Here is a link to an interesting list of the top Five Weird Weapons of WWII. What is most interesting is that a few of them actually have merit when utilized and were met with degrees of success. Even the ice ship seems to have had potential. What does this tell you about military resource investment in research and development? Why would human beings involved in the military go to such great lengths in developing solutions to problems? Do patterns exist in this war in regard to the application of science and technology?
Employ those critical thinking skills as much as possible; you never know when it will save the day! (Like the ant-tank-dog concept)
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These weapons really are that weird:O. It's strange to think that people can actually come up with these kinds of ideas, and get people to support it like Winston Churchill did with the Ice Ship. I guess during that time the military invested a lot in their weapons and were willing to try anything that would lead them to winning the war. They tried anything they thought might help, even if it meant hurting animals. It was really cruel of those people to use dogs and pigeons like that. In a way I'm glad that none of these weapons or ideas worked because some of them, was very brutal. But on the other hand, if some of the weapons like the flying Jeep, and the Ice Ship really worked a lot of difference might have affected the war result. Maybe if the Ice Ships were invented before the Battle of the Atlantic the Allies would've won the battle faster, and with lesser amount of damage.
ReplyDeleteI think out of all five weird weapons of WWII the anti-tank-dogs were most effective. It is strange how a dog can one day become a "mans best friend" after being toyed with and starved, but history has shown that man has used animals as weapons of war, like in China how bulls were set on fire and aimed at their enemies. This idea of using animals in war may be a very brutal idea, but sometimes these ideas are very effective, and the anti-tank-dogs was in a way successful. The anti-tank-dogs were used by the Soviet Union against the Nazi when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, the dogs were able to disable 300 German tanks and the dogs were a success in causing problems to the Nazis, but the anti-tank-dogs were ineffective later on because the Nazis order direct fire, and improved the tanks defenses. Even though the dogs failed to disable any more tanks they still played a important role in the early stages of the invasion and they are also a partial reason why the Nazi invasion were unsuccessful.
ReplyDeleteDuring the mid-twentieth century, it seemed like the Allies felt the need to develop weapons strong enough to defeat the Axis powers. The Pigeon-Guided Missile and the Anti-Tank Dogs made the usage of animals in the weapons whereas the Flying Jeep and the Poised Dart Bomb concentrated on attacks via the air. Like what Adisa had mentioned earlier, the Ice Ships played a role and the Battle of the Atlantic could've been shortened and caused lesser damage. However, the plans of the Pigeon-Guided Missile and the Ice Ships were abandoned while the Flying Jeep and the Poised Dart Bomb didn't cause much destruction. I have to agree with Rafael that the best invention among these five was the Anti-Tank Dogs, although this "weapon" promoted cruelty towards dogs. Quite a number of German tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed, thanks to this new invention; even though the Soviet Union's plans did backfire when the dogs weren't much trained. Nevertheless, this invention was one of the reasons why the German army's weapons crumbled in their battle with the Soviet Union.
ReplyDeleteI suppose those weird ideas of the different weapons is evidence of how determined people were in outwitting their enemy. They resorted to unorthodox methods, like making ships out of ice, getting pigeons to guide missiles, and using dogs to bomb tanks. The dogs worked brilliantly, as it wore down German tanks. I agree with the others that this was the most useful, if not, most successful weapon of the five, as it played an important role in the earlier stages of the invasion.
ReplyDeleteAs for the ice ships, one can only wonder if it would withstand great amounts of torpedo fire. How would the soldiers move around the ship? Would it be slippery and difficult to traverse? We may never know, as there is no need for such a vehicle today.