Kathrine Frich
Throughout history, the battlefield has inspired some of the most extreme and often downright strange, technological innovations.
Throughout history, the battlefield has inspired some of the most extreme and often downright strange, technological innovations.
Beyond the iconic tanks
Beyond the iconic tanks and fighter jets, there’s a forgotten world of war machines that defy logic, budget constraints, and sometimes even physics.
This gallery takes you on a journey through some of the weirdest military contraptions ever conceived, where creativity and desperation collided in the name of war.
The Kugelpanzer: Germany’s Mysterious Ball Tank
Looking like something from a dystopian comic, the Kugelpanzer was a German one-man ball tank from WWII.
Armed with just a single machine gun and protected by ultra-thin armor, it’s believed to have been used for reconnaissance.
Only one known model exists today, housed in Russia’s Kubinka Tank Museum.
Surcouf: The Submarine-Cruiser Mashup
France’s Surcouf blurred the line between submarine and surface ship.
Armed with massive 8-inch guns and carrying a seaplane, this 1930s vessel aimed to outgun anything afloat.
It vanished mysteriously in 1942 after colliding with an unknown ship in the Caribbean.
Vespa 150 TAP: Scooter with a Recoilless Rifle
Yes, you read that right. The Vespa TAP was a French military scooter equipped with a 75mm recoilless rifle, designed for paratroopers in the 1950s.
Though firing it while riding wasn’t advised, in theory, it could be done, turning a humble scooter into a mobile anti-tank platform.
Goliath: Germany’s Remote-Controlled Mini-Tank
This WWII innovation looked like a toy tank, but packed up to 220 pounds of explosives.
Controlled by joystick through a cable (and later radio), the Goliath was sent on suicide missions to destroy enemy tanks or fortifications.
Over 7,000 were built despite their fragile connections.
The TV-8: Chrysler’s Nuclear-Powered Tank Concept
Conceived during the Cold War, the TV-8 was a futuristic tank designed to run on a nuclear reactor.
The entire crew, weapons, and systems were housed in a pod-like turret, making it look more like a spaceship than a land vehicle. It never left the prototype stage.
Ribauldequin: The Medieval Organ Gun
Also called the “infernal gun,” this 14th-century weapon featured multiple barrels firing in a volley, essentially a medieval machine gun.
Used by England’s Edward III and later in the Italian Wars, it terrified troops with its rapid blasts but suffered from long reload times.
Tsar Tank: Russia’s Giant Tricycle of Doom
Sporting 30-foot-tall front wheels, this WWI-era Russian design was meant to roll over trenches.
Unfortunately, its small rear wheel kept getting stuck, and its engines were too weak to help. The 40-ton behemoth was eventually abandoned and scrapped.
Project Pigeon: Guided Bombs… with Birds
Developed by behaviorist B.F. Skinner, this WWII project trained pigeons to peck at screens inside missile nose cones, steering them toward targets.
Despite some early promise, the idea was eventually dropped in favor of electronic guidance systems.
Corkscrew Tanks: Auger-Driven Snow Crawlers
Designed for deep snow and swamps, vehicles like the Russian ZIL-2906 used spinning augers instead of wheels or tracks.
They could even move sideways. These strange machines weren’t great for combat but proved useful for space capsule recovery and Arctic exploration.
The Praying Mantis: A Vertical Gun Turret Tank
Britain’s Praying Mantis vehicle featured a bizarre body that could raise its machine gun turret over obstacles.
It was designed to fire from behind cover, but proved too clunky and complex to control. Only one prototype remains, on display in the UK.
Boirault Machine: The Walking Skeleton Tank
This pre-tank contraption from 1915 looked like a moving fence. Its giant metal frame rotated like a track to flatten barbed wire and cross trenches.
Slow, vulnerable, and awkward, it was obsolete before real tanks even hit the battlefield.
Object 279: Built to Survive a Nuclear War
The Soviet Object 279 tank had four tracks and egg-shaped armor to help withstand nuclear shockwaves.
It was heavily armed and capable of traversing extreme terrain. Still, its 60-ton weight led to its cancellation under Khrushchev’s anti-heavy tank policy.
Triebflügel: Germany’s Rocket-Propelled Vertical Jet
This Nazi concept fighter had no wings, just three spinning rotor arms with jet engines.
Designed for vertical takeoff and interception, the Triebflügel looked like a missile with spinning blades.
It never left the testing phase before Germany surrendered.
Churchill’s “Mole”: The Cultivator No. 6
Winston Churchill’s trench-digging machine, “Nellie,” was meant to dig pathways to enemy lines for safe infantry advances.
At 130 tons, it was massive but completely unarmed. Only a few were built, and none saw action before the war ended.