10 Weirdest Weapons Used During World War II

7. Vampire Bombs - Bats Carrying Explosives Were Trialled By The Americans

Cute bat
Flickr, @WilsonB

Another bizarre animal "bomb", this time trialled by the USA, was the explosive bat. Strangely, this bomb comprised of a casing that would house a hibernating Mexican Free-tailed bat which had a small, timed explosive attached to it.

This bomb would then be dropped above Japanese cities, open up and disperse the bats, allowing them to roost in buildings within a 20-40mile radius. Once the timer on the bomb then ran out, the bats would explode - with the aim being that this detonation would cause a fire that could spread between the wooden buildings that comprised a large percentage area of Japanese cities.

Unfortunately for the US, the infamous "Invasion by Bats" project was abandoned in 1944 after $2million had been spent on it because it was going to take until the middle of 1945 for it to be fully completed.

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NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.