Science

Over the years, the military has gathered the best engineers and scientists to create the next, new weapon that will out wit and or out gun the enemy. In order to do this, they must think outside the box. Not all the experiments work, but some of them do work. Others remain a mystery of what their purpose is…..check out this compilation of the strangest military vehicles ever!

Krupp Kugelpanzer
Discovered by the Russians, next to nothing is known about the Krupp Kugelpanzer. The single person tank is thought to be a dummy, created to confuse the enemy. It has a two stroke engine, seats one person, and has no onboard weapons.

Progvev-T Gasdynamic Trawler
Created by the Russians, the Progvev-T Gasdynamic Trawler is a t-34 tank, with a MiG-15 jet engine on top. The engine was not used to power the vehicle, but was to be used as a weapon. Attached backwards, the engine was supposed to clear mines by blasting them with heat. The trawler wasn’t as efficient as the Russians had hoped, due to the fact that it consumed a lot of fuel and was very noisy, making it an easy target.

Tsar Tank
The Tsar Tank was an experimental tank created by the Russians, which is the largest tank ever built. It looked like a tricycle, with two 27’ wheels in the front, and one 5’ wheel in the back, with each wheel having its own engine. It was equipped with a canon and the weight of the vehicle proved to be too much, as it would sink into the ground and become immobile.

Zil-2906 Screw Drive Tank
Designed by the Russians for covering rough terrain like snow and ice or mud and swamp, the ZIL-2906 was an amphibious vehicle, created for rescues. Only a few of these tanks were produced before the entire project was discarded.

Object 279
Another experimental vehicle designed by Russian, Object 279 was created to withstand a nuclear explosion. It had four-track running gear and its armor had CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) protection.

Antonov A-40 Krylya Tank
Russians created this prototype by taking a t-60 tank and attaching a Tupolev TB-3 to the top. Even after stripping down the tank, including its ammunition, it was deemed too heavy to fly and therefore, unworkable.

Japanese Flamethrower Tank
The Japanese Flamethrower tanks, were equipped with horn-like forks over its tracks on each side. These were presumably used for uprooting mines and tearing down barbed wire in the tanks path. While most of these tanks had two flamethrowers attached, some had as many as five.

The Venezuelan Tortuga Tank
This converted 6×4 Ford truck, was built by Venezuela to scare its Colombian neighbors. The vehicle had to be manned in a standing position, was equipped with a 7mm machine gun and was never in active service.

Carden-Loyd Tankettes
Built in Great Britain, Carden-Loyd Tankettes were the foundation of a new breed of tracked vehicles in Europe and Asia. These pre-World War II vehicles were single rider and weighed only 3000 lbs.

Fox Armored Car
The Fox Armored Car was created by the Canadians in World War II. There were 1,506 manufactured, seated 4 men and were equipped with .303 and 050 machine guns.

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is a long range bomber aircraft operated by the United States Air Force. Throughput its career, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was the fastest high-operations manned aircraft in the world. 2,200 mph (3,540 km/h)

Lockheed YF-12
The Lockheed YF-12 was a US prototype interceptor aircraft that preceded the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. The Lockheed YF-12 held the highest speed/altitude world record of 2,000 mph and over 80,000 ft. respectively until when this speed was surpassed by the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-150 family
The Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-150 family was a single-seat fighter aircraft that was named after its inventor Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in 1955. The Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-150 family can achieve a maximum speed of 3,030 km/h (1,883 mph; 1,636 kn).

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II was originally developed for the United States navy where it first entered service in 1960. The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II has achieved several world records since its development including the absolute speed record and the absolute altitude record. 1,473 mph (2,370 km/h)

Convair F-106 Delta Dart
The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was commonly used by the United States Navy between 1960 and 1980. The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was nicknamed the ultimate interceptor due to its high speed until it was retired in the early 1980s. 1,525.96 mph (2,455.79 km/h)

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine interceptor aircraft that was designed for the United States Air Force and was being operated between 1958 and 2004. The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter has held several world records including achieving a maximum speed 1,404.19 miles per hour (2,259.82 km/h) over a course 15 miles (24 km).

McDonnell F-101 Voodoo
The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was commonly used by the United States Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force. The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo has achieved several world records including recording the fastest airspeed of 1,207.6 miles (1,943.4 km) per hour in 1957.

North American F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre was commonly used by the United States Air Force between 1954 and 1971, and later taken up by the Air National Guard from 1971 to 1979. In 1953, the North American F-100 Super Sabre achieved a world record speed of 822.135 mph (714.416 kn, 1,323.098 km/h).

Douglas F4D Skyray
The Douglas F4D Skyray was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company. The Douglas F4D Skyray was in service for a relatively short period of time despite recording the world’s absolute speed of 752.943 mph.

Supermarine Swift
The Supermarine Swift was a British fighter jet used by the Royal Air Force. The Supermarine Swift was only operational for a short period of time after a series of accidents which saw the model retired. At sea level, the Supermarine Swift can achieve a maximum speed of 713 mph (1148 km/h).

Everyone knows about the numerous rockets and satellites launched, but what about high flying airplanes? Check out the other aircrafts you might not have known about…

SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne completed its first manned private spaceflight in 2004. The aircraft which can only carry one passenger or fly unmanned achieved an altitude of 112, 014 km in October 4, 2004 in just under 24 minutes.

NASA Helios
NASA Helios was part of the solar and fuel-cell system powered unmanned aerial vehicles project developed by NASA. The Helios HP01 achieved a maximum altitude of 96,863 km.

Grob Strato 2C
The Grob Strato 2C was a German-made experimental research aircraft that was powered by turbo-charged piston engines. Just before the program was cancelled. The Grob Strato 2C attained a maximum height of 60, 897 ft.

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 is a Russian-made supersonic interceptor aircraft which is regarded as one of the fastest military aircrafts. In 1977, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 reached 37.650 meters which is approximately 123, 520 ft. to reach an altitude record.

Lockheed NF-104A
The Lockheed NF-104A was a super-sonic aerospace trainer aircraft which was part of a program by the Aerospace Research Pilot School. During the testing period, the Lockheed NF-104A achieved a record altitude of more than 120,000 feet which is approximately 36,000 m above the ground.

North American X-15
The North American X-15 was operated by the United States Air Force as part of the X-planes series program. The North American X-15 achieved a record altitude of 67.0mi which is approximately 107.8km in 1963.

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was originally developed by the United States Air Force and operated by the air forces between 1958 and 2004. The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter set a world record in speed/altitude by achieving 25,000 meters in just 266.03 seconds.

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II was originally developed by the United States Navy and is a tandem-two-seats jet interceptors and aircraft bomber. This aircraft was common during the Vietnam War where it was used for both aerial and grounds assaults. In 1959, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II climbed 98, 557 ft. which is approximately 30, 040 m.

SNCASO Trident
The SNCASO Trident was a French-made prototype interceptor aircraft that was designed in the early 1950s. However, the project was halted a few months after it began with only 12 prototypes being built during the period.

Grumman F-11 Tiger
The Grumman F11F Tiger was developed by the United States navy during the early 1950s and 1960s. The Grumman F-11 Tiger was later redesigned to F-11 using the United States Tri-Services aircraft designation system.

Russia Red Bull Flugtag Moscow 2013
A pilot falling into the Moskva river on his flying machine during the Red Bull Flugtag competition in Moscow, Russia, 28 July 2013. A Flugtag is an event in which competitors attempt to fly in homemade flying machines, which are usually launched off a pier into the sea, or a suitably sized reservoir of water.

Moscow River Red Bull Flugtag 2011
It’s that glorious time of year again! Thousands of people gathered on the banks of the Moscow River to watch 38 teams compete in the city’s 2011 Red Bull Flugtag festival.  The record for the farthest flight to date currently stands at 195 ft (60 m) set in 2000 at Red Bull Flugtag Austria.

Red Bull Flugtag 2011 at Roundhay Park in Leeds
The Red Bull Flugtag saw 34 teams of avid aviators launching their wacky self-made flying machines off a 6m high launch platform into the lake at Roundhay Park in Leeds.  The winners were team To Infinity And The Pond who wowed the crowd with their Toy Story themed creation that carried pilot Buzz all the way to his watery landing.

Red Bull Flugtag in Moscow – Telegraph 2013
The Red Bull Flugtag (flying day) moved to Moscow, saw competitors in fancy dress attempt to fly their human-powered, home made flying machines off a six meter high platform over the Moskva river.

Flying Spruce Goose at Flugtag in Long Beach, CA 2013
A miniature model of the famed aircraft is the team’s entry in the Red Bull Flugtag competition. Nearly 30 teams from as far away as Alaska will compete in Long Beach’s event, launching their flying machines from Rainbow Harbor’s pier to see which will go the farthest.

1st Red Bull Flugtag in Qatar 2013
Participating teams will design and build their unique human-powered flying machines. Teams will be evaluated on 3 main criteria: creativity of the craft, showmanship and flight distance. Besides trying to fly as far as possible from a 6-meter high platform, Red Bull Flugtag participants will try to appeal to the jury by designing a unique flying machine. They will also have to perform an entertaining show for 60 seconds to impress both the crowd and the 5 judges before taking off and landing in the water.

Red Bull Flugtag 2011 at Strogino Beach, Moscow
Red Bull Flugtag returns with a splash in 2013. Fearless men and women around the world will be launching themselves off a series of terrifyingly high platforms in self-constructed flying machines that range from the sensible to the what-on-earth-were-you-thinking?

The Caliburger at Hong Kong’s Flugtag 2014
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a giant burger!  This meaty aircraft, dubbed the ‘Caliburger’, was among dozens of weird and wonderful entries in today’s Red Bull Flugtag event in Hong Kong’s Central district. Featuring cheese, tomato and lettuce, it was launched off a 20ft pier by two participants, before plunging into Victoria Harbour

2015 Red Bull Flugtag in Moscow
On July 26, Moscow hosted the annual Red Bull Flugtag competition of homemade flying machines. Teams that entered the Flugtag competition were judged in three categories; distance, creativity, and showmanship.

Red Bull Flugtag Moscow 2011
38 teams took part at the Flugtag which means “Flying day,” a competition in which teams in fancy dress attempt to pilot human-powered, home-made flying machines off a six-meter-high platform into water.

Some people have a fear of flying. At the following airports you should have a fear of landing. We compiled a list of the most dangerous airport runways around the world. Only the most skilled pilots can land at these destinatins!

Princess Juliana International Airport, St. Maarten
This is one of the busiest airports in the Caribbean despite having an extremely short runway of 7,152 ft. Planes are required to approach the runway at about 60ft above a crowded beach area due to it’s short length.

Courchevel Airport, France
This airport is considered dangerous due to its upslope and very short runway of only 1,762 ft. Only specially trained pilots are allowed to land at this airport.

Hechi Airport, China
This airport runway was built on several mountain tops, after it was levelled. The airport, built 2,200ft above sea level has only one terminal and one runway.

Matekane Air Strip, Lesotho
The Matekane Air Strip is located in Lesotho, Africa. The runway measures only 1,300 ft and extends to the edge of a 2,000 ft cliff.

Gibraltar Airport, Gibraltar
The 6,000-feet runway of this airport is between the Mediterranean Sea and the Bay of Gibraltar. Pilots have to skillfully circle the tall mountain of Gibraltar before landing.

Toncontín International Airport, Honduras
This airport is ranked the second most dangerous airport in the world by an aviation program on History Channel. Apart from it’s difficult approach, there is only one entrance, and one exit, for the planes that arrive and leave from this airport.

Barra Airport, Scotland
Apart from having a very small runway, this airport is situated on a beach. Landings on Barra airport is highly dependent on tide.

Madeira International Airport, Madeira, Portugal
The Maderia Airport is remarkable for it’s extremely narrow runway. Pilots are specially trained to land in this airport.

Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, Saba
This airport has the shortest commercial runway in the world. The runway is located on a cliff facing the Caribbean Sea on three sides and is flanked by high hills on the other.

Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Nepal
Formerly named Lukla airport, this airport has one of the steepest uphill runways in the world. This was considered the most dangerous airport in the world by an aviation program on History Channel.