Livens Projector 3526857 211402927 2008-05-10T04:31:18Z Rcbutcher 579140 /* Combat Use */ {{Infobox Weapon |name=Livens Projector |image=[[Image:Livens gas projector loading.jpg|300px|]] |caption=[[United Kingdom|British]] soldiers loading and fitting electrical leads to a [[artillery battery|battery]] of Livens projectors |origin={{flagcountry|United Kingdom}} |type=[[Mortar (weapon)|Mortar]] <!-- Type selection --> |is_ranged=yes |is_explosive=yes |is_artillery=yes |is_UK=yes <!-- Service history --> |service=1916-1918 |used_by=[[British Empire]] |wars=[[World War I]] <!-- Production history --> |designer=Captain William H. Livens, Royal Engineers |design_date=1916 |manufacturer= |unit_cost= |production_date= |number=140,000 projectors, 400,000 bombs<ref>Jones 2007, page 43</ref><ref>[[The National Archives (UK)|National Archive]], T 173/330 - Royal Commission on awards to inventors - Livens</ref> |variants= <!-- General specifications --> |spec_label= |weight= |length= |part_length= |width= |height= |diameter= |crew= <!-- Ranged weapon specifications --> |cartridge= Gas drum |caliber=8 inch |barrels= |action= |rate= |velocity= |range= |max_range=1500 [[Meters|m]] (1.5 [[km]]) |feed= |sights= <!-- Artillery specifications --> |breech= |recoil= |carriage= |elevation=45° |traverse=0° <!-- Explosive specifications --> |filling=[[Chlorine]], [[Phosgene]], [[Flammable|Flammable oil]] |filling_weight=30 lb<ref name=Jones2007Page42>Jones 2007, page 42</ref> |detonation=Impact |yield= }} The '''Livens Projector''' was a type of [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] that was used by the Allies in [[World War I]] for [[chemical warfare]]. ==History== It was created by the [[United Kingdom|British]] army officer [[William Howard Livens|Captain William H. Livens]] of the [[Royal Engineers]].<ref>Palazzo, 2002, p103.</ref> Later, in [[World War II]] he worked on petroleum warfare weapons such as the [[Fougasse (weapon)#Flame|flame fougasse]] and various other flame throwing weapons.<ref>LeFebure, 1926, p60</ref><ref>Banks, 1946, p33</ref> Prior to the invention of the Livens Projector, chemical weapons had been delivered either by "cloud attacks" or chemical-filled shells fired from howitzers. Cloud attacks were made by burying gas filled cylinder tanks just beyond the parapet of the attacker's trenches, and then opening valves on the tanks when the wind was right. This allowed a significant amount of gas to be released, but there was a significant danger that the wind would change and the gas would drift back over the attacker's own troops. Chemical shells were much easier to direct at the enemy, but could not deliver nearly as much gas as could be contained in a cylinder tank. It was first employed at the [[Battle of the Somme]]<ref>LeFebure, 1926, p60</ref> and remained in the arsenal of the British army until the early years of the [[Second World War]].<ref>The Use Of Gas In The Field, 1940</ref> ==Combat Use== [[Image:LivensProjectorDiagramWWI.jpg|thumb|left|<center>Typical layout</center>]] [[Image:LivensPhosgeneTank.jpg|thumb|left|<center>[[Phosgene]] bomb unearthed on the Somme, 2006</center>]] The Livens Projector was designed to combine the advantages of both gas cylinders and shells by firing an actual cylinder tank at the enemy.<ref>LeFebure, 1926, p48-63</ref> The Livens Projector was a simple 8 inch metal pipe that was set in a ground at a 45 degree angle. A drum 7.6 inches in diameter and 20 inches long containing 30 lb (13.61 kg) of gas<ref name=Jones2007Page42>Jones 2007, Page 42</ref> was shot out with an electrically initiated charge, with a range of about 1500 meters. On impact with the target, a burster charge would disperse the chemical filling over the area.<ref>United State Dept. of War, 1942</ref> It was also used to project [[flammable]] oil, as with 1,500 drums before the [[Battle of Messines]] in June 1917.<ref> Jones 2007, page 44</ref> Oil was also tried on [[20 September]] [[1917]] during the [[Third Battle of Ypres#Battle of Menin Road|Battle of Menin Road]] with 290 projectors in an attempt to capture Eagle Trench east of Langemarck, which included concrete bunkers and machine-gun nests, but the drums did not land in the trenches and hence failed to suppress the German defenders there.<ref>Farndale 1986, page 207. British Official History (Military Operations France & Belgium 1917), page 270</ref> It was a cheap, simple and extremely effective method of delivering chemical weapons. Typically, hundreds (or even thousands) of Livens projectors would be fired in unison during an attack in order to saturate the enemy lines with poison gas. A British training manual of 1940 summarised thus: :"The projector is a simple weapon which does not aspire to great accuracy. Its range is limited to about 1,800 yards; the noise of firing is very loud, and at night is accompanied by a vivid flash.</b> :Projectors are the principal armament of C.W. companies, RE."<ref>The Use Of Gas In The Field, 1940</ref> ==See also== {{Commons|Category:Livens Projector}} *[[Poison gas in World War I]] *[[List of artillery#Mortars]] ==Surviving examples== *Several barrels with bases are displayed at [[Sanctuary Wood Museum Hill 62|Sanctuary Wood Museum Hill 62 Zillebeke, Belgium]]<br>Bernard Plumier : [http://canonspgmww1guns.canalblog.com/archives/03__lance_mines_allies__allied_mine_throwers_/p30-0.html Link to his web page which has details and photograph] [http://canonspgmww1guns.canalblog.com/images/livens.jpg Direct link to photograph] ==Notes== {{Reflist|2}} ==References== *Banks, Sir Donald. ''Flame Over Britain.'' Sampson Low, Marston and Co, 1946. *LeFebure, Victor. [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1272 ''The Riddle of the Rhine; chemical strategy in peace and war.'' The Chemical Foundation, Inc, 1923] *General Sir Martin Farndale, [http://www.naval-military-press.com/FMPro?-db=nmp%5fproducts.fp5&-format=nmpweb%2fdetail.htm&-lay=cgi&-sortfield=date&Co=NMP&search=History%20of%20the%20Royal%20Regiment%20of%20Artillery.%20Western%20Front%201914-18&-max=20&-recid=35933&-token.0=3668698&-find= History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Western Front 1914-18. London: Royal Artillery Institution, 1986] *Simon Jones, [http://www.ospreypublishing.com/title_detail.php/title=T1516 World War I Gas Warfare Tactics and Equipment. Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2007] *Palazzo, Albert. ''Seeking Victory on the Western Front: The British Army and Chemical Warfare in World War I.'' University of Nebraska Press, 2002 ISBN 0-8032-8774-7. *United States Department of War. (1942) ''Livens Projector M1'' TM 3-325 *''Operations: Military Training Pamphlet No. 23. Part V - The Use Of Gas In The Field'' (January 1940) The War Office. ==External links== *[http://www.vectorsite.net/twgas.html Worldscapes : Chemical & Biological Warfare] *[http://www.remuseum.org.uk/corpshistory/rem_corps_part14.htm Royal Engineers Museum, First World War - Livens Projector] {{GreatWarBritishWeapons}} [[Category:Chemical weapons]] [[Category:World War I mortars]] [[Category:World War I weapons of the United Kingdom]] [[ru:Миномёт Ливенса]]