Interesting Weapons

Richard Jimbo and Jan Fischer

Paper Armor

Blocked everything steel armor

blocked

arrows
swords
A musket ball

Half the weight

Both defeated by a Colt 45

Steel V.s. Paper Armor. Digital image. Discovery.com. N.p., n.

d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015. <http://www.discovery.com/tvshows/mythbusters/videos/paper-armor/>.

Half-swording

Techniques involving holding the swords edge

Murder Stroke

improvised warhammer
both hands on blade

Effective against armored opponents

Figure 2: Half-sword. Digital image. Tornbanner.com. N.p., n.d. Web.

<http://forums.tornbanner.com/showthread.php/10407-Half-sword>.

Trebuchets

First references 12th century

Were used until gunpowder invented
Broke through castle walls

Trebuchet. Digital image. Http://deremilitari.org/. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov.

2015. <http://deremilitari.org/2014/06/byzantines-avars-and-the-introductionof-the-trebuchet/>.

Paris Gun

Made solely to hit paris from over

100km away
170 second flight
120kg rounds, 180kg black powder
each shot expanded barrel
Reboring needed every 20 shots
Under 400 shots fired
183 hits on Paris

Paris Gun. Digital image. Http://sonicbomb.com/. N.p., n.d. Web. 30

Nov. 2015. <http://sonicbomb.com/modules.php?
set_albumName=ww1&id=Big_Bertha_02&op=modload&name=gall
ery&file=index&include=view_photo.php>.

V1

Flying bomb with wings

Pilotless
1870 lb warhead
57% hitrate
Most launch sites destroyed

V1. Digital image. Http://www.cpcis.net/. N.p., n.d.

Web. 29 Nov. 2015. <http://www.cpcis.
net/rocketman59/v1.html>.

V2

Started modern rocketry

12 ton rocket, 1 ton warhead
6 miles flight height
200 mile range
Struck target at 4000 mph
Over 1100 fired, over 2700 killed

A4/V2. Digital image. Http://www.daviddarling.info/. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2015. <http:
//www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/V/V-2.html>.

V3

Never completed
Multi-stage firing
Meant to annihilate London
Destroyed by bombers
Made in underground bunker

Figure 1: Hochdruckpumpe ("High Pressure Pump"). Digital image.

Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-3_cannon>.

Sky Hook

System to slowly pick people off ground

Supply package dropped

Harness and line

Small Helium bottle
Balloon

Line caught by aircraft

N809Z Boeing B-17G Fortress (32426) Ex 44-83785

with Fulton Skyhook. Digital image. Http://www.dhc-2.
com/. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015. <http://www.dhc-2.
com/Marana.html>.

Laser Weapon System (LaWS)

Fires infrared beams at varying intensities

Able to burn through steel
Currently used for slow targets

Laser Weapon System. Digital image. Http://www.stripes.com/. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2015. <http://www.stripes.com/news/navyencouraged-by-performance-of-laser-system-on-uss-ponce-1.317775
>.

Railgun

Fires at mach 7.5

All electric
100 mile range
10 shots per minute

Figure 3: Railgun. Digital image. Wikipedia.org. N.p.,

n.d. Web. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun>.

Coilgun Workings

Use coils to produce electromagnets

Projectile pulled through tube
Needs an advanced control system

How a Coil Gun Works. Digital image. Http:

//www.skepticink.com/. N.p., n.d. Web. 30
Nov. 2015. <http://www.skepticink.
com/smilodonsretreat/2014/04/08/railgunsvs-coilguns/>.

Railgun Workings

Two conductive rails

Uses forces made by high current
No need for sophisticated controls
Needs very high amperage

Railguns Lorenz Force. Digital image. Http://science.howstuffworks.

com/. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/rail-gun1.
htm>.

Active Denial System

Non-lethal
Fires a 100,000 Watt beam
Absorbed 1/64 inch into skin
Pain reported as equivalent to that
of scalding water being poured
onto skin
BFO. Active Denial System. Photograph. Americas Ray Gun.
wrydstuff. 3 June, 2008. Web. 30 Nov, 2015.

Soviet Union Space Cannon

Fired from an orbiting space station in 1975

Only cannon that actually fired in space
Designed based off of a 23mm cannon for the Tupolev Tu-22 Blinder
Zak, Anatoly. Soviet Unions Secret
Space Cannon. Photograph. Here is the
Soviet Unions Secret Space Cannon.
Popular Mechanics. 16 Nov, 2015. Web.
30 Nov, 2015.

Burgess Folding Shotgun

First purpose-built combat shotgun

Pump-action shotgun with rear grip
and trigger as pump
Manufactured and sold from 1894 to
1899
Sold with a holster

McCollum, Ian. Folding Shotgun.

Photograph. Forgotten Weapons: The
Burgess Folding Shotgun. Popular
Mechanics. 18 Sept, 2015. 30 Nov, 2015.

Burgess Folding Shotgun

The draw on the Burgess when holstered.

gif. Forgotten Weapons: The Burgess Folding
Shotgun. Popular Mechanics. 18 Sept, 2015.
Web. 30 Nov, 2015

One of the original ads. Photograph. Forgotten Weapons: The

Burgess Folding Shotgun. Popular Mechanics. 18 Sept, 2015. Web.
30 Nov, 2015.

Villar Perosa Double Machine Gun

Designed in Italy in 1914 during a time where machine guns were new
technology
Used two 25-round box magazines with a fire rate of 1200 to 1500 rounds per
minute
The 25-round magazines were emptied after 1.25 seconds of fire

gun lede. Photograph. Forgotten

Weapon: The Delightfully
Impractical Villar Perosa Double
Machine Gun. Popular Mechanics.
23 Oct, 2015. Web. 30 Nov, 2015.

Sunngard Automatic Pistol

Designed to solve the problem of errors while reloading under stress

Holds two magazines that each hold 25 6.5mm bullets, 50 in total
Was bested by the Colt 1911 in marketing to military

McCollum, Ian. Sunngard 6.5mm.

Photograph. Forgotten Weapon: Sunngard
Automatic Pistol. Popular Mechanics. 30
Oct, 2015. Web. 30 Nov, 2015.

Self Guided Bullets

EXACTO (Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordinance)

Similar in function to the laser-guided bombs of the Vietnam War
Promised to have a range of 2,000 meters regardless of conditions

DAPRA. bullet. Drawing. This Bullet Can

Change Direction in Midair. Popular Mechanics.
22 Dec, 2014. Web. 30 Nov, 2015.

Misconceptions of the Katana

Not the perfect weapon for every situation

The blades edge is extremely sharp and hard, resulting in a brittle edge
Lower quality steel used
The technique of Japanese Swordplay is an art, not a weapon
The blade is terrific for cutting via shearing, but nothing else

CT Snow. Katana Masamune. Photograph. flickr. 2 Aug, 2007. Web. 30 Nov, 2015.

The Davy Crockett

Nuke for the front lines

2.5 mile range
0.01 megatons
Produced 1956-1971
2100 made
High likelihood of hurting
those that used it

Davey Crockett. Digital image. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., n.

d. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nuclear_device)>.

Project Orion

Nuclear bomb powered spacecraft

800 bombs used for acceleration
Planned to be used to reach mars
Cancelled with the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Project Orion. Digital image. Http://astrorhysy.blogspot.com/. N.p., n.d. Web. 1

Dec. 2015. <http://astrorhysy.blogspot.com/2010/09/project-orion-how-to-nukespaceship.html>.

Kakute

Japanese spiked rings worn inwards on the middle finger or index finger and
the thumb
Subdued enemies through pressure points
Female ninjas would often tip them with poison

Hyakuraiju. Kakute. Digital image. Listverse. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.

Sodegarami

Used by Japanese police of the Edo era

Used to take down criminals without much injury
Entangled into kimono to stop criminal

Sodegarami. Digital image. Listverse. N.p., n.d.

Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://listverse.wpengine.
netdna-cdn.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/07/8_WeaponsForCapturin
gThieves.jpg>.

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