World War I may have signaled the dawn of a
true revolution in military hardware, but it was still filled with some of the craziest and
weirdest weapons ever seen on a battlefield- and one American weapon was so terrifying that Germany
threatened to execute any POW discovered with it. Tsar Tank – Russian Empire Our first weird weapon of World War 1
never actually made it to the battlefield, but it was so weird and would have been
so terrifying, that it deserves a mention. In the years before World War I militaries around
the world were starting to put the internal combustion engine to the test in an attempt to
develop awesome new weapons of military might. Russian engineer Nikolai Lebedenko however may
have had the absolute craziest idea of them all. In essence, Lebedenko invented the ferris wheel
from hell, a massive tank far outsizing even the largest tanks of World War 2, which
instead of using tracks was driven by two massive wheels with a third smaller wheel to
stabilize it in the rear. The idea first got the attention of the Russian Tsar when Lebedenko
made a tiny prototype with a spring motor, which he wound and then let loose in front
of several thick books. The tiny tank managed to climb the books with ease, thoroughly
impressing the Russian leader. Almost immediately, he authorized the equivalent of tens of millions
of dollars for research and development. In theory, the Tsar Tank solved the problem of
trying to move a vehicle through a battlefield with a brilliantly simple solution-
make wheels big enough that they can climb over any obstacle. The tank thus had
two massive wheels out in front extending off two separate arms. In the rear, a
third arm ended in a much smaller wheel which would help stabilize the vehicle. The
body of the tank would be thin and vertical, much unlike anything we might think
of as resembling a traditional tank, and would have multiple levels where solders
could fire cannons and machine guns from. With the Tsar's funding, the Russian
army built a single prototype in 1914. Two 250 horsepower engines powered each
of the massive wheels, but all that power was delivered very inefficiently to
the wheels, resulting in a loss of capability. More critically however was
the miscalculation concerning the rear, unpowered wheel. Because of the way weight was
distributed on the massive tank, the rear wheel ended up bearing too much of the vehicle's weight
which resulted in it frequently becoming stuck. Even more practical concerns plagued the
prototype though, such as the fact that the tank crew's fields of fire were severely limited
by the dual massive wheels out in front of the vehicle, which were themselves extremely
vulnerable to being damaged by enemy fire. The prototype saw a single demonstration-
during which it became stuck- and just like that the Russian ferris wheel from hell
was canceled forever. In our opinion, the Russians should've stuck with it, and instead
of arming the thing with machine guns and cannons they should've just slapped some giant speakers on
it that blasted out nightmarish carnival tunes as the massive tanks careened towards enemy soldiers.
World War I may have been the only conflict in human history to use weapons en masse that
were obsolete for thousands of years though. Trench Raiding Clubs – Allies and Central powers
Sometimes progress goes in reverse, and nothing attests to the sheer brutality of
World War I than the Trench Club. A weapon borrowed straight from the dawn of
warfare, the trench club was carried by troops conducting nighttime raids on enemy trenches.
Because rifles would cause too much noise, these daring raiders needed weapons that
could kill quickly and very, very violently. Enter the trench club. Literally just that-
a club- soldiers would use them to bash enemy infantry to bits in daring nighttime
raids. The goal of these raids was to destroy enemy weapon and supply depots,
take prisoners, and gather intelligence, rather than a serious attempt to actually
take and hold territory. Thus raiders would ditch their traditional rifles and
pistols, which would give them away, and opt for a more brutal way of killing
up close and personal- but very quietly. Trench clubs varied in design, and were largely ad hoc weapons. Like
something out of 1979's The Warriors, these clubs could be outfitted with spikes
and nails driven through them to enhance their lethality. Boards wrapped in barbed wire or simply
embedded with random bits of sharpened metal also made for effective trench clubs. The sheer
variety of trench clubs was staggering, and some soldiers opted to go full-on Dark Souls and even
craft homemade flails complete with spiked balls Clubs were excellent weapons
for brutal trench warfare, but one American weapon was so effective that
Germany threatened to execute any American POW armed with it.
The Shotgun – USA Shotguns may seem ubiquitous today, but when Germany came face to face with
American troops armed with shotguns, they were so horrified with the results that they
issued a diplomatic protest against their use. The United States had been using
shotguns in combat since 1900, when 200 shotguns were sent to the
Philippines to aid US troops in fighting off Moro tribesmen. The Moro warriors
would frequently rush American soldiers, forcing them into hand-to-hand combat where they
had the advantage and rifles were largely useless. All that changed with the issuing of
the Winchester Model 1897 to US troops. As World War I raged on, American observers kept
close tabs on the fighting and quickly learned how brutal trench combat was. They put this knowledge
to good use, and when America inevitably joined the fighting, she brought with her soldiers armed
with modified Model 1987s, more than ready for savage close-quarters combat. These specially
modified shotguns had a heat shield that would keep the soldier's hand off the barrel, which
would heat up during intense and prolonged firing. An additional modification was to add a bayonet
lug on which an M1917 bayonet could be affixed. The barrel was shortened to 20 inches and soldiers
were issued with buckshot ammunition. These trench loads contained nine double 'oh buckshot
pellets, making the Model 1897 a veritable cannon in the tight quarters of European trenches.
A modified action which allowed the soldier to keep the trigger depressed while working the
action meant that the 1897 could unload its 5 round load in rapid succession, which quickly
earned it the nickname of the 'trench sweeper'. The weapons were so devastatingly effective
that Germany soon launched an official diplomatic protest against America, citing
the 1907 Hague Convention on Land Warfare which forbade the use of weapons designed to
cause unnecessary suffering. After careful consideration, Judge Advocate General of
the Army, Secretary of State Robert Lansing, decided that the law did not apply to American
shotguns. The reply enraged the Germans, who threatened to retaliate on any captured
American troops found to be wielding shotguns. The US responded by threatening to retaliate
in kind against German troops equipped with flame throwers and serrated bayonets.
World War I was largely fought in the trenches, and if you thought trench clubs were insane,
wait until you see the next item on our list. Gauntlet Dagger World War I may have been the most peculiar
conflict in human history. On one hand the fruits of the Industrial revolution had yielded
weapons that changed the face of war forever, such as the machine gun and the tank. On the other, the
war still often devolved into the most crude and ancient forms of fighting imaginable- and the
gauntlet dagger is yet another such example. This weapon consisted of a large metal
gauntlet that was worn over the wearer's hand and forearm. The sheet metal protected the
wielder from enemy knives and bayonets, and inside of the gauntlet itself was a crossbar
that the wielder would grip with his hand. A long metal spike protruded from the end
of the gauntlet, which would be used to repeatedly stab one's foes. Hooks on the sides
of the gauntlet would allow the wearer to lace it tightly onto their arm, securing it in
place even in the heaviest of fighting. While the weapon would prohibit the
use of a rifle, it was a devastating close quarters weapon meant to be
used in trench raiding. However, if we had our choice of a gauntlet dagger or an
American shotgun, we'd gladly take the latter. With the introduction of the airplane, allied
and central power pilots were quick to come up with a very weird, but terrifying use for it.
Aerial Darts – French, Germans, and British In World War I the airplane was slowly
defining its role on the battlefield. Initially used as an aerial scout, eventually
airplanes became armed so they could shoot down other airplanes and enemy airships. Recognizing
the potential in a machine that could deliver an explosive payload to the enemy from directly
above, airplanes were even fitted with bombs- however, these early airplanes didn't have
the power to carry aloft significant loads. The Italians however saw a
solution to this problem in 1911, and developed the aerial dart. Weighing far
less than a bomb, an airplane could carry several hundred of these wickedly sharp, long
metal spikes. Stabilized by everything from small fins to feathers, the darts would
be used to saturate an enemy formation. The French were the first to use them in World
War I, with canisters full of the darts attached to the underside of aircraft. The pilot would
then fly very high over an enemy formation, and pull a wire which would open the canister holding
the darts. The released darts would then begin to fall from tremendous height, picking up speed and
energy as they fell. The result was devastating, as the long, thin darts could easily penetrate
steel helmets if dropped from high enough, and deliver long, thin wounds that penetrated
deep and resulted in severe internal damage. Aerial darts would be equipped by both sides
aboard their airplanes and airships, dropped by the thousands over enemy lines. One french
pilot alone dropped 18,000 darts in a single day in 1915. However, the darts soon grew out of
favor with both Central and Allied war planners. The biggest problem with the darts was
that they were completely unguided, and largely relied on blind luck to actually
strike their targets. Because pilots would have to fly at great heights to ensure the
darts gained enough speed to become lethal, their accuracy was greatly diminished. Even
when used against enemy airships the darts simply proved ineffective. Their greatest
flaw however was the fact that the darts needed to score a direct hit to be lethal, as
the darts fell with such speed that they'd embed themselves harmlessly into the soil if they
missed. Eventually the darts were phased out, though were still in limited use in 1917.
Necessity is the mother of invention, and the need to not get one’s head blown off led to
the invention of the weirdest rifles in history. Periscope Rifle – Central and Allied powers When World War I began, Germany assumed it
would be a brief, if bloody conflict. However, both the Central and Allied powers seriously
misunderstood how the machine gun had completely changed the face of war forever. With the
ability to put out hundreds of rounds of ammunition a minute, these early machine
guns may not have been terribly accurate, but they rarely ever needed to
be. Mass infantry charges would be absolutely decimated by machine gun
fire, with men cut down in their dozens. Trench warfare was the inevitable
result, as the machine gun ground the conflict to all but a complete halt.
Troops became stuck in their trenches, unable to undertake any sort of offensive
action without overwhelming numbers. The trench war had become so deadly,
that even just lifting one's head up and out of the trench for a quick look could
be a good way to get your ticket punched. Both sides employed snipers who's sole job
was to demoralize the enemy by taking out any soldier unwary or foolish enough to
expose themselves. The periscope rifle was thus quickly developed by inventors on both
sides as a way of allowing friendly forces the ability to fire on the enemy without
exposing the soldier doing the firing. The rifles varied in design but had very common
elements. The rifles would be fitted to a frame of some sort which could be used to prop the weapon
up and over the trench. A periscope consisting of a reflective mirror would allow a soldier to look
down the weapon's sights even from several feet below. The great weight of the frame also helped
to stabilize the weapon, and most rifles would be fitted with specially modified magazines
holding many times more rounds than normal. The weapons were surprisingly effective,
and despite their clumsy appearance could be accurate upwards of a few hundred yards
- though modern recreations make it probable that the weapon was only truly accurate up
to 100 yards. The weapon was so effective though that during the Gallipoli campaign
British forces completely abandoned the use of traditional rifles during the daytime. The
inventor of one of the first periscope rifles used by the British was even awarded 100
pounds- about 4,000 in today's currency- after the war by the British War Office for
his great contribution to the war effort. The periscope rifle design became so popular that eventually machine guns were modified to
operate in a similar matter. Incredibly, even pistols received a trench upgrade-
which makes more sense than it might seem at first considering that sometimes opposing
trenches were as close as five yards apart. Now go check out weirdest weapons in the
world, or click this other video instead!
