Top 20 Craziest Military Weapons That Actually EXIST

There was seemingly no end to the innovation of offense during the Second World War, with this Japanese invention serving as one of the least effective, yet potentially deadly weapons of the conflict. In some ways, the Japanese Fire Balloon was frighteningly successful, as these quick moving, hydrogen balloons actually did make their way to North American shores. This was the longest ranged war attack recorded at the time, despite the fact that the balloons caused little damage with their incendiary contents. Officials were worried about the potential for biological or chemical warfare with the balloons, however, leading to a government-initiated, press cover up concerning their existence and success.

The practice of using immense war elephants on the battlefield was a common sight during the age of Roman warfare, with the beasts' effectiveness as mounts leading to research for a way to combat their advantage. A simple, if troubling solution was found when it was discovered that elephants were intensely frightened and disoriented by the sound of a pig's squeal. The idea? Cover an array of war pigs in oil, set them on fire, and let the enemy elephants trample the opposing forces to death as they tried to get away. It may not have been animal-friendly, but it was certainly effective.

From one cute animal to another next, although this is a hedgehog you’d want to stay well away from. The concept of the Royal Navy-developed Hedgehog was quite simple. It featured a cluster of up to 24 spigot mortars - which looked a little like the spines of a hedgehog - and they would be fired from a ship into the oncoming path of a submerged U-boat. These explosive devices would then create a wall of destruction for a boat to sail into. Unlike depth charges, which were designed to detonate when they reached a certain depth, Hedgehog mortars featured contact fuzes, meaning they only detonated when making contact with the surface of a boat - in turn creating more destruction.

The term "Wunderwaffe" refers to covert German plans for the development of so-called "super weapons" during World War II. One of these proposed weapons was known as the Windkanone, which, roughly translated, could be described as a "Wind Cannon." The Windkanone was a ground-based cannon that was packed with a mixture of hydrogen and ammonia (though some sources say oxygen). It was designed to shoot out a shell of compressed air at its targets, with the intention of grounding planes or otherwise disturbing airborne threats. Windkanones were tested, but their effects against targets weren't to the liking of German officials, and anyone manning it was essentially a sitting duck - so the idea was scrapped.

This ornithological oddity was thought up by American behaviorist B. F. Skinner, and his vision was to create a pigeon-controlled guided bomb. The device took the form of a deadly, explosive glider, with one to three pigeons mounted in the nose in front of three lenses. These lenses would project an image of a target onto a small screen - a target the pigeons were trained to recognise. The pigeons would then effectively direct the glider by pecking at the screen when they recognised the target, and get a treat each time they did. Think homing pigeon holding a bomb. The project didn’t really take off, so to speak, with creator B. F. Skinner stating "our problem was no one would take us seriously".

Need to build an aircraft carrier but steel and aluminum are in short supply? Construct it out of ice! Or, at least this was the idea proposed to England's Winston Churchill by inventor Geoffrey Pyke in a plan he dubbed Project Habakkuk. Pyke rationalized that a large ice carrier could easily operate while under torpedo attack, as the missiles would only damage small sections of the ship's hull. A mixture of ice and wood pulp called pykrete was used to make the carrier stronger and more resilient, pushing Project Habakkuk to the point where a smaller-sized test ship was built. Unfortunately, its slow speed and the high demand for materials doomed the project before it could start.

The Russian monitor Novgorod was a circular, flat-bottomed warship whose intentions were to be a heavily armored protector ship, with the ability to carry a large amount of artillery on board. Built in 1871, the reality of its strange design made Novgorod almost impossible to maneuver effectively in anything other than perfect weather conditions. Its circular shape also meant that it could take nearly an hour for Novgorod to make a U-Turn, thanks to an incompatible rudder system. To be fair, although Novgorod holds a reputation as one of the worst wartime naval ships ever constructed, it actually achieved its intended aim for coastal defense...even if it might've looked a tad silly while doing so.

Although this spectacular-looking, rocket-propelled, explosive-laden cart was never used in battle, it helped form part of the British Military’s experimental weapons initiative towards the end of World War II. The Panjandrum featured a drum of explosives, mounted between two 10ft wheels.The idea was that this device would be propelled forward with rockets and be able to storm beaches, exploding when hitting enemy defenses. There were issues with directing this 60mph rolling deathtrap however, and it would often tip over briefly after exiting the water. Although flawed, this explosive Catherine wheel-like weapon is still intriguing.

We’re so used to remote control devices nowadays - but back in the 1940s, this thing would have been mind-boggling to see. Developed by the German Army, the Goliath tracked mine was effectively a mini, remote-controlled vehicle used to infiltrate enemy defenses or vehicles, and blow them up. The Goliath would be controlled via a long tethered cable, and it was capable of being detonated remotely, being particularly useful when attacking tanks or buildings from a distance. Although effective when used successfully, the Goliath was ultimately deemed a failure, due to high unit cost, limited maneuverability and vulnerability to its tether cable and armor. But imagine one of those things coming at you?

Due to featuring in sci-fi movies and video games, many might believe that the railgun is pure fantasy. Well, it isn’t, it’s very much a real concept, albeit still at an experimental stage of development. A railgun skirts the traditional concept of gunpowder to fire projectiles. Instead, it utilizes electromagnets to propel a projectile between two parallel metal rails. In simple terms, it throws a projectile using magnets, as opposed to firing them like regular bullets. The potential military benefits of railguns are huge as they don’t rely on explosive projectiles - which is cheaper - and they can fire at much higher velocities, meaning they’re more destructive and can fire from further distances. How fast can a railgun propel a projectile? About 9 times the speed of sound, or 11,000 kmph, or 3 km/s. Wow.

Similar to the Dazer Lazer - more on that later - this non-lethal laser weapon is currently at the prototype stage and being developed by the U.S. Department of Defense. The personnel halting and stimulation response rifle, or PHASR or short, uses bursts of light to temporarily blind and disorientate its target. The PHASR technology has been designed for use by U.S. soldiers and law enforcement, but like we said, it’s still very much at the R&D phase. Weapons intended to blind targets have been previously banned, but due to the temporary effects of the PHASR, it is not prohibited - at least for now.

We’re heading into some murky, conspiracy-laden waters next. It’s been well-known for years that the U.S. and Soviet militaries have trained marine mammals to assist in military operations. This usually takes the form of underwater mine location and the recovery of lost equipment. However, many conspiracy theorists believe that mammals like bottlenose dolphins have been used in more nefarious missions, like those that involve attacking divers or kamikaze explosions of enemy warships. The U.S. Navy has denied these rumors, but the fact that dolphins can be used for mine detection and equipment recovery is still baffling. But where do you sit on the killer dolphin debate?

A weapon that heats things using a beam of waves. Sounds like a microwave, right? Well the heat ray uses the same principle as the trusty kitchen appliance. Developed by the U.S. Military, the heat ray - which is officially called the Active Denial System - was intended primarily for perimeter security and crowd control, and it’s capable of aggravating the water and fat molecules of the skin. Ouch. This of course acts as a deterrent to anyone in its path, and leaves them with pain similar to that of some nasty sunburn. Active Denial System technology is still around, with the U.S. Military still looking at the best way for it to be utilized in the future.

As we’ve already seen, sometimes, it isn't about killing your opponent, but rather just incapacitating them for a bit. Already on this list we’ve seen light guns, heat rays, and now we have the Dazer Lazer. There were three different designs made of the Dazer Laser: a small pistol, a baton and a larger, multi-function weapon. All of them emit what is called a "MEAN Beam," a mixture of modulating pulses and light which, when combined, can induce feelings of nausea, vomiting or disorientation within their target. You may have heard the Dazer Laser be referred to as a "Puke Ray," and, although this may not be the weapon's intended function, it sure could prove to be handy bonus in battle.
#6: Man Catcher