Quote:
Originally Posted by raketenjagdpanzer
It's full of the run of "the usual suspects", plus a lot of unusual or downright weird ones, and some that are just real headscratchers (in other words I can't figure out why the author put them in).
The head-scratchers:
The X-3 - it was a research aircraft, bitching about it being a bad weapon is like complaining that the V-2 couldn't reach the moon.
The M113 - in spite of the previous megathread we had about it, it's by and large not a "worst weapon". Strangely the Brad got a pass!
DD Shermans - they were disasters at Omaha, but proved sound for the other beaches that weren't as heavily defended as Omaha was.
PzKpfw I Tiger - dude, WTF.
The Type 89 Knee Mortar - "Actually not a bad weapon, just misunderstood [by troops who captured it, he goes on to say]." Then why's it IN HERE?
The Stuka - yes, that lousy weapon that terrorized Europe for 6 years and was a linchpin in the German combined arms warfare tactic.
The Swordfish - the fucking plane that disabled the Bismark is a "Worst Weapon" ?!?
I mean there's a lot of justly deserving weapons - the Apache Pistol (a gun that folded up and was part knife, part knuckle-duster, part pistol and ALL SHIT), pikes for god's sake for Home Defence troops during the Blitz, but really when you put the AK47 in for being "loud" and having an "unpleasant recoil" you stop being anything but mildly entertaining and just fall into "tabletop wargamer who lost to the Russians too many times" territory.
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Tiger - actually it does make a degree of sense. Consider the reliability and the fact that you have difficulty transporting it anywhere do to it's width. Most of the shortcomings such as lack of maneuverability were not particularly obvious as they were used heavily on defensive roles.
Swordfish - badly out of date and while it was instrumental in the death of the Bismark the losses it took in every action made it a deathtrap.
When considering any weapon it really needs to be considered against the weapons of the time it was designed.
With regards to the pikes, if is was an LDV in 1940 and I had the option of this or nothing I would take it. At least it's less likely to kill me than many of the Heath-Robinson devices in service at the time...