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Worst Weapon?

Discussion in 'Weapons & Technology in WWII' started by skunk works, Nov 20, 2005.

  1. skunk works

    skunk works Ace

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    What is the worst weapon fielded by any Army in the 2, in all catagories?
    Many contenders exist...example Brewster "Buffalo", Fairly(sp) "Battle", 75 on M-3 halftrack, 37 on weapons carrier, any Italian tank, any Dutch cruiser, early U.S. torpedoes, Chinese battleship, etc.
     
  2. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    The Italian tanks definitely!
     
  3. skunk works

    skunk works Ace

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    I'm told the 37mm on the weapons carrier (with dopy shield) was unanamously voted the worst weapon fielded by the U.S. army...EVER. Though highly mobile, it was ineffective, and extremely vulnerable. The Army said it was a "stop-gap" measure. Stop what?
    In addition the towed U.S. 76.2 anti-tank gun is the runner up. Bouncy (when fired)(kinda like standing up and waving "Here I am"), insanely high profile, so so capabilities, heavy and clumsly to get into position (or move at all). During the Battle of the Bulge they were refered to as "One shot Wonders". Because that's all you got before your end.
    The 57mm (6-pounder) same gets third place. All these were suspiciously lost in transport. I suspect for the same reasons of the other two.
    The U.S. finally got a 90mm, but it arrived too late/few only to fall victim to self-propelled versions.
     
  4. TA152

    TA152 Ace

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    I would say the He-177 bomber for the Germans. The Fairy Battle for the British, the General Lee tank for the Americans and British and Russians.
     
  5. Col. Hessler

    Col. Hessler Member

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    The Jap Type 97 hand grenade. After you pulled the pin, you had to hit it against a hard surface to activate it. Allied soldiers quickly came to realize what the sound ment and took the appropriate actions.
     
  6. skunk works

    skunk works Ace

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    Col. Hessler.. That reminds me about hearing about how Germans knew when a "Garand"(M-1) needed to be reloaded by the tinish cling of the ejected "stripper clip". Americans (in close town combat) would carry a spent one. Fire a couple of shots real quick, then throw the spent one. "Suprize", Live and learn, or learn to live.
     
  7. Martin Bull

    Martin Bull Acting Wg. Cdr

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    The British Army Boys .55 Calibre Anti-Tank Rifle must be a candidate.

    Virtually useless against WWII tanks and universally hated by anyone who had the misfortune to fire the thing due to the bruising recoil.
     
  8. dasreich

    dasreich Member

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    Japanese Nambu pistol. I'd rather be shot at by it than wield it.
     
  9. urqh

    urqh Tea drinking surrender monkey

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    Oh bugger....Martin got there first....hey Martin, it was even worse apparantly when attempted as an anti-aircraft weapon...
     
  10. PzJgr

    PzJgr Drill Instructor

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    Me 110. Who ever heard of a flight of fighers needing figher escort? :confused: [​IMG] :confused:
     
  11. redcoat

    redcoat Ace

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    Sorry, but I have to disagree.
    The Boys Anti-Tank rifle was actually a good design with a good performance, and it compares well with the other Anti-Tank rifles in service with other nations at the time.
    The problem with the Boys and every other A/T rifle was the large increase in the armour thickness of Tanks which took place in the late 30's.

    To pick on the Boys as a 'worst' weapon is unfair, it was actually no worse than any other A/T rifle of the period
     
  12. T. A. Gardner

    T. A. Gardner Genuine Chief

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    Worst aircraft to see service: The Blackburn Roc. Imagine going into battle in a "fighter" aircraft that is armed like a Defiant (turret with 4 .303's) and can manage a whole 195 mph on a good day!
    Second place: The Me 163. If you didn't die trying to take off or land, you had the joy of getting shot down gliding back to your airfield....That is if the enemy was stupid enough to fly directly over it.

    Worst hand weapon: The German Kampfpistole. Here is a singularly useless weapon. Intended as a signal pistol that could double as a weapon, it did neither function well. On top of that it was excessively expensive.

    Worst grenade: The Italian OTO Model 35 "Red Devil." They were unsafe to the user who could accidently set it off removing the safety. They misfired frequently. Disturbing them afterwards could inadvertently set them off. Italian troops dumped thousands of these grenades all over North Africa in favor of getting German ones.

    Worst machinegun: The Italian Fucile Mitriagliatori Breda Mod. 30. It used an oiler to lubricate the bolt and extractor. In service this clogged with dirt and dust rendering the machinegun useless or nearly so much of the time. It also had a flimsy loading tray that often got dented (it sticks out on the right of the gun) making the gun worthless.
    On top of this, it used the low power 6.5mm cartridge of Italian carbines and, was difficult to carry. The bipod was equaly flimsy and, the quick change feature of the barrel had no means of handling it while hot.
    I would have selected the French Fusil-Mitrailleur Mle 1915 Chauchat but, that is really a WW I dog of a gun.

    Worst tank: Germany's Maus. 288 tons of worthlessness. The most expensive and excessive example of tank design of the period.

    Worst infantry AT weapon: The PIAT. Heavy and difficult to cock. Poor range. It was just all around a bad design.

    Worst AT gun: The German 8.8 cm RW 43 Püppchen. Take a panzerschreck and make it 15 times heavier, 10 times larger and, no more effective. Way to go Nazi's!

    Well, enough fun for now.
     
  13. skunk works

    skunk works Ace

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    like your choices TA, the Sho-Sho did stink, as did the Nambu pistol/Komet/Maus.
    There is an instance where a soldier with a Piat destroyed 3 Tigers in one day. I guess every dog has his day. Tigers should stay out of the trees.
    Don't know about the Roc, but was tempted to mention Defiant (death from the rear),TBD Devastator (less than slow), Vindicator, Stuka (how about an upgrade), Me 110, 210, (junk em)that big 6 engine x-glider thing (never shoulda happened), I-16 (Rat), Buffalo (start over), P-39 (Frisby), Betty (flame-on)
    38-T (pin coushion), Ferdinand (no machine gun), Char-B/Lee (same reason), ALL Italian tanks, SU-76 known as (ich-bay),
    Dunquerk/Strassburg BB, "Tone" class CA, "Nagara" CL, that French sub with the 8in guns? that French CV? that German CV (with all antiaircraft on one side),Japanese PT's (big as destroyers)(what's the point)
    Katusha on trucks. I have many videos of them firing and they're going every which way. I've seen bottle rockets more accurate, it's a wonder they didn't blow more of themselves up, or hit anything. I guess when you got 100k of em accuracy is not necessary.
     
  14. Martin Bull

    Martin Bull Acting Wg. Cdr

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    I'll just put a word in the PIAT's favour. Firstly, yes, it was a diabolical thing to fire and the range was very limited. Most British soldiers hated the idea of having to use it.

    But in the right place, and in the right hands, it could certainly do the job. The Paras at Arnhem valued it quite highly - it came in very handy not only for destroying vehicles but also for 'house-clearing'.

    I'd say the Panzerfaust was the most effective overall, though - but they could also have a habit of exploding in their users' hands.... :eek:
     
  15. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    Also lack of training led to some people firing the Panzerfaust with the tail end against their shoulder...not a nice thing to happen. Well, don´t know if it´s just a tail or a fact, really.

    Found a nice pic of the
    famous last phase AT-plane Bu 181 with panzerfausts...Way to go!

    [​IMG]

    http://www.worldwar2aces.com/panzerfaust.htm
     
  16. urqh

    urqh Tea drinking surrender monkey

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    The Boys Anti-Tank rifle was actually a good design with a good performance, and it compares well with the other Anti-Tank rifles in service with other nations at the time.
    The problem with the Boys and every other A/T rifle was the large increase in the armour thickness of Tanks which took place in the late 30's.

    To pick on the Boys as a 'worst' weapon is unfair, it was actually no worse than any other A/T rifle of the period [/QB][/QUOTE]

    You are probably correct Redcoat, I take my dislike of it purely from the stories of the guys who had to fire the thing, but I suppose that complaint would be similar from all forces at the early stage of the war...except perhaps for the 88 crews who suddenly found a good use for their little toy...

    I'll be honest and say that I didnt know it actually served to the end of the war especially in the East, and that there were a few later improved models it would seem. I still hold though with my own view, that if I was firing one of these things in France 1940, I wouldnt much care who else had problems with theirs...My Anti tank gun was as useful as a catapult against Goliath...whoops maybe Im wrong there too..

    History
    The eponymous creator of this firearm was Captain Boys who was a member of the British Small Arms Committee. It was initially called Stanchion but was renamed after Cpt. Boys when he died as a mark of respect.

    [edit]
    Description
    A bolt action rifle fed from a 5 shot magazine, the weapon was large and heavy with a bipod at the front and a separate grip below the padded butt. To combat the recoil caused by the large 0.55 inch (14 mm) round, the barrel was mounted on a slide, and a shock absorber was fitted to the bipod along with a muzzle brake on the barrel.

    Effective to about 300 yards (300 m) as an anti-tank and anti-vehicle weapon, it was able to penetrate 3/4 inch (20 mm) of armour at up to 100 yards (100 m). Its effective range against unarmoured targets (eg infantry), was much further. Although useful against the early tanks, the increases in vehicle armour during WW2 left it largely ineffective for anti-tank duties and it was replaced in service by the PIAT anti-tank weapon. It still saw some use against bunkers, machine gun nests, and lighter vehicles. In the Western Desert the large bullet could throw up splinters from rocks to cause casualties and it continued to be used in the Pacific theatre against Japanese tanks; the Japanese did not replace their older lightly armoured tanks, spread out across the Pacific and South East Asia, with newer ones until later in the war. The weapon had been designed with these lighter tanks in mind
     
  17. Martin Bull

    Martin Bull Acting Wg. Cdr

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    As a matter of interest, is there a documented instance of a Boys A/T rifle actually disabling a tank in WWII ?
     
  18. TheRedBaron

    TheRedBaron Ace

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    Yup...

    Just read one!
     
  19. redcoat

    redcoat Ace

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    The floatplane version was even worse, it was so slow that pilots were advised not to do turns at low level [​IMG] ;)
    The aircraft I most love to hate.
    I hate the way it keeps being described as a 'wonder weapon'. When in truth, it was almost totally useless as a weapon.
    Two good choices T.A. Gardner [​IMG]
     
  20. redcoat

    redcoat Ace

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    In the British and Commonwealth attack on Tobruk on the 21 January 1941, an Australian soldier Private O. Z. Neall is credited with knocking out out three Italian tanks with his Boys anti-tank rifle. :eek:

    ps, I've also discovered it was used by the USMC in the Pacific during WW2, and even in the Korean War, as a sort of long range sniper rifle. :eek:
    Does anyone have anymore info on its use by the US Marines :confused:

    [ 23. November 2005, 07:26 AM: Message edited by: redcoat ]
     

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