Top ten greatest weapons in history

[sockdrama]

No STG/MP44? It made assault rifles! Also, yes, the M2. And even though this violates the "one person" rule, aircraft carriers. Projection of power, people.

 

[Knifewounds]

A Katana? Kind of played, don't you think?

I was expecting something a bit more interesting.

And absolutely useless against chainmail.

Even though you could just thrust the blade into the chain mail, and it'll go through just like another sword. I mean all you need to penetrate chain mail is a pointy tip, and a strong blade which the katana has. And don't give me that oh, the katana's not a thrusting weapon bs. It's curved design doesn't hinder any of its abilities.

You have no idea what you're talking about here.

Next you'll be saying that Japanese Officers would cut through machine gun barrels with them in WWII.

The katana has next to no armour piercing capability. Hell, I don't know much about swords but I know that much. The blade is flat, and in order to get through the armour, you'd have to be pushing more of it away. If you're going for an armor piercing weapon, a stabbing weapon was best with a very thin blade, so you could get between plates and the like.

Your entire list is really nothing more then weapons you thought looked cool. These aren't the greatest weapons in history. Hell, you're picking weapons from all over time that really can not be compared with one another. Perhaps if you had this as some of the most iconic weapons of all time I'd give it to you, but greatest, no.

Just no.

Sure they are *rolls eyes* Let me simply state that I've wielded most(note the word Most) of these weapons, and drew up this list out of my experiences with them while still doing an ample amount of research for them. I'm judging these weapons based on their own merits, and effectiveness in their time period + what they did for future weapons. Back to the katana debate. No of course the katana isn't the best piecing weapon, but saying it has none of downright ignorant. The katana is plenty capable of piecing through light armor, and even if it cant piece through heavier armor the blade is still able to bones through the armor. After all you have to remember that the katana can still inflict 1000's of pounds of force in its slashes. In the long run armor really isn't that much of an issue for most longswords since they can still just inflict bunt force trauma.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I'm sorry but the Katana? I'm sorry but... No, others have already elaborated on why that is a foolish #1.

Also none of the projectile weapons in the list is a match for the MG 42.

Light weight but capable of unleashing a barrage of fire typical of heavier machine gun designs, I personally think this thing was the greatest weapon in history because when it comes to suppressive fire, there is no real superior light weight weapon.

It was weapons like this that made the hard pressed Germans capable of inflicting heavy casualties.

 

[bz316]

Panzerfaust. Pretty much invented the whole hand-held, anti-tank thing...

 

[LarenzoAOG]

Note 2: that I'm not going to include any weapon that cannot be manned by more than a single person.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that, but heres my entry, not so much a weapon but a vehicle, depending on how you look at it.

Mine is the T-34 tank, the fist tank made with angled armor, when the Russians realised the main gun was no match for the German Panzer tanks armor, thay simply crashed straight into the Panzer tanks, you have to admit thats impressive.

 

[Infernai]

1) Human Brain.....after that its all redundant...

That one is of varying quality and dependant on the 'wielder' in terms of effectiveness..so to speak.

 

[Patrick Dare]

Where's the shotgun? Been around quite awhile, versatile. The "trench sweeper" was so lethal in WWI "Germany even filed an official diplomatic protest against their use, alleging they violated the laws of warfare." (which I find kind of funny since both sides used chemical weapons). Short range yes but an excellent weapon when used in certain conditions and it's still used extensively by law enforcement.

 

[loc978]

Just reading along in the thread, and I noticed another alarming inaccuracy... so... another clarification about swords: the use of the word "claymore". Technically, there are two types of claymore sword... the two-handed Highland Claymore is what people tend to refer to in this thread (which wasn't necessarily as large as most folks think), but there's also the basket-hilted claymore:

which would be very hard to cut someone in half with... in fact, it was better suited to bashing armor and then thrusting.

 

[Knifewounds]

The Katana is a good weapon and it deserves a place on the list, but number one? In my opinion, probably not. I only touched on katana work in my Bujinkan Ninjitsu classes, but here are a few issues:

1. The Tip: the difference between a katana and ninjato is the tip. Almost all strikes focus on this particular section of the blade. Ninjatos are actually katanas that have been broken and thrown away by samurai.

2. The Side: English rapiers and smallswords, sabers and cutlassess all use the flat of the blade to block and parry incoming attacks. Try that with a katana, and it will break.

3. Cost: Not a big thing, but when you think about it, the money and work put into a good katana makes them quality weapons, rare to find and difficult to get a hold of without connections. And while one sword is always nice, a bloody army is always a welcome addition.

4. Training: To make the katana an effective weapon, years of training are required to grasp even just the basics. And techniques are constantly being modified and evolved.


So, I would, in my opinion, put katana at number two. And possibly put COMBAT TRAINING as number one. Heck, in my training, we were taught how to stop a swordsman while unarmed. (Haven't mastered it yet. got hit with the bloody bokken repeatedly.) And counter knife and gun work can be fun.


Oh! A suggestion: a stick/staff. You don't wanna know the crazy crap Japanese martial Artists can pull with a hanbo (3-foot staff)

I have one minor problem with number 2. A katana's not gonna break if you try that. The hardness of the blade can deal with that kind of punishment. I can understand peoples issues with me putting a katana at number one, and most of the people who complain are simply hate the massive hyperbole surrounding the weapon's acclaimed greatness. You seem to be one of the few that aren't severally disgruntled by that choice. Though the reason I put the katana at number one was because its versatility as a sword, and usefulness as a weapon based on my experience with it, and research I did on all the other weapons, but really I think any weapon you put at the top as the best would have this kind of controversy since there are so many weapons to choose from for people to argue about.

 

[Death on Trapezoids]

#5. M1 Garand: ........ The Garand could essentially do everything an infantryman needed during the time of WWII.

Not 100% true. While the Garand was a great weapon, the M1 Carbine essentially replaced the Garand in terms of importance and became the most produced small arms weapon in American history. The Garand was too heavy for most troops that weren't on the front lines, and these "second-line" infantrymen were left with pistols. Winchester used Carbine Williams suggestions and placed a short-stroke piston system in place. The guns weighed under 6 pounds, were semi-automatic, and had great power and accuracy. MacArthur even accredited the guns for being a huge factor in the win in the Pacific.

I agree that the M1 carbine, posessing a larger clip size and greater accuracy than a pistol, is a good replacement for a pistol, but for general combat, not the M1 Garand itself. The Carbine fires a much smaller .30 caliber cartrige than the Garand, so so much for the "great power" aspect. In fact, troops specifically stated that they had to shoot enemies multiple times, not in every encounter, but disturbingly often, before they finally went down. It also has a shorter barrel, and so inherently less accuracy. Finally, the Carbine is much more prone to jams and malfunctions in cold weather than the Garand.

OT: my contribution is the trench spike. Imagine brass knuckles with a wicked seven inch spike attached to the bottom designed specifically to penetrate the skulls and helmets of your trench's previous occupants.

 

[THE M3RCENARY]

*Puts on full shitstorm gear*

The Benchmade model 42-47

Out of all the types of switchblades there are, to me any Benchmade balisong wins.

Made fully of titanium

Razor Sharp

Will not break

Spring latch

Just plain awesome to flip.

 

[Knifewounds]

Note 2: that I'm not going to include any weapon that cannot be manned by more than a single person.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that, but heres my entry, not so much a weapon but a vehicle, depending on how you look at it.

Mine is the T-34 tank, the fist tank made with angled armor, when the Russians realised the main gun was no match for the German Panzer tanks armor, thay simply crashed straight into the Panzer tanks, you have to admit thats impressive.

lol, that's just f'in awesome. I need to do another list like this to cover these things.

 

[maturin]

#4. RPG7
Yes, it is a useful anti-tank weapon, but the problem is that you have to be quite close. The small fins on the projectile itself don't really help in keeping it going straight and it will shoot off into random tangents. Many of them are also duds, not exploding when they hit something, or even not even firing out of the tube.

You play too much CoD.

People put scopes on them for a reason.

 

[Knifewounds]

#5. M1 Garand: ........ The Garand could essentially do everything an infantryman needed during the time of WWII.

Not 100% true. While the Garand was a great weapon, the M1 Carbine essentially replaced the Garand in terms of importance and became the most produced small arms weapon in American history. The Garand was too heavy for most troops that weren't on the front lines, and these "second-line" infantrymen were left with pistols. Winchester used Carbine Williams suggestions and placed a short-stroke piston system in place. The guns weighed under 6 pounds, were semi-automatic, and had great power and accuracy. MacArthur even accredited the guns for being a huge factor in the win in the Pacific.

I agree that the M1 carbine, posessing a larger clip size and greater accuracy than a pistol, is a good replacement for a pistol, but for general combat, not the M1 Garand itself. The Carbine fires a much smaller .30 caliber cartrige than the Garand, so so much for the "great power" aspect. In fact, troops specifically stated that they had to shoot enemies multiple times, not in every encounter, but disturbingly often, before they finally went down. It also has a shorter barrel, and so inherently less accuracy. Finally, the Carbine is much more prone to jams and malfunctions in cold weather than the Garand.

OT: my contribution is the trench spike. Imagine brass knuckles with a wicked seven inch spike attached to the bottom designed specifically to penetrate the skulls and helmets of your trench's previous occupants.

Thanks now I don't have to do the research to justify my statement

OT. I would totally put the trench spike at number 11 cause its level of awesome goes to 11!

 

[Turkey Braveheart]

1 through 10: The Booty Warrior

Unleash him on your enemies and watch them flee.

 

[Turkey Braveheart]

In all seriousness, the Gladius Hispaniensis. The stubby little sword that conquered Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

 

[EMFCRACKSHOT]

The answer is quite simply the breech loading rifle. Specifically the Dreyse or the Chassepot. The Dreyse came into service first, and became the standard armament in the Prussian army. It was sighted at 800 feet, a range four times that of any musket and its effectiveness was proven at the battle of Konnigratz where it inflicted grievous losses upon the Austrian forces at comparatively little cost to the Prussians.
Modern infantry tactics can trace there origins back to the development of the breech loading rifle. It marked the transition from the Napoleonic style of warfare to more modern warfare in Europe. The primary unit became the company instead of the battalion and it prompted a greater use of cover amongst infantry. Because of the greater rate of fire and mobility allowed by the breech loaders, a company could advance up the field under the covering fire of another company and then stop to cover them as they advance. This was impossible with muskets because of the short ranges and long reloading times but is now seen as one of the most fundamental infantry maneuvers.
In one action in the Franco-Prussian war, French Soldiers with the Chassepot rifle (which was sighted to 1600 feet and was more reliable) caused over 400 casualties in a Prussian battalion, marching in column formation) before they had even advanced to within 1200 feet. This was then of column and line formation as the primary battle formations.
I could go on more, but its four in the morning xD

 

[NeutralDrow]

#1 This one will likely get some people confused but I stand by my choice that the ax is the best weapon in human history. This weapon has been around almost since humans first discovered tools not only for doing work to survive, but also to wage war on other people. The ax is very versatile as it can be used as both a cutting weapon, a puncturing weapon (depending on the type of ax you are using), and a smashing weapon.

Honestly, I'd actually put the spear ahead of the ax. They have similar levels of survival utility, but they're even easier to make ("sharp thing on a stick" construction; unless you're counting "edged rock held in hand" as an ax, of course), easier to train people to use, easier to use in massed combat, greater range, and probably even have more methods of attack. This includes several methods of stabbing, obviously, but also swinging (with the right spearhead), bashing (it's basically a staff, after all), and throwing (barring the francisca and tomahawk, not something most axes have). Hell, spears are technically still used today, if you count bayonet combat.

But spears are so boring and no fun unless one is on horseback. Axes on the other hand are fun all the time.

Huh. I'd totally forgotten that they're awesome horseback weapons, too!

By the way, you hear that sound? That's basically every army in history spontaneously rising from their graves to speak with you.

With Zhao Yun commanding them.

Still, though...

If this weapon was not the best suited for the purpose, why did it not cease to be used as a killing tool until guns came around?

What about weapons that didn't cease being used when guns came around?

Spoiler: ^_^

I've always been bothered when people say that all they would bring into a melee fight is a knife. If you ask me all you're going to get out of that is my warhammer turning your face into goo while your knife is stuck in my shield. (I like heavy weapons that make people go splat)

Assuming you're fighting on open ground with room to swing, and you actually hit the guy with the knife. And why would he be attacking your shield? Unless you're talking, like, a buckler or something.

 

[Twad]

Good weapons?

Not a katana. Its overhyped.

It your MIND (and body).
THink Sun Tzu.

Or, if all else fail.. orbital laser.

 

[loc978]

2. The Side: English rapiers and smallswords, sabers and cutlassess all use the flat of the blade to block and parry incoming attacks. Try that with a katana, and it will break.

I have one minor problem with number 2. A katana's not gonna break if you try that. The hardness of the blade can deal with that kind of punishment.

true. also, another misconception: the entire katana is not harder than a western sword. Differential tempering makes the ha... the edge, extremely hard, and therefore better at holding an extremely sharp edge... but also more brittle and prone to chipping. The spine of the blade however, is insulated with clay during the tempering process, making it no more brittle than a western blade. Expensive and labor intensive to forge? Yes... but is it able to effectively parry with the side and spine of the blade while taking no more damage than a western sword? Also yes.


Also, and finally on-topic...
the two greatest weapons to date are:
1. Nuclear ICBMs
and
2. Long-range Artillery.