JFK+50: Volume 7, No. 2433
AMERICANS TO GET LESSON ON THE FLAMETHROWERHeadquarters of the American Army in France (JFK+50) One hundred years ago, September 15, 1917, arrangements were completed for a demonstration to American forces in camp here in France on "how the allies have turned the Germans' weapon against the Germans after perfecting the unquenchable flames*."
Instructors Major Alexander Rasmussen and Major Jock Manning of the Canadian-American Legions were to give lessons in "general fighting tactics."
*The Flamethrower, a mechanical incendiary device projecting a long, controllable stream of fire, was used by both sides in WWI. Two models were developed by Richard Fiedler. One was a portable carried by a single man that had a range of 18 meters. The second model was larger & had twice the range.
The Germans launched 650 flamethrower attacks during the war. The weapon was effective only at close range.
SOURCES
"Boys in France To Get Lesson In Liquid Fire", Chicago Sunday Tribune, September 16, 1917.
"Weapons of War--Flamethrowers", www.firstworldwar.com/
German Flamethrowers
on the Western Front (1917)
German Federal Archives
Bundescarchiv, Bild 183-R22888
CC-BY-SA 3.0
