HAFLA-36L Flame Launcher

The Handflammpatrone DM34 Cartridge Launcher model HAFLA-35L ("hand-held flame-cartridge") is a single-shot, disposable incendiary weapon issued to the German Armed Forces from 1976 to 2001. An earlier version HAFLA-35 had been in service from 1965.

The weapon consists of three compressed sections of incendiary red phosphorus contained in a projectile with a time fuse and bursting / scattering charge. The cartridge is held in an aluminium launch tube, externally reinforced with pasteboard. A pivotal handgrip with safety button, a primer and initial propelling charge are at one end of this tube, the other end with the cartridge being sealed with a plastic cover, making a watertight unit. The firing mechanism is locked until the safety button is pressed and the handle unfolded, an act that exposes the trigger and releases a safety mechanism. When the trigger is pulled the primer ignites the initial propelling charge, setting the red phosphorus round in motion. Immediately a second propelling charge at the back of the cartridge accelerates the round out of the tube and also sets fire to a delay fuse. The round would either shatter on hard contact by kinetic energy alone after travelling 8 m spreading the incendiary content 5 to 8 meters (in this case scattering charge does not explode), or if fired into the air over enemy dispositions, the cartridge would be burst by a scattering charge after 1.3 seconds of flight, the scattering charge being ignited by the timed fuse. (this represents forward travel of 70-80 m). The heat of the bursting charge and friction through the air changes the red phosphorus to white phosphorus which then self ignites as it spreads. When burst in flight the fuel spreads across an area approximately 10 m wide and 15 m long and burns at 1,300 °C. The incendiary charge will burn for two minutes.

The HAFLA-36L is a flame weapon. As such, its attacks ignore armor, and the targets must roll to see if they catch fire. However, raises on the attacker's Shooting roll have no additional effect - targets are flamed or not.