This historic film about Operation Fougasse shows one of England’s most secret WWII anti-invasion weapons — a flame fougasse that used an explosive charge to create a gigantic wall of flame along the British coast. The flame fougasse was developed by the Petroleum Warfare Department in Britain as an anti-tank weapon during the invasion crisis of 1940. During that period, about 50,000 flame fougasse barrels were deployed in some 7,000 batteries, mostly in southern England and a little later at 2,000 sites in Scotland. Although never used in Britain, the design was later used in Greece.
Following the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940, Britain faced a critical shortage of weapons. In particular, there was a severe scarcity of anti-tank weapons, many of which had to be left behind in France. Nevertheless, one of the few resources not in short supply was petroleum oil since supplies intended for Europe were filling British storage facilities. Maurice Hankey then a cabinet minister without portfolio, joined the Ministerial Committee on Civil Defence (CDC) chaired by Sir John Anderson, the Secretary of State for the Home Office and Home Security. Among many ideas, Hankey “brought out of his stable a hobby horse which he had ridden very hard in the 1914-18 war – namely the use of burning oil for defensive purposes.” On 5 June, Churchill authorised Geoffrey Lloyd, the Secretary for Petroleum to press ahead with experiments with Hankey taking the matter under his general supervision. To this end, the Petroleum Warfare Department (PWD) was created and it was made responsible for developing weapons and tactics. Sir Donald Banks was put in charge of the department.
The PWD soon received the assistance of William Howard Livens. Livens was well known for his First World War invention: the “Livens Gas And Oil Bomb Projector”, known more simply as the Livens Projector. The Livens Projector was a large, simple mortar that could throw a projectile containing about 30 pounds (14 kg) of explosives, incendiary oil or, most commonly, poisonous phosgene gas. One of Livens’ PWD demonstrations, probably first seen about mid-July at Dumpton Gap,[nb 1] was particularly promising. A barrel of oil was blown up on the beach; Lloyd was said to have been particularly impressed when he observed a party of high-ranking officers witnessing a test from the top of a cliff making “an instantaneous and precipitate movement to the rear”.
The experiments led to a particularly promising arrangement: a forty-gallon steel drum[ buried in an earthen bank with just the round front end exposed. At the back of the drum was an explosive which when triggered ruptures the drum and shoots a jet of flame about 10 feet (3.0 m) wide and 30 yards (27 m) long. The design was reminiscent of a weapon dating from late medieval times called a fougasse: a hollow in which was placed a barrel of gunpowder covered by rocks, the explosives to be detonated by a fuse at an opportune moment. Livens’ new weapon was duly dubbed the flame fougasse. The flame fougasse was demonstrated to Clement Attlee, Maurice Hankey and General Liardet on 20 July 1940.
Experiments with the flame fougasse continued apace and it rapidly evolved. The fuel mixture was at first 40% petrol and 60% gas-oil, a mixture calculated to be useless as a vehicle fuel.
In all some 50,000 flame fougasse barrels were distributed of which the great majority were installed in 7,000 batteries, mostly in southern England and a little later at 2,000 sites in Scotland. Some barrels were held in reserve while others were deployed at storage sites to destroy petrol depots at short notice. The size of a battery varied from just one drum to as many as fourteen; a four barrel battery was the most common installation and the recommended minimum. Where possible, half the barrels in a battery were to contain the 40/60 mixture and half the sticky 5B mixture.
A battery would be placed at a location such as a corner, steep incline or roadblock where vehicles would be obliged to slow.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
