Top 10 Most Bizarre Military Inventions

Archimedes' Claw was a weapon created by the brilliant mathematician himself to protect the city of Syracuse, now in Sicily, from naval attacks.

There was much debate about how the claw actually functioned, but it was believed to resemble a kind of crane with a hook that could lift a portion of an attacking ship out of the water. The claw would then release the ship, causing it to capsize. This weapon was used during the Second Punic War and successfully defended the city from Roman attacks. Whenever a Roman ship approached the city walls, the hooks would latch onto the vessel and lift it from the water, much like a fish hook. Once released, the ship would immediately tip over. The weapon was so well-hidden that the Romans thought they were fighting against gods.

One of the greatest minds of this era, Archimedes, was tasked with defending Syracuse under the leadership of Hiero. Archimedes' Claw proved invaluable during the Second Punic War when Rome attacked Syracuse with 220 five-oared warships.

During the Cold War, the fear of a large-scale Soviet invasion involving armored tanks led Western nations to explore every possible method of defense against the worst-case scenario. Among the oddest of these was the Blue Peacock nuclear mine.

The concept behind this nuclear mine was simple: the British developed mines with an explosive yield of around 10 kilotons, which were then buried in northern Germany. If the Soviets launched an attack and invaded West Germany, the mines would be detonated. However, the goal was not to destroy enemy forces but to prevent them from occupying the territory by irradiating it. The idea itself was rather absurd; the British scientists designed the mines based on the Blue Danube nuclear bomb, the first nuclear weapon developed by the UK. Once completed, the British Army would order ten units and deploy them to the Rhine River military group stationed in Germany. After several years of research, the first prototype of the cylindrical, armored nuclear mine with a plutonium core surrounded by conventional explosives was created.

Despite the intention to keep soldiers at a distance of three miles from the mines, the destructive power of the Blue Peacock was immense, making it a deadly threat. The solution was to have a single soldier remotely trigger the mine from a safe distance while an entire army would be forced to retreat from the blast zone.

Greek Fire is one of the most influential military inventions in history, yet its formula remains a mystery to this day. The Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire, used Greek Fire from the 7th century to repel Arab invasions, especially on the sea.

What made this devastating weapon unique was its ability to continue burning, even flaring up more intensely when it came into contact with water, earning it the name 'sea fire,' according to All That's Interesting. Greek Fire was likely invented in the 7th century by Kallinikos, a Jewish architect who fled Syria to Constantinople. At that time, the Eastern Roman Empire was under attack by the Muslim forces of Muhammad, and parts of Syria had been conquered. Fearing the Islamic forces would take Constantinople, Kallinikos experimented with various materials until he discovered a flammable liquid mixture that produced a fierce flame. He sent the formula to the Eastern Roman Emperor, and the authorities developed a weapon that functioned like a syringe, propelling the flammable mixture toward enemy ships. Greek Fire was not only effective but also terrifying. Besides its ability to burn in water, it produced a loud roar and emitted thick smoke, evoking the image of a dragon's breath, which filled enemies with dread.

Greek Fire could also stick to any surface. Anything on an enemy ship, such as the sails, rigging, hull, and even people, would immediately catch fire upon contact. Worse still, there was no easy way to extinguish the flames. This unique flammable liquid only intensified in water, and Greek Fire could only be put out by a strange mixture of vinegar, sand, and old urine.

The Bulgarian Umbrella is a unique weapon designed to resemble an umbrella, equipped with a chamber that can shoot out ricin poison. It is believed to have been used in the 1978 assassination of Bulgarian author Georgi Markov.

The Bulgarian Umbrella features a trigger on the handle. Pressing it activates a pneumatic cylinder, firing a tiny pellet filled with poison into the targeted area. Once the poison, predominantly ricin, enters the victim's body, a slow, inevitable death occurs. Apart from the killing of Georgi Markov, this weapon was used in other attempted and successful assassinations, including that of journalist Vladimir Kostov. Both are suspected to have been orchestrated by the Bulgarian secret service. This remarkable weapon is now on display at the German Spy Museum.

The Bulgarian Umbrella was used in multiple assassinations of Bulgarian dissidents in London in September 1978. The victim, initially believing they were stung by a bee, passed away four days later.

The British developed a truly unique type of bomb that can bounce on water surfaces. This bomb was designed to bypass obstacles such as torpedo nets. In May 1943, the British military used this bouncing bomb to attack German dams.

The bouncing bomb was designed by engineer Barnes Wallis, who faced the challenge of attacking dams protected by torpedo nets. Wallis came up with an innovative solution by creating a bomb that could skip across the water's surface. During development, he realized that the bomb required a specific backward spin when dropped from an aircraft. This spin enabled the bomb to skip across the water without detonating too early. The bouncing bombs played a crucial role in the attack on the German dams in 1943. The dams were protected by torpedo nets in the front, so the British needed a new way to breach these defenses.

The British successfully used bouncing bombs to target German dams. Engineer Barnes Wallis was able to carry out a successful raid on May 17, 1943. The first bomb bounced five to six times before sinking near the dam wall, and the pressure from the water triggered the explosion, causing numerous German casualties.

In 1914, Russian military engineer Nikolai Lebedenko, along with his colleagues, designed a unique and unusual tank. This tank, known as the Tsar Tank, was also referred to as the Tsar Tank.

The idea to create the Tsar Tank stemmed from the failure of the Russian Imperial Army in their battle against the German forces during World War I. After the Imperial Army was defeated on the Eastern Front, the German forces began to surround the capital, Petrograd (modern-day Saint Petersburg). Military engineers proposed developing a new weapon that could change the course of the war, and Lebedenko's design was considered the most innovative, capturing the attention of Tsar Nicholas II. Lebedenko was invited to the Winter Palace in Petrograd to personally present his weapon. He brought along a wooden model of his tank. Tsar Nicholas II was fascinated by the sight of the model rolling across the carpet in the palace, and the project was immediately approved, with a budget of approximately 250,000 rubles. It was built at a factory in Khamovniki.

The tank featured two massive wheels, each 9 meters in diameter, at the front. The body was rectangular, with two turrets on either side and a central turret in the middle. Each wheel was powered by a 240 horsepower engine, with a top speed of approximately 17 km/h. Each side turret was equipped with a 76.2mm cannon, each with a 60-round capacity. The top turret was fitted with 7.62mm machine guns to defend against infantry. The Tsar Tank was operated by a crew of 15 people.

The British Army requested a new weapon that could move autonomously from landing craft onto the shore to attack enemy targets. Operating it manually on the beach was considered a suicide mission due to the heavy German fire.

To solve this problem, engineers designed a vehicle consisting of two large wheels connected by a sturdy axle. Inside the axle was around one ton of explosives. It was named Panjandrum (the arrogant one). The project was led by Chief Engineer Nevil Shute. Rocket launchers were placed on each side of the wheels to provide thrust. In theory, Panjandrum would be carried to the beach by a landing craft, where the rockets would be activated to propel it onto the shore, crashing into the defensive walls and exploding. With one ton of explosives, Panjandrum was more than capable of destroying Nazi gun emplacements along the coastline. The prototype was secretly built in Leytonstone, a neighborhood in East London, and transported covertly to the test site at Westward Ho, Devon, England, during the night. However, the chosen test site was a very popular tourist beach. Panjandrum was tested for the first time on 7th September 1943. Its bizarre appearance piqued the curiosity of nearby tourists, despite warnings from the DMWD about safety.

The team waited anxiously for the test, and when Shute gave the signal, the rockets were activated. Panjandrum rolled off the landing craft and headed straight for the beach. Everything seemed to go smoothly until one of the rockets flew off the wheel. The imbalance in thrust between the two wheels caused it to lose direction and flip over on the beach.

The French once invented a peculiar weapon known as the Bazooka Vespa. It was a Vespa 150 TAP scooter equipped with an M20 75mm recoilless rifle, also referred to as a light anti-tank cannon.

The scooter could only reach a maximum speed of 40 miles per hour and was primarily used by French paratroopers. Nearly 600 of these scooters were produced in the 1950s. Inspired by the Allied forces' Cushman scooter, Enrico and his team of engineers designed a prototype called the MP5, also known as Paperino, in 1944. Dissatisfied with its appearance, Enrico enlisted aviation engineer Corradino D'Ascanio to redesign it. This collaboration led to the MP6 model in 1946, which was immediately dubbed Vespa by its creator. Vespa, meaning 'wasp' in Italian, was a perfect metaphor for the scooter's shape and engine sound. Similar to the success of the iPhone by Steve Jobs and Jonny Ive, Vespa, created by Enrico and Corradino, became an instant hit upon its release. Thirteen years after its introduction, Vespa reached 1 million units sold, with the number growing to 16 million today.

As a long-established brand known for its agility and elegant design, Vespa has evolved through numerous versions over the years. However, what you may not know is that one of its older models, the Vespa TAP 150, is considered one of the most dangerous scooters in history.

The Krummlauf is another unique weapon concept developed by Nazi Germany, ranking fifth on Business Insider's list. This gun was based on the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle.

In terms of design, the Krummlauf closely resembled the Sturmgewehr 44, with the primary difference being its curved barrel and a sighting scope that allowed soldiers to fire around corners. The idea of developing such a weapon was well-received, but its design had numerous limitations and was not very versatile in use. The Krummlauf was regarded as a creative concept as it could theoretically fire around bends or at angles of 30 to 45 degrees. However, by 1945, the cost of producing such a weapon made it impractical, and the project was soon abandoned. Although the Krummlauf seemed promising, it relied on unrealistic expectations, as if the physical laws seen in cartoons could be applied to the real world, with a scope mounted on a standard assault rifle.

After investing considerable time and money in its design, it became apparent that the Krummlauf was too expensive to be produced on a large scale.

During World War II, an American dentist came up with the idea of using bats to carry incendiary bombs to attack Japan. Although the experiment was successful, this strange weapon was eventually surpassed by the atomic bomb.

In the most brutal war in human history, World War II, people explored various ways to create weapons beyond imagination. From giant melon-shaped tanks to bizarre suicide bomber vehicles, three-wheeled tanks, ice-made aircraft carriers, and many other unconventional weapons were designed. Some of them made it past the testing phase, while others were discarded early on due to their impracticality. Among these many odd weapons, the bat bomb project in the U.S. was once seen as feasible, but it was ultimately overshadowed by more powerful weapons. The idea of using bats as bomb carriers was conceived by Lytle S. Adams, a dentist from Irwin, Pennsylvania, in the early 1940s. He was an acquaintance of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt at the time. Adams' inspiration for using bats as weapons came from a visit to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, where many bat species reside. Dr. Adams wrote about the idea in a letter to the White House in January 1942, just over a month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Dr. Adams believed that by attaching incendiary bombs to bats and releasing them at night, they would fly over cities and roost in buildings at dawn. When the bombs ignited, they would set all of Tokyo ablaze. After reading the letter, President Franklin D. Roosevelt remarked that the idea sounded crazy, but worth considering. The famous zoologist Donald Griffin also reviewed the letter and deemed it a feasible concept.