The LPO-50 (Legkiy Pyekhotnyy Ognemet (Легкий Пехотный Огнемет), "Light Infantry Flamethrower") is a Soviet flamethrower.
Developed in 1953 to replace the ROKS-2/3 flamethrowers used during World War Two,[1] it was kept in the inventory well into the 1980s. This model was designed as a lightweight, manpack flamethrower with three upright cylinders and a bipod-mounted flame gun.[2] It differed from Western flamethrowers in that it used special ignition cartridges to expel the thickened fuel mixture rather than an inert gas. During the 1960s, the weapon was manufactured by the People's Republic of China, which would later be developed into the Type 74 in the 1970s. It was replaced in Soviet service by the RPO "Rys" and RPO-A Shmel incendiary rocket launchers in the 1980s.
The LPO saw service in the Vietnam War. Viet Cong forces were reported to have used the flamethrower at the 1967 Đắk Sơn massacre. At least one was used in an attack on the USMC base at Con Thien (also in 1967),[3] and there were several captured ones on display in Saigon in 1972.[4]
The United States Congress in 2011 cites an Irish Times article, reporting that the Irish Republican Army had an estimated 6 units of this model of flamethrower (prior to 2001).[5] A LPO-50 was used in an attack on a British army checkpoint in 1989.
The Type 74 is a variant of the LPO-50 used by the People's Republic of China. The flamethrower is still currently in-use by the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, making China the last remaining major military where the conventional flamethrower is still in-service.
Developed by NORINCO in the early 1970s.[6] Despite looking superficially similar to the LPO-50, there are major differences for the Type 74. The main difference being the fact that the Type 74 only possess two fuel canisters to the LPO-50's three, with the canister's volume being slightly increased to compensate for the loss of the third.[6] The reduction of canisters lead to a reduced weight from 23 to 20 kg, but it also lead to a reduction from 3 to 2 uses before having to reload.[6] Nevertheless, China claims that the Type 74 has technical improvements that offset the ammunition supply, with the main reason being its effectiveness against bunkers said to be doubled. Or, in other words, the Type 74 has a stronger ignition cartridge allowing for more fuel to be expelled in less time.[6] This results in significant recoil, requiring the Type 74 to be used in the prone position.[6] As the Type 74 now has two canisters, consequently, the number of ignition charges is also reduced to two.[6]
The Type 74 was used in conflicts as recently as 2015 during the height of the Xinjiang conflict.[7] According to reports from the People's Liberation Army Daily, special forces, likely from the People's Armed Police, tracked down ETIM militants to a nearby cave.[7] Officers initially used non-lethal tear gas and stun grenades to flush them out.[7] When that failed, they opted for a Type 74 flamethrower, which succeeded. The resulting militants were then shot.[7]
