The worst inventions of ww2.

Colonel Klink · Apr 10, 2009

This is my choice

Messerschmitt Me 163 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This plane had highly flammable gas,that would've made it easy to destroy.

Heidi · Apr 10, 2009

Colonel Klink said: ↑

Messerschmitt Me 163 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This plane had highly flammable gas,that would've made it easy to destroy.
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Did the R/A/F pilots knew of this? Could have been an advantage for the Allies.

Colonel Klink · Apr 11, 2009

Heidi said: ↑

Did the R/A/F pilots knew of this? Could have been an advantage for the Allies.
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It was never used in the war from what I know.But it wouldn't have helped the axis hardly at all.

Canberra Man · Apr 11, 2009

Me 163

The Me 163 was used during the war, it was faster that our fighters and could climb faster, it was capable of 600mph. for a while it played havoc with the American formations. It was dangerous to the pilot when landing if there was any A stoff and C stoff left in the tanks, it would blow up on landing.

Ken

Heidi · Apr 12, 2009

There was another problem eith the M 163.

The German pilots could not out turn the allied aircraft cause the M 163 was so hard to control in turning abilties!

Colonel Klink · Apr 12, 2009

Is this fslse info?

Canberra Man said: ↑

The Me 163 was used during the war, it was faster that our fighters and could climb faster, it was capable of 600mph. for a while it played havoc with the American formations. It was dangerous to the pilot when landing if there was any A stoff and C stoff left in the tanks, it would blow up on landing.

Ken
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From what I just learned, it did minimal damage.:behindsofa:

Heidi · Apr 12, 2009

True,it was a superior jet but it was a handful for the Germans pilots to control.

Colonel Klink · Apr 13, 2009

Are you sure you are not talking about the ME-262 Heidi?Messerschmitt Me 262 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The ME-262(Swallow)was a fighter that wasn't superior,because it was not manueverable.

Heidi · Apr 13, 2009

I am not sure,there was one German jet that was to hard to handle and to had at manueverable,it sounds like that one you provided a link for.

Kyt · Apr 14, 2009

The main problem with the Me-163 was that it was launched directly vertical, like an anti-aircraft missile, and so the bombers had to be flying virtually overhead the launch site for the aircraft to be effective.

Kyt · Apr 14, 2009

Panjandrum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Secret War

One of the daftest ideas for the preparation for D-Day

Kyt · Jun 5, 2009

Maybe daft but god i would love to see this

Replica of the Great Panjandrum, 1944 super-weapon, to be tested - Times Online

A secret weapon intended to blast through the Nazis’ Normandy defences has been re-created to mark the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

A replica of the Great Panjandrum, a giant drum powered by rockets and carrying a ton of high explosives, will be set off this morning along the beach at Westward Ho! in North Devon, where the original trials took place.

The Great Panjandrum was never used in battle because it was judged too unpredictable and too dangerous to its own side. During testing in 1944, the prototype veered wildly off course and careered towards an audience of top brass and VIPs who were forced to flee from their vantage point on a shingle ridge. A cameraman filming the test had an even closer escape as the bomb rolled directly towards him, rockets firing in all directions.

The device was revived later for an episode of the BBC comedy Dad’s Army, in which it did just the same thing to great comic effect.

Ten workers from the Bristol fireworks company Skyburst have spent two days attaching dozens of rockets to the rims of a 2m (7ft) diameter replica made from a cable drum. The replica is expected to travel up to 500m (550 yards) at a speed of about 15mph.

Skyburst’s display director, Leigh Pittaway, ruled out filling it with explosives as the original had been. He said: “We thought about it, as we have the whole beach to ourselves, but decided it would create too many complications. We don’t want to kill any dogs or onlookers.”

The original Panjandrum would have been a formidable weapon, had it worked. It was devised by Nevil Shute Norway, later a bestselling novelist using the shortened name of Nevil Shute, but then a naval lieutenant. He trained as an aircraft engineer and had worked with Barnes Wallis, designer of the dam-busting bouncing bomb. Shute had been given the task, by the Admiralty’s Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapons Development, of finding a way of demolishing the German seafront defences before the invasion.

The weapon had to be launched from a landing craft and be able to survive a hail of fire before detonating at a designated spot. According to Shute’s calculations, the Panjandrum would travel at 60mph on its two 10ft diameter steel wheels, smashing its way through any obstacles, before blasting a hole in the 7ft concrete of the Atlantic Wall large enough to drive a tank through.

North Devon was chosen for the tests because its shallow sandy beaches resembled those of northern France.

The prototype Panjandrum was built in Leytonstone, East London, and transported to Devon under conditions of strict secrecy. But the military had failed to take into account that Westward Ho! and neighbouring Appledore were still popular with holidaymakers. When the time for the test came it was in front of an audience of hundreds of visitors and locals.

As the cordite rockets were fired up, the Panjandrum rolled off a landing craft and up the beach, but it veered off to one side and continued to do so during each attempt.

After weeks of adjustments Shute and his team felt they had solved the problem. A final demonstration was planned before an audience of senior officers and War Office officials.

Things began to go wrong almost as soon as the Great Panjandrum was unleashed. Clamps holding the powerful rockets broke and they went shooting off across the beach. Out of control, it hit a series of bumps and turned towards the pebble ridge.

Fortunately, before it could annihilate the assembled generals and admirals, it veered off again and toppled over before exploding.

The replica Panjandrum — named after a poem by Samuel Foote that ended with the line “till the gunpowder ran out at the heels of their boots” — was commissioned by the organisers of the Appledore Book Festival to mark the launch of their brochure.

A spokesman for the festival, Lyn Callaghan, said: “It does sound like something out of Dad’s Army but perhaps we shouldn’t laugh, as it was designed with a serious purpose in mind.”
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And more pics and video

The Great Panjandrum rolls again... Secret weapon designed for D-Day roars back to life for anniversary | Mail Online

Kyt · Jun 5, 2009

OK, ams seriously underwhelmed by that

BBC NEWS | England | Devon | Sparks fly again for wheel weapon

smaja · Jun 5, 2009

Don't forget British Sticky bomb

Whilst attempting to throw it, the grenade could stick to the wearers' clothing! If the thrower has not let go of the safety lever, he has to try and remove the item of clothing without letting go of the lever.
If the thrower has let go of the lever, he has 5 second to remove the item of clothing and get a safe distance away from the bomb.When this happened, it tended to end up stuck to the throwers' trousers - with the uniform which was worn at the time, to remove his trousers (which were held up by braces) the thrower would have to remove any equipment (belt, ammunition pouches, etc.) followed by his Battle Dress blouse (jacket). He would then have to try and take his trousers off over his boots - all in less than 5 seconds! You may ask why the thrower could not just pull the grenade off of his clothing. They could try this but the adhesive coating was designed to allow the grenade, which weighed 2¼ lbs (1 Kg), to stick to the side of a tank. This grenade has been introduced for use against light A.F.Vs. It is designed to stick to a suitable target, thus ensuring that the high explosive has its maximum effect. The grenade will NOT stick should the surface be wet or muddy.
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