LPO-50
| LPO-50 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Flamethrower |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| Wars | Vietnam War The Troubles Sino-Vietnamese War Sino-Vietnamese conflicts (1979–1991) Iran–Iraq War Xinjiang conflict |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1953 |
| Manufacturer | USSR (former) China |
| Produced | 1953–1980s (LPO-50) 1970s–current (Type 74) |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 3.2 kg (flame gun) 15 kg (empty) 23 kg (full)(LPO-50)/20 kg (Type 74). |
| Length | 968 mm (flame gun) |
| Cartridge | 3 (tank capacity: 3.4 L (total: 10.2 L))(LPO-50) 2 (tank capacity: 4 L (total: 8 L))(Type 74) |
| Caliber | 3 x 14.5 mm nozzles (LPO-50) 2 x 14.5 mm nozzles (Type 74) |
| Action | Electrically-triggered pyrotechnic cartridges, used 4×1.5 volt batteries |
| Rate of fire | 3 shots (2–3 seconds each)(LPO-50) 2 shots (2–3 seconds each)(Type 74) |
| Effective firing range | 40–50 m (direct fire) |
| Maximum firing range | 70 m |
The LPO-50 (Russian: Легкий Пехотный Огнемет, romanized: Legkiy Pyekhotnyy Ognemet, lit. 'Light Infantry Flamethrower') is a Soviet flamethrower.
History
Developed in 1953 to replace the ROKS-2/3 flamethrowers used during World War Two,[1] it was kept in the inventory well into the 1980s, replaced in Soviet service by the RPO "Rys" and RPO-A Shmel incendiary rocket launchers
Design
This LPO-50 was designed as a lightweight, manpack flamethrower with three upright cylinders and a bipod-mounted flame gun.[2]
The LPO-50 differed from Western flamethrowers in that it used special ignition cartridges to expel the thickened fuel mixture rather than an inert gas.
Variants
Type 74
The Type 74 is a variant of the LPO-50 used by the People's Republic of China.
The flamethrower is still currently in-use by the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, making China the last remaining major military where the conventional flamethrower is still in-service.
Design
The Type 74 was developed by NORINCO in the early 1970s.[3]
Despite looking superficially similar to the LPO-50, there are major differences for the Type 74. The main difference being the fact that the Type 74 only possess two fuel canisters to the LPO-50's three, with the canister's volume being slightly increased to compensate for the loss of the third.[3]
The reduction of canisters lead to a reduced weight from 23 to 20 kg, but it also lead to a reduction from 3 to 2 uses before having to reload.[3]
Nevertheless, China claims that the Type 74 has technical improvements that offset the ammunition supply, with the main reason being its effectiveness against bunkers said to be doubled. Or, in other words, the Type 74 has a stronger ignition cartridge allowing for more fuel to be expelled in less time.[3]
This results in significant recoil, requiring the Type 74 to be used in the prone position.[3] As the Type 74 now has two canisters, consequently, the number of ignition charges is also reduced to two.[3]
Adoption
The Type 74 was used in conflicts as recently as 2015 during the height of the Xinjiang conflict.[4]
According to reports from the People's Liberation Army Daily, special forces, likely from the People's Armed Police, tracked down ETIM militants to a nearby cave.[4]
Officers initially used non-lethal tear gas and stun grenades to flush them out.[4] When that failed, they opted for a Type 74 flamethrower, which succeeded. The resulting militants were then shot.[4]
Deployment
Vietnam
The LPO saw service in the Vietnam War.
Viet Cong forces were reported to have used the flamethrower at the 1967 Đắk Sơn massacre. At least one was used in an attack on the USMC base at Con Thien (also in 1967),[5] and there were several captured ones on display in Saigon in 1972.[6]
Criminal activities
A LPO-50 was used in an attack on a British army checkpoint in 1989.
The United States Congress in 2011 cited an Irish Times article reporting that the Irish Republican Army had an estimated 6 units of this model of flamethrower (prior to 2001).[7]
Users
- Bulgaria[8]
- China[9][10]
- East Germany[11]
- Iraq[12]
- Provisional Irish Republican Army[13]
- Syria[14]
- Soviet Union
- Vietnam[5]
References
- ^ РУКОВОДСТВО ПО ЛЕГКОМУ ПЕХОТНОМУ ОГНЕМЕТЫ ЛПО-50. Moscow: USSR Ministry of Defense. 1957.
- ^ "The LPO-50 Flamethrower". Sword of the Motherland Foundation. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Type 74 flamethrower". WeaponsSystem.net.
- ^ a b c d "Chinese forces 'used flamethrowers' in Xinjiang operation". BBC. 23 November 2015.
- ^ a b manhhai (2011-12-19), Quang Tri 1967 (15) - Captured Viet Cong Weapons, retrieved 2018-12-19
- ^ manhhai (2015-10-03), SAIGON 1972 - Triển lãm vũ khí cộng sản bị tịch thu, retrieved 2018-12-19
- ^ US Congress (Jul 28, 2011). Congressional Record. Washington: Government Printing Office. p. 1404. ISBN 9780160924286.
- ^ "Сухопътни войски". landforce.armf.bg. Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ^ "Type 74 Flamethrower still in Active Use, Chinese PLA Police Scorch some O2 -". The Firearm Blog. 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
- ^ Chen, Andrea (23 November 2015). "Flamethrower used to flush out militants in China's Xinjiang region, says state media". SCMP. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- ^ "Raketen- und Waffentechnischer Dienst (RWD) - Leichter Flammenwerfer LPO 50". www.rwd-mb3.de. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
- ^ "Iran-Irakkriget i bilder". Militarhistoria.se (in Swedish). 2020-05-16. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
- ^ Boyne, Sean (1 August 1996). "Inside The Ira - Weapons & Technology". Frontline. PBS. Jane's Intelligence Review. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ Jet flamethrowers burning alive are in China, North Korea and fought in Syria