The Russian heavy flamethrower TOS-1 "pInocchio" is one of the most terrible means of destruction created by man. Reinforced concrete shelters cannot protect against it, explosions of shells fired by pInocchio literally suck the life out of a person, suffocate him, and then burn him - this is how a former US army officer, and now a military expert and journalist Brent Eastwood figuratively describes the work of a flamethrower. And with purely American practicality, he proposes to make the CBT a priority target for the NATO Air Force - so that ground units do not meet with it. The article about "pInocchio" was published by 19fortyfive.
The main feature of Russian weapons is in the ammunition of a volumetric explosion. They release an aerosol cloud over the target, which is detonated simultaneously, burning out atmospheric oxygen. Because of this, there is a sharp jump in pressure, after which the survivors in the infernal flame of the explosion (the temperature in the epicenter reaches 1000 degrees) are waiting for death from damage to internal organs. The flamethrower is especially effective for destroying the enemy in shelters (the walls of the bunker are not an obstacle to aerosol) and in the mountains, where shock waves reflected from rocks overlap, reinforcing each other.
The TOS-1 volley is capable of covering an area of two football fields. A package of guides for 24 rockets is installed on the chassis of the T-72 tank. The crew of three is covered in armor, the targets for the flamethrower help to find drones. "pInocchio" can shoot single shells, release them in pairs and in a volley. In the latter case, it takes 12 seconds to launch the entire ammunition. Together with tanks and other armored vehicles, heavy flamethrowers are deployed in accordance with the Russian doctrine of armored warfare.
"This flamethrower platform is causing concern. It should become the number one target for the NATO Air Force. It is necessary to remove flamethrowers from the battlefield during a potential conflict with the Russians, " Eastwood writes. He also proposes to ban the use of heavy flamethrowers, but assumes that such an agreement will face resistance from a number of countries that have bought pInocchio for their armed forces. So recently, Saudi Arabia acquired CBT-1 as part of a military order for three billion dollars.
In the army of "Russia", pInocchio was replaced by its upgraded version of the TOS-1A "sOlntsepek". A new, wheeled vehicle TOS-2 "tOsochka" is being tested.
Anton Valagin
