ROkS Soviet Flamethrower
ROCS 2, ROCS-3 – Soviet infantry backpack flamethrowers from World War II. They were a close range weapon designed to suppress enemy firing points (bunkers, pillboxes), fight tanks and armored vehicles, defeat infantry in trenches and communication passages, set fire to buildings.
The first model of the ROKS-1 knapsack flamethrower was developed in the USSR in the early 1930s.
At the beginning of World War II, the rifle regiments of the Red Army had flamethrower teams in two squads, armed with 20 ROKS-2 knapsack flamethrowers.
Based on the experience of using these flamethrowers at the beginning of 1942 the designer Research Institute of Chemical Engineering and MP Sergeyev and designer of military factory number 846 VN Kluyev was developed more perfect backpack flamethrower ROKS-3, consisting armed individual companies and battalions backpack flamethrowers Red Army throughout the war.
The ROKS-3 knapsack flamethrowers were in service with the Soviet Army until the early 1950s, after which they were replaced by the more advanced LPO-50 light infantry flamethrowers.
Flamethrower device
The main parts of ROKS-3 are:
- fire mixture tank
- compressed air cylinder with reducer
- hose
- a gun or pistol for flamethrowing
- equipment for carrying a flamethrower
- set of accessories for maintenance of the flamethrower
Operating principle
ROKS-3 can use various fire mixtures: diesel fuel, crude oil (in the warm season), mixtures of fuel oil with gasoline and kerosene, mixtures of creosote with green oil and gasoline. To ignite the fire mixture, ignition cartridges are used, equipped in the sleeves of a TT pistol.
During flamethrowing, compressed air from the cylinder (up to 150 atm) passes through the reducer, reduces the pressure to the working pressure (15-17 atm) and enters the tank. When the trigger of the gun (pistol) is pressed, the valve opens, and the fire mixture is thrown towards the target under the action of air pressure through the hose and the gun (pistol). At the same time, the cartridge primer is broken, igniting the fire mixture.
The design feature of the ROKS-3 allows for flamethrowing with both short and prolonged shots.
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