During the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet infantry were armed with ROKS-2 and ROKS-3 knapsack flamethrowers (Klyuev-Sergeev knapsack flamethrower). The first flamethrower model of this series appeared in the early 1930s, it was the ROX-1 flamethrower. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the RKKA rifle regiments included special flamethrower teams in two squads. These teams were armed with 20 ROKS-2 knapsack flamethrowers.
Based on the accumulated experience of using these flamethrowers at the beginning of 1942, the designer of the military plant No. 846 V. N. Klyuev and the designer who worked at the Research Institute of Chemical Engineering, M. P. Sergeev created a more advanced infantry knapsack flamethrower, which was designated ROKS-3. This flamethrower was in service with individual companies and battalions of the Red Army knapsack flamethrowers throughout the Great Patriotic War.
The main purpose of the ROKS-3 knapsack flamethrower was to destroy enemy manpower with a stream of burning fire mixture in fortified firing points (bunkers and bunkers), as well as in trenches and communication trenches. Among other things, the flamethrower could be used to combat enemy armored vehicles and to set fire to various buildings. Each backpack flamethrower was served by one infantryman. Flamethrowing could be performed both with short (1-2 seconds duration) and long (3-4 seconds duration) shots.
Flamethrower designs
Flamethrower ROKS-3 consisted of the following main warheads: tank for storing fire mixture; compressed air cylinder; hose; reducer; pistol or gun; equipment for carrying a flamethrower and a set of accessories.
The reservoir in which the fire mixture was stored had a cylindrical shape. It was produced from sheet steel with a thickness of 1.5 mm. The height of the tank was 460 mm and its outer diameter was 183 mm. In empty state, it weighed 6, 3 kg, its full capacity was 10, 7 liters, working capacity - 10 liters. A special filler neck was welded to the top of the tank, as well as a check valve body, which were hermetically sealed with plugs. In the lower part of the tank for the fire mixture, an intake pipe was welded, which has a fitting for connecting to a hose.
The mass of the compressed air cylinder included in the flamethrower was 2.5 kg, and its capacity was 1.3 liters. The permissible pressure in the compressed air cylinder should not exceed 150 atmospheres. The cylinders were filled with a manual pump NK-3 from L-40 cylinders.
The reducer was designed to reduce the air pressure to the operating pressure when bypassing from the cylinder to the tank, to automatically release excess air from the tank with the fire mixture into the atmosphere and reduce the operating pressure in the tank during flame throwing. The working pressure of the reservoir is 15-17 atmospheres. The hose is used to supply the fire mixture from the reservoir to the valve box of the gun (pistol). It is made from several layers of petrol resistant rubber and fabric. The length of the hose is 1.2 meters and the inner diameter is 16-19 mm.
The knapsack flamethrower rifle consists of the following main parts: lighter with frame, barrel assembly, barrel lining, chamber, buttstock with crutch, trigger guard and rifle strap. The total length of the gun is 940 mm, and the weight is 4 kg.
For shooting from the ROKS-3 infantry knapsack flamethrower, liquid and viscous (thickened with a special OP-2 powder) fire mixtures are used. The components of the liquid fire mixture could be used: crude oil; diesel fuel; a mixture of fuel oil, kerosene and gasoline in a proportion of 50% - 25% - 25%; as well as a mixture of fuel oil, kerosene and gasoline in the proportion of 60% - 25% - 15%. Another option for compiling a fire mixture was as follows - creosote, green oil, gasoline in a proportion of 50% - 30% - 20%. The following substances could be used as a basis for creating viscous fire mixtures: a mixture of green oil and a benzene head (50/50); a mixture of heavy solvent and benzene head (70/30); a mixture of green oil and benzene head (70/30); a mixture of diesel fuel and gasoline (50/50); a mixture of kerosene and gasoline (50/50). The average weight of one charge of the fire mixture was 8.5 kg. At the same time, the range of flamethrowing with liquid fire mixtures was 20-25 meters, and viscous - 30-35 meters. Ignition of the fire mixture during firing was carried out using special cartridges, which were in the chamber near the muzzle of the barrel.
The principle of operation of the ROKS-3 knapsack flamethrower was as follows: compressed air, which was in a cylinder under high pressure, entered the reducer, where the pressure was reduced to a normal operating level. It was under this pressure that the air eventually passed through the tube through the check valve into the tank with the fire mixture. Under the pressure of compressed air through an intake pipe located inside the tank and a flexible hose, the fire mixture entered the valve box. At that moment, when the soldier pressed the trigger, the valve opened and the fiery mixture went out along the barrel. On the way, the fiery stream passed through a special damper, which was responsible for extinguishing the screw vortices that appeared in the fire mixture. At the same time, under the action of a spring, the drummer broke the primer of the igniter cartridge, after which the flame of the cartridge was directed with a special visor towards the muzzle of the gun. This flame set fire to the mixture at the moment it exited the tip.
The maximum throwing range of the fire mixture reached 40-42 meters (depending on the strength and direction of the wind). At the same time, the flamethrower ammunition contained 10 ignition cartridges. One charge of a knapsack flamethrower (8.5 kg) was enough to produce 6-8 short or 1-2 prolonged shots. The long shot was adjusted by pressing the trigger. The curb weight of the ROKS-3 was 23 kg.
Combat use of flamethrowers
In June 1942, the first 11 separate companies of backpack flamethrowers (ORRO) were formed in the Red Army. According to the state, each company was armed with 120 flamethrowers. These units managed to pass the first combat check during the Battle of Stalingrad. In the future, flamethrower companies came in handy during the offensive operations of 1944. At this time, the troops of the Red Army not only broke through the enemy's defenses of a positional type, but also impressive fortified areas, in which units equipped with knapsack flamethrowers could operate especially successfully.
For this reason, along with the separate flamethrower companies that already existed at that time, in May 1944, the Red Army began to form separate battalions of knapsack flamethrowers (OBRO), which were included in the assault engineer-sapper brigades. According to the state, each such battalion was armed with 240 ROKS-3 flamethrowers (two companies of 120 backpack flamethrowers each).
Knapsack flamethrowers were very effective against enemy infantry, which were hiding in trenches, communication trenches and other more complex defensive structures. Also, backpack flamethrowers were effective in repelling attacks from enemy infantry and tanks. They were used with great efficiency to destroy the garrisons located in long-term firing points during the breakthroughs of the defensive zones of the fortified areas.
Most often, a company of knapsack flamethrowers was attached as a means of reinforcing a rifle regiment, and it could also operate as part of assault engineer-sapper battalions. In turn, the commander of an assault engineering battalion or a rifle regiment could reassign flamethrower platoons in squads and groups of 3-5 soldiers to their rifle platoons or to separate assault groups.
The ROKS-3 knapsack flamethrowers continued to be in service with the Soviet Army (SA) until the early 1950s, after which they were replaced in the troops by more advanced and light infantry flamethrowers, called LPO-50. After the end of World War II, flamethrower units were transferred from the engineering troops to the chemical troops, which in 1992 were renamed the RChBZ troops (radiation, chemical and biological protection). It is in the composition of the NBC protection troops that units armed with flame-throwing incendiary weapons are concentrated today.
