Military inventions are considered to be all kinds of developments of military engineers, created to improve and improve certain battle tactics or the performance of a combat mission. Today, many of the most military inventions, such as GPS or the Internet, work for the benefit of civil society.
At the words “war inventionYou might imagine high-tech modern warplanes like the Stealth bomber, or nuclear bombs, ballistic missiles, night vision goggles, and the like. All of these inventions have proven to be very successful.
However, there were also such products of the military mind in history that generally turned out to be inoperative. It doesn't matter which army was going to replenish its arsenal with them - American or Japanese, when they were born, they simply refused to work, period. Perhaps you will be interested in the article TOP-10 countries-contenders for victory in the Third World War.
10. Screw tank
Invented in Russia, the propeller-driven tank was designed to traverse rugged rocky terrain in rugged terrain strewn with obstacles. The mechanism was able to move through the snow and ice fields so common for Russia and seemed to be a very promising novelty. When he found himself on the landscape for which, in fact, he was created, many flaws were revealed.
First of all, due to the too large drive screws, the tank simply could not move normally on the surface prescribed for it. In addition, it turned out to be too heavy, which is why it moved extremely slowly, and during the tests the suspension fell off and the steering went wrong. You might be interested in the article 10 of the most powerful warships in Russia.
9. One-wheeled tank (tank-ball)
Another military invention on our list comes from Germany. The creators of the one-wheeled tank set out to put a single soldier in it, who would operate with two machine guns, protected by the heavy armor of the surrounding steel sphere.
However, the idea did not go beyond the prototype. In real combat conditions, it would hardly be useful. Although the wheel was able to stand upright, this required an impressive counterweight. The steering also threatened to become a big problem, although the tank also had a steering wheel, which the tanker, locked in an iron armored sphere, turned from side to side. This suggests that the ball tank was a rather frivolous invention for its time.
8. Cannon scooter
This military invention originated in the French army, during the Vietnam campaign, when the French simply ran out of money for more serious weapons. They used what was at hand and often improvised while trying to equip their units. This is how a motor scooter appeared with a 75 mm cannon mounted on it.
The device was mainly used by paratroopers in the 50s of the twentieth century. We can say with confidence that this did not last long, since, of course, there was no protection on the scooter, and it turned out to be difficult to maintain balance in combat conditions on it.
7. Focke-Wulf Tribflugel
Once upon a time, a person did not dare to think seriously about going up into the sky himself. However, due to the efforts of ingenious inventors, the state of affairs has changed dramatically.
Let's go back to the relatively recent past. During World War II, Nazi Germany was able to construct a practically workable helicopter. Although the planes were able to lift off the surface, move from point A to point B, and land neatly, the Germans apparently wanted more. For greater efficiency, they equipped their offspring with jet engines.
It soon became clear that Focke-Wulf called "Tribflugel"(That is, the propeller wing) - the machine is useless, as it was incredibly difficult to land it safely due to the rocket motors attached to the ends of the propeller blades.
6. Pakl Gun (Pakla cannon)
Puckle Gun was created by London-based writer and lawyer James Puckle. He himself called his creation a defensive cannon, while in history it went down as Pakl's cannon.
Regardless of what you choose to call it, the weapon hasn't come very far. Designed to repel the enemies of Christians, and later destined for a war against the Muslim Turks, Pakl Gan never did his job.
The design was a single-barrel shotgun with a flintlock in combination with a multiply rotating cylindrical magazine. All this economy was installed on a high tripod and was capable of 63 shots in 7 minutes. While the standard rate of fire for an ordinary soldier's musket was 3 rounds per minute.
As you can see, the comparison does not overwhelm the imagination. Investors weren't particularly keen on investing in this engineering marvel. Pakl Gun never entered mass production and was not adopted by the British army.... The main reason for this was the difficulties that arose among the British gunsmiths. The craftsmen of that time did not manage to establish a high-quality developed production of Pakl Gan components.
5. Cybernetic walking mechanism
The Cybernetic Walking Mechanism appears to be a machine from a sci-fi movie that has become a reality. An experimental four-legged robot was tested in 1968. It was designed by someone named Ralph Mosher. It was assumed that the colossus would be able to carry infantry weapons in particularly difficult terrain. The person who controlled the robot walked and moved his arms, being in the cockpit of the mechanism, the limbs of the robot repeated the movements. The design used hydraulics.
Sadly, the robot did not wait for mass production. However, the prototype survived and is today in the US Army Transportation Museum in Virginia. The robot weighed almost one and a half tons and accelerated to only 8 km / h.
4. Tsar Tank
The Russian Tsar Tank is very reminiscent of an old bicycle of the 19th century - with one huge wheel and another tiny one. Only the Tsar Tank had three wheels. For some reason, Russian military engineers decided that this would be a good design solution and would provide the tank's crew with safety and protection. Despite this, there is no evidence that the Tsar Tank ever participated in hostilities.
In any case, he did not advance beyond the testing stage. The giant wheels were designed to overcome significant obstacles. However, due to an error in calculating the mass, the rear wheel constantly strove to fall into a trench or get stuck in soft soil. At the same time, the front wheels were often powerless to help him. This led to the final failure of the tests in the face of a high commission in August 1915. The unlucky tank remained standing at the site of its last test, 60 km from Moscow, until in 1923 it was finally sent to be melted down.
3. "Charles de Gaulle"
Perhaps the Charles de Gaulle is the most expensive military invention on our list. We are not talking about a fundamentally new invention, but it was assumed that this aircraft carrier would be stuffed with the most advanced technology of the time. And then there were some surprises.
The ship was manufactured in 1986 and weighed 40,000 tons. It cost France more than $ 4 billion. The French really seriously hoped to create a masterpiece.It was the tenth French aircraft carrier, and the first surface ship in this country with a nuclear engine. In addition, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier built outside the United States.
However, in practice, the ship turned out to be slower than the old steamer. The screws did not give the required thrust, and the company that made them withdrew from the project. The engine and nuclear reactor were poorly assembled and improperly installed, which threatened to leak radiation. The deck also turned out to be designed with violations and did not provide the ship with the required level of protection.
2. Rocket belt
The rocket belt was conceived as a device that allows a soldier to travel safely through the air over very short distances. You can even say not to move, but to jump. It was created in the 60s of the last century by American military engineers and at first showed great promise. In October 1961, the device was shown in front of President John F. Kennedy during demonstration maneuvers at a military base at Fort Bragg.
In the mid-60s, the military did not even think about the missile belt. He never really interested them because of the too small range of movement. The maximum flight duration was 21 seconds, while the distance the soldier could "gallop away" during this time was only 120 meters. Another reason for the declining interest of the military in the invention was the intensive development of jet aircraft and other promising technologies, which occurred just during this period.
1. Flying aircraft carrier
The flying aircraft carrier was first designed by German engineers in the early 1930s. A native of Prague, engineer Karl Arnstein from Ohio became one of the authors of the American analogue, which took off in April 1933. The first aircraft carrier was called USS Macon, its twin was later built, USS Akron... Both were semi-rigid airships and were not at all like today's aircraft carriers. USS Macon could take on board five planes F9C Kestrel, which during its flight could be launched into the sky, and returning from the mission, moored to the airship right in the air.
After being seriously injured in 1934 as a result of exceeding the permitted flight altitude over Arizona, USS Macon suffered a final crash on February 12, 1935, when during a thunderstorm its already worn structure could not withstand the blows of the elements.
We recommend watching:
Interesting video about 10 crazy military inventions. The methods of warfare and the ingenuity of scientists are amazing, despite the fact that these inventions have not found application and have shown their uselessness in practice.
