Looking through Stanton's book on the US army, I cant find any entries for flamethrowers for US engineer units. Were US combat engineer (div. and independent) units allocated any flamethrowers by mid-late 1944 ?
thanks,
Mad Dog
flamethrower allocation to US units
Moderator: John W. Howard
Re: flamethrower allocation to US units
From Mid June 1944 each Infantry Battlalion and each Cavalry Squadron (dismounted) had to be able to form an assault party containing the following:
1 Assault Party leader, armed with carbine or Garand and hand grenades.
1 assistant leader, armed with M1 and grenades.
2 flame thrower operators, armed with flamethrowers, 2 pistols.
2 assistant flame thrower operators, armed with 2 M1 rifles, White Phosphorus and hand grenades.
4 rocket launcher men, armed with 2 Bazookas, 2 pistols.
2 demolition men, armed with 2 M1 rifles, demolition charges, wire cutters and White Phosporus and hand grenades.
1 BAR operator, armed with Browning Automatic rifle.
1 assistant BAR operator, armed with 1 M1 rifle.
4 riflemen, armed with M1 rifles, grenade dischargers, and rifle grenades, White Phosphorus and hand grenades.
Info dates fro, US Army manual dated June 22 1944.
Hope this helps!
Kind Regards,
Simon.
1 Assault Party leader, armed with carbine or Garand and hand grenades.
1 assistant leader, armed with M1 and grenades.
2 flame thrower operators, armed with flamethrowers, 2 pistols.
2 assistant flame thrower operators, armed with 2 M1 rifles, White Phosphorus and hand grenades.
4 rocket launcher men, armed with 2 Bazookas, 2 pistols.
2 demolition men, armed with 2 M1 rifles, demolition charges, wire cutters and White Phosporus and hand grenades.
1 BAR operator, armed with Browning Automatic rifle.
1 assistant BAR operator, armed with 1 M1 rifle.
4 riflemen, armed with M1 rifles, grenade dischargers, and rifle grenades, White Phosphorus and hand grenades.
Info dates fro, US Army manual dated June 22 1944.
Hope this helps!
Kind Regards,
Simon.
Simon Harrold
WW2 Battlefield Relics: German Erkennungsmarken decoded.
WW2 Battlefield Relics: German Erkennungsmarken decoded.
Re: flamethrower allocation to US units
So flamethrowers were special issue only ?
Mad Dog
Mad Dog
Re: flamethrower allocation to US units
Flamethrowers in the US Army were considered a chemical weapon, not an item of engineer equipment, so were held by the Chemical Service. They would be issued from Chemical Depot Companies as needed.MadDog wrote:So flamethrowers were special issue only ?
Mad Dog
Cheers!
Rich
Re: flamethrower allocation to US units
Thats an interesting factoid I never suspected. So were flamethrower tanks also subject to the chemical service ?
thanks,
Mad Dog
thanks,
Mad Dog