Weapons you've never heard of

[BrettMRC]

This was a new one on me!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-26_Falcon

Nuclear A2A in service. (Almost used during Cuban missile crisis)

[Simpo Two]

A nuclear bomb to bring down an aeroplane seems a bit excessive!

[Eric Mc]

Are you referring to the Hughes Genie missile? (I didn't open the link). It wasn't designed to shoot down a single aeroplane. It was designed to shoot down the expected hoards of Soviet bombers as they crossed the Bering Straights on their way to drop atom bombs on US targets.

By the end of the 1950s this attack scenario was fading as ICBMs began to take over as the main offensive nuclear system.

[Shar2]

Eric, the AIM-26 was an updated Falcon missile fitted with a nuclear warhead, unlike the Genie, the Falcon was a guided missile.

[Eric Mc]

The Genie was even scarier if it was unguided.

I'm surprised the US didn't try nuclear hand grenades.

[AlexIT]

Having read that in 50s the Americans planned to use nuclear bombs to make way for the Interstate 40, it doesn't come as a surprise they also developed a use as AA missiles.

Did they also plan to sell them for personal defence?

Project Plowshare

[GT03ROB]

Over here there have been a number of nuclear explosions used to support various infrastructure projects. Surprisingly recently as well. If you are interested look up Lira.

[Shar2]

Eric Mc said:

The Genie was even scarier if it was unguided.

I'm surprised the US didn't try nuclear hand grenades.

I think they would have done if they could. They did make the Davy Crockett nuclear mortar bomb though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nucle...

[Dr Jekyll]

Eric Mc said:

The Genie was even scarier if it was unguided.

I'm surprised the US didn't try nuclear hand grenades.

Genie being tested

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VZ7FQHTaR4

[RizzoTheRat]

The Russian 200 knot nuclear torpedo's are quite a scary idea too. Fire it roughly in the direction of the enemy contact and hope your fancy titanium hull is strong enough to survive the shock.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VA-111_Shkval

Edited by RizzoTheRat on Monday 24th January 12:00

[46and2]

The Genie would have been one of the safer nuclear weapons for the general population as the fallout generated would have been minimal.

[Eric Mc]

Shar2 said:

I think they would have done if they could. They did make the Davy Crockett nuclear mortar bomb though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nucle...

I think keeping your head down when firing that thing was pretty essential

[BrettMRC]

RizzoTheRat said:

The Russian 200 knot nuclear torpedo's are quite a scary idea too. Fire it roughly in the direction of the enemy contact and hope your fancy titanium hull is strong enough to survive the shock.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VA-111_Shkval

Edited by RizzoTheRat on Monday 24th January 12:00

Especially given the limited range of the early ones!

[Equus]

RizzoTheRat said:

The Russian 200 knot nuclear torpedo's are quite a scary idea too. Fire it roughly in the direction of the enemy contact and hope your fancy titanium hull is strong enough to survive the shock.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VA-111_Shkval

Wikipedia said:

Some reports indicate that the VA-111 possibly exceeds speeds of 250 kn (460 km/h; 290 mph), and that work on a 300 kn (560 km/h; 350 mph) version was underway.

If you strapped a man in place of the warhead, that would be fast enough to take the World Water Speed Record.

[Simpo Two]

Equus said:

If you strapped a man in place of the warhead, that would be fast enough to take the World Underwater Speed Record.

EFA...!

[eharding]

Simpo Two said:

Equus said:

If you strapped a man in place of the warhead, that would be fast enough to take the World Underpants Accident Speed Record.

EFA...!

EFA^2

[Steve_D]

Straight out of the Heath Robinson/Wile E. Coyote design studio.

Steve

[Simpo Two]

Steve_D said:

Straight out of the Heath Robinson/Wile E. Coyote design studio.

'ACME'

[RizzoTheRat]

There was also a man portable version of the warhead the Davey Crockett used

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Atomic_Demol...

[DaviBrons]

CSS-5 mod.1, also referred to as DF-21
The most recent modification, the DF-21D, became the world's first and only anti-ship ballistic missile. The DF-21 can also be used as a carrier for anti-satellite/anti-missile weapons.
But kinetic space-to-earth systems are our future. Soon we will see a really strange and frightening weapon.