As far back as human beings have engaged in organized conflict, each era is scarred by the horrific instruments of violence used to win wars. Since the early days of military technology, world powers have developed weapons designed for inflicting the most damage to infrastructure and take the most human life. Often, effectively dealing psychological damage to the opposing side is an explicit goal in weapons development.
To identify history’s deadliest weapons, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a report called “Quantification Related to Weapon Lethality,” originally issued in 1964 by the Historical Evaluation and Research Organization for the U.S. Army Combat Developments Command. It rates the lethal potential of various weapons on such quantifiable measures as number of potential targets per strike, relative effect, effective range, accuracy, reliability, and mobility.
Some weapons on the list also point to the rapid evolution of technology since the Industrial Revolution. The sword, for example, was used for thousands of years in numerous different forms and cultures, and still has a ceremonial place in military life. On the other hand, many of the weapons used in World War I were already obsolete by the start of World War II. (If you want to get an idea of what battle was like in those eras and beyond, these are the best war movies ever.)
Click here to see history’s deadliest weapons
Many military advancements have come from scientific breakthroughs in other areas. For example, the airplane, initially conceived simply as a means of rapid transportation, was quickly adapted for use in warfare. It works the other way, too: Gunpowder was used in warfare as early as the 10th century in China — but it can also be used to blast tunnels or even to entertain us (in the form of fireworks). (Here are some examples of commercial products invented by the military.)
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