Top 10 Most Unusual Vehicles of WWII

World War II spurred incredible innovation and necessity often led to some unique inventions. The war pulled engineers and designers together to create machines to outsmart the enemy. They worked without the modern-day luxury of computers, learning from every trial and error. While some machines quickly became essential, others were left as curious experiments. Among the numerous designs from this era, here are ten unusual vehicles that stood out for their creative or unexpected features.

1. Hafner Rotabuggy

The British had a bright idea: combine flight with ground transport for their soldiers. The Hafner Rotabuggy was a jeep with a rotor, designed to let soldiers glide into action from the sky and then drive over any terrain. The jeep could be dropped from the air or towed to get enough lift. However, it didn’t move past the test stage because better solutions came up, like jeeps carried by gliders.

2. Praying Mantis

This vehicle was inspired by the insect, due to its tall shooting turret. Built from a British Universal Carrier, it featured a gun that could be lifted up to 12 feet. The driver and gunner were set far apart, with the gunner prone and using foot controls. It was clever, but in practice, it moved too much when shooting and made the gunner feel sick. The Praying Mantis stayed as a prototype, but some ideas lived on in other designs.

3. Fordson Armored Car

This vehicle was a mix of old and new. The British Royal Air Force in Egypt needed armored cars, so they took armored bodies from old Rolls-Royce cars and fitted them onto Fordson trucks. This was during a tight spot in the war. These trucks, heavy and sturdy, ended up looking like relics from the Great War but served their purpose until better vehicles arrived in 1943.

4. Beaverette

After a quick retreat in 1940, the British had to leave many of their vehicles in France. Expecting to be invaded next, they rustled up a defense that included the Beaverette. It took a car chassis and plumped it full of armor, but it was heavy and slow. With a small engine, it lumbered along and offered limited visibility. It was mainly used to guard home soil and thankfully never saw combat abroad.

5. Schofield tank

New Zealand, quite isolated, set out to make its own defense machines. Using what they had, an engineer put together the Schofield tank. It had both wheels and tracks, meaning it could tackle various terrains. It had quite a makeshift look with a dual movement system. It went no further than a prototype when the U.S. sent more suitable machines in 1943.

6. Bob Semple tank

Another New Zealand creation, the Bob Semple tank, used a tractor as its base. The plan was to steel-plate it and install heavy guns. It looked more like a box on tracks than a sleek war machine, but time was tight. The idea was to be ready for an attack. The tractor kept most of its original features, but the tank project was scrapped when it seemed less likely that they would be attacked.

7. Antonov A-40

The Soviets decided a tank should fly. That’s how the Antonov A-40 came to be. It was a regular tank fitted with huge glider wings. The goal was for a plane to tug it up and let it glide into a battlefield. The idea was great but too heavy—the plane struggled to tow it. They tested it sans engine, then dropped it because the rough landings damaged the tank.

8. Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte

The Germans planned to build a massive tank called the Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte. It was to be the biggest tank ever, with huge guns and armor. Yet, it was too big to be of much use—it would have crushed most roads or sunk into the ground, not to mention it was an easy target for bombers. The project stopped before they built a full-scale Ratte.

9. VZ.9 Avrocar

Although the war ended before this one took off, the VZ.9 Avrocar was too unusual to leave out. Designed by the Avro Canada for the U.S. military, it looked like a flying saucer. It was part jet and part hovercraft and meant to fly high and fast. The prototype didn’t meet hopes—it was unstable and hard to fly, making it more of a sci-fi dream.

10. Goliath Tracked Mine

Lastly, the Goliath Tracked Mine was an early kind of drone, though not for flying. Germans made these tiny tanks operated by a joystick control. They carried explosives and could be driven under or into enemy targets. Brave or not, they were an early example of remote control in warfare. However, they were expensive and didn’t do as much damage as expected, so they weren’t used much after the war.