Pionier-Versuchskompagnie photo

[Thomas W]

Unbelievably rare photo I got on eBay--and I was the only bidder! Weird, but I'm very grateful. The Pionier-Versuchskompagnie was the de facto 5th Company of the Garde-Pionier-Bataillon. It tested and perfected new weapons, including flamethrowers from 1907-1912. Although the unit's records were destroyed in World War II, I heard from the grandson of a former member that the company fought high-risk, clandestine combat missions during the war, being the first to try new weapons. Looking at these guys, I can believe it. They look like pretty tough customers. They also have posies in their button holes, indicating they're about to leave for the front.

Edited September 18, 2009 by Thomas W

[Thomas W]

Here is the elusive "V" on the shoulder strap:

[Thomas W]

And, best of all, a unit stamp!

[Robin Lumsden]

Unbelievably rare photo I got on eBay--and I was the only bidder!

/quote]

Well done! Another eBay success.

[Sergeant 08]

Unbelievably rare photo I got on eBay--and I was the only bidder!

That is the reason, why auctions are interesting! A chance to get unique items! Congratulations!

Edited September 18, 2009 by Sergeant 08

[Ulsterman]

nice one! Wait till Bob Lempke sees that!

[bob lembke]

nice one! Wait till Bob Lempke sees that!

Very nice photo. Quite an interesting and important unit. I also have come across mention of the unit going to France and being inserted in fighting, although the instance that I saw was not overly exotic combat, if memory serves. The Pioniere generally conducted field-testing of weapons, even those belonging to other established branches. A good example is the origins of Sturm=Bataillon Nr. 5 (Rohr) , when an Abteilung Caslow of Pioniere was formed to field-test a new Krupp 37mm infantry gun. As Rohr evolved they always had a battery of such guns, eventually trying out four or five different different types of gun. (One of the ones they really favored was a Russian 76.2 mm rampart gun, which must have been captured in large numbers at the several great forts captured in Russian Poland in 1914-15, reworked somewhat, for example with better German sights.) My father fought with Rohr several times, and the most vivid thing he told me about the unit was the efficiency and effectiveness of their infantry gun battery, which he said could knock out a MG nest in seconds.

Bob Lembke

[Ulsterman]

"seconds"??

One would be hard pressed to do that today even using modern sites.

[bob lembke]

"seconds"??

One would be hard pressed to do that today even using modern sites.

My father described it in a bit of detail, but I will wait till I publish it to state his words. But he was very, very impressed. He described success in less than a minute, maybe 30 seconds. (Obviously not all the time. But the concept of the "infantry gun" or "accompaning battery" became more and more important in the German Army as the war went on, and often had remarkable success.) He loved fighting with Rohr, due to their professionalism. He had a low and probably unfair opinion of most German infantry, as he found them unreliable, and gave me explicit example incidents. But to some degree that opinion is reflected in the history of the flame regiment; they generally preferred to do a job themselves, if possible.

Bob

[Thomas W]

Very rare photo of the Pionier-Versuchskompagnie operating one of Richard Fiedler's first flamethrowers in 1908. It was a large device with the lance mounted on a tripod. This image is from a Russian history of flamethrowers, published in the 1930's.

Edited September 20, 2009 by Thomas W

[Thomas W]

Here's an improved version of the flamethrower used by the Pionier-Versuchskompagnie in the last photo. This is from German Patent No. 256286, filed by Richard Fiedler on July 18, 1909. Both lances (e and l) fired streams of oil, but only the top stream was ignited. It, in turn, ignited the stream from the larger lance. The oil tanks (u) and (x) were placed in a fortified shelter. This model flamethrower was not adopted.

This flamethrower was operated by a four-man squad. It had oil reservoirs 1.6m long by 1m in diameter and a hose 20m long. Empty weight was 500kg; full was 1200kg. Fiedler said that a hose up to 200m long could be used without affecting the pressure of the oil stream. Operating pressure was 6-8 atmospheres. The propellant was carbon dioxide produced by liquid carbonic acid in the two propellant bottles. In operation the tripod supporting the lance was fitted with a steel heat shield with viewing slits cut into it. These were covered with clear mica.

Edited September 20, 2009 by Thomas W

[joerookery]

What a nice find congratulations!