mowque
Banned
- American Rhode Island class of ships- Not all failures have to break under the stress of war. For some weapons, even peace time is a harsh burden. This is best shown in the light cruiser Rhode Island class of warships that America put out in 1906. Made in response to the First Atlantic War, they were supposed to provide light and quick response time, for a good price. The Rhode Island class was supposed to be a commerce raider, to keep Europe at bay in any war that might occur again. In actuality, the ships were tasked to monitoring the Caribbean and Central America. In addition to these light tours of duty was the time during the Second Atlantic War, when they were forced to make long runs to Europe then fight there. The ships were hard pressed in the best of times. Purely coal fired, this put them nearly obsolete very quickly. Lightly gunned, and lightly armored, the engines failed to keep them at a high speed. Many skippers found themselves unable to run, but unable to fight as well.
Still, bad ships are designed, why is this on the list? Because it was long used, long after it was surpassed by other ships. Useful for keeping the Caribbean and the upper 'tier of S. America” in line they were used for decades. Pictures of leaking, rusty ships steaming (literally) into harbors are found in many texts and are familiar to every historian. The amount of deaths due to these floating derelicts sinking due to normal stresses is uncountable. Also, keeping these ships in service stifled any further development. - North China Dragon rifle- Again,t he drive to make self-sufficient arms, led North China down the path to a bad weapon. The Dragon rifle was one of the numerous attempts at a cheap bolt action. What they got was a unmitigated disaster. The rifle was a cheap knock-off of Russian designs (probably not the best start) that were left behind. In addition, they were made in local factories in slave like conditions but poorly trained machinists. The poor local steel and other materials lead to the guns being brittle and prone to rust. The poor matching met that often swapping parts was impossible, meaning many guns with one small bad part were left behind on battlefields. Even the bullets were under powered, and although the bullets had a surprisingly good quality, they were often too weak to do the job. Despite vast improvements in recent years, this rifle still leaves a bad taste in many historian's mouths.
- French “Crusher' tank- A early tank, designed after experience on the trench clogged front of the Second Atlantic War. While it was clearly a product of the time, it still can't escape being put on such a list. Over built, and over complicated, the Crusher tank was something of a landcruiser. Designed to be a moving fort on the battlefield, it just ending up being a huge money pit, and a sitting target in any situation. Using two massive engines (and even these weren't enough) to move about, it relied on 7 machine guns and two 'main' guns for firepower. The need for a huge crew was one major drawback as the Army used them in trials. The slow speed, bad shocks, and narrow treads lead to more bogdowns then one could count. The 'Crusher' program was also hindered by lack of funds, which resulted in sub-standard materials being used, which didn't help. Instruments were poor, and many parts were second hand. This wreck of a weapon died a slow and long winded death, after being promoted for many years by the Army as a new wave of land warfare.