Churchill Oke flame-thrower

[Mark W. Tonner]

Someone had asked on a pervious thread about information on the Churchill Oke flame-thrower and their use at Dieppe. Unfortunately, I can't remember who asked the question or on what thread it was on, but this is what I have found regarding the subject.

The concept of the equipment was put forward by a Major Oke (hence, Oke flame-thrower). He suggested that the normal jettison fuel container, fitted to most tanks at this time, would make an ideal reservoir for a flame-thrower instead of the awkward trailer that was being used for this purpose on other tank mounted flame-thrower designs. The jettison fuel container was connected up to a Ronson-type projector and fitted to a Churchill tank where it was operated by a crew member from the hull MG gunner's seat. Thus the Churchill Oke flame-thrower was born.

The Churchill Oke, was developed by the Petroleum Warfare Department very quickly in 1942., so that the idea of a flame-throwing vehicle could be tested under combat conditions on the Dieppe Raid. A complete Ronson flame-throwing system was installed in a Churchill Mk II. The flame fuel container was mounted at the rear, and a pipe passed through the left pannier to project between the front horns (right of the hull MG).

Three of these vehicles took part on the Dieppe Raid, with the result that all three were destroyed before they could get into action.

The range of the Oke flame-thrower was 40 to 50 yards.

The top photo below shows the projector itself to the right of the hull MG, and the bottom photo shows the rear mounted fuel reservoir with the pipe leading from it to the front mounted projector.

So, to whoever it was that asked the question, here is the answer, although a bit brief.

Cheers