Brief Operational History

The LPO-50 flamethrower was developed sometime around 1953 in an effort to replace the aging ROKS-2 and ROKS-3 flamethrowers used during the Patriotic War. Its design seemed to many in the West to be a step backward in flame weapon design as other armies had abandoned pressure cartridges and ignition charges in favor of compressed nitrogen propellant and a simple pilot light igniter.

Even in the face of such criticism it was quickly adopted by all armies in the Warsaw Pact and in China. The LPO-50 later found service in the Vietnam War (due to the Chinese assisting the North Vietnamese Army). It is believed that some LPO-50 units (no more than a half dozen) have fallen into the hands of the Irish Republican Army over the course of their struggle with the British government. None of these units has ever been documented to have been used.

The LPO-50 was reported to have been used in Afghanistan by the forces of the Soviet Union against the Islamic rebel forces. They were quite good at eliminating enemy troops in built up areas and in the mountainous terrain. Unfortunately, the Afghan War proved to be the undoing of the LPO-50. Its short range and the vulnerability of the user showed the Soviets that they needed a longer ranged flame weapon.

They found this weapon in the form of the RPO and RPO-A 'Shmel' rocket flame throwers which launch incendiary rockets at a target rather than jets of pressurized fuel. The RPO series of weapons has replaced the LPO-50 in Russian service, but it can still be found in use with the Polish, Chinese, and North Korean armies as of 2000.

Tactical Use and Limitations

In combat LPO-50 is used by special teams of combat engineers who work closely with the infantry to eliminate bunkers and other hard targets that stop the advance of the infantry. These are usually two to four man teams who cover the advance of the flamethrower operator while he gets within range of his target. We at Sword of the Motherland have found that the weapon is difficult to conceal when crawling to a position while under fire. The tanks are an extremely easy target for an opponent to hit, and the short engagement range makes the work of the operator highly dangerous.

Method of Operation

The weapon has three tanks, on the top of each of which are a pressure relief valve and a cap for the filling aperture which also contains the chamber for the pressurizing cartridge. Wires from the three containers are combined in a harness which is fastened to the hose and attached to the gun group. Outputs from the three tanks are connected to a manifold, through one-way valves which prevent fuel from flowing from one tank into another and this manifold is connected to the hose.

Ignition is by means of a slow burning pyrotechnic cartridge, three of which are grouped below the muzzle of the flame gun. A selector lever is mounted forward of the trigger-guard on the gun and, when the trigger is pressed, energy is supplied from a power pack of four 1.5v cells (or 1 6v cell, this is open to debate right now) to one of the ignition cartridges and simultaneously to one of the pressurizing cartridges. Pressure from the latter drives fuel from the tank through the appropriate non-return valve into the manifold and then by way of the hose to the flame gun where it is ignited by the pyrotechnic cartridge. The firer can thus fire three shots, changing the selector lever position between shots. The capacity of each tank is 3.3 liters which is sufficient for a flame burst of two to three seconds. A trigger safety is also fitted to the weapon for additional protection against accidental discharge.

Deployment Chronology

Here you can see what weapons the LPO-50 flamethrower replaced and what weapons eventually replaced it.  You can find out more about each weapon by clicking on the links below.