Twenty years after the First World War, the Second World War saw one of the worst human made catastrophes in history. Dubbed as the deadliest war ever and involving 30 countries and a personal loss of up to 85 million people, both civilian and military, the Second World War thankfully was the last to date. Adolf Hitler was responsible for triggering the war after he invaded Poland in 1939. It took six years for the guns to finally fall silent amid massive destruction and wanton loss of lives. It took the defeat of the then Nazi Germany and Japan for the world to start counting its losses.
I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its stupidity,” said General Dwight D. Eisenhower. “Kinship among nations is not determined in such measurements as proximity of size and age. Rather we should turn to those inner things — call them what you will — I mean those intangibles that are the real treasures free men possess.”
Suffice so many people against the war, many participants created quite a unique armory set. New and more advanced weapons were introduced during the Second World War by all who were involved. Weapons that were meant to instill maximum damage and loss of lives.
5 Weapons from World War 2
Suicide Bomb Dogs
The Russians were responsible for this mode of destruction. Dogs were wired with bombs and then starved. They were then directed to the enemy’s food storage and trained on how to pull a cord to denote the Bomb they carried. This method by the Russians proved ineffective as the dogs found it difficult to accomplish their mission with war raging around them. They would then attempt to run back to their master but would be shot, before they arrived.
The Goliath Tracked Mine
These were used by the Germans to target buildings, bridges, dense infantry formations, and tanks. They were remote controlled miniature vehicles that could carry a 165-pound bomb. The vehicles were way ahead of their time with technology that was not available at the time. Modern day robots are built on this technology, so they turned out to be slow and not easy to control, and were thus shelved.
The Ship mounted aerial mine rocket launcher
Designed by the British, the rocket was made to protect ships from air strikes by Fighter Jets. When an aircraft was spotted and about to attack a ship, the Aerial Mine Rocket would be launched and on reaching 1000 feet, would explode and disperse mines in all directions through parachutes attached to a cable 400 feet long. The mines, parachutes, and cables proved to be too conspicuous, and the attacking fighter jets could easily fly around them.
The largest gun in the world
Hitler needed a weapon that could enable his forces invade France, and bring down the thick concrete wall that surrounded the French Maginot Lines. An arms developer was contracted and came up with a 155-foot long gun that could shoot 10,000-pound shells, had an enormous 98-foot barrel and was four stories high. Its size and mode of transportation became a huge impediment as it could only be transported by rail and thus became an easy target for fighter jets flying overhead due to its size.
Ruth Stahl SD 1400 “Fritz X” Radio-controlled Bomb
This German bomb was developed to target Naval ships and was responsible for sinking an Italian Ship with almost 1500 personnel, 2 British Ships and damaging a few more. It was a piercing bomb with enhanced aerodynamics and wings to propel it better in addition to a tail. The problem was that the fighter jet had to go too close to the target to accomplish the mission and many never returned to base after the drop.
