“Modern” Weapons of World War II

By Space (M)

When you read the title "Modern Weapons", the first thing that comes to mind might not be explosive rats. But if you were an allied power in the early 20th century, that may just be your weapon of choice, seeing as they were employed by the UK during World War 2.

The idea was to plant explosives inside rats, hoping they'd be burned by the axis powers when workers found them in the boiler room. The UK hoped it would be enough to cause a boiler explosion rendering a ship out of action.

Funnily enough, the shipments of explosive-filled-rats were seized! But you'd be wrong to conclude the entire operation was a bust, since it caused the unlucky soldiers tasked with searching rat carcasses for bombs to waste a lot of time.

So, there's a way to annoy your enemy without doing much just the possibility of you having done something can be enough.

Funnily-inily enough, you'd also be wrong to assume this is the only time the UK snuck explosives into a mammal like object to trick the enemy during the second world war, only this time the decoy bomb containers weren't live rats, but straw dummies.

The UK's were called “Rupert” (pictured right).

Don't worry, it's not just you I also struggled at first to understand how this was fooling anybody.

No, the real deal was dressed in fake helmets and fake weapons, just enough to lure nearby enemies close enough before the bomb would explode. Just for fun, here's America’s version, “Oscar” (pictured left)

Cute, right? But enough about bombs.

I know what you're thinking. You've been afraid to say it, but we all know the real enemies in World War 2... were corners.

Which was why the Germans invented the Curved Barrel.

Which lets you shoot around corners.

Modern Weapons

As you know, these were decisive in the war, and curved guns quickly became the predominant gun. Except not really. Obviously.

But how come? Shooting around corners would of course be very well received. It's because the bullets would very often shatter in half before leaving the barrel at all, leaving your ingenious weapon rather objectively useless when it came down to it.

Exploding rats, decoy dummies, round guns. World War 2 was a time of a lot of exploration as far as weaponry went. Just goes to show that the times you're most fiercely under attack is the time when you grow the most.

So if you want to be a good friend, attack your friends.

EMPs

By Seb (Bn)

EMPs or Electromagnetic Pulses are a scientific phenomenon that can cause surges in power grids and break electronic equipment. This is why it is dangerous! It can cause major power grid failures potentially cutting thousands to millions of people’s electricity. It prevents communication and breaks most computers. It is effective in the military because most equipment can be damaged using EMPs.

What is an EMP though? An EMP is like a radio wave but has much stronger electric field strength. This wave can induce a charge in electrical equipment, potentially short-circuiting or overcharging the device. This is used as a tactical way of destroying electrical equipment and causing havoc.

There are two types of EMPs: nuclear, and non-nuclear. Nuclear EMPs are more traditional, causing an EMP by ionizing air using gamma radiation. Nuclear EMPs are usually used in high altitudes as it can cover more land area. The Non-nuclear weapon is relatively new and uses large capacitors (electricity banks) and releases all its stored energy at once. Non-nuclear devices require so much energy that they have a much shorter range than nuclear EMPs, though are still often used for small-scale operations like terrorism.

But why use an EMP? In today’s world, humans rely more and more on electrical equipment. This makes any type of EMP more dangerous. However, modern electrical appliances are often equipped with fuses to protect against power surges. Underground bunkers with thick concrete walls also protect entirely against this kind of weapon.