100_Weapons

By the end of the century nearly every soldier in the world used bolt-action rifles- Dreyse had made one of the most successful weapons ever.

 

·  Dreyse was awarded a patent on the first bolt-action rifle - the Needle Gun, which was adopted by the Prussian Army in 1848

·  The 1st modern breech-loading rifle was built by Swiss gunmaker Johannes Pauly,but it was Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse who stole the headlines

·  So what is the 25th weapon on our list? Why it is the Dreyse Needle-Gun.

·  Right, we are 1/4 of the way through this list - 75 great weapons still to come!

                                                                                                                                              

·  The introduction of Dreadnoughts has a similar effect as the appearance of atomic weapons, and triggered a weapons race

·  A second naval weapon in a row as we greet weapon number 24 - the Dreadnought.

·  Although they were simplistic weapons, depth charges account for 43 percent of U-boats destroyed during the war.

·  The depth charge was introduced during World War I but really came to the forefront of warfare during WW2 as the British used it on U-boats

·  So what is number 23 on our 100 weapon countdown? It is an often unheralded weapon - the Depth Charge.

·  Ultimately advances in sword technology and the development of the poleaxe and halberd pushed the Dane Axe into retirement.

·  A Dane Axe can be seen prominently on the Bayeaux Tapestry (being used to fell horses!!) one of the most devastating weapons of the time.

·  And number 22 on our list is none other than the Dane Axe

·  So, our third week finished, Bronze Age Sword, Browning M2HB, Chariot, Chinese Rockets, Colt M 1911, Crossbow, CSS Hunley

·  The wreck was salvaged in 1995 and the crew were buried in 2004 with full military honors in Charleston's Magnolia Cemetery

·  Unfortunately, although the Huntley sunk the Housatonic, it sunk immediately afterward with all hands on board

·  The CSS Hunley was essentially the first submarine deployed successfully in a wartime capacity - though it did sink twice before this

·  Weapon number 21 is the CSS Hunley!

·  In fact, the crossbow were viewed as threatening to the established social order as commoners could be trained to kill with them so quickly 

·  Yep, those pesky knights in their fancy armour were suddenly vulnerable on the battlefield.