Take a look at these 4 Bizarre Military Prototypes that were interesting concepts, but never made it to the battlefield.
The YB-35 Bomber
The YB 35, an experimental, piston powered, heavy bomber aircraft was developed for the United States Army Air Forces during and shortly after World War II by the Northrop Corporation (in 1949).
|First flight||25 June 1946|
|Status||Cancelled in 1949|
|Primary user||United States Air Force|
|Program cost||US$66 million|
The “High Ball” Bouncing Bomb
Although many variations of the bouncing bomb were in service in the 40s, the High Ball was one of the largest bouncing bombs ever created.
The bouncing bomb is launched from the back of low flying aircraft. Spinning in the opposite direction, it skims (bounces) across water until eventually sinking and exploding. The bomb travelled vast distances only meters above water to avoid being shot down by underwater defenses.
|Type||Conventional (depth charge)|
|Place of origin||United Kingdom|
Active Denial System (ADS)
The Active Denial System is a directed-energy weapon developed by the U.S. military for crowd control. This technology is non-lethal, and works by transmitting energy micro waves toward its target. Informally, the ADS is also known as the Heat Ray since it works by heating the surface of targets. The ADS was deployed in 2010 with the United States military in the Afghanistan War, but was withdrawn without seeing combat.
Metal Storm Limited
Metal Storm is a defunct research and development company based in Brisbane Australia. Specializing in ridiculous weaponry, Metal Storm fashioned an anti-air craft / anti-missile weapon, capable of firing 600 rounds per minute through 36 barrels. Strangely, this thing never took off… I suppose it was down to ongoing costs of a thousand bullets every few minutes.