Summary: Experimental firings of the British Ack Pack portable flamethrower, 1944.
Description: A man, wearing a jacket and tie, is standing in a muddy field in winter holding the Ack Pack flamethrower. He fires off two bursts of flames in a long stream into the air. Each burst lasts for approximately 2 seconds. Cut to a shot now revealing the flame thrower supply container strapped to the operator's back. The feeder pipe from the gun is attached to the base of a ring-shaped cylinder, similar to a lifebuoy, giving the weapon its nickname. In the centre of the ring is a metal globe. A small card marked with the letter A is fixed to a post at the side of the weapon operator. In this shot the man is accompanied by an older civilian. Both bespectacled men look like experimental scientists or scientific technicians. The operator fires off two bursts then examines the gun. There are three more firings. Cut to both men at the edge of the frame, practically out of shot. The card is marked with the letter B. The firings now produce a noticeably shorter and much more "sparky" burst of flame. Cut to both men in shot. The operator is no longer wearing the lifebuoy back-pack. He fires a number of bursts, each a short plume of sparks and smoke. Cut to the same shot with the test sequence card marked with a C. The weapon releases a pathetically short burst of smoke of approximately 300cms. The operator then makes four unsuccessful attempts to get the weapon to fire. Finally, it releases a small burst of flames. The operator looks to the camera and then pumps several times on the trigger grip, but to no avail. Cut to the operator wearing the lifebuoy back pack, the card is marked with a D. He fires several jets of flame which are much more impressive, reaching out of shot, for several metres. The operator then fires three short jets without the 'lifebuoy'. The last sequence of firings is again without the 'lifebuoy', the card is blank. These firings are totally unsuccessful, the jet of sparks and flame reaching no further than 50cms from the weapon's muzzle.
