This article is about the mortar-like weapon. For the large flamethrower, see Livens Large Gallery Flame Projectors.
Livens Projector
British soldiers loading and fitting electrical leads to a battery of Livens projectors
Type
Mortar
Place of origin
United Kingdom
Service history
In service
1916–1918
Used by
British Empire United States
Wars
World War I
Production history
Designer
Captain William Howard Livens, Royal Engineers
Designed
1916
No. built
140,000 projectors 400,000 bombs[1][2][3]
Specifications
Shell
Gas drum
Calibre
8 inches (200 mm)
Elevation
fixed
Traverse
fixed
Maximum firing range
1,640 yd (1,500 m)
Filling
phosgene,[4] flammable oil
Filling weight
30 lb (14 kg)[5]
Detonation mechanism
Impact
The Livens Projector was a simple mortar-like weapon that could throw large drums filled with flammable or toxic chemicals.[6]
In the First World War, the Livens Projector became the standard means of delivering gas attacks by the British Army and it remained in its arsenal until the early years of the Second World War.[7]
^Jones (2007) p. 43
^National Archive, T 173/330 – Royal Commission on awards to inventors – Livens
^Ministry of Munitions History 1922, p. 100
^"The military policy laid down in May, 1917... It [C.G. i.e. phosgene] was the only lethal substance allocated to projector drums". Ministry of Munitions 1922, Volume XI, Part II Chemical Warfare Supplies. p. 8
^Jones (2007) p. 42
^"1916 – Other Corps activities". Corps History – Part 14. Royal Engineers Museum. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
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burning taper. Similarly, the carcass projectile found new use in the LivensProjector, a primitive mortar that could throw a large canister of inflammable...
catching the enemy by surprise. Both Livens and Newton experimented with field-expedient versions of the Livensprojector using commercially available five-gallon...
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