A tumbleweed tank? A gun that shot tornadoes? Airborne mines?
Here are ten more of the most bizarre weapons of WW2 you’ve never heard of.
#10. The V-3 Cannon
Hitler liked few things more than shock and awe, and what would be more shocking and awesome than
a gun that fired multiple times? The V-3 cannon was designed to be the most advanced and powerful
cannon in Germany’s arsenal, and it would increase the power of its ammo by hitting it with multiple
extra boosts of propellant. As the projectile passed different points in the long barrel, its
heat would trigger solid-fuel rocket boosters that would increase the projectile’s power. It passed
initial tests, and German designers thought it could be used to bombard London into submission.
And then it all went wrong.
The prototypes seemed promising, and a model was placed in northern France where the projectiles
could span the English channel. But the early tests at the site fell short, funds were running
short, and the project was cut back. Allied bombing raids destroyed much of the site,
and soon the plan was abandoned. However, similar weapons were later used to bombard Luxembourg
in the last year of the war, But as the Nazi war machine came to a crashing halt in 1945,
the ultimate fate of the V-3 cannon was to be a curiosity of strange weaponry.
But it was more intimidating than this next weapon.
#9. The Bob Semple Tank
As World War II raged on, the southern nations of Australia and New Zealand worried that Japan
would invade and overwhelm them. While both were involved in the war, their home-front defenses
were lacking and they had no home-grown fighting vehicles. New Zealand’s Minister of Works,
Bob Semple, wanted to change that. They would have to work with what they had - and
what New Zealand mostly had was hardy old farming vehicles. And so began the greatest
makeover in World War II - can a tractor truly be transformed into a top-of-the-line fighting tank?
Magic eight-ball says...outlook cloudy.
The Bob Semple Tank was built on a standard Caterpillar D8 crawler tractor,
easy to get in New Zealand, and equipped with armor and machine guns. However,
the tank was small and hard to use. One gunner had to be lying down on a mattress to use his gun,
and the tank was armored with corrugated plating rather than full armor. In early tests,
the armor didn’t hold up and the heavy vehicles were hard to maneuver. In the end,
the tanks were scrapped before ever making it to combat - probably for the best. But
they have a strange place in New Zealand’s heart as a symbol of wartime ingenuity.
But some oddball weapons are successes - smashing successes.
#8. Bouncing Bomb
It doesn’t look like much - a large rolling cylinder that resembles an oil drum. In decades
to come, video game players will watch a plumber jump over barrels that look a lot like it. But the
bouncing bomb packed a powerful punch - and may have helped turn the tide of the war for
the allies. When the British Royal Air Force was looking to destroy some key German dams,
they ran into a problem - the dams were protected at the base by anti-torpedo nets,
and damaging the tops wouldn’t destroy them. They needed a new type of bomb.
And British engineer Barnes Wallis delivered.
The bombs, codenamed Upkeep, were designed to be fired at a lower height than typical
bombs and weighed much less than conventional bombs that could destroy the dam. In the famous
Operation Chastise, a team of soldiers known as the Dambusters engaged in a risky mission
to deliver their payload. The bombs would be dropped at just sixty feet, bounce across the
water, and then sink under and explode - cracking the base of the dams and causing massive floods
in the region. It wasn’t even technically a bomb - it functioned more like a massive depth
charge - but it was as effective as the tests showed, although its use was extremely specific.
But not every inventive weapon design works out.
#7. Unrotated Projectile
One of the biggest challenges for the UK in World War 2 was stemming the massive
bombardment coming from Nazi-occupied Europe. That created a lot of unique anti-aircraft
weapons - some more effective than others. The UP projector sounded
great in concept - a rocket system that would launch without being spin-stabilized. Instead,
it would launch a rocket that would release a mine attached to three parachutes. The wires
attached to the parachute would snag the enemy planes, pulling the mine into them.
As soon as the mine hit the enemy - kablam! One less plane that could bombard London.
But what works on paper doesn’t always work in practice.
The system had many flaws. First, it was slow to load and the crews
responsible were often vulnerable to enemy fire while working on it. Second,
it was a low-tech solution in an increasingly high-tech war, and the maneuverable German
planes might be able to dodge the wires. But when Winston Churchill attended a test,
a bigger flaw became clear - if the winds were too strong, the bombs could actually be blown back
onto the ship and blow them up! The dummy rounds caused no real damage, but in war, this could be
a disaster. So the Unrotated Projectile was consigned to the storage locker before long.
But the Allies weren’t the only ones creating bizarre weapons.
#6. Windkanone
Hitler was a fan of big ideas, and there was no bigger idea than the one that his army could
literally harness the forces of nature against the enemy. The Nazis created many large weapons,
but this one with a distinctive upward-pointing spout intended to create a synthetic tornado.
A large pipe would be filled with explosive gas, a turbine would spin it, and it would be
released into the atmosphere through a rotating nozzle. Air would be drawn into the spiral and
create a vortex that could down enemy aircraft as they approach without ever firing a shot.
But if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
The Windkanone did actually work, creating tornadoes that could destroy wooden sheds over
three hundred feet from the gun. But when it came to shooting them up into the air,
it was a different story. The gun only created tornadoes around 900 feet above
the ground - and aircraft on bombing raids are usually high above that level. So the Windkanone
was a scientific breakthrough, but there’s a big difference between that and actually
being a useful weapon in combat. Hey, at least everyone at the test got one heck of a show.
Other weapons of the war were a lot smaller.
#5. The William Tell
The Office of Strategic Services played a key role in winning the war, sending American spies
around the globe. And effective spycraft required stealth - which meant OSS members
wouldn’t be able to carry standard noisy handguns. Many strange weapons were created,
often with mixed results, and one found its origins hundreds of years ago in the Middle
Ages! The William Tell was believed to be the quietest weapon in the OSS arsenal,
and it combined the accuracy of a crossbow with the power of a slingshot,
But how did it handle in combat?
While it worked like a slingshot, it used a rubber harness instead of a traditional
build. That made it a lot more compact and muffled the telltale snap of a slingshot.
It could launch a deadly projectile at close range, but the problem was, arrows rarely kill
silently. The enemy is hit, and even if it’s a fatal blow, the odds are they’re going to
stay conscious long enough to let everyone know they’ve been shot and there’s an enemy
afoot. So the OSS kept looking for the perfect stealth weapons that would help them win the war.
Another attempt was more successful - and stranger.
#4. Sedgley OSS .38
The Sedgley OSS .38 was a simple device. It was a single-shot pistol that was ideal for
covert operations and assassinations. Geared towards the Pacific Theater,
it was meant to make it easier for the assassin to cover their tracks. To cover up an assassination,
hitmen would often wear gloves to keep themselves from being identified. This
cut out the middleman - by attaching the pistol to the back of a simple cowhide glove,
making it a portable weapon that the user could wear and disguise in the sleeve of a long coat.
So how did the glove pistol actually work?
Instead of having a standard trigger, the pistol was armed with a bar extending beyond
the barrel. Triggering it was as simple as loading and cocking the pistol safely,
then making a fist and pressing the trigger next to the target’s body.
One shot is fired and the target is fatally shot - without a gun being anywhere in sight.
The OSS didn’t divulge how many times - if any - this unique weapon was used,
but it’s believed they manufactured as many as two hundred guns for use on top-secret missions.
Other unique WW2 weapons were a lot bigger.
#3. X-Class Submarine.
When you think about submarines, you usually think about massive vessels streaming through
the waters. But during World War II, the British were looking for stealth. That’s where the X-Class
came into play. These miniature submarines were built during the 1940s and needed to
be towed to their target site by a larger submarine. But once they were unleashed,
they could hold a crew and some powerful weapons. They were ideal
for sneaking into target areas while being less visible to German sonar.
But there were a few difficulties with the X-class.
For one thing, to get the crew from the main submarine to the X-class meant they
needed a third vehicle - a dinghy to ferry the crew, during which they would be vulnerable.
The X-Class was also prone to leaking in their early tests, with several ships being lost. The
model was liked by the brass because it made it possible for crews to stay submerged far
longer than other small models, but practical issues derailed it quickly
and the X-Class was ultimately scuttled. The small submarine went to a museum,
but the Royal Navy built on the design and introduced better, hardier models.
But as we head towards #1, things are getting really strange.
#2. Kugelpanzer
Imagine being on the battlefield, and suddenly you see what looks like a giant tumbleweed rolling
towards you. But it’s not a tumbleweed - it’s a spherical rolling tank designed by Nazi Germany,
and it’s going to roll right over you. This is the Kugelpanzer, one of the strangest weapons
ever designed for use in World War II. It’s a one-man vehicle that has thin but durable armor,
two rolling treads attached to the sides, and an eye-slit for the driver to see through.
Only one model was ever found, and was captured by the Soviets in Manchuria.
But even with it in their custody, there were more questions than answers.
The one model found was unfinished, and seems to have never been used in combat. It was designed
to be used as a light reconnaissance vehicle rather than a combat vehicle,
because it had no attached weapons - although some could have been added
later. The unfinished model is now on display at the Kubinka Tank Museum,
and debates continue over what exactly it was supposed to be. The only thing that’s
certain - whatever it was, it wasn’t successful enough for the Nazis to mass-produce it.
But if you think those are strange, get ready to meet the factory of strange.
#1. Hobart’s Funnies
In the latter days of the Second World War, the British army was seeking an edge.
They created a unit to develop new tanks with enhanced features that would make up for the
weaknesses their standard tanks faced during amphibious raids. Some delivered,
while others were more curiosities than anything else. The unit commander, Major General Percy
Hobart, would enter military history for just how strange his pet vehicles were.
How strange?
How about a tank with a curtain of mine flails attached to it?
Or maybe the Double Onion, a tank with a massive metal frame holding demolition charges?
It would be pressed against the wall and blown via a detonating cable after the tank retreated.
Most of these tanks worked - but only for one specific purpose. So after the war,
the British had a collection of the oddest, most unique military vehicles ever created.
And hey, they won the war, so it’s a great conversation piece.
For more in this series, check out the original - “Weirdest World War
2 Weapons You Never Heard Of”, or watch this video instead.