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LPO-50 flamethrower
The LPO-50 (Легкий Пехотный Огнемет, "light infantry flamethrower") is an unusual Soviet infantry flamethrower developed to replace the obsolete WW2-era ROKS-2 and ROKS-3 flamethrowers. It is electrically operated using four 1.5-volt batteries for power, with electrically-detonated compression charges to pressurise the fuel, and electrically-fired pyro igniters at the muzzle: this means that the LPO-50 has three distinct 2-3 second "shots" rather than projecting a constant stream. After all three shots were fired the backpack would need to be refilled or swapped out and the pyro cartridges at the muzzle replaced.
As a result of only being able to fire three times, the LPO-50 is a rare case of a flamethrower with iron sights, with a hooded front and flip-up rear. Like the ROKS flamethrowers, the flame gun is designed to resemble a conventional gun (in the LPO's case a light machine gun, even mounting a totally pointless bipod), with the goal of making it harder for the enemy to identify flamethrower troops.
The fuel was either ordinary diesel or a special thickened mixture to improve range: maximum range is 20 meters (65.6 feet) with diesel and 70 meters (229.7 feet) with thickened diesel.
LPO-50s were exported to many Warsaw Pact nations, and China produces a copy called the Type 74 which is easily distinguished by having two tanks instead of three. The LPO-50 was replaced in Soviet service by the RPO Rys napalm rocket launcher, ancestor of the RPO-A 'Shmel', starting in the mid-70s, with the LPO-50 being withdrawn from service by the 80s.
The LPO-50 flamethrower can be seen in the following films and video games used by the following actors:
Specifications
(1953 – 1980s)
- Type: Flamethrower
- Origin: Soviet Union
- Caliber: 15mm
- Fuel: Diesel or thickened diesel
- Weight: Complete assembly: 32.6 lbs (14.8 kg) empty, 50.7 lbs (23 kg) full. Flame gun alone 7.1 lbs (3.2 kg)
- Length: Flame gun: 38.1 in (96.8 cm)
- Feed System: Three 0.73 gallon (3.3 litre) fuel tanks with pyrotechnic compression cartridges, three muzzle-mounted pyrotechnic igniter charges, also required 4 x 1.5 volt batteries
- Fire Modes: Trigger safe / fire selector and 4-position tank selector with a safe position
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Come and See (Idi i smotri) | SS soldiers | 1985 | ||
| The Beast of War | Soviet soldier | 1988 | ||
| Uprising | SS soldiers | 2001 |
Television
| Show Title | Actor | Character | Note / Episode | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Czterej pancerni i pies | German soldiers | 1966-1970 |
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 | on images promoting Far Cry 2 | 2008 | |
| Far Cry 2 | LPO-50 | In strange no-backpack configuration with one fuel tank attached to the front of the weapon and an additional pressure tank, muzzle igniters shown as a pilot flame type. Incorrectly projects a continuous stream. | 2008 |
| Far Cry 3 | Flamethrower | highly customized, incorrectly projects a continuous stream | 2012 |
| Far Cry 4 | Flamethrower | highly customized, incorrectly projects a continuous stream | 2014 |