Five stupid weapons that were actually made
May 19th, 2008
They say that human progress is undeniable – we’re alway thinking up new ways to kill one another. But the path to genocide isn’t smooth, so let’s pause to take a look at some of the weapons that didn’t make the cut in man’s endless desire to exterminate his fellow soldier.
Anti-tank dog
During the Second World War, the Russian Army came up with an ingenious defence against German tanks. Starving dogs would have bombs strapped to them, and then sent toward the enemy vehicles. The dogs had been trained to retrieve food from under Russian tanks, and the idea was that they would dash under the German tanks, seeking food, and in doing so activate a large wooden trigger on their backs. Unfortunately, having been trained using Soviet tanks, the dogs of war much preferred running under Russian tanks. Added to that, the noise of the battlefield confused and frightened them, culminating in an entire troupe of bomb-dogs running amok in a battlefield, endangering everyone and forcing the retreat of the Russian forces. Although credited with the destruction of over 300 Nazi tanks, the dogs were retired from service shortly after.
M-388 Davy Crockett
Nuclear devices already rate pretty highly on the stupidity scale, in terms of general wanton destructiveness and lasting radioactive fallout. So what better idea could there be than removing all due process behind launching such a hell-spawned weapon, and instead put that decision in the hands of a lowly infantryman? The M-388 did exactly that – it was the world’s first, and thankfully only, handheld nuclear delivery system – an atomic bazooka. With a range of less than 3km, and poor accuracy even at that stones-throw distance, the Davy Crockett’s only effectiveness was one of area-denial, instantly rendering a battlezone an inhospitable, radiation-soaked hellpit. For at least 240,000 years.
FP-45 Liberator
The Liberator was a pistol maufactured in the US during the Second World War. Made from stamped and bent sheet metal, the Liberator was designed to be produced quickly and cheaply, and dropped into occupied territory as an insurgency weapon. With an unrifled barrel, the Liberator had a maximum effective range of just 25ft. Of course, “effective” in this occasion had little meaning, seeing as the empty shell casing had to be removed with a wooden dowel before the next shot could be fired. This way, the FP-45 took longer to reload than it did to manufacture – ten seconds to seven seconds respectively. In fact, the only useful function of the Liberator was to incapacitate someone long enough to take their weapon. In other words, the US could have shipped out the lump of metal they began with, and had an equally effective weapon.
No 74 ST Grenade
During the Second World War, the British military removed much of the bureaucy surrounding weapon development, hoping to foster an increased rate of innovation. This also allowed many absurd and impractical ideas to reach the front line, including the No 74 ST Grenade, or sticky bomb. The sticky bomb was designed to act against enemy tanks, and consisted of a glass ampule of nitroglycerin attached to a plastic fuse. This was encased inside a knitted wool ’sock’ coated in sticky resin, and the whole grenade then encased inside a protective metal case. Although effective in combat, the fragile glass casing easily cracked during transport, the explosive was highly volatile, and worst of all, the sticky coating often glued an armed grenade to the thrower’s clothing, making it a very unpopular weapon.
Fusen bakudan
Japanese fusen bakudan, or balloon bombs, were used during the Second World War to strike at the US mainland. Small hydrogen balloons were fitted with anti-personnel and incendiary explosives and launched on trade winds toward the US. The idea was that the bombs would set light to forests and damage cities. In reality, of over 9,000 balloons launched by the Japanese, only 300 were sighted by Americans. Once the US forces realised what was happening, air patrols regularly shot down the balloons; in addition the campaign had begun in Autumn, when woodlands were too damp to ignite. The only casualties of the fusen bakudan were a group of Oregonian picnickers who tried to move a landed bomb. Early on, the US government imposed a media blackout on the balloon bombs, and the Japanese gave up their campaign just six months later, rightly assuming from the lack of panic that their weapon had been a failure.
Entry Filed under: General
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68 Comments
1. misha | May 20th, 2008 at 2:22 am
thanks for the cool info
2. Brian Lester | May 20th, 2008 at 6:21 am
Do not forget the beautiful weapons: the A-bomb that ended WWII and saved your ass from tyranny, napalm, that humbled many and brought the harsh cold reality of war to the axis powers, their populace, and their will to persecute innocence., and the most beautiful of all: thermonuclear paradise in the form of fissionable payloads guaranteed to deter commie bastards (it worked) and their similar threats. SDI ruled, and guess what—-still does!!!
3. Mark B | May 20th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Own a few copies of Guns & Ammo Brian? You sound like a bit of a nutjob…..
4. CARSON 44 | May 20th, 2008 at 10:48 am
While Brian may not have stated the case as eloquently as some would have liked, he is in fact, spot on. Compare the death tolls from the wars for the 100 years before WWII. Then compare the same after WWII. There is little dispute, the A-Bomb is a weapon of peace. The weapons were growing more lethal and prolific, non-combatants were more often the targets and their deaths more numerous than combatants. The only way to make world war obsolete was to assure the destruction of the very people that decide to go to war.
5. Ned | May 20th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
@ Brian/Carson
idiots
6. Brian Lester | May 20th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Ned, our little brother whom we dearly care about and must protect from bullies. You’re welcome.
7. J3ff | May 20th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Ned and Mark = idealistic dreamers
Carson/Brian = realists.
Grow some fucking balls and use that thing inside your skull fucktards.
8. Ian | May 20th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Sometimes it is more amusing to refer to the skull as the skullen.
9. Slim | May 20th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
brian, mark, carson, ned, and jeff = cunts
10. Born1942 | May 20th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Brian, Mark,Carson,Ned, Jeff Right on target. The Liberator was designed for those willing to take responsibility for their own freedom by making a small investment. Kill a Nazi with the Liberator, take his Mauser-kill more Nazis. But first you have to have the guts to fight for yourself. An investment program in freedom. (What happened to the children of all those underground heroes?)
BTW cheers for the A-Bombs on Japan, My dad came home (US Army Air Corp) My uncle came home from Iwo and Palau (USMC) to be my scout master. My other uncle came home ( US Army) to be the police chief of my home town.
Freedom is not free. But those of us with courage (Moral and Physical) will take care of our families and you free riders can benefit from the work of those better than you.
11. Frank the SciencePunk | May 21st, 2008 at 5:07 pm
@ Born1942
I’m not arguing against the principle of supplying weapons to a populace in the hope they’ll be used in an uprising. This is a tried-and-tested strategy of war.
But my point is the Liberator was a dud, any way you looked at it. You had as much chance of killing a Nazi with lead pipe as with an FP-45.
12. Shane C. | May 21st, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Brian Lester = Retard
The 2nd world war was not ended by the Atomic bomb. The Japanese had nothing to do with Europe, dumbass.
“the A-Bomb is a weapon of peace” = Worst statement I’ve ever come across.
The Atomic bomb was designed to kill and to create a uninhabitable wasteland wherever it was dropped.
Do you really think that more military personnel were killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
If you do then you should probably kill yourself as people like you should not be allowed to live.
If you’re more concerned about non-combatants dying in wars then how the fuck could you support nuclear arms?
The radiation has affected generations of innocents long after the war ended.
“Grow some fucking balls and use that thing inside your skull fucktards” Sounds like your typical, arrogant internet nerd who has never fired a gun in his life, let alone murder millions of people.
“those of us with courage (Moral and Physical) will take care of our families and you free riders can benefit from the work of those better than you” So courage comes from deploying planes to drop a payload of poisonous radiation on millions of innocent people?
I hope Born1942 dies a painful death, preferable shot with the M-388 Davy Crockett.
Maybe then you’ll know a small fraction of the suffering and torment your cowardly father and uncles put millions of innocent men, woman and children through.
America is a nation of brainwashed, bloodthirsty fascist pigs.
If anyone wants to argue this point then please prove me wrong, I’ve been trying to do it myself for some time now but all signs point towards a society far worse than any dictatorship in recorded history.
13. Shane C. | May 21st, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Sorry if I got a little bit off the point there but above are statements from “American Patriots” instead of loving their country they love the weapons their country has made. As far as indoctrination goes you guys are pretty fucked up.
14. matt | May 21st, 2008 at 10:18 pm
first off shane, your a fucking idiot
probably a tree hugging fuck wit as well, and if you’re a vergetarian too then your just as bad a person as i can imagine
but anyway, there’s no real need to call names
secondly i am NOT american, so dont include me in your patriot excuse
factually you are incorrect, the A bomb was not intended to create the uninhabital wasteland it does, that was an accident
and even if it did, so what?
and why should we care more about Japanese people than the Americans who were attacked BY the Japanese in the first place
born1942 did not say he was proud of the courage shown by the pilots who were ordered to drop the bomb, he was talking about the hundreds of thousands of US troops who would have died intstead of the fractional number of japanese
15. Mstt (but one who can spell) | May 22nd, 2008 at 1:58 am
First off, the A-Bomb was not designed to do anything other than blow up. The people making that thing had no idea what it was going to do. So “designed to kill and make land uninhabitable” is wrong.
Secondly, I see the point about the Atomic Bomb, or at least, after the A-Bomb, that wars had much less casualties. This is very true
Thirdly, the second world war ended with the invasion of Germany. Any campaign that America had against Japan should never be counted as The Second World War. Frankly, the rest of the world didn’t give a shit. It took the Americans far too long to get involved for any European country to give a toss. Especially England, who had been fighting the Germans for three fucking years on their own. England was just glad to be rid of the whole ordeal.
Forthly, and preemptively, any American whinebag who now wants to take up a comment based on my third point should stop right here. No, you didn’t win the war. No, if it wasn’t for you, we would still be here regardless, but while I’m at it, we’re still grateful.
Fifth and last, Born1942, you realise that millions of unrelated civilians died so your dad could come home, right? You knew that, yeah? And you’re still so fucking proud, eh? Fuck you. Pathetic pig fucker.
16. Eric | May 22nd, 2008 at 2:24 am
Hey Matt (but one who can spell), obviously the A-bomb was designed to kill. “First off, the A-Bomb was not designed to do anything other than blow up.” So what other point would it have? Where else would you want to use the A-bomb other than as a weapon.
17. Pete | May 22nd, 2008 at 2:44 am
A handheld nuclear device launcher has got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of. BTW – those so called weapons of peace almost ended the human species – ever hear of the Cuban missile crisis, do you guys have any idea how close US & USSR came to all out nuclear war ? Kennedy had his friggin’ finger ON THE BUTTON, leaving it up to the Russians to back down. What if they didn’t? Ignorance is bliss. Things can get out of hand before people realize what’s happening, that’s how all bad things go. Those who blindly follow their leaders are FOOLS and downright dangerous. Meanwhile, us common folk can’t worry about the big game, but you can be nice to your neighbor, and to those you bump into throughout the day. Hug your spouse and kids, OFTEN. And be nice to each other on the web, where the common people RULE!
18. kebab on stilts | May 22nd, 2008 at 10:23 am
And what exactly do they RULE?
19. THEROCKS | May 22nd, 2008 at 10:49 am
Pete seems to be the only person to comment who actually has something to say that dont read as TROLL, Shane c wasnt far off but i think let his own opinions get in the way.
something to think about perhaps is the fact we live in a world where 90% of the global population are against war, yet all our governments go to war anyway.
that fact alone shows how much control the governments are holding on peoples views and opinions, that when they go directly against what their own people want nothing happens.
people slate the french, but they take to the streets when they dont like something, at least they have a voice.
as tom morrelo sang “you and me are missing persons till were counted in the street”
20. Pete | May 22nd, 2008 at 8:09 pm
“kebab on stilts” asks a very good question. What a good topic, but that’s not what we’re here for. I grew up without the internet; no P2P, no blogging, no instant messaging, no torrents, no email, no Wiki’s. So I have at least a basic idea that free-form global communication that is available to everyone (except for the poor with no access to libraries) has the potential for the greatest sharing of thought ever known in history. I know that there are thousands of networks, forums and blogs not controlled by commercial or government interests. You people that grew up with this stuff don’t know how good you have it. You can see and learn almost anything you want, and instantly display your ideas to others at will. Whether you recognize it or not, at least for the moment, “we” or “they” (as Kebab questions) rule the greatest medium of communication there has ever been.
21. ben | May 23rd, 2008 at 4:05 am
The scientists who made the bomb knew exactly what would happen…they had tested it – and some were quoted as saying something to the effect of, we’re all bastards. The consequences were known.
Fractional number of japanses is also not very intelligent…more japanese would have died in an invasion than american soldiers. Yes – the bombs were dropped to save american lives, with little regard to japanese casualties, but no matter how you look at it….the japanese would have taken more of a hit.
22. Herd | May 23rd, 2008 at 7:56 am
“A handheld nuclear device launcher has got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of.”
X-Ray shoe-fitting device is not a weapon (it could be), comes quite close on stupidity, but not nearly on lethality.
23. Pete | May 23rd, 2008 at 12:12 pm
I have read that the scientists involved in the Manhattan Project thought that there was a slight possibility that the atmosphere could be ignited when the bombs went off. Remember, they never had a chance for any small scale testing. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the tests. They only knew what they were doing based upon their mathematical models. But they figured it was worth the risk. Gee, igniting the atmosphere doesn’t sound like a good thing. Like I said before, ignorance is bliss.
24. Rocker | May 23rd, 2008 at 7:40 pm
I understand that not all that have posted live in the USA. But those who do and show such animosity and vile hatred towards those men and women who sacrificed all profane that which we are and can become. I don’t like war. No sane person does. But when there is screaming in the night and parents are taken from the children and children from their parents, then all will wish that no profaning of those sacrifices had been committed. God bless those families that have given so much for the freedoms we now have. May God give us strength and wisdom to keep those freedoms.
25. ben | May 23rd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
US freedom hasn’t been threatened by another power since probably about 1812…maybe 1860’s depending on how you look at it.
26. jorpope | May 23rd, 2008 at 11:10 pm
to everyone who has decided to bash one person or another in this thread I must say I enjoy your naivete. First off yes i know it seems to be the popular belief that all people from the United States are stupid followers of the all powerful george w bush…hahaha yea right! i wish he had never entered office, i would agree with anyone in saying he seems to be a complete dumbass and I am a US citizen, however someone bashing me for being american because of george w. bush and his crony’s decisions is probably one of the dumbest things I have heard of. people need to understand that just because one group of people made a mistake doesn’t mean that everyone is responsible for that same mistake. So grow up act like a rational human being and learn to live with the fact that we will never have control over a world that has never truly been any better or worse off then it is now
27. Patrick | May 24th, 2008 at 12:09 am
Pete, in regards to testing nuclear arms, I have no idea where you are drawing your sources from. A 20kt test had been done a month prior to Little Boy (estimated to be 13-16kt) being dropped on Hiroshima in New Mexico at a location called Trinity Site. If anyone thought the atmosphere would ignite off of a smaller explosion than one that had already been tested, they should go back to school and learn some basic logic.
Jorpope, I cannot fathom why you are bringing stereotypes regarding current politics into the discussion that weren’t involved in the first place. People have been holding notions and ideas that are anti-(insert country here) for years, and there’s little that anyone can do about it because of the subjective base mechanics of mass media.
Bottom line, I’m fairly sure we can all agree that war itself is not desirable. Sometimes, as undesirable as it can be, it can become a necessity as a survival instinct in the eyes of a country or people. As not everybody has the same standards, tolerances, passions, convictions, or beliefs, it’s nigh impossible for everyone to agree on what point war or any action in war would be considered “acceptable”.
Now as I’m sure Frank intended, the point of this article is to point out some of the more eccentric and obviously failed ideas that actually were attempted during various wars. Shall we stick to the topic?
28. ben | May 24th, 2008 at 12:29 am
Might as well….the German’s during WWII are always good for a laugh when it comes to weapons design…they had a lot of good ones but at the same time dumb idea sprang up everywhere.
On another note- I still would have to disagree with the liberator post – the liberator was as much a “kill the opponent and and take his gun” thing as it was a psychological thing – thousands were dropped on germany – many intercepted by Nazi’s…who did not in the end know how many were in the hands of their enemies.
29. Pete | May 24th, 2008 at 5:06 am
Patrick’s absolutely right, I was wrong. I had to look it up ’cause I hate it when I’m wrong, which happens often. “The Gadget” was a small scale version of “Fat Man” dropped on Nagasaki. Concerns of the ignition of the atmosphere were dispelled in project papers later found regarding the issue. But I still stick by my earlier statement that people that blindly follow their leaders are fools, and serve as a great example of stupidity. To many of ‘em to fit in a picture though. Another thing I think is stupid is the protection granted to heads of state by the Geneva Convention (I think). So we can’t target the guys that start all the trouble, but the rest of us are disposable? We truly are fools to go along with that crap.
30. Raul | May 24th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
What i still dont understand is why America dropped the bomd. The Japanese were a proud, resilient, but likewise a defeated people by the time the bombs were dropped. We yell and scream about pearl Harbor, but can we justify the killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Around 2300 navy and army men were killed, and 57 civilians. The result of the atomic bombings was the death of over 200,000 civilians. It was a war crime, a crime against humanity, and state terrorism. Operation downfall should have been engaged, rather than the extermination of two cities filled with innocent people.
31. ben | May 24th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Simple reasoning really.
1) Defeated or not – Invading mainland Japan would have cost thousands upon thousands of American lives, add on the thousands of Japanese soldiers (and civilian – one thing we learned about the Japanese was that if the civilians didn’t join in the fighting themselves, the Japanese soldiers would kill them instead) and the balance is better seen.
2) Though many Japanese died – in a war the main focus of a country, regardless of which one it is, is to reduce casualties of their people (with the exception of maybe Russia and WWII Japan)…so if dropping the bomb would save thousands of American lives – it was worth it.
Calling it a war crime is a bit extreme – Bombing of Germany killed lot of civilians too, as did bombing of London, then of course there is the fact that the fire bombing of other Japanese cities prior to the Atomic bombs killed just as many if not more people than the A-bombs themselves did.
To put some perspective on it when it comes to crimes against humanity….how do you feel about European take over of the United States and the rest of the Americas from the indigenous people who lived there already?
32. Dave | May 24th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
“1) Defeated or not – Invading mainland Japan would have cost thousands upon thousands of American lives, add on the thousands of Japanese soldiers (and civilian – one thing we learned about the Japanese was that if the civilians didn’t join in the fighting themselves, the Japanese soldiers would kill them instead) and the balance is better seen.”
QFT. Especially the “or not” part. We had burned half the country to the ground and they still wouldn’t give up. They were fanatical. It would have cost hundreds of thousands of lives, and then we still would have had a problem similar to Iraq now. The nukes stopped that.
33. ben | May 25th, 2008 at 1:31 am
I wouldn’t go so far as to say we would have had the same problem as we do with Iraq. That’s assuming a little too much…it’s also assuming that Japanese, once taken over, would act like Islamic fundamentalists and freedom fighters. Based on a difference between the two cultures – I would have to say this would not have been the case.
34. Tyler | May 25th, 2008 at 2:01 am
First of all, I’d like to say that I am aware that probably no one who has written on this post will ever look here again, so I won’t even waste my time by trying to argue those who have already posted. However, what I would like to say is advice to those who are reading this now and have yet to write their own vicious and spiteful response to any one of these previous posts: the point of this article was not to incite riots among the internet masses, it was simply an informative article designed to poke fun at some of the hair-brained ideas that came out of WWII. That being said, were it not for some of those ideas (maybe not those listed here specifically), we would not have many of the appliances and other items that we take for granted EVERY DAY.
Now, having said all that, allow me to point out how completely ignorant and naive it is for us to make blanket statements when we don’t agree with something. Calling all Americans fascist pigs because we have a bad experience or two with a few backwards people is completely and utterly ridiculous. Referring to all those who “blindly follow their leaders” as fools sort of insults me personally. I, a soldier in the United States Army, have learned that sometimes doing what you’re told (even when you might not understand the circumstances), without asking questions is one of the best ways to survive a given situation. YES I understand the value of questioning those in power, and trust me, I question them quite a bit. HOWEVER, if all we ever did was bitch and bicker about somebody telling us to do something, NOTHING would ever get done… EVER. So be thankful for us “fools” and “pigs” who do what we’re told, because for better or for worse, it was on our backs that civilization was built.
Oh and yes, despite the horror that comes with weapons of the atomic variety, they are effective at what they were designed to do: shock and awe.
35. ben | May 25th, 2008 at 2:12 am
and kill and destroy…..no matter what your views on using them are…that was it’s main purpose – whether you care to admit it or not.
36. Ugh | May 25th, 2008 at 4:21 am
Except for the few that contributed to this post in the form of the article itself or constructive posts, all I see are people -I could only assume- making statements whose very nature are snide and meant to cut the last guy right down to the quick. None of you has any idea what went through those mens’ heads. None of you has any idea the stresses endured by anyone in a time of tooth and nail real live resource and man-power consuming war. Not to diminish the significance of what is going on in Irag, of course.
Which brings me to another point. Lumping the soldier or serviceman into the same category as his commander in chief is an awful thing to do. Say what you will about a given leader, support that soldier that has to go out and do it.
This won’t solve anything. None of this will. Go outside and do something. Get some fresh air and get a bite to eat. forbid you run into real people to interact with instead of some faceless name you can slander and degrade.
Lastly -God Damn this stumble button.
37. ben | May 25th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
God damn stumble for sure…
then of course lets assume I do this and get fresh air as well….can’t lump us all in that category.
38. Pete | May 27th, 2008 at 12:39 am
Boy, the conversation evolved into some interesting and some ridiculous discussions. Probably should have ended a long time ago, but . . . I can’t resist. I’ll go way out on a limb and throw out my opinion: I have to at least say to Tyler that I absolutely did NOT mean to insult him or any military personnel. I should have emphasized the BLIND part when I mentioned “those who blindly follow their leaders . . . ” I feel when a person signs on for something, they have to follow the rules of which they signed up for. But I’m pretty sure the military doesn’t want it’s members “blindly” following orders. That doesn’t mean they have to like their orders, but should have an understanding as to what their job is, and understand the rules by which they are to perform their job. BUT . . . I would think part of the training is to recognize insanity . . . like firing a hand-held nuke launcher. Or, if you remember the My Lei (spelling?) massacre in Vietnam, now that’s an example of when you shouldn’t blindly follow orders. Anyways . . . I think it’s up to the voting population to make sure the Commander in Chief isn’t a nut job, and that he doesn’t get our military into irrational situations, AND, make sure he lets the military experts do their job without interference, and with the proper funding to have all the best equipment possible.
I’m not quite sure how we do that. Sorry, I’ll shut up now (but I would appreciate hearing from Tyler).
39. Bill | May 28th, 2008 at 8:26 am
I am amazed at the ignorance on display here. Put down the internet and read a book, preferably some history. Man, i just have to shake my head.
40. Kel | May 28th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
IT WORKED WITH JAPAN, IT WILL WORK WITH IRAN
41. reef | May 29th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Interesting article.
Although purely based on the quantity of inane drivel being spouted on this page, to me it seems patently obvious that occasionally people fall out (and need putting back into place…)
42. ben | June 1st, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Very different situation Kei…I feel it wouldn’t work nearly as well.
43. Martin | June 2nd, 2008 at 4:12 pm
@Kel: “IT WORKED WITH JAPAN, IT WILL WORK WITH IRAN”
The stupid… argh… it hurts my eyes…
Yes, let’s nuke a country full of innocent people, that until Bush’s ridiculous “axis of evil” speech and posturing in 2003 had a moderate government, was building a much closer relationship with Europe and the West, to the extent of even allowing American troops to operate on Iranian soil if necessary when iran supported America’s war against Afghanistan.
You absolute ****ing idiot.
44. SROB | June 5th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Brian Lester, in fact SDI has never worked, and does not work at present. You will recall that the SDI acronym was used to refer to the “Star Wars” program of the Reagan years (”Strategic Defense Initiative”). I believe what you meant to say was that MAD (”Mutually Assured Destruction”) worked and still does. True, the deterrent effect of the superpowers’ nuclear arsenals prevented each side from launching a first strike and therefore prevented war for the many years of the Cold War. However, I am afraid (as you should be also) that MAD actually is becoming less and less effective as nuclear weapons begin to fall into the hands of mullahs, jihadis and others who don’t give a flying fuck whether we retaliate against the first striker (or actually prefer that we do), so long as Americans are killed in a nuclear attack.
45. peachesofpeaches | June 8th, 2008 at 9:55 am
America, fuck yeah!
46. its futile but... | June 8th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Not one person here has mentioned that Japan was informed of the strategy, and targets, and given three days to surrender. They refused.
Therefore, Hirohito should have been blamed for the damage to Nagasaki. Imagine this conversation with an aide:
Aid: Uh, Emporer, we havent heard from Hiroshima in a few days.
Hirohito: What number did you call?
Aide: All of them.
War, unfortunately, is a necessary evil. There are some that do not have a capacity for reason.
After WW2, the States did not plant a flag and make Germany the 51st state. The Marshal Plan was used to rebuild it. Japan was rebuilt. South Korea is industrialized and has a booming economy. Vietnam is financially better off than anyone expected. Schools, Universities, hospitals have reopened in Iraq. The world is a better place without Saddam, Uday and Qusay. Voter turnout in Iraq stunned the world.
If you dont like the States, thats fine with me–turn down the foreign aid and dont take advantage of any of our contributions like the medical revolution, outer space exploration, deep sea exploration, industrialization, cyberspace, the sciences, modern mathematics and physics, robotics, advances in agriculture, etc. Go live in a cave and fuck right off.
Im tired of supporting your parasitic ass with my tax dollars.
47. ben | June 9th, 2008 at 2:15 am
What was that number?
Three days. Do you really think three days was enough time for a country to figure out what the hell had just happened. An entire city had been wiped out by something that had never been seen before. And my understanding was that they didn’t really get a direct discussion: simply pamphlets dropped, something that doesn’t often work out. Had Japan been given more than three days I think it might have been possible that they would have surrendered.
48. its futile but... | June 9th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Ben, you sound like a guy who is pretty well-versed in what he chooses to discuss. Most of the following does not pertain to you, its for the others.
the japanese were notified via official channels (the embassy).
And three days was somewhat more than they gave us at Pearl Harbor (none! they attacked on a sleepy sunday morning). you dont hear about the guys that were trapped for days in an overturned vessel who died of hypothermia or suffocation. you wont hear about the over fifty 55-gallon drums of guts that were stacked outside the hospital at Pearl. we owed them nothing. we gave them a courtesy and a chance.
Aside from the Huns,we are the only military power that will tell our adversaries when/where we are going to attack so that they can decide on a course of action
Secondly, i think that if i were to witness something so powerful, so inconceivable, so unimaginable, so overwhelming, so devastating, so incomprehensible it would have been all the more reason to surrender. you dont have to “figure anything out,” you just have to surrender.
keep in mind, this was in a day when dozens or even hundreds of bombers went on a mission. in this instance it was 2 bombers and one bomb. the other was to take scientific readings. the japanese radar picked them up but thought they were recon aircraft.
so they had confirmation that it was merely one bomb that did the damage.
therefore, if one bomb could do this, i would owe it to my countrymen to protect them. hirohito was negligent and indecisive to say the least.
if you have an image of the japanese being so humane and innocent, i suggest you read up on the death march of bataan, the forced labor in burma and thailand, the massacre and rape of nanking, the enslavement of pows to work at the mitsubishi factory, in mines, at nippon, the hell ships, the capture and torture of the philippinos, etc. etc etc
they were fanatical barbaric supremists
Ben–the only thing that you have said that i disagree with is that our freedom has not been threatened since the early 1800s. i will give you the benefit of the doubt in believing that you meant it has not been by military might nor seriously in jeopardy. but our freedom is threatened every day. sure hezbollah is a “threat” and so is hamas, and al quieda and so on, but it is MOST threatened from within.
this blog is proof-positive that our school system is in the toilet. its too bad that GTA doesnt teach something or that meth doesnt make you smarter.
i quit. from here on, you can rebut with impunity. i am too frustrated to continue this effort. there are some posts here that are factually accurate and/or logical, but the majority of you are morons.
by the way- hypothermia is when you are really really cold for a really long time and suffocation is when you cant breathe. now you wont have to ask someone else.
get educated and THEN form an opinion—to talk about an opinion first makes you look like a jackass
49. Me | June 9th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Fuck my ass with a tentpole.
50. FP-45 Liberator Was A Stu&hellip | June 9th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
[...] are five stupid weapons, including the FP-45 Liberator, that were actually [...]
51. nosactivated | June 11th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Fuck them all is what I say! That will bring a comment or two. LOL Because of our so called brains. That is what got us into the trouble of war. Using it to gain either power, another country, or human superiority. Not used for peace but pure evil. This is why the United States is on a mission to keep its people dumb. So they can do as they please with its people. Martial law is in order today. Take your little blue pill or be abolished. Another comment to acquire a few more replies…LMAO
52. Brian Lester | June 11th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
SROB, you are correct. I agree 100% with you on MAD, but SDI did help end the cold war and its current incarnation is looking better all the time, causing foes to shit because their scudlike vehicles will be vulnerable.
These words of yours are so true:
” . . .MAD actually is becoming less and less effective as nuclear weapons begin to fall into the hands of mullahs, jihadis and others who don’t give a flying fuck whether we retaliate against the first striker (or actually prefer that we do), so long as Americans are killed in a nuclear attack.”
53. FUCK YOU ALL | June 15th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Why are you people trying so hard to get other people to believe your opinion? If you believe it, or know its true then WHO CARES? It doesn’t matter!! What makes you think your life has any real value or meaning in the end anyhow? The human ego is a powerful thing.
54. you | June 16th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Tenpole? Really? OK
55. Mac | June 16th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
US Army Tyler…..Thankfully there are a few good men & women still managing to survive with all the uninformed BS they have to contend with.
I totally agree, War is hell and should only be a last resort. In following orders, the rule is “To follow legal orders” if ordered to commit a crime, a reasonable person would naturally refuse, only the idiot blindly follows. (I presume that is why the word”Blindly” was inserted?) your leaders, whom you have elected or backed when they took over, which ever the case may be, are there at your permission and can be removed the way you allowed them in….sadly , many of them bought their way in promising you “a something for nothing existence” so you got what you paid for ….a poor leader.
I am a retired military person and have attended a few of the competitive get togethers to kill you reference, thank a serviceman or woman for your freedom to complain and ridicule, thank one for your homeland and the society you enjoy, thank one that you were conceived at the whim of your parents and not the product of rape or forced unions. Thank one for your freedom to worship as you please to the God or Supreme being you choose. If you are totally dissatisfied with this country, please feel free to leave….
56. Max Greenwood | June 19th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
The basis of the Japanese balloon bombs was I think the discovery of the jet stream by Nipponese meteorologists, I think it was correct to say that by denying publicity to these incidents ,the inventors were unable to show success to their own government and were therefore denied funding, I have also read that American geologists were able to deduce the area where these weapons were made[by knowledge of the sand used as ballast and bombing runs were then staged on the probable factory.I believe this history is in a book by the incomparable John McPhee but I can not remember the title right now -Thanks Max
57. South African/Serbian | June 25th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
All I know is that if nuclear bombs do start dropping, I’m pretty safe over here in Cape Town :-D
Also, those stupid weapons made are really hilarious! But maybe not a total waste. For example the No 74 ST Grenade was nicknamed the ’sticky bomb’. I’m not sure if this is where this term originated from but if it is then I’m glad it was created. I’ve played quite a few computer games in which ’sticky bombs’ are used – who knows what they would have been called otherwise! :)
58. Mark | July 4th, 2008 at 5:21 am
Most of those are pretty stupid, but like most ideas, they “seemed like good ones at the time”. The Liberator pistol was actually pretty effective. Like most handguns, it served as an equalizer when an edged weapon would not. The requirement at the time was for something that cost under a specified amount, could hold a handful of ammunition in the grip, and be operated with only a pictograph instruction sheet since it was to be dropped in multiple Nazi-occupied countries. Only a limited number were actually used, but the thought of having thousands potentially in circulation was a serious concern to the 3rd Reich, requiring additional men and materiel than would normally have been the case. Considering the low cost of production and distribution, it was one of the more impressive weapons of the war, all the more so due to its size.
59. Law | July 29th, 2008 at 12:53 am
“Secondly, I see the point about the Atomic Bomb, or at least, after the A-Bomb, that wars had much less casualties. This is very true”
That’s because the winners and losers all sat down and created international bodies – these bodies basically merged the economies of those countries and made war very costly in monetary terms. You wouldn’t ever see a major EU country bombing another – or NATO governments trading bullets before sanctions and discussions.
@ “its futile but…”
“turn down the foreign aid and dont take advantage of any of our contributions like the medical revolution, outer space exploration, deep sea exploration, industrialization, cyberspace, the sciences, modern mathematics and physics, robotics, advances in agriculture, etc. Go live in a cave and fuck right off.”
Get a clue – America didn’t create industrialisation, Britain did. The medical revolution was in full swing way before America was on the scene, as was deep sea exploration, the sciences, maths, physics (which is also a science by the way), robotics and agriculture. Computers are a British invention too, the british government gave what was at the time the most advanced technology in the world to America, their computer technology, it was basically used to encrypt/decrypt communications between the allied forces so the Nazi’s couldn’t intercept them. So don’t kid yourself, most inventions were born outside of the US. There have been a few good things to come out of America though, Baywatch, internet porn, my macbook pro – hey, your military even created TCP too, which in turn led to CERN in Europe creating http to run on top and boom – we have the internet – the very system you can spout shit on now!! ;) It’s called collaboration – awesome isn’t it.
60. chris | August 20th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Ah, The Davy Crockett…only an idiot would fire a hand-held nuclear device with the range of 3km.
they might as well have called it a ‘Suicide Machine’.
61. meneame.net&hellip | November 13th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
5 armas estúpidas que realmente existieron [ENG]…
C & P y traducido: Se dice que el progreso del ser humano es innegable, siempre encontramos nuevas formas de asesinar los demás….
62. Bill Coffin | December 1st, 2008 at 4:43 am
The Liberator wasn’t such a bad idea, really. It was one of many weapons designed to give occupied territories the means of rebelling. Some guy in France stumbles upon a crate in his field with one of these things in it, now he ad the ability to pop some German in the back of the head, steal his field kit and become a resistance fighter. I don’t knowhow often these guns wereused as intended, but that was their real purpose, and to that end, they worked well enough. To write them off as a stupid weapon is to be a bit ignorant of their intent. Obviously, they were never meant to be something used in a straight gun battle.
63. trainer | February 5th, 2009 at 11:49 am
J3ff and Slim = Internet idiots
64. Masterblaster | March 25th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Imagine if the armies on both sides of a conflict simply refused to fight or invade the country of a claimed enemy. Imagine if for a second that the soldiers themselves stopped listening to the leaders and did what is right and only protected the boarders of their independent nations instead of attacking eachother. The world has no need for war. There really is no need to fight eachother. Just stop being convinced that it is necessary cause it isn’t. It would be better for the world to be either one world government or seperate libertarian states. Otherwise we will escalate violence and control apon the world and lead our species into self annihilation.
65. alex | April 3rd, 2009 at 4:54 pm
first one is really funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
66. Pie | October 31st, 2009 at 12:11 am
I don’t know if this was mentioned but the FP-45 Liberator was never intended to fire more than 1 shot. It was meant to provide would be guerrilla fighters the ability to walk up to a Nazi, shoot them, and take their weapon (thus making getting ammo merely a task of killing more Nazis… which they were already planning to do)
Presumably the reloading option and the 2nd round stashed in the handle were only put there as a “just in case” (albeit a poorly designed one granted)
Just realized the date on this, but I stand by it :)
67. Joe | January 15th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
The funny thing is that a number of the listed weapons are not nearly as stupid as they seem.
The Liberator was meant as a means of capturing other weapons. Each weapon was clearly cheap and easy to produce, and thus could be dropped theoretically in great numbers. Imagine the psychological effect on German soldiers knowing that anyone may potentially have a small single shot weapon hidden, waiting to kill you.
The Japanese balloon bombs would scored a tremendous propaganda victory if they had been a little more effective. The concept behind them was reasonably sound, the US was just lucky they did not start any serious fires.
Davy Crockett, while horrible in its implications at least made tactical sense. Given the fact that Soviet forces were far superior to NATO ones, area denial as well as something that could cause mass casualties would be desirable. I am not sure I would call it a smart or even reasonable weapon, but it does not strike me as particularly stupid.
The No. 74 grenade like MANY other weapons was potentially dangerous to its user. Again, the principle behind the weapon was not particularly stupid. Simply the execution was lacking.
Historically there were some truly stupid ideas that came to fruition. Most of the things on the list were mediocre if not short sighted weapons. Only ’stupid’ in the sense that they were not really effective, not stupid in the more traditional sense.
68. rabbit1 | February 9th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
they are soo fucking slow
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