Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

Chapter 409 Planning (4)

There are also two types of flamethrowers, one large and one small.

The smaller one is the Type 46 assault flamethrower, also known as the "Fire Fist"; it is a very interesting design. It is a one-time use product designed for airborne and offensive forces. Its shape is similar to a blasting tube, with a length of 500 mm, a diameter of 70 mm, and a wall thickness of 1 mm. The tubular fuel tank contains 7 liters of fuel. The front part of the fuel tank is a 100 mm long nozzle. The interface with the fuel tank is usually plugged with a rubber plug. There is a propellant chamber below the nozzle. The Type 46 assault flamethrower is ignited by a friction igniter. When the break lever of the friction igniter is pressed, the propellant chamber ruptures, the fuel is sprayed out, and the igniter ignites at the same time. The Type 46 assault flamethrower weighs 6 kg, has a range of 30 meters and a spray time of 5 seconds.

The larger one is a copy of the American M2-2 flamethrower.

Napalm is used as the combustion agent, and compressed nitrogen is used as the pressure source. The nitrogen tank is located between the two gasoline tanks, fixed with a bracket and wrapped in canvas, and carried on the back with a canvas strap.

This thing is not easy, because in order to achieve the bulletproof effect, the tank wall is very thick. It weighs nearly 20 kilograms when not filled with oil, and weighs 30 kilograms when filled with oil. It can be said to be very heavy. In addition to the flamethrower, the flamethrower can only be equipped with a self-defense pistol, so a German fire-throwing team consists of 2 to 3 soldiers. One of them is a flamethrower, and the other or two are observers equipped with submachine guns to provide cover for the flamethrowers.

As a melee weapon, the use of flamethrowers on the battlefield of World War II was not essentially different from that of World War I. It was mainly used to attack buildings, bunkers and fortifications and to clear out remaining enemies. The only difference is that during World War II, German infantry flamethrowers were often used as close-range anti-armor weapons. The flames ejected by the flamethrower cannot burn through the armor of most tanks, especially the later Soviet tanks. However, the fluid flame jet ejected by the flamethrower can penetrate through some openings on the surface of the armored target, such as tank engines. The top cover of the cabin flows into the interior of the vehicle body, igniting its fuel or ammunition, thereby disabling or completely destroying the armored target. The army's combat report shows that the flamethrower has a significant destructive effect on vehicles using gasoline engines and US M-4 tanks, but its destructive effect on Soviet tanks using diesel engines is limited.

In addition, there are MG3 machine guns, bullpup versions of SVD, MP40 submachine guns, 40mm grenade launchers, paratrooper knives, grenades, Panzerfaust rockets, anti-tank mines and other weapons. (Heavy equipment such as machine guns, Panzerfausts, and anti-tank mines need to be put into weapon boxes and airdropped)

In addition, there are multifunctional engineering shovels, binoculars, windshields, compasses, gas masks, waterproof matches, smoke bombs, maps, radios, walkie-talkies, kettles, lighters, dry food bags, ammunition bags, medical bags and other equipment, which are densely packed. It filled the entire table, and Yannick couldn't help but sigh that there were so many things to bring.

Because of this, when today's German paratroopers board the plane, they carry weapons, ammunition, dry food, medicine, parachute bags and auxiliary parachute bags together. The soldiers can't even stand up alone. They can only stand leaning on their backpacks and wait until they reach their destination. , I felt relieved after all the things were thrown away.

Then there is the most important parachute. During World War II, the parachutes of German and American airborne troops were different. The American parachute was evenly stressed on the back, while in Germany it was on the shoulder blades.

This is one of the reasons why the Germans had to use weapons cases to carry their weapons, while the U.S. Army could carry leg bags.

Yannick picked up the helmet next to him and put it on his head.

Germany's industrial manufacturing level is recognized around the world. In addition to its outstanding protective performance, the M35 helmet also provides good protection for the occipital bone on the back of the soldier's head and the two sides of the head, which was also very effective at the time. A novel initiative. In later generations, the armies of many countries basically followed the design of German helmets from World War II. For example, the ear protection part of the helmet can be clearly seen by American soldiers who often appear on TV.

Combat helmets from all countries include a helmet shell and lining system. The Allied forces in World War II produced uniform-sized helmets with different linings to accommodate the size of the wearer's head. The Allies' "one size fits all" was a linear solution that simplified wartime helmet production. Compared with the Allies, the German army's helmet production is much more complicated.

The German factory produced the helmet in at least six different sizes. Each helmet can use two different sized lining systems, depending on helmet size. This creates a complex production process, as the factory must use multiple shell stamping dies to produce the helmet, and the liner system must be produced in multiple sizes. Depending on the diameter of the helmet, each helmet can only install one of two sizes of lining systems, and once installed, the lining system is difficult to remove in the field, so one lining system must be used for a long time.

Yannick also doesn’t know why the Germans make helmet production so complicated and meaningless. It may be that Germany has traditionally attached great importance to the uniformity of uniforms worn by every soldier. The availability of helmets in so many sizes can be seen as a desire by the armed forces to maintain the tradition of German unity by having every German soldier wear a neat uniform.

Obviously, such complex helmet production caused a huge problem for the supply of front-line troops. Yannick simply canceled this seemingly stupid approach and directly adopted the Allied production method.

As for the combat uniform of paratroopers, they are blue-gray camouflage jackets. The effect of this blue camouflage is to blur the sight of the naked eye during the process from the air to the ground, reducing casualties during the airborne process. Generally, when aiming from the ground into the air, the enemy's naked eyes will be stimulated by the sunlight in the sky. Observation may be possible, but aiming is very difficult. With the help of camouflage blue, the flickering of sunlight from the camouflage blue makes it more difficult for ground machine gunners to target airborne troops.

When the airborne troops arrived on the ground, their camouflage blue was not bright blue but a gray-blue that was close to the color of the rocks. Rolling on the ground casually, covered in gray, its camouflage effect is better than ordinary jungle colors. Of course, the specific airborne location must also be considered. But most battlefields are environments where various scenery such as gravel, gravel, and weeds are intertwined (general open areas also require the most help from camouflage). And even in the jungle, camouflage using raw materials such as leaves, grass, etc. is more important than the color of the clothes itself (and the jungle is not open, so it is easy to camouflage).

The last paratrooper boots are the American M1943 combat boots.

Because in the original time and space, when American paratroopers began to be equipped with equipment, paratrooper boots borrowed the characteristics of paratrooper boots used by other countries, including German paratroopers, because German paratroopers started ahead of the US military and had already been engaged in combat in Europe at that time. The American paratrooper boots were finalized in August 1942 and were replaced by the new M1943 combat boots in the summer of 44.

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