FLAME THROWER IN MEDIUM TANK — SERVICIN

foreign [Music] it's a powerful and effective weapon the mechanized flamethrower but once its fuel is gone it becomes a weapon without its main Armament Flame the tank has lost its tactical value so the big idea then is to get back to a servicing area for refueling and refreshuring the Service Unit that does the trick the units mounted on a two and a half ton truck which has been modified to take care of its job when the units driven from one place to another the tarpon bows are left up to protect the equipment against rain and dust in good weather you carry on without the top starting from scratch it takes about 30 minutes for the unit's three-man crew and the tanks four men to service the mechanized flamethrower for another mission gasoline and thickener are delivered to the servicing area by another truck let's take a quick look at the three main parts of the unit the fuel mixing tank is at the rear it'll mix a maximum batch of 280 gallons of thickened fuel here's the air compressor in four stages it compresses the air to 2100 pounds per square inch and underneath mounted just behind the transmission is the power takeoff which drives compressor pump and mixing tank agitator okay so much for a quick introduction now let's get down to the business of actual Servicing first Park the tank about 10 to 15 feet away from the service unit and facing in the opposite direction then during servicing the hoses will run directly to the charging connections without going across the tank also if you can do it Park the service unit on a rise so any spillage will run out the back for this servicing of the flamethrower we'll make an eight percent mixture by weight six Drums of gas are needed and nine cans of thickener the amount of course will vary according to the thickness desired and the temperature while the gas and thickener are being brought into place the tank crew gets the tank ready for Servicing first a ground stake is driven to get rid of static electricity the cover on the dummy Periscope well to the left of the turret is opened this exposes the fuel charging connections next we go to the main fuel vent line which leads outside the tank alongside the right Hull air ventilator the short overflow hose is connected overflow through this shows when the main fuel containers are full now let's see what's happening on the Service Unit remember most of these operations all take place simultaneously with a minimum of lost motion and time again drive a ground stake to eliminate static electricity if you're the driver of the Service Unit here's what you do first see that the front wheel drive is disengaged and ignition off then engage the equipment power takeoff lever the one farthest on the right sometimes it won't engage right away because of its construction if that happens put the truck in low or reverse release the brake and step on the starter you will then be able to engage the takeoff lever next shift the declutching unit handle don't use Force if it doesn't shift easily use the starter again when you engage the power takeoff you shifted the flow of power from the rear set of wheels to the service equipment the declutching unit handle disengages the drive shaft from this intermediate set of wheels put the gear in neutral and set the handbrake turn on the ignition start the engine shift into fourth gear direct drive pull the hand throttle out all the way raise the holder to keep it there the speedometer should register about 30 miles per hour this corresponds to an engine speed of about 2000 RPM controlled by this governor engine power is transmitted to the service equipment by these six v-belts here the screen guards have been removed these belts turn a pulley in the body of the truck the pulley operates a drive shaft at 900 RPM this shaft drives all the equipment as needed this is the clutch that puts the compressor in action here's the one for the fuel pump up on the mixing tank is the clutch lever for the agitator now we'll see how the mechanized flamethrower is charged with air the high pressure air hose connections are located on the left side of the Service Unit behind the cab of the truck remove the dust caps from both air outlets on the surface unit connect the hoses make sure they're tightened securely check that both bleed valves are closed and that the shutoff valve is open if two hoses are used past the other ends of the hoses to the flamethrower the crew there will make the proper connections on the tank the end of one hose is passed inside the driver connects this to the charging fitting for the main pressure system this connection located above and to the rear of the driver's seat has to be tightened securely the driver now opens the main pressure charging valve at the same time the assistant driver carries on outside he connects the second hose to the auxiliary air charging Connection in the top of the turret inside the tank the flame Gunner checks to see that the auxiliary air shut off valve is closed he then opens the auxiliary air charging valve that completes connections for the air charging before starting the compressor there are a few things to be done the Service Unit Commander closes All Drain valves under the four water knockout drums and the surge tank he closes the drain under the pilot air filter then checks the oil in the crankcase next the pumps on the mechanical lubricator are given five Strokes each the Service Unit Commander checks the lever located in the center of the compressor gauge panel this must be in the stop position the compressor clutch is engaged it's done quickly with a steady pull air blows from the relief valve until the lever is turned to the Run position and that does it the compressor is working the flamethrower is being pressured at the same time the thickened fuel is prepared before pumping gasoline to the mixing tank let the drums rest long enough for any water to settle connect the brass standpipe to the hose open the suction valve from The Filling hose open the discharge valve to the mixing tank see that the other two valves are closed insert the brass suction pipe into the bung of the drum and we're ready to start the pump to do that engage the pump clutch on the counter shaft drive gasoline is now being pumped from the drums to the mixing tank never tilt a drum to empty it completely there's probably water at the bottom when the suction pipe starts to draw air change it to the next drum while the gasoline is being pumped get the thickener ready empty the cans into the special aluminum buckets meanwhile the mixing tank gets the correct amount of gasoline in this case 263 gallons when it reaches that volume stop the pump don't let it run dry close the suction valve from the gasoline hose open the suction valve from the mixing tank Engage The Pump and agitator clutches gasoline will circulate out of the bottom and back into the side of the tank Now's the Time to add the thickener to the gasoline in the mixing tank carry it to the Service Unit the driver of the unit handles the mixing he pours the thickener into the mixing tank as the assistant hands it up the thickener has to be added rapidly while agitation continues the pump recirculates the mix to keep the thickener from settling before you get the proper mix the mixing time depends upon the temperature here it takes only a few minutes you have to know when the right thickness is reached this is too thin so mixing has to continue the right mixture will run freely but it'll be stringy like this when the mixture is okay stop the agitator and the pump don't forget while the fuel is being prepared the flamethrower is being charged with air pressure is still building up and the high pressure gauge on the control panel of the compressor reads 1500 pounds in the flamethrower itself the main air gauge and the auxiliary air gauge read the same pressure keep a close check on the compressor while the outlet pressure builds up watch the gauges on the control panel the gauge for the first stage should read Around 50 pounds the second about 200 and the third about 600. if they're too far off look for trouble check oil temperature and pressure the temperature should be below 180 degrees Fahrenheit the pressure between 20 and 80 pounds the temperature of the discharge air is a check on the cooling system it should be about 20 degrees above the outside temperature never over 140 degrees Fahrenheit now let's see how the thickened fuel is delivered to the flamethrower the main fuel ventcock behind the tank Commander's seat is opened by the Gunner to make sure the system's open for fuel transfer he also opens the main fuel charging at the service unit the driver and his assistant removed the dust caps from hose and fuel connections which in turn are coupled together the hose is then passed up to the driver and assistant driver of the tank to make the connection on the flamethrower this hose connects to the big charging inlet near the middle of the turret well now everything's ready for fuel to be pumped from the Service Unit to the weapon close the discharge valve to the mixing tank open the discharge valve to the servicing hose be sure the suction valve from the mixing tank is open then engage the pump clutch now the fuels being pumped to the flamethrower let's see how the air charging is coming along the high pressure gauge will tell you when charging is complete it should read about 2100 pounds per square inch the gauges in the tank read the same so turn the control lever to stop then check the fourth stage pressure gauge when it drops below 500 pounds disengage the clutch after shutting down the compressor open the drain at the bottom of the pilot air filter to let the water out as soon as the compressor is shut down the driver of the tank closes the main pressure charging valve the plane Gunner shuts off the auxiliary air charging valve when that's done the Service Unit driver has to drain the water from the four water knockout drums and the fourth stage surge tank he should leave the valves open meanwhile the assistant driver of the unit opens the bleed valves this releases the pressure in the air hoses and they're ready to be disconnected in the tank the driver disconnects the main pressure hose at the same time the assistant driver disconnects the other one both hoses are taken from the tank and passed to the Service Unit they're rolled up and put where they'll be ready for the next weapon to be serviced as for fuel you'll be able to tell when the main containers are full when fuel comes out the Overflow hose to minimize danger of fire catch this fuel in a can the driver of the Service Unit stops the pump in the tank the flame Gunner closes the fuel charging he also closes the fuel vent before removing the hose the assistant driver of the unit opens the fuel hose bleed to release the pressure because the hose is full of thick and fuel dust caps must be replaced the hose is then disconnected from the tank the Overflow hose is also removed both hoses are put out of the Tank's way filling the secondary and atomizer fuel containers is also done through Connections in the dummy Periscope well the Gunner makes sure the secondary and atomizer fuel filling are open also he makes sure the secondary and atomizer vent are open use clean gasoline for the secondary fuel it must be free of both water and thickener when the secondary container is full it holds about 15 gallons the fuel will overflow close the petcock in the funnel to prevent any more overflow the atomizer containers filled the same way and the same kind of fuel is used overflow shows the containers filled it holds about two gallons inside the Gunner closes secondary and atomizer fuel ventcocks he also closes the two filling be sure all caps are on vent holes clear and excess gas wiped away once more remember that all the operations go on simultaneously teamwork can get the whole job pressuring and fueling done in just about 30 minutes that includes charging with air mixing the gasoline with the thickener and filling all fuel containers now some points to remember preventative maintenance is all important the service unit is no better than the truck it's mounted on follow the lubrication schedule the governor is important oil it every day check the oil in the compressor before each operation while a flamethrower is being serviced check the oil flow to the third and fourth stage compression cylinders time the flow through the inspection windows two to four drops per minute for the fourth stage and four to six for the Third check the V belts for wear and rigidity these come in matched sets and should be replaced that way see that all clutches engage easily check everything for wear damage or misalignment the compressor fan agitator and the pump if the fuel lines or air valves and lines leak repack repair or replace defective parts keep dust caps in place when the connections aren't being used clean intake filters on the compressor frequently especially when you run into a lot of dust clean them with gasoline shake them off and dip them in light oil before replacing take care of the hoses Stow them when not in use during cold weather operation water circulates from the engine through this water jacket around the mixing tank this is filled here and holds about 13 gallons radiator water reaches 160 degrees or more so a temperature control valve cuts off hot water at about 90 degrees the water circulates through these pipes and is heated in the engine radiator when you want to use this open the two shutoff prior to pumping gasoline a few troubleshooting hints if the fuel hose leaks check the ring in it if it's damaged replace it if the output of the compressor is too low if refreshuring takes too much time air may not be getting in check the air filters and clean them air may be leaking out remove and clean the needle valves in The Knockout drums if you should run across air leaks at joints tighten the joints if the leak is in a pipe shut down and get it repaired if water leaks from shut off in the coolant lines tighten the nut at the rear of the shutoff a water leak here could drain the radiator and burn up the engine sometimes the needles on the pressure gauges will vibrate too much just regulate the amount of air flowing in by adjusting the valves behind the board know your job and do it well remember your mission is to get the flamethrower back into action as soon as possible it's a weapon with a punch but how often it can deliver depends upon your speed and efficiency foreign [Music]