Top ten greatest weapons in history

[emeraldrafael]

Oh you have to have to put in a colt revolver. practically started the entire multi munnition weapon system with any reliability. That should be at least 8-10.

Ah the good old Colt. I remember playing a battlefield 1942 mod that was a realistic sim of the American war of independence. The normal infantry would fire a shot from their rifles then you would have to wait 20 seconds for the damn things to reload (Very humorous with bots, they would all lie down in front of each other, occasionally popping away). The Cavalryman however was armed with the Colt Revolver, and with 6 rounds and a quickish reload he kinda blew everyone else away.

Finally, someone sees and agrees. You cant deny the colt changed the way guns function today. You just cant.

 

[Master Kuja]

I have only this to add.

Gustav says "Hi."

Considering a single marine in the Falklands war damaged a god damn corvette class ship with a round from a Carl Gustav, and that it can be deployed to lethal effect in mass anti-infantry roles, as well as being used more recently to great effect in anti-tank roles, I'd be happy to have this by my side any day of the week.

Sure, two man operation is optimal, but it can be used by one guy just fine, so it still counts.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

#1

THE HUMAN MIND.

It can ruin an entire mass of people without having to spill any blood.
It comes up with any and all of these weapons, one being more dangerous than the next.
It can become unstable but still has access to it's destructive mental abilities.
It's only weakness is other human minds that have mastered the art of persuasion.

It can be accounted for all deaths.
The birth of all weapons.
The birth of the concept of murder.

It is the deadliest weapon on the planet bar none.

 

[loc978]

However, the OP was asking about weapons used by a single individual.

Whoops, missed that part.
I guess it would need to be transitional weapons that kicked off generations of standardized infantry killing tools, so (in chronological order)...

-metal arrowheads
-steel swords
-recurve bows
-muzzle-load, smoothbore firearms
-flintlock rifles
-cartridge-fed firearms
-Gatling gun
-Beretta Model 1918
-Browning hi-power
-Sturmgewehr 44

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

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.

Those who know the human minds capabilities of manipulation can use and twist the human minds of those who are less effective with their own. Look at how Japan got people to enter Kamikaze planes. Hell, look at suicide bombers today. The human mind is the most dangerous weapon in the world.

 

[Dimensional Vortex]

And where is the nuclear bomb? seriously what is better than being able to obliterate entire towns with the flick of a button.

 

[acutekat]

And where is the nuclear bomb? seriously what is better than being able to obliterate entire towns with the flick of a button.

agreed The Atomic Bomb really deserves the top spot

 

[GrimTuesday]

HAHA If you want to see some awesome spear work go watch Red Cliff. It's about Liu Bei's little rebellion during which Zhao Yun was one of his main generals.

I stand by my statement that axes are cooler and therefore they beat spears.

I still do need to see that. In the meantime, I've played that battle. Not as Zhao Yun, though; I prefer Guan Yu over him.

And clearly the only way would could settle this is open combat. My yari against whatever axe you pick (other than <url=http://www.studiodink.com/Images/Dynasty_Warriors/DW4/Xu-Huang.jpg>Xu Huang's; shit be cheatin', yo). Long as we're not using Fire Emblem mechanics, my advantage!

If you have Netflix, the theatrical version is on instant. It's not the full movie (the full movie is 4 hours long, it's just waiting on my queue because it's two disks and I want to get them at the same time) but it's still pretty good.

Were I to fight someone with a spear I would use a Dane ax. If you don't know what that is, it a long ax used frequently by vikings. it's about three feet long but because a targe can be used with something still in hand I could still use it two handed. The problem with spears is once your opponent gets inside the reach of the spear it is very hard to continue to use the spear and still fight effectively, which is where my shield comes in.

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.

I'm thinking more like a Scottish targe, you know the ones with the huge fucking spikes on the front. But your point is valid about the space issue, although I don't know of many melee fights that take place in small corridors. Also it's not that hard to swing a hammer (most warhammers weighted about 5-8lbs.) in a confined space.

To be honest, the only times I see people speak about the usefulness of knives is in modern combat situations, which is what I was thinking of.

I'd pick a spear or an iron staff, myself.

Knives are good if you're trying to be quiet or it's you last resort, but there is nothing quite about a melee fight and if you run in there with just a knife you're likely to get you head bashed in.

 

[Kitteh]

Throughout the course of our history we've constantly been inventing new ways to kill each other in more brutal, devastating ways, precise, and hilarious ways. We've made a lot of great & deadly weapons in our history haven't we? Anyways, those weapons that are on my top ten list will be graded by how good its design is, and how innovative, or devastating it was in its era of warfare.


Note 1: The weapons will be judged by their own merits, and by how well they do at the job they're made for.

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

Note 3: My grammar sucks sometimes, so you'll have to forgive me for that.

_______________________________________________________

Honorable mentions:

Any kind of flintlock, wheel lock & Matchlock gun: These where truly very innovative weapons that changed the course of warfare, and projectile weaponry forever, but I cannot call them great weapons. They could only fire one shot at a time, and took forever to reload, and could frequently misfire due to jamming, and weather conditions. While they're completely devastating when someone gets shot by them, and replaced the bow & arrow their many issues keep them from making it on this list.

Claymore Sword: This is a great weapon. When your swinging it around you feel like you can chop cows in half with it. unfortunately it had to compete with an even greater sword for the list, and it lost. Apologies to Scottish people everywhere.

LeMat Revolver: Its was a revolver that held 9 shots, and a central shotgun chamber. That's awesome. To bad its been buried into obscurity(the LeMat in RDR doesn't do it justice)

Intercontinental ballistic Missiles: This is the most powerful weapon made in existence however I cannot add a weapon that's never, and never should be, used.

______________________________

#10. The crossbow: If I were to best describe the usefulness of the crossbow in a single sentence I'd say" The crossbow is the weapon that made it possible to turn any civilian into a deadly warrior" With a crossbow you don't need to spend years of training to learn how to use a bow, and arrow, but instead you only needed to have the strength to pull back a string, load a bolt, point, and shoot. The simple mechanical design made it easy for anyone to pick up, and use. That and the bolts are deadly in their own right. However it was never able to kill off the bow & arrow because a trained archer could fire off several more arrows than a crossbow.


#9. Bowie Knife: This is the knife that practically coined the term "Now that's a knife!" for it large size. The Bowie Knife is one of the few knives I know of that could actually decapitate someone in on swing. Not only that. It can be used for just about everything that involves survival, and in my book a great weapon can be your greatest tool.


#8. M1911A1: This gun give birth to the modern pistol design, and could arguably be considered the greatest innovation in pistol history. With almost 100 years of military service there no doubt that the M1911A1 has some amazing lasting power behind it. So what makes this gun so great? Well, because it was the first magazine-fed handgun, and it was fired powerful 45. caliber rounds. So why is it so low on the list you may ask? Well, it does have an issue with jamming, and its recoil hinders its accuracy which bumps it down several notches.


#7.Thompson Submachine Gun: The Chicago typewriter was loved by soldiers, and criminals for its its ergonomic design, compactness, large 45.ACP cartridge. Its effectiveness in WWII, and the prohibition era is attributed to its high rate of fire making it perfect for spray & prey drive by's, and trench sweeping. The down side of its design is that it's not an accurate gun, but it compensates by unleashing a wall of lead towards whatever poor unfortunate Nazi or North side gangster that happens to be on the wrong end of its barrel.


#6. The Halberd: Don't we all love having choices? Being able to choose skewering your enemy like bloody shish kabobs. Choosing to take a mighty swing across your enemies gut thus spilling his gastric intestinal tract all over the war torn landscape, or simply choosing to flip your weapon around to swing a sharp pointy blade capable of getting into those hard-to-reach vitals of those hard-to-kill armored bastards. Ah, yes, freedom to kill exactly what you get from a Halberd. The innovation in its design helped it to be one of the most valued weapons on the battlefield until the advent of gunpowder.


#5. M1 Garand: "The Greatest Battle Implement Ever Devised" by General George S. Patton. Do I need to go on? Fine, well the Garand was a product of almost twenty years of research and development which part of the reason this became such a great weapon. It was accurate, it was semi-automatic, and fired powerful 30-06 rounds. The Garand could essentially do everything an infantryman needed during the time of WWII.


#4. RPG7: I really couldn't make this list without add one weapon that made things explode could I? It's a modern day bazooka. Its cheap, easy to use, and a reliable antitank weapon. Ya, that's not a scary weapon at all is it. Anyways, when I was looking for devastating weapons this was the epitome of destructive power. Its design has kept it as the go to antitank weapon for 3rd world countries terrorist, and revolutionaries.


3#. Bow & Arrow: A weapon that's lasted the course of civilization its self deserves nothing less than a high spot on this list. The power, and ingenious simplicity of its design was able so effective that it was still able to hold its own against the firearms all the way up to the mid 19th century until cartridge based multi-shot guns came to be.


#2. AK47: I mentioned earlier that the crossbow was effective because anyone could use one. Well that goes double for the AK. There are thousands of kids who are armed with an AK in Africa, and the middle east who can handle this thing like a pro. Not to mention that it packs one hell of a punch with its 7.62 rounds, and its indestructible design, though it is still not extremely accurate. This rifle will endure any punishment you give it. Its become more than a weapon of armed conflicts. Its become an icon, that's left its mark on human history, and the modern world.


#1. The Katana: There is no such greater weapon than that which can feel as an extension of the person who's using it. In that light the katana as a sword, and a weapon is perfection. It has perfect balance, precise control, its has great strength while still being flexible, and its shape, and sharpness combine create a powerful edge. It is every bit a slashing sword as it is a stabbing, and thrusting one. Honestly I believe it is impossible to create a sword as perfect as the katana.

I agree with one exception: replace the tommy gun with the soviet PPSh submachine gun. it was a savior to the soviets and helped them drive right into the heart of berlin.

 

[TheGreatCoolEnergy]

The gun that shoots shurikens and lightning

Also, where are nukes? Best weapon I've ever seen

 

[Squidwogdog]

Weapons shouldn't be celebrated

 

[loc978]

Weapons shouldn't be celebrated

Better to have 'em and not have to use 'em than to not have 'em when they're used on you. We live in the world that exists, not the one we wish existed.

 

[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 o
f an issue for most longswords since they can still just inflict bunt force trauma.

1000's or pounds of force, site your sources. You have no idea what you are talking about, i posted videos of tests of a both katana and longsword, used against real chain mail, and others posted ARMA articles. It does not go through chain mail or plate armor, i has no advantage over shields. Your nothing more than a Weeabo.

At the end of my post I stated that the katana could only go through simple light armors, and not chain, and plate mail, but still had the force to break whatever bones lay underneath that. I said nothing about it going through it(well maybe, but by about half an inch). Oh, I should try to justify that 1000's of pounds of force thing before you bring it up again as ammo for a flaming retort. Well, the answers very simple, the katana does have that kind of force; that's what gives them such a powerful cut. That force comes from the curve that acts like a spring when you swing it which dramatically increases the pounds of force when you hit something. I still find it quite funny that you call me a weeabo considering I'm more into Greek, and Roman culture than I will ever be with the Japanese. It's merely just a childish insult. And here's a way I can get around a shield. I'll just break the arm behind the shield, or wait for an opening in my opponents attacks for me to lunge a counter attack into, or just exploit the blind spot the shield leaves to sweep around, and maybe cut his head off if I'm feeling charitable enough not to chop at his legs instead, and even if the shields small enough to leave a small blind spot then its still gonna leave a lot more openings for me to strike at. And do you know what the sad part is? I could do all of these with any sword longsword, not just a katana. But lets strip everything down. How would a sword like a Viking sword stack up to katana if the wielders have no armor or protection , and have to rely squarely on the sword they're using? (btw your still entitled to ***** about my last statements I want want you to consult this question)

 

[Elf Defiler Korgan]

If we go by the "own merits, doing what they're made for," per the OP, the rapier and other smallswords are absolutely, positively missing from this list. (I'd also consider weapons which are meant to be used together as a single "weapon," and that would put hoplon + dari + xyphos and scutum + gladius + pilum very close to the top of the list. So I'll treat it as "rapier + main gauche or buckler or pistol".)

The rapier was not designed as a military arm nor as an armor breaker. The reason was because at the time of its development, armor was very, very quickly disappearing from warfare and civilians don't use armor. The rapier was never intended as a military weapon; it was a sidearm for civilian use. These objections aren't well-suited to this list.

What the rapier did do was overcome the cut-and-thrust weapons of its era handily, eventually forcing anyone who wanted to survive a sword fight to adjust what they used. Cutting weapons were very quickly replaced in Europe because hold-outs who rejected the rapier and linear fencing died in droves. A rapier's lunging attack and ability to disengage underneath or over an opponent's hands made it extraordinarily difficult to stop and kept someone using a rapier at a safe distance. Paired with a main gauche and buckler, it retained defensive capability even in a committed attack. If an opponent with a heavier weapon attempted to parry, the blade could be slipped under their weapon with a swift wrist movement and the same attack continued. And while the wounds dealt were hardly the spectacular gorefests of Deadliest Warrior, let's remember a popped lung was just as fatal as decapitation back before modern medicine, and a hell of a worse way to go.

Estimates of the number of nobles killed by these swords gets into the very high tens of thousands. How many common folk were killed in the street or by highwaymen with these weapons I can't imagine anyone can tally.

You clearly seem to have a lot of knowledge about the rapier and its application, how it works, the innovation of the Capo Fero lunge, the disengage, the sheer fucking speed of the thing. Not too much I can add. Armour was not entirely absent when it was used. You still had the buckler and sword combination holding out in England for a while, light brigandine had been worn by nobles concerned for their safery for some time (goes under the puffy outfit) and still lasts into the Renaissance. Pikemen and equipping them with some armour lasted for a while and depends on time and place. Go east and the Ottomans and Arabs still used lamellar, leather, leather-scale for a damn long time. Brigands and highwayman would equip themselves with whatever they could get away with and afford.

The rapier is not a heavy armour puncturer (just go round and find the opening), you would want a pick or a polearm for something like that (bec de corbin perhaps, or spetum or awlpike). Then again the tuck or estoc is a two-handed rapier designed to pierce armour

http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_euroedge.html

I find the Spanish and German basket-hilt rapier designs the most pleasing, combining buckler and sword together, as the epee in fencing illustrates. Course I also find some of the European one-handed falchions quite nice and look to be useful and used more amongst Europeans then we might think, but then again, the Swiss also made two-handed sabres which look a lot like the lauded katana).


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falchion
http://bjorn.foxtail.nu/h_conyers_eng.htm
http://www.myarmoury.com/review_lut_10006.html

Did you know, despite a lot of criticism, some cavalry units actually went for rapiers over sabres or cavalry swords? (Cohen 2002). Some generals said it would never work and would break, others insisted it was just fine in the field. Suppose it could be used like a swift light lance in a way.

 

[TheGreatCoolEnergy]

Weapons shouldn't be celebrated

"Tell that to the Covenant"

 

[pigmypython]

The human mind. Without that all of this is ultimately pointless

 

[HandsomeJack]

Before I read the thread I knew katana would be listed as #1. It is worth noting that during the westernization of Japan rapiers/sabers were quickly overtaking katanas. The curved blade is an excellent design, good for swift movement and deeper cuts, but is much less effective against armor. When it bares down too it though, when armor is of little concern, the fastest wins out (all other factors being comparable). When armor is a factor, you want mass and leverage (while retaining balance and versatility). This is where the honorably mentioned claymore shines. Penatrating power without the unwieldy balance of an axe or polearm (though some polearms were every bit as good and in some situations much better, though the greatsword was fielded specifically to take out the long-shafted types). Katana is a good balance to be sure, though. There is no "King of Swords" so to speak. Many are situational or there wouldnt be such a variety even within cultures.

I would love to hear some more feed back from other sword fanatics.

 

[Knifewounds]

Oh you have to have to put in a colt revolver. practically started the entire multi munnition weapon system with any reliability. That should be at least 8-10.

Ah the good old Colt. I remember playing a battlefield 1942 mod that was a realistic sim of the American war of independence. The normal infantry would fire a shot from their rifles then you would have to wait 20 seconds for the damn things to reload (Very humorous with bots, they would all lie down in front of each other, occasionally popping away). The Cavalryman however was armed with the Colt Revolver, and with 6 rounds and a quickish reload he kinda blew everyone else away.

Finally, someone sees and agrees. You cant deny the colt changed the way guns function today. You just cant.

Your tearing me apart lis... I mean emeraldrafael! But no really, that was a hard choice for me to make between the colt revolver, and the m1911ai. I cannot deny what the colt revolver did, not adding that gun on this list is truly disheartening to me, but I only had 10 choices, and had to cut some great players.

 

[Shadows Inc.]

(on the semi-joking note) Probably the most deadly and effective weapon is depression.

(seriousness)
My list consists of all Japanese weapons, but to be honest, #1 is most likely the Ninjato. It is the most practical weapon ever created. Only some of the uses are, a breathing tube for under water, attached dart tube, Shuriken on some Tsuba, most had hidden compartments for darts and medicine and poisons, only one of the reasons it was straight was so it could be suck in the ground and used as a stepping stool, and much more. The sword itself was deceptively short while the Sheath was rather long. This was for several reasons, some of which were that it would catch the enemy off guard, and also it was much easier to draw because of it's length. There are many other reasons why it is the ultimate weapon.
My father studied Ninjitsu from one of the 8 Ninja that reside in America. His Sensei's name was Gabriel from Israel. People only knew Gabriel's first name because he didn't have a last name, he work in the Israeli special forces and they told him to go to Japan to study Ninjitsu. Apparently he's a pretty soft-spoken, nice guy.
With help from my father, and some training on my own, I know just a little bit about the Shadow art that is Ninjitsu.

P.S.
Don't confuse my account name with that, my account name is based off my art name and my Fursona.