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The Wechselapparat 1917 (exchange device in English), or Wex 1917 for short, is a German flamethrower.

History[]

Created to replace the older Kleif, the Wex was used to great effectiveness in World War I, with most being used by the German Freikorps. After the war ended, the Germans were supposed to destroy all of their flamethrowers, but some ended up being used by the Finns during the 1920s. About 21 odd years after the war ended, the Wex was developed into the FmW 40.

Design Details[]

The Wex was one of the first flamethrowers created, and one of the first to be used in service. The Wex had an eye-catching lifebuoy-shaped fuel tank with a compressed air tank sitting in the middle; the lifebuoy-shaped tank would later be copied by the British for their No.2 flamethrower. This tank held 12 litres (3.2 US gallons) of fire oil. The Wex's wand could fire up to 100 metres (330 feet; 110 yards), though normally it would fire off ten flame surges up to 30 metres (98 feet; 33 yards).

References[]

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