Weird Weapons of War that Failed

Not all weapons are created equal - some are only memorable because they didn’t work.

First, there were the war pigs. In the days of the Roman Empire, some military leaders would slather pigs with tar, light them on fire, and catapult them at enemy war elephants. Unfortunately, these flaming pigs were often ineffective, missing their target and wreaking havoc on friendly troops.

Second, the Iceberg Navy: during World War II, ships were in short supply. So British inventor Geoffrey Pyke proposed building an aircraft carrier out of ice. But Pyke soon discovered the lesson most of us learn with an ice cream cone: his ship, the HMS Habakkuk, began to melt and the British government soon scrapped the project.

More recently, the US military has also had some bizarre failures. In 2010 they tried to develop a heat ray which blasted targets with high frequency waves. But it could only dish out bad sunburns, and after $40 million spent, the project had little to show for it.

What other strange failed weapons have you heard about? Let us know below.

#themilitaryshow #shorts

[johnusas]

Wrong on the fact of pycrete. It didn't fail because it melted, it failed because the facilities to freeze enough pycrete used more steel than the amount of steel to make warships the standard way making the plan ineffective.

[benkeller]

Uh, that heat ray was still developed and is used as a non-lethal riot control device. Trust me you get hit by it and you will leave quickly. Sunburn is putting it lightly. It feels like you are on fire. You see the way that girl is moving that is shock and panic that isn't having fun. Have you ever had your face near a oven? You get hit by that blast of heat that makes you immediately step back. Imagine that over your whole body instantly and persistently. You will scream and you will run.

[charlesentrekin]

The iceberg aircraft carrier was built out of a combination of sawdust and ice. A quarter scale version was built to test the theory. The main drawback to her was it was very hard to keep the crew quarters warm. All of the testing was done on a Canadian lake. And 15 years after the war was over a good chunk of her was still afloat. Even though all of the machinery to keep her Frozen had been removed and believe me there was a lot of machinery.

[onyxdragon]

The heat ray worked as intended, it wasn't meant to be a super weapon but a non-lethal crowd control weapon. If nothing, it failed because sometimes it could hurt people (rarher than causing discomfort, which was its goal)

[thomasaur]

Imagine going to war only to be greeted by the screams of your enemies and immolated pigs.
PTSD hit differently back in Rome.

[frostyx]

The aircraft carrier was made out of Pykrete, not ice. It didn’t fail because it melted, in fact the mixture (sawdust and ice) proved to be very hard to melt. The project was rejected because it was deemed to costly and would take too long to produce for the war effort, and could only operate in the North Atlantic, limiting its use even further, so the entire project was scrapped

[havoc]

Well the heat ray was a non lethal crowd control weapon it did it’s job but could burn people badly if I remember and not good for hearts and minds there where a few other things but it did work

[shimsy]

War pigs weren't meant to kill elephants, just scare the piss out of them and make them panic

[prestonhill]

Roman soldier : "Sir, the enemy has deployed their war elephants, what do we do?"
Roman General : "Send in the flaming bacon!!!"

[falteringleek]

Image being killed by a giant ice cube

[christophervandenberg]

Fried pork skins sound more like a snack than a weapon...

[akriegguardsman]

The hakkuk carrier was a feasible plan only stopped because islands was available


A test with a block of wood dust infused ice proved that it was able to last years in a shed without any cooling down and the strength was nicely tested when someone shot it and it bounced off a bullet

[impala]

The heat wave machine was effective and met its goals, but showing up to a place and blasting people with it isn’t the best way to earn the hearts and minds of people

[billcarruth]

I seen this video once where an army laying siege to a castle constructed a giant wooden rabbit. The idea was that the castle occupants would see the rabbit as gift and take it inside, after which the attacking troops which were hiding inside would leap out and attack from within the walls. But in the end the defending army just catapulted the rabbit back over the wall at the attackers who neglected to get into the rabbit.

[AmericanIdiot]

Seeing the comments, I already know I can immediately trust this channel with no doubt!

[pringle]

Where do I even start....
The habakuk didnt start to melt, infact the unrefrigerated prototype took years to start melting BECAUSE it wasn't sodding ice. It was pykrete, a sort of mix of ice and sawdust

[robmclaughjr]

I like two cannon balls chained together and fired by two cannons simultaneously

[jimzerr]

Best failed weapon idea. 3 words.
The Davy Crockett. A portable nuke mortar.

[generalfranz]

That “heat rat” is actually in active service. Been hit by one and it’s like being in a microwave.

[sirnigel]

My man just named the exact reason why the heat ray exists and told us why it’s good at its job