The most unusual weapon. Examples of little-known cold and firearms

The whole history of earthly civilization is marked by wars. At all stages of development, man has created and continues to create weapons. Some samples are striking in their characteristics, capabilities and harsh aesthetics, and some seem completely ridiculous. To describe all the most unusual weapons ever invented by man is simply impossible. First, the ideas of normality and strangeness are different for everyone, and secondly, progress does not stand still, and what until recently seemed a formidable machine of death, subsequent generations can be perceived as a heap of useless iron.

Therefore, we will not try to make a rating, but simply consider a few of the most unusual examples, both existing in reality and past hardening in battles, and prototypes not implemented.

What is it - a conventional weapon?

Before discussing the most unusual weapon, let us mention what requirements are put forward by master-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, range of damage, rate of fire, ammunition flight speed, convenience and ease of charging, number of crew and crew are estimated.

Modern weapons companies, especially those working for the state defense industry, aspire not only to develop the best technical characteristics, but also to reduce production costs.

Therefore, among the professionals in the category of strange, weapons are either too heavy and large for modest characteristics, either unreasonably expensive in production and maintenance, or unsuitable for real-world combat missions for various reasons.

The philistine can consider even the appearance to be strange. A couple of copies with excellent TTX, but a very unusual design came into our review.

Heavy machinery

The blossoming of the era of unusual weapons has always been periods of wars. The need for new non-standard solutions, the regime of austerity, limited time periods, lack of necessary, partially offset by improvised material and unsuitable trophies - often these are the main motivators.

During the Second World War, many fundamentally new types of weapons were urgently created. In this direction, the best minds on both sides of the front worked assiduously. 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 amazing. The gun was delivered to the disassembled position on rails, it was assembled in a few days on the spot, and for the shot it required the efforts of 250 crew members and another tenfold service Group. But "Dora" could release a projectile with a mass of 4.8 to 7 tons! She had to fight only twice: in Warsaw (1942) and near Sevastopol (1944). Wehrmacht managed to create two samples and about a thousand shells.

Even a huge striking effect could not compensate for all the complexities and costs. Especially since such tasks are being handled by ACS, MLRS and aviation.

Strange you can recognize and the American tank "Chrysler", developed in the 50's. True, the case did not go beyond the prototype. According to the developers, Chrysler had to swim and even shoot directly from the water, and its work was based on the use of an atomic engine. The huge molded body of an egg-shaped form looks rather amusing, rather than menacing.

Creativity was also shown by Soviet gunsmiths. It is worth mentioning an airplane, an aircraft carrier and a tractor-tank. In serial production, none of these inventions were included, but armored tractors had to undergo baptism of fire all in the same World War II.

Mortars and mines

Quite a formidable, though bulky weapon of the German army was the "Goliath" - a self-propelled mine. "Goliath" had a weak armor, the control wire in general was not protected at all, and the maximum speed did not reach 10 km / h. At the same time, production required considerable expenses. Managing a cumbersome self-propelled gun was risky, and the engineering thought of the enemy, too, sometimes reached incredible.

At least the mortar-shovel! The equipped weight of the gun reached only one and a half kg, and the 37-caliber projectile released from it could cover a distance of 250 m.

Having finished shooting, the artilleryman could easily turn the device into an ordinary soldier's shoulder-blade. In the airborne troops, these weapons were used until the end of the war. Perhaps the mortar-shovel and became the cause of terrible legends about Russian paratroopers?

Small arms of past epochs and our days

Utkonogiy revolver with 4 barrels - not the only one of its kind. Enumerating the most unusual weapons, one can not ignore the multi-barrel inventions common in the 17th-19th centuries. But it is necessary to recognize, the kind at similar pistols and revolvers awesome.

To many, the Belgian FN-F2000 machine, which has excellent rifle performance, seems rather strange, but for some reason it is remarkable for its remarkable aerodynamics. A person accustomed to AK or M-16, looking at him, does not immediately understand how to take him to the right position for conducting fire.

The old comfrey is likely to be perplexed and such a widespread among the mafia groups of Latin America phenomenon, like designer AK. Covered with inlaid, rich in carvings and even gilded weapons in that environment and today is an indicator of status. However, it 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 non-trunks, and ammunition. There are many examples of this: multi-shot shotguns, the feeding system on the PC "Scorpion", coupled and spiral drums.

Non-lethal weapons of law enforcers

The most unusual weapons can be found not only on the battlefields. Law enforcers 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 affects at a distance of up to 150 meters, without causing harm to health. However, the calculation at the time of the shot also has a hard time. Even stranger can be called a "Vomit Pistol", sending pulses and pulsating rays. The result of exposure is general weakness, nausea and even vomiting.

Shooting pens and other items

Not all weapons are like weapons. This category includes many items. The most unusual weapons, disguised as stationery, canes, rings, buckles and other items, are now used by special services.

Cold steel: swords, sabers

Solar India gave the world not only "Kama Sutra" and yoga, but also many examples of amazing weapons. For example, Urumi has no analogues in the world. With this sword of fine sharp steel can be girded. In battle, the sword belt is quite threatening.

From there the stalemate is a sword with a protective glove attached to the guard.

Knives and Claws

The most unusual cold weapon from Japan is tekko kagi, which in translation means "tiger claws". It may seem that for the weapon the form is too unusual, and this object is more like a props to a movie about superheroes. How here not to remember Wolverine? But with the help of the tekko kagi, the warrior of the Land of the Rising Sun could easily tear the flesh of the enemy into rags and even repel the sword. By the way, the analog of the metal claws was also familiar to the ancient ksatriyas.

We can say that the Qatar, combining the features of knuckle knives and knives, and even with a three-piece blade, is the most unusual cold weapon. But in the modern world, many of its analogs. Special knife fight is unlikely to treat such weapons seriously, but among street groupings knife-knuckle is common.

Some ancient peoples spread an even more unusual knife, put on a finger. It was used not only in fights (for damage to the eyes and neck), but also in everyday life.

Conclusion

As you can see, a man was always ready to go far enough in an attempt to arm himself better than a potential enemy. The strangest weapon we see also among the samples from superpowers with huge military budgets, and among non-contact savage tribes.

And we would like to finish our review with the words of Mikhail Kalashnikov. The ingenious Soviet designer repeatedly mentioned that he was not killing weapons, but only an instrument.