastry made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fran ...

-shaped fuel container with a capacity of 4 Imperial

gallon The gallon is a unit of volume in British imperial units and United States customary units. The imperial gallon (imp gal) is defined as , and is or was used in the United Kingdom and its former colonies, including Ireland, Canada, Australia ...

s (18

litre The litre ( Commonwealth spelling) or liter ( American spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metres (m3). A ...

s) of fuel on the operator's back. In the middle of the "doughnut" was a spherical container holding nitrogen gas as a propellant, which was pressurized to 2,000 lbf/in² (140

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

). This was sufficient to propel the burning fuel 120 feet (36 metres). A hose from the fuel tank passed to the nozzle assembly which had two pistol grips to hold and aim the spray. The back grip had the trigger. In some versions the nozzle was fitted with a 10-chambered cylinder which contained the ignition cartridges. These could be fired once, each giving the operator 10 bursts of flame. In practice this gave 10 one-second bursts. It was also possible to spray fuel without igniting it to ensure there was plenty splashed around the target, then fire an ignited burst to light up the whole lot. At some the flamethrower was considered heavy.

Gallery

File:The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H37977.jpg, The Lifebuoy man-portable flamethrower being demonstrated to men of 1st Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers, Denmead, Hampshire, 29 April 1944. File:Flamethrower-portable-no-2-batey-haosef-1.jpg, A Flamethrower Portable, No 2 in the Israel Defense Forces History Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel (September 2015) File:Flamethrowers in Action, August 1944 TR2318.jpg, A Life Buoy flamethrower in action. August 1944.

References

* {{BritishEmpireWeapons Flamethrowers of the United Kingdom Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1943 World War II infantry weapons of Australia World War II infantry weapons of the United Kingdom

Description

Gallery

See also

References