Nothing seems to strike more fear into the hearts of men than fire gone awry. Thus the impact of the flamethrower. Often just the threat of burning alive is enough to cause defenders to surrender. It is also a device that works well against hardened defensive positions as the flammable mixture can work its way in where bombs and shells are unable to penetrate.

Manually operated flamethrowers have been around since WWI and while they are effective, they have the drawback in that they were relatively short range and the operator was in constant danger when operating the device. The idea came about to put on on a mobile platform and so there was work in developing one in the UK. It went through several permutations involving specialized vehicles that never seemed to catch on until a proposal for one based on the Universal Carrier (Bren Carrier to many of us).

This seemed like a good idea and so the Wasp was born. However, developing one became a bit of a problem as one had to find room for the compressed gas cylinders and for the flammable fluid itself. Several designs were tried, none of them particularly successful, though they were used in combat.

Finally, the thought of using a standard tank with the machine gun replaced by a flamethrower was suggested. In this design, the bulk of the materials was held in an armored trailer with only the fuel feed and nozzle being part of the tank itself. This was also a fixed application, the movement of the tank determining where the flame would go.

The most successful of these was based on the later Churchill tanks and so the Crocodile was borne.

David Fletcher takes us through what is a rather complicated journey through the development and implementation of this device. It is a story of not only the design and operation of the system but also the tactical use of these tanks. To say the least, it was initially envisioned that an entire regiment be used in mass, but eventually, these vehicles were used in very small units of three or fewer tanks as the situation required. All of this is superbly covered by the author, showing us that sometimes things are not as simple as they seem.

This is further enhanced by a superb choice of period photographs and the excellent illustrations of Tony Bryan. Post war developments are also briefly covered using other vehicles, but like many weapons, it has pretty much fallen out of favor and is no longer used.

Overall, a fascinating look at a most interesting system and a book that I know you will enjoy.

July 2007

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