Osprey New Vanguard 15 : Flammpanzer German Flamethrowers 1941-1945

The first attempt at mounting a flame-thrower in a German tank was not the result of an engineering design process but rather occurred as a field expedient. German troops involved in the Spanish Civil War, disappointed with the inherent inaccuracy of machine-guns firing from tanks which were charging into action, mounted the small back-pack kleine Flammenwerfer into the right-hand MG mounts of their PzKpfw Is. The German authorities took up this idea and from early 1939 began to design a flame-throwing tank based on the Panzer II. This was the first in a long line of German tanks to be equipped with flame-throwers. During the World War 2 versions of the Panzer III, Sturmgeschutz and half-track were all given flame-throwers. Even the formidable Tiger I was considered a candidate for flame-throwing capability, although this idea did not get past the experimental stage. Most strangely, captured French Char Bs were also equipped with flame-throwers and used in the opening stages of the 'Barbarossa' campaign. Tom Jentz and Hilary Doyle examine these and other German flame-throwing tanks in this New Vanguard title. Their development, weapons and use is studied carefully and fully, often using original German combat reports, in this excellent and comprehensive book. Illustrations by Peter Sarson.

Contents

• Design Limitations
• Panzer I
• Panzer II (F) (SdKfz 122)
• Panzer B2 (F)
• Panzer III (FI) (SdKfz 141/3)
• Stug-I (Flamm)
• SdKfz 251/16
• Flammpanzer 38
• Tiger I