Secret Weapons of World War II

by Gerald Pawle

"This was a secret war, whose battles were lost or won unknown to the public ... No such warfare had ever been waged by mortal men." - SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, The Second World War, Vol. II

Genres: History, World War II, Military History

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1957

Reviews

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Royal Navy's Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapon Development, or DMWD, was responsible for many innovative weapons and countermeasures during World War II, and this book tells the story of many of them. Written by a former member of the Wheezers and Dodgers, the DMWD was a research and development team comprised of civilians, scientists and military personnel who worked long hours in a mostly un-military fashion to help Britain defeat Nazi Germany. Some of the many projects they worked on were protecting ships from German magnetic mines, creating lightweight armor for the superstructure of ships, a variety of ways to knock down German planes, the creation of the Hedgehog anti-submarine weapon system, a wide variety of items using rockets and they played an integral part in the creation of the artificial harbors used to provide areas for unloading troops and supplies during the D-Day invasion.

There are also stories of several other inventions which didn't quite make it past the testing stage, some of which are fairly humorous as the various rockets and explosives didn't perform exactly as planned. If you've ever watched cartoons of Wile E. Coyote trying to catch the Roadrunner and then blowing himself up, you have a little bit of an idea of how some of the experiments turn out.

Overall, a pretty enjoyable book, especially if you're interested in secret weapons and special projects.

[Jane Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

World War II Story

The author tells, with great humor , the story of the development of new weapons on World War II. In some cases I had heard of the weapon, but mostly I had not. Not being an engineer, I also couldn't figure out how they worked. However, it is a very entertaining tale and you will learn a great deal by reading it.

[Liam Lovekin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging

Stirring stuff and daring do from WW2.
Well written, gloriously British and worth the time for any student of 20th century warfare

[Martin Weakley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading for all defense contractors. Good book!

This book shows how big bureaucracy s always foul up inventiveness. If the ministries had fun the war we would have lost. the Nazi showed how bureaucrats ruined their country!

[NormaJean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. Brilliant. Reads like a thriller. I laughed, I cried, my heart broke.

I take solace knowing how much was accomplished in so little time by a few dedicated, intelligent people who worked together to save England, and so much more.

I am grateful to the author.

[Abraham Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read about ww1!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read, expanding on many well known elements.

[JJ Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

Interesting history of seat-of-pants brainstorming in development of weapons. Even more interesting were the stories of fighting the inertia of the bureaucracy. However, the Wheezers and Dodgers, as they were called by the author, did some things fruitlessly as well and a little more history of the actual use of some of their projects would have been helpful. The timelines of some of the projects were difficult to follow. Way, way too many typos in the eBook. Comic at times. Still a good book.