Panzer I (Flamm)

The first attempts to successfully mount a flame-thrower in a German tank were more an experiment rather than a feat of German engineering. During the Spanish Civil War, crews of the Panzer I complained of the woeful inaccuracy of the machine-guns when firing on the move.

One potential resolution to this problem was fitting a flame-thrower, a weapon thought to be better suited for the task at hand and one that didn’t rely on a high degree of accuracy when fired to the achieve the desired effect.

Experiments found that a nozzle of the small back-pack style flame-thrower usually carried by the infantry could be fitted onto the right-hand machine-gun mount within the Panzer I turret.

However, a report dated 30 March 1939 stated that a flame-thrower with much greater range was required to reduce the number of causalities suffered by the crews of these ad-hoc designs.

This experiment was repeated in the desert of North Africa by the Engineers of the 5th Light Division of the Deutsche Afrika Korps (DAK). Capable of firing 10-12 one-second bursts up to a maximum range of 25 metres, the purpose of these tank mounted flame-thrower were to dislodge the defenders of the fortified emplacements of the Tobruk defences.

While these first attempts of placing a flame-thrower behind armour were relatively primitive by German standards, it was however, the first set in the evolution of the German Flammpanzer during the Second World War.

Designed by Evan Allen
Painted by Carlos Tapia