Flaming Onions

Breguet · 13 September 2005, 09:13 PM

No, this is not a culinary question! Can anyone point me in the direction of a thread on this anti-aircraft weapon - I presume we have had one. If not what is known about this oft taked about weapon? I have attached a picture which I'm told is of the weapon itself. Anyone know if this is accurate?

Cigogne · 13 September 2005, 09:48 PM

Yes, that is the very weapon. There are other similar types as well. In Over The Front Winter 2002 issue there is an article by Messrs. Rammjaeger and Söderbaum, who frequent this site, on the German Flak units which goes over in great detail, both photographically and textually on the equipment, units, etc. Lots of photos of the cannon, and flak types of guns and also different mountings, trailers, and trucks on which they were mounted. A modellers delight for good resource material.

Pips · 19 August 2006, 05:05 PM

I would have posted these questions on the main thread on this subject ie Flaming Onions...

but the thread is closed for some reason. So I'll ask here.

Just how widespread were these weapons and were they used throughout the War? And did the shell explode or just phizz by until it ran out of puff and fell back to earth? (which would make it damn dangerous for anyone underneath it!)

TomVrille · 20 August 2006, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cobby

Just how widespread were these weapons and were they used throughout the War? And did the shell explode or just phizz by until it ran out of puff and fell back to earth?

I'm just guessing, but I suspect that flaming onions were fairly common on the Western Front. Virtually all the allied flyers on the Western Front who wrote their memoirs mention the onions, and the fact that they were duly impressed by the sight of them. I do not recall any mention of the onions on other fronts.

Of all the descriptions of the onions that I have read, I believe the most graphic was in In the Teeth of the Wind by Squadron Leader C P O Bartlett. His impressions were:

"A truly wonderful fireworks display attended us on our night stunts, the long chains of vivid jade-green balls which streaked up, invariably reaching one's height before falling away and dying out, were a magnificent sight providing they didn't come too near. They must have been in the nature of a range-finder as they always seemed to come to, or slightly above one's level, at whatever height, before fading out, and were immediately followed by HE bursts pretty well on target. We called them 'Flaming Onions' and at first imagined that they were connected by a wire which would entangle one's propeller; but of course they were not, their regular spacing, like a glorious jade-green necklace being due to some sort of machine mortar from which they were fired."