Livens Flame Projector

[DaveR]

Does anyone know the exact site of the Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector somewhere to the west of the Carnoy-Montauban road? Was it used in support of 30th Div attack on Montauban?

[Tom W.]

Does anyone know the exact site of the Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector somewhere to the west of the Carnoy-Montauban road? Was it used in support of 30th Div attack on Montauban?

I'm pretty sure it was the 18th Division.

http://raoc.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1268048329&postcount=7

[8055Bell]

Thanks for this thread. I'm seeking explanations for the success at the eastern flank of the British line on the 1st day. I hadn't known the flame projector was one of the exceptions in the area.

T

[Tom W.]

Thanks for this thread. I'm seeking explanations for the success at the eastern flank of the British line on the 1st day. I hadn't known the flame projector was one of the exceptions in the area.

T

It's really hard to quantify the success of the flame projector in the attack, since they blew up the German trenches first. Also, the oil used was very light compared to the naplam that flamethrowers have fired since about 1935. All you had to do to escape the effects of the Livens device was duck down into the bottom of the trench.

The Germans perfected the technique of "curved-trajectory shooting," arcing the flame jet like a mortar shell so that they could kill men crouching at the bottom of the trench, but the automated Livens device fired a straight stream that could pass harmlessly overhead, assuming you hadn't already been blown up.

[8055Bell]

Thanks Tom,

We conclude the original flame projector is unlikely to have had a major impact on the result of the assault. I imagine it may have kept the German heads down for a minute or two though. They wouldn't have known its limitations for the first firing.

T

[spof]

Along with keeping their heads down, it would have unsettled a great deal and the defenders would have been struggling to concentrate. I'm also sure I heard that all the oil didn't burn but was lying on the ground so the smell would also have been a distraction.

There is a Peter Barton documentary on the Channel 4 website http://www.channel4.com/programmes/time-team-specials/episode-guide/series-6/episode-2

[Tom W.]

Along with keeping their heads down, it would have unsettled a great deal and the defenders would have been struggling to concentrate. I'm also sure I heard that all the oil didn't burn but was lying on the ground so the smell would also have been a distraction.

There is a Peter Barton documentary on the Channel 4 website http://www.channel4.com/programmes/time-team-specials/episode-guide/series-6/episode-2

Ahhhhhhhhh...

So full of inaccuracies. A shame. I was really excited when this all took off, but they got just about everything wrong. Range, capacity, duration, effectiveness, and even the purpose. They got carried away with the "terror weapon" aspect.

In the case of the Livens "Large Gallery," the oil burned completely, due to the really efficient acetylene automatic igniter. Other flamethrowers had iffy ignition systems, but the Germans used that to their advantage. When they ran out of igniters, they often just sprayed the unlit oil into strong points, and the enemy would immediately surrender.