The whole history of terrestrial civilization is marked by wars. At all stages of development, man created and continues to create weapons. Some samples are striking in their characteristics, capabilities and severe aesthetics, while some seem completely ridiculous. To describe all the most unusual weapons ever invented by man is simply impossible. Firstly, everyone has their own notions of normality and strangeness, and secondly, progress does not stand still, and what until recently seemed a formidable death machine can be perceived by subsequent generations as a pile of useless iron.
Therefore, we will not try to make a rating, but simply consider some of the most unusual examples, both existing in reality and hardened in battles, and prototypes that have not been put into practice.
What kind of weapon is it?
Before discussing the most unusual weapons, we mention what requirements put forward by gunsmiths and soldiers. The main ones are reliability, striking force, safety for the shooter. If we are talking about portable weapons, weight and dimensions are important. Depending on the type, parameters such as effective range, radius of destruction, rate of fire, ammunition flight speed, convenience and ease of charging, crew size and crew are evaluated.
Modern arms enterprises, especially those working for the state defense industry, strive not only to develop the best performance characteristics, but also to reduce production costs.
Therefore, among professionals, weapons are either classified as too heavy or large for modest characteristics, or prohibitively expensive to manufacture and maintain, or unsuitable for real combat missions for various reasons.
The average person may consider even appearance oddity. A couple of copies with excellent performance characteristics, but with a very unusual design, fell into our review.
Heavy machinery
The heyday of the era of unusual weapons has always been periods of war. The need for new non-standard solutions, austerity regimes, limited time frames, lack of necessary, partially compensated by improvised material and unsuitable trophies - often these are the main motivators.
During World War II, a lot of fundamentally new types of weapons were urgently created. The best minds worked hard in this direction on both sides of the front. It is difficult to name the most unusual weapon of the Second World War, but some specimens certainly deserve attention.
The German Dora, with a mass of 1250 tons and a height of 11.5 m, is striking in its power. The cannon was delivered to the position in a disassembled condition on rails, assembled in a few days on the spot, and the shot required the efforts of 250 crew members and an even ten times as many serving crew groups. But "Dora" could release a shell weighing from 4.8 to 7 tons! She had to fight only twice: in Warsaw (1942) and near Sevastopol (1944). The Wehrmacht managed to create two samples and about a thousand shells.
Even the huge damaging effect could not compensate for all the difficulties and costs. Moreover, ACS, MLRS and aviation can cope with such tasks.
The American tank Chrysler, developed in the 50s, can also be considered strange. True, the matter did not go beyond the prototype. According to the developers, the Chrysler was supposed to swim and even shoot directly from the water, and his work was based on the use of a nuclear engine. The huge cast egg-shaped body looks more funny than threatening.
Creativity was also shown by Soviet gunsmiths. It is worth mentioning the tank-plane, aircraft-carrier and tractor-tank. None of these inventions were included in serial production, but armored tractors had to go through baptism of fire all the same in World War II.
Mortars and mines
The Goliath, a self-propelled mine, was a rather formidable, albeit bulky, weapon of the German army. The Goliath had weak armor, the control wire was not protected at all, and the maximum speed did not reach 10 km / h. At the same time, production required considerable costs. Managing a bulky self-propelled gun was risky, and the enemy's engineering thought also sometimes reached the unbelievable.
Here is at least a mortar spade! The curb weight of the gun reached only one and a half kg, and a 37-caliber projectile fired from it could cover a distance of 250 m.
After shooting, the gunner could easily turn the device into an ordinary soldier’s shoulder blade. In the Airborne Forces, these weapons were used until the end of the war. Perhaps the spade mortar became the cause of the terrible legends about the Russian paratroopers?
Small arms of past eras and today
The 4-barrel platypus revolver is not the only one of its kind. Listing the most unusual weapons, one cannot deprive the attention of multi-barrel inventions common in the 17th-19th centuries. But it is worth recognizing that the look of such pistols and revolvers is awesome.
The Belgian FN-F2000, which has excellent rifle performance, but for some reason also has remarkable aerodynamics, seems rather strange to many. A person who is accustomed to the AK or M-16, looking at him, does not immediately understand how to take him to the right position for firing.
The old comfrey will surely be puzzled by such a common phenomenon among the Latin American mafia groups as designer AKs. Covered with inlay, rich carvings and even gilding weapons in that environment, today is an indicator of status. However, this does not detract from its combat characteristics.
The experience of gunsmiths of the past inspires today's engineers. But modern designers are trying to increase the number of not barrels, but ammunition. There are many examples of this: multiply charged shotguns, the Scorpion PC ammunition supply system, paired and spiral drums.
Non-lethal weapons of law enforcement
The most unusual weapons can be found not only on the battlefield. Law enforcement officers also sometimes resort to non-standard solutions. For example, the Israeli development "Thunder Generator". A device is designed to disperse demonstrations and suppress the enemy. It strikes at a distance of up to 150 meters, without harming health. However, the calculation at the time of the shot also has a hard time. Even stranger can be called the "Vomiting gun", sending impulses and pulsating rays. The result of exposure is general weakness, nausea, and even vomiting.
Shooting pens and other items
Not all weapons look like weapons. This category includes many items. The most unusual weapons disguised as office supplies, canes, rings, buckles and other items are now used by special services.
Melee weapons: swords, sabers
Sunny India gave the world not only the Kama Sutra and yoga, but also many examples of amazing weapons. For example, Urumi has no analogues in the world. This sword made of thin sharp steel can be girdled. In battle, the sword belt is quite formidable.
From there, a pata is a sword with a protective glove attached to the guard.
Knives and claws
The most unusual edged weapon from Japan is tekko kagi, which means “tiger claws”. It may seem that the shape of the weapon is too unusual, and this item is more like a props for a movie about superheroes. Why not remember Wolverine? But with the help of tekko kagi, the warrior of the Land of the Rising Sun could easily tear the flesh of the enemy into rags and even reflect the blows of the sword. By the way, the analogue of metal claws was also familiar to the ancient kshatriyas.
We can say that Qatar, combining the features of brass knuckles and a knife, and even with a blade sliding into three parts, is the most unusual edged weapon. But in the modern world there are many of its analogues. A knife fight specialist is unlikely to take such weapons seriously, but knife brass knuckles are common among street groups.
An even more unusual knife worn on a finger was common among some ancient peoples. It was used not only in fights (to damage the eyes and neck), but also in everyday life.
Conclusion
As you can see, a person was always ready to go quite far in an attempt to arm better than a potential enemy. We see the strangest weapons among the samples from superpowers with huge military budgets, and among non-contact wild tribes.
And I would like to finish our review with the words of Mikhail Kalashnikov. The ingenious Soviet designer has repeatedly mentioned that it is not the weapon that kills - it is only a tool.