Chapter 409 Planning (4)

Beside him, there were two flamethrowers, one large and one small.

The smaller one is the Type 46 assault flamethrower, also known as "Einstossflammenwerfer"; it is an interesting design. It is designed for paratroopers and assault troops as a disposable product. Its appearance is similar to a blasting tube, 500 millimeters long, 70 millimeters in diameter, with a wall thickness of 1 millimeter. The cylindrical fuel tank stores 1.7 liters of fuel. The front part of the fuel tank is a 100-millimeter-long nozzle, which is usually plugged with a rubber stopper at the interface with the fuel tank. Below the nozzle is a propellant chamber. The Type 46 assault flamethrower is ignited by a friction igniter. Pressing the break lever of the friction igniter ruptures the propellant chamber, ejecting the fuel and igniting it at the same time. The Type 46 assault flamethrower weighs 3.6 kilograms, has a range of 30 meters, and a firing duration of 0.5 seconds.

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

It uses gelled gasoline as the combustible and compressed nitrogen 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 canvas straps.

This equipment is not easy to handle because, to achieve bulletproof effects, the walls of the tanks are very thick. Even without fuel, the tank weighs nearly 20 kilograms, and when filled with fuel, it weighs 30 kilograms, which is quite heavy. In addition to the flamethrower, the operator can only carry a self-defense pistol, so a German flamethrower team consists of 2 to 3 soldiers. One is the flamethrower operator, and the other one or two are observers armed with submachine guns, providing cover for the operator.

As a close-combat weapon, the use of flamethrowers on the battlefield of World War II was not fundamentally different from World War I, mainly used for attacking buildings, bunkers, and fortifications, as well as clearing out remaining enemies. The only difference was that during World War II, German infantry flamethrowers were often used as close-range anti-armor weapons. The flames from the flamethrower could not burn through the armor of most tanks, especially the later Soviet tanks, but the fluid flame jet from the flamethrower could enter the interior of the armored target through some openings on the surface, such as the top cover of the tank's engine compartment, igniting its fuel or ammunition, thereby disabling or completely destroying the armored target. Combat reports showed that flamethrowers had a significant destructive effect on vehicles with gasoline engines and the American M-4 tanks, but limited effect on Soviet tanks with diesel engines.

In addition, there were MG3 machine guns, stockless SVDs, MP40 submachine guns, 40mm grenade launchers, paratrooper knives, grenades, Panzerfaust rockets, anti-tank mines, and other weapons. (Heavy equipment like machine guns, Panzerfäuste, and anti-tank mines needed to be dropped in weapon boxes.)

Other equipment included multifunctional engineer shovels, binoculars, windproof glasses, compasses, gas masks, waterproof matches, smoke grenades, maps, radios, walkie-talkies, water bottles, lighters, dry food packs, ammunition packs, medical packs, and more, densely covering the entire table, making Wilhelm couldn't help but exclaim at the sheer amount of things to carry.

...

For this reason, when the German paratroopers boarded the plane today, the combined weight of their weapons, ammunition, dry food, medical supplies, main parachute, and reserve parachute was so heavy that a soldier could not even stand up on his own, only leaning against the backpack in a reclining position, waiting to jump over the target area, and only after throwing everything away did they feel relieved.

Then there's the most important piece of equipment, the parachute. The parachutes of German and American airborne troops during World War II were different; the American parachutes were evenly stressed on the back, while the German ones were stressed on the shoulder blades.

This was one of the reasons why the German army had to carry weapons in weapon boxes, while the American army could carry leg bags.

Wilhelm picked up the helmet beside him and put it on.

Germany's industrial manufacturing level is world-renowned. The M35 helmet not only stood out in terms of protective performance but also provided excellent protection for the back of the soldier's head and both sides. This was a very innovative creation at the time. Many countries' armies basically followed the design of the German helmet from World War II, such as the American soldiers often seen on television, where the ear protection part of the helmet is clearly visible.

All countries' combat helmets included the helmet shell and the lining system. The Allied forces produced helmets of a uniform size during World War II, using different linings to fit the wearer's head size. This "one size fits all" approach was a straightforward solution that simplified the production of helmets during the war. In contrast, German helmet production was much more complex.

German factories produced at least six different sizes of helmets. Depending on the size of the helmet, each could use two different sizes of lining systems. This led to a complex production process, as factories had to use various shell stamping molds to produce helmets, and they had to produce multiple sizes of lining systems. Depending on the diameter of the helmet, each helmet could only be fitted with one of the two sizes of lining systems, and once the lining system was installed, it was difficult to remove in the field, so one had to use a lining system for a long time.

Wilhelm didn't know why the Germans made helmet production so complicated and seemingly pointless. It might be due to the German tradition of valuing the neat and uniform appearance of each soldier. The many sizes of helmets could be seen as the armed forces' desire to maintain the tradition of German unity with every German soldier wearing a neat uniform.

Obviously, such complex helmet production caused great problems for the supply of front-line troops. Wilhelm simply canceled this seemingly foolish practice and directly adopted the Allied production method.

As for the paratroopers' combat uniform, it was a blue-gray camouflage jacket. The effect of this blue camouflage was to blur the aim of the naked eye during the process from air to ground, reducing casualties during the airborne process. Generally, aiming from the ground into the air, the enemy's naked eye would be stimulated by the sunlight in the sky, making observation possible but aiming very difficult. With the help of the camouflage blue, the flickering sunlight on the camouflage blue made it even more difficult for ground machine gunners to aim at airborne troops in the air.

Once the paratroopers reached the ground, their camouflage blue was not a bright blue but a gray-blue close to the color of rocks...

Rolling on the ground and getting covered in dust, their camouflage effect was better than the usual jungle color. Of course, the specific drop location had to be considered. But most battlefields are environments interwoven with broken stones, gravel, wild grass, and other scenery (open areas generally need camouflage to help disguise). Even in the jungle, it's easier to camouflage on the spot using leaves and grass from the scene, which is more important than the color of the clothes themselves (besides, the jungle is not open, so it's easier to camouflage).

Finally, the paratrooper boots were the American M1943 combat boots.

Because when the American paratroopers began to be equipped, the paratrooper boots took inspiration from the features of other countries' paratrooper boots, including those used by German paratroopers, who were ahead of the American forces and had already been deployed in combat in Europe. The American paratrooper boots were finalized in August 1942 and were replaced by the new M1943 combat boots in the summer of 1944.