Type Flamethrower In service 1935-1945 | Place of origin The Kingdom of Italy Designed 1935 | |
 | ||
Used by Royal Italian Army
Finland Wars Second Italo-Ethiopian War
World War II | ||
The Lanciafiamme Spalleggiato Mod. 35 was a flamethrower issued to the Royal Italian Army in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. In 1940 it was replaced by the Lanciafiamme Spalleggiato Mod. 40, which uses a different ignition system.
Contents
History
The Mod. 35 was adopted by the Royal Italian Army in 1935 and units were assigned to a "Flamethrower Platoon". Each of the 3 squads, which consisted of six sections, were assigned two weapons. In 1939, 176 copies of this model were sold to the Finnish Army, who used the renamed Liekinheitin M/40 against the Red Army during the Winter War of that year. During the Second World War, the Mod. 35 was issued to a division at the Greek-Albanian front. The newer, Mod. 40, which replaced the Mod. 35 as the Italian Army's principal flamethrower in 1940, was issued mostly to the Italian sappers corps. The Mod. 40 was employed largely in Italy's North African Campaign against the British and with Italian units in Russia.
The Mod. 35 was heavier than its contemporaries, and as was endemic with Italian weaponry of the time had inferior performance to those weapons, having a shorter range than its equivalent German model.
Mod. 35
The Mod. 35 had three major elements: the tank, the lance, and the ignition system.
The tank, carried via two transport belts and padded back, was composed of two cylinders. Each was divided internally into two parts by a metal diaphragm. The two upper sections were linked together and could hold 6 litres of nitrogen at 20 atm, which acted as a propellant. The lower halves, which were also connected, contained 12 litres of fuel, a mixture composed of 9 parts diesel oil and 1 part gasoline. Both substances were loaded from special openings on the upper end of the cylinders, where there is also a manual valve which conveyed the liquid nitrogen in the tank to put them under pressure at the moment of use. The filler pipe coupling of the lance was located in the lower part of the tank, beside the right cylinder.
The lance has a control lever of lightweight alloy, and this connects to the tank through a hose. At the muzzle of the lance, a large flange ("cartoccia") has a double ignition system. The main system was initially made up of two sharpening sheets of steel, with flint and rollers to create sparks from friction, actuated by the control lever. It was later replaced by an electrical system: a square box, placed posterior to the cylinders houses an 18 volt battery with a dynamo for manual recharging. Two electric cables run up the lance to the flange, each serving as spark plug similar to that of a car. The spark ignited the jet of flame that poured from the lance. A secondary system consists of the "bengalotto," a slow-burning pyrotechnic device that is manually ignited and mounted on the weapons sight, burning for 2 minutes. On the passage of the flammable liquid, operated by the lever on the lance, it launched a fiery dart of up to 20 meters of range, which produced a heat zone 35 meters wide and 15. The "bengalotto," however, though simple and reliable, was unfortunately prone to revealing the user's position to enemy forces.
The weapon was carried by two soldiers, flammieri, protected by fireproof vests. The system, due to its weight and the overall dimensions of the fireproof suit, could be carried on the back only for short distances, being normally transported on trucks or on special donkey saddle. The flammable liquid reserves allowed about 20 blasts, though recharging the weapon could take 20 minutes or more.
Mod. 40
The Mod. 40 carried an improved electrical ignition system, made from a high-voltage magnet. This was activated by a turbine flow, set in motion by the flow of the liquid fuel under pressure at the time of launch. The electrical connection fed the spark plug and ignited the jet. The flange still retained the "bengalotto" tube as a secondary ignition system. Otherwise, major components of the weapon and most unfortunately its performance remained unchanged.
Further developments
The excessive weight of the system on the battlefield led to the development of the Lanciafiamme Mod. 41, which was lighter with a slightly modified electrical system. For shock troops and paratroopers, a lighter version that could be held as a rifle was developed, called the Mod. 41 d'assalto. The Italian armed forces also used the Lanciafiamme Carrellato Mod. 42, a heavy model intended for engineers rather than assault troops.