Kleinflammenwerfer

Kleinflammenwerfer
Type	Flamethrower
Place of origin	German Empire
Service history
In service	1912-1918
Used by	German Empire, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria
Wars	First World War
Production history
Variants	M.1912, M.1914, M.1915 (Early/Late), M.1916, M.1917
Specifications
Crew	2 Operators, 1 Officer, 1 Assistant/Grenadier
Effective firing range	18 meters (60 feet)
Maximum firing range	Up to 32 meters (105 feet)
Feed system	Fuel - fuel oil, 15.8 liters (4.2 US gallons), M.1915: 18.9 liters (5 US gallons)

The first series of German man-portable flamethrower was called the Kleinflammenwerfer ('small flamethrower') or "Kleif". Fuel oil was stored in a large vertical, cylindrical backpack container. High-pressure propellant was typically stored in another, smaller container within the fuel tank or attached externally depending on model. Most iterations of the Kleif used a long hose which was covered in linen and corrugated by steel wire to prevent kinks and punctures. The hose connected to the fuel tank and fed into a lance tube with an igniting device at the nozzle. With the turn of a valve at the tank, the propellant forced the fuel through the hose and towards the lance. When the lance operator was ready, a second "firing" valve was opened, sending the fuel oil to the igniting device at the nozzle and propelling the burning fuel oil outward.^[1] The flamethrower was operated by two soldiers, one carrying the fuel and propellant tanks, another wielding the lance. Contrary to popular culture, the Kleif was too unwieldy to be used effectively by a single operator. The Wechselapparat, a smaller and more refined replacement for the Kleif, was introduced in May 1917.

The Kleinflammenwerfer was created by and developed by Richard Fiedler, alongside the Grossflammenwerfer or "Grof", which was a larger static flamethrower.