In the course of decades of research in various military and museum archives, Robert Bruce has acquired a treasure trove of photos of what might be considered “odd and unusual weapons.” This is a follow-on to earlier oddities that appeared in previous issues.
Now, with apologies for some of these rough-looking images—presented as they were found—let’s look at some very unusual weaponry from the 1950s, when countering nuke-armed Commies was paramount.
CREDIT U.S. ARMY TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM
Flying Jeep! American frontiersman Davy Crockett rides—actually flies—again in this provocative photo taken at Piasecki Aircraft Corporation facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As noted on the side, it’s a prototype VZ-8P Airgeep, produced in response to a 1957 Army requirement for an aerial platform cheaper and easier to fly than conventional helicopters. Enormous, ducted fans fore and aft provide lift, and a mock-up of a revolving, multi-chamber recoilless rifle indicates intended armament. No word on why the pilot is whimsically dressed in coonskin cap and fringed buckskin shirt.
CREDIT: ARMY ART COLLECTION
“Aerial Assault Vehicle.” So, how would the Army use these Airjeeps? Deep thinkers at the Pentagon commissioned artist Robert Rigg to illustrate a futuristic attack scenario with side-mounted rocket pods softening up enemy forces in advance of a ground attack. Wisely, the pilot has been relocated to a more efficient and comfortable bubble-topped cockpit in the front.
“Night Recon.” Another one from Robert Rigg shows a pair of Airjeeps with some manner of underbody weaponry—possibly ray guns—raining hell on a doomed enemy soldier.
**********
Now that you know what was going on at the time, let’s take a look at some oddities in the latter part of the 1950s, following the “police action” in South Korea that claimed more than a million American and Allied lives before the formal cease fire in 1954. The very real threat of apocalyptic war with the nuclear-armed Soviet Union and its Communist Chinese cronies led to some truly bizarre theories and experimentation; supported, by the way, by a bloated bureaucracy with multi-million-dollar budgets. For the record, not all of these were developed by the Army’s Ordnance Branch, but maintaining them was their mission, and all were intended to perform some sort of land warfare mission.
CREDIT: ARMY ART COLLECTION
Flying Fan. While all those Airjeeps were flying around and shooting things up, this one-man flying fan was to be going in ahead to spot suitable targets, give damage assessments and radio the info back to headquarters. A couple of these 1031 Flying Platforms were actually made by Hiller Aircraft for evaluation, but—for some reason—didn’t do the job intended. Gosh, why not?
CREDIT: U.S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS/NATIONAL ARCHIVES
Aerocycle. Why stand on a bucket fan when you can ride into battle on top of de Lackner Helicopters’ HZ-1 Aerocycle with its impressive set of long, counter-rotating blades? Regular infantry grunts assigned to recon duty were supposed to be able to climb aboard and fly this monstrosity with only about 20 hours of instruction. After a couple of predictable crashes, the program was abandoned.
Particularly notable in this mid-1950s photo, the soldier-pilot is armed with a distinctive T48 rifle, an American-trial version of the superlative Belgian FAL that was on the fast track for replacing the venerable M1 Garand as the Army’s standard battle rifle. Keep reading below for more on this debacle.
CREDIT: U.S. ARMY TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM
Air Cushion Sled. Hard to get more absurd than this twin-fan, air-floating belly flopper for scooting riflemen up to the front lines. The only info accompanying the photo, taken some time in the 50s at Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the designation “Experimental GEM” (ground effect machine). Apparently steered with that joystick, did the soldier have to drag the toes of his combat boots to stop?
Move, Shoot, Communicate
CREDIT: U.S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS/NATIONAL ARCHIVES
Can you hear me now? At Fort Carson, Colorado, in June 1955, Captain E. A. Treadwell calls Private First-Class Edward Croft’s helmet-mounted, cutting-edge transistor radio. Assuming it worked at some practical distance, Croft could be directed to move into a specified position and employ his venerable M1 Garand rifle against designated targets. While this kind of rig is very common now in SPEC OPS, it was quite the noble novelty 60 years ago.
CREDIT: U.S. ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS/NATIONAL ARCHIVES
“Tank of the Future.” Right in there with Pentagon pipe dreams of the “Pentomic” battlefield, tank designers at Aberdeen Proving Ground produced this racy model of a streamlined, rocket-shooting, armored fighting vehicle. With no info accompanying this March 1960 photo, we speculate that the ultra-low silhouetted tank would have a front-mounted engine (see fan on the deck and front drive sprocket on the Christie suspension) along with an unmanned, rotating turret with swing-up rocket tubes, underslung heavy machine gun and TV camera.
CREDIT: U.S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS/NATIONAL ARCHIVES
Burst and Burn. In what is probably a dual development by Army Ordnance and Chemical Corps, the inexplicable mistake made in shortening the M2 flamethrower’s gun (exiting flame stream heats up the operator’s hands) is made a bit less awful by piggybacking a modified M2 carbine. Probably in response to requests from GIs in the field, it gives the flame gunner the capability to drill threats with .30-cal. bursts at 750rpm or light ’em up in the old-fashioned way. Sadly, this photo was not accompanied with info on results of the Infantry Board’s evaluation in 1958, and we’ve seen no evidence of this in any subsequent use.
Search for the “Ideal” Infantry Rifle
Books have been written (notably in a series from Collector Grade Publications) on the ups and downs of the U.S. Army’s quest in the 1950s for a replacement for the iconic M1 Garand. While a short version here doesn’t serve justice, several candidates and different calibers were evaluated by NATO’s “Rifle Steering Committee,” including entries from Britain, Belgium and the American government with commercial armament establishments. All users of modern U.S. military small arms should make it a point to delve deeper into this disturbing story to know why they got the M14 and then the M16 and M4.
CREDIT: U.S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS/NATIONAL ARCHIVES
Brit Bullpup. One of the more radical candidates for America’s new rifle was the British EM2, not only a very unconventional bullpup but also chambered in a lightly recoiling, flat flying, terminally efficient .280 caliber “intermediate” cartridge. Characterized by the bolt group and magazine behind the pistol grip/trigger group for a compact profile, the EM2’s overall length was a handy 35 inches—about 9 inches less than that of what would become the M14. This photo shows it being handled by a U.S. Army senior NCO, probably during Ordnance Corps/Infantry Board evaluations in 1950 or the International Trials of 1952 at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Despite ingrained prejudice against its layout, lower powered cartridge and British pedigree, it was well-received but ultimately rejected higher up on the chain of command.
CREDIT: U.S. ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS/SPRINGFIELD ARMORY NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Beyond the BAR. Among the requirements for the Army’s new rifle—with cartridge standardized as the new 7.62×51 NATO—were both semi- and full-auto fire in the manner of the beloved but very heavy .30-06 cal. Browning Automatic Rifle, seen at the bottom of this photo. Right above it is a heavy-barreled, bipod equipped E1 version of the Belgian-made and then-to-be American-built T48. Springfield Armory’s homegrown T44, essentially a “modernized” M1, is at the top, later designated M14.
CREDIT: U.S. ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS/SPRINGFIELD ARMORY NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Belgian Twofer. Springfield Armory technician Majewski pauses during live-fire trials in May 1955 at the Quabbin Reservoir range to show the distinctive T48 rifle, tipped with an ENERGA rifle grenade, both Belgian designs. By this time, it seemed almost a sure thing that the T48 would win the U.S. trials, but that wasn’t the way things turned out.
CREDIT: U.S. ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS/SPRINGFIELD ARMORY NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Springfield Armory vs. Fabrique Nationale. Here are the two remaining contenders for America’s new battle rifle—and most of NATO too—going into last gasp, winner-take-all “Light Self-Loading Rifle” competition in 1955. Underneath Springfield’s more traditional looking T44 with modified M4 bayonet and its new grenade launcher is the decidedly different T48. Although billed in the photo as “FN” (Fabrique Nationale), the T48 pictured is reliably identified as one made under Ordnance contract by the American company High Standard for the trials. By most accounts the T48 proved superior, but the deck was stacked against it. For a combination of unsettling factors, not the least of which was “not invented here” prejudice, the T44 was chosen, entering U.S. service in 1958 as the M14. Meanwhile, Britain, Canada, West Germany and much of the rest of NATO chose the T48 FN FAL.
CREDIT: U.S. ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS/SPRINGFIELD ARMORY NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Full-Auto Follies. Recalling that photo of the BAR, T44 and T48 to indicate the requirement for effective full-auto performance, this one shows the results of desperate efforts by Ordnance engineers to tame the nearly uncontrollable, wild dispersion of the lightweight T44/M14 in full-auto. Despite addition of a muzzle brake and bipod as well as a heftier straight line wooden stock with FAL-like pistol grip and fold-down metal foregrip, the M14E1 was still a conspicuous, embarrassing failure as a replacement for the BAR.
Project SALVO
At about the same time Big Army was muddling through its selection of a main battle rifle, firing traditional bullets from full-size, hard-recoiling cartridges, parallel developments were underway in “Project SALVO.” Kicked off around 1951, this was an earnest effort to dramatically increase the rifleman’s hit probability with multiple projectiles from each shot. Visionary ordnance engineer Irwin Barr at AAI Corp. was way ahead of the pack with his tiny steel arrows called “flechettes.” First proven for Office of Naval Research by 32 of ’em nested in a particularly nasty 12-gauge shotgun shell, Barr took the concept further for rifles with larger, single flechettes loaded in otherwise conventional brass cartridge cases.
CREDIT: AAI (AIRCRAFT ARMAMENTS, INC.)
Needle Rifle. The rifles to fire these took various forms, leading eventually to this early 1960s version of a SPIW (Special Purpose Infantry Weapon) from AAI, fed by a rotary magazine.
“Hypersonic Micro Arrows.” Sequentially improved throughout the 1950s, here’s the deadly steel dart that’s launched in super-quick bursts from Barr’s SPIW. Now weighing 10.3 grains and secured inside the cartridge case neck by a fiberglass sabot, the little arrow flew at more than 4,000 fps beyond 400m on an ultra-flat trajectory with strong crosswinds having virtually no effect. Target penetration of multiple-stacked pine boards—and even a steel helmet—was also spectacular, as might be expected from these rocketing needles.
It’s a Wrap
Yes, we’ve been making fun of many of the seemingly oddball developments in Ordnance during the 1950s, but we’ll give a tip of the hat to those that were well-intentioned. One way or another, these either demonstrated dead ends or opened the doors to further examination.
In the next installment of Ordnance Oddities, we’ll march into the early part of the 1960s with a look at what happened when a focus on atomic war with the Soviets shifted a poorly prepared Ordnance Corps to counter-guerrilla operations against Communist surrogates in Southeast Asia.
