Weapons That Were Actually Real and Look Totally Insane (Real Flying Tank Pic Inside)
These are not concept art. Not movie props. Every single one of these was built, tested, and used by a real military. The pictures prove it.
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1. The Biggest Gun Ever Built
The Schwerer Gustav was a German railway gun so large it needed its own custom built railway line just to move it. It weighed 1350 tons. The barrel alone was 30 meters long. It fired shells the size of small cars at targets over 37 kilometers away.
It took 2500 men and several days just to assemble it before firing. It destroyed a Soviet ammunition bunker buried 30 meters underground with a single shot.
It was so large the Allies could not believe it existed when they first heard reports of it.
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2. The Weapon That Chased the Generals Who Built It
In 1943 Britain needed a way to blow up beach obstacles during a landing. Their solution was the Panjandrum. A giant wooden wheel nine feet tall packed with 70 rockets and filled with explosives, designed to roll across the beach and detonate against enemy fortifications.
During the live test on a beach in Devon, senior officers and journalists were invited to watch. The rockets started firing in random directions. The wheel spun out of control, shed rockets across the beach, changed direction and headed straight for the crowd of generals and reporters watching it.
Everyone ran. Nobody was killed. The project was immediately cancelled.
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3. The Gun That Shot Around Corners
The Krummlauf was a curved barrel attachment developed by Germany in WWII. It fitted onto a standard rifle and bent the barrel at a 30 or 45 degree angle, allowing soldiers to fire around corners, over walls, or from inside tanks without exposing any part of their body.
It worked. It also destroyed itself after around 300 shots because the bullet tearing around a bent metal barrel at high speed was not good for the barrel.
A version was also made for tanks so the crew could shoot at infantry attacking the vehicle from directly underneath.
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4. The Tank Built by a Farmer Named Bob
When WWII started New Zealand had no tanks and no way to get any. A man named Bob Semple, who was the Minister of Works, decided to build some himself. He took standard farm tractors and welded corrugated iron sheets around them for armor. The guns were mounted through the sides.
The finished vehicle weighed 25 tons, could barely move, overheated constantly, and the crew had to crawl in through the engine bay. It was officially placed into military service.
When journalists asked Bob Semple if he had any regrets about the design he said he did not.
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5. The Soviet Union Strapped Wings to a Tank
In 1942 Soviet engineer Oleg Antonov attached a full set of wooden biplane wings and a tail to a standard T-60 tank. The idea was that a plane would tow it into the air, release it behind enemy lines, and the tank would glide down and land itself ready to fight.
It flew once. The towing aircraft struggled so much with the weight that the pilot of the tank had to release early. He glided it down and landed it safely in a field.
The project was cancelled because no aircraft powerful enough to tow it into combat could be found. The tank that flew still holds the record as the heaviest glider ever flown.
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If you enjoyed this, check out our other articles:
Weapons Too Insane To Exit (pics inside)
Things From War History That Sound Totally Made Up (But Actually Happened) - Part 1
Things From War History That Sound Totally Made Up (But Actually Happened) - Part 2
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All weapons listed are historically documented. May 2026.