The Modello 35 held a fuel reserve of 29 liters which allowed for up to 30 one-second bursts of fire or a continuous burst running 20 seconds. Maximum listed range was out to 27 feet though this was variable and influenced by environmental conditions to an extent. The flame stream could be directed at a line-of-side target/target area or arched onto embedded enemy units under cover. The fluid nature of the flame composition meant that the spreading spray had a disastrous effect against enemy forces holed up in fortified structures such as pillboxes. Wooden structures could be taken over in minutes under fire.
Flamethrowers held their value is flushing out determined foes. As such, they were used as both a physical tool to maim and kill and as a terrible psychological weapon. This proved the norm in the American advance across the Pacific against the fanatical Japanese. For the Italians, their flamethrower was in play during the Second Italian-Abyssinian War (1935-1941) where the systems were used on a wide scale. By 1940, some 1,500 units were in circulation as the standard Italian Army flamethrower. Units were sold to the Finnish Army in their war against the Soviets while Italian units along the Eastern Front also fielded the weapon against Soviet forces. Italian flamethrowers were also shipped to North Africa for the Italian involvement there.
In 1940, there appeared a slightly reworked version of the Modello 1935 utilizing a more reliable electrical ignition system. These were aptly designated as "Modello 1940".
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