Table of Contents
Who is the inventor of the AK-47? Perhaps most of us may be familiar with the name of this assault rifle, considered to be the deadliest weapon of the 20th century. But, the inventors’ names will not be familiar! In this article, we can discuss the list of weapons that were used from the ancient period to the 21st century and the Inventors of Weapons.
Weapons or armaments are requirements or implements which are used to intending to harm or destroy others. Earlier used as a device for self-defense, the utility status of weapons changed to hunting, crimes, law implementation, and wars. This human evolution with weapons can also be considered as a factor for the cultural evolution of the human race. Read more regarding the types of weapons and the evolution timeline of weapons.
Complete List of Inventors of Weapons – Early Period to 21st Century
| Year of Invention | Name of Inventor | Weapon Invented |
| 1718 | James Puckle | Machine gun |
| 1775 | David Bushnell | First submarine Turtle |
| 1836 | Samuel Colt | Revolver |
| 1849 | Claude-Etienne Minié | Muzzle-loading rifle by inventing the Minié ball in 1846, and the Minié rifle in 1849 |
| 1861 | Richard Jordan Gatling | Gatling gun |
| 1867 | Alfred Nobel | Dynamite |
| 1884 | Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim | First automatic machine gun, the Maxim gun |
| 1889 | P von Mauser | Bolt action rifle |
| 1891 | Sergei Ivanovich Mosin | Design of the 3-line rifle, Model 1891 Mosin–Nagant |
| 1893 | Casimir Zeglen | First bulletproof vest |
| 1909 | Gun silencer | Hiram Percy Maxim |
| 1914 | Sir Ernest D Swinton | Tank |
| 1918 | John Browning | Automatic Rifle |
| 1921 | Vladimir Grigoryevich Fyodorov | Fyodorov-Shpagin machine gun |
| 1927 | Vasily Alekseyevich Degtyaryov | 7.62 mm light machine gun DP 1927 |
| 1927 | Fedor Vasilievich Tokarev | Designed Tokarev Model 1927 submachine gun prototype |
| 1939 | Vyacheslav Ivanovich Silin | Silin Gun |
| 1941 | Georgy Semyonovich Shpagin | PPSh-41 submachine gun |
| 1942 | Wernher vonBraun | Guided Missile |
| 1944 | Wernher vonBraun | Ballistic Missile |
| 1945 | J Rober Oppenheimer | Atom Bomb |
| 1946 | Mikhail Kalashnikov | Automat Kalashnikova 1947 (AK-47) |
| 1951 | Nikolay Fyodorovich | Makarov pistol |
| 1952 | Edward Teller | Hydrogen Bomb |
| 1953 | Charles H. Townes, James P. Gordon, and Herbert J. Zeiger at Columbia University | Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation |
| 1958 | Samuel Cohen | Neutron Bomb |
| 1960 | Theodore H. Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories | Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation |
| 1964 | Sergey Gavrilovich Simonov (one of the fathers of the modern assault rifle) | Honored Inventor of the RSFSR |
| 1974 | Jack Cover | Tom A. Swift Electric Rifle (Taser) |
| 1994 | Gennadiy Nikolayevich | Nikonov AN-94 |
| 2002 | Mission Research Corporation | Pulsed Energy Projectile (PEP) |
| 2008 | Israel and the U.S | High-energy lasers – Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) |
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Start Learning!List of Weapons Used by Countries
Each country has a collection of weapons, which is considered as the strength or power, from the ancient time itself. The defence system of each country will be a special budget allocated department. The superpowers like the US, Russia, etc have good ammunition and technology which itself makes them an important exporter of ammunition. Let us check the basic classifications of weapons:
| According to the Person Usage | Target Weapon to Attack | Targeted to perform a basic function |
| Personal weapons
Light weapons Heavy weapons Hunting weapon Crew served weapons Fortification weapons Mountain weapons Vehicle weapons Railway weapons Aircraft weapons Naval weapons Space weapons Autonomous weapons |
Anti-aircraft weapons
Anti-fortification weapons Anti-personnel weapons Anti-radiation weapons Anti-satellite weapons Anti-ship weapons Anti-submarine weapons Anti-tank weapons Area denial weapons Hunting weapons Infantry support weapons |
Antimatter weapons
Archery weapons Artillery Biological weapons Chemical weapons Energy weapons Explosive weapons Firearms Improvised weapons Incendiary weapons Non-lethal weapons Magnetic weapons Melee weapons Blade weapons Blunt instruments Missiles Loitering munitions Nuclear weapons Primitive weapons Ranged weapons Rockets use chemical propellant Suicide weapons |
Nuclear Weapons
A nuclear weapon called atom bombs, nuke, atomic bomb, nuclear warhead, A-bomb, or nuclear bomb is an explosive agent that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or from a combination of fission and fusion reactions. In both cases, it releases large quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter.
A nuclear device no larger than a conventional bomb can desolate an entire city by blast, fire, and radiation. Considering the fact that these are weapons of mass destruction, the propagation of nuclear weapons is a focus of international relations policy.
Nuclear weapons have been deployed only twice, by the United States (US), against Japan including the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 during World War II.
- First was on August 6, 1945, the U.S. Army Air Forces detonated a uranium gun-type fission bomb nicknamed Little Boy over the city of Hiroshima
- Secondly, three days after the bombing over Hiroshima, on August 9, the U.S. Army Air Forces detonated a plutonium implosion-type fission bomb nicknamed Fat Man over Nagasaki.
These bombings without doubt caused injuries that resulted in the deaths of approximately 200,000 civilians and military personnel, which is really a dark phase of history. Nuclear weapons are still considered to be the power of defence system of the nation, and 90% of these are considered to be possessed by United States and Russia.
Biological Weapons
These are otherwise called germ weapon, includes the disease-producing agents like bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, fungi, toxins, or other biological agents can be utilized as weapons against humans, animals, or plants.
Biological weapons, like any other chemical, radiological or nuclear weapons, are commonly referred to as weapons of mass destruction. Deadly biological weapons may be capable of causing mass deaths, but they are unsuited for mass destruction of infrastructure, buildings, or equipment. Most countries have agreed to ban the entire class, because of the potential pandemic spread and the difficulty involved in controlling disease effects, and the simple fear that they stimulate.
List of Weapons with India
| Small Arms | Shot Gun | SMGs | Assault rifles |
| Pistol Auto 9mm 1A | 12 Bore PAG | IWI Tavor X95 SMG | SIG-716 i |
| Smith & Wesson M&P | Franchi SPAS-15 | SIG MPX | AK-103 |
| Glock | Heckler & Koch MP5 | FN SCAR | |
| Beretta 92FS | Micro-Uzi | IMI Tavor TAR-21 | |
| Beretta Px4 Strom | Brügger & Thomet MP9 | M16 rifle | |
| Beretta Px4 Strom | M4A1 Carbine | ||
| T91 assault rifle | |||
| AR-M1 | |||
| AKM | |||
| AK-63 | |||
| Vz. 58 | |||
| Mpi-KmS 72 |
Other than this, India has a collection of Sniper rifles, Machine Guns, Explosives, rockets, and mortars, Armoured combat vehicles (Arjun, T-90S Bhishma, T-90M, T-72 Ajeya, Ajeya MK2), Infantry fighting vehicles (BMP-2 Sarath), Armoured personnel carriers, Tank destroyers, Missile systems, and Radars.
Ballistic and cruise missiles (BrahMos, Prithvi (II, III), Agni (I-V), Agni Prime, Shaurya, Nirbhay).
Quotes about Weapons and War
- Knowledge is a better weapon than a sword by Patricia Briggs, Raven’s Shadow
- Every little thing about you can be a weapon, if you’re clever enough by Courtney Summers, Sadie
- Silence is the ultimate weapon of power by Charles de Gaulle
- But indifference would ultimately commend itself as a devastating weapon by Lionel Shriver
- World War II, the atomic bomb, the Cold War, made it hard for Americans to continue their optimism by Stephen Ambrose
- The atomic bomb made the prospect of future war unendurable. It has led us up those last few steps to the mountain pass, and beyond there is a different country by J. Robert Oppenheimer
- Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds by Robert Oppenheimer (after the first nuclear explosion)
Hope readers got the account of inventors of weapons and the year of the invention. Countries go on with the accumulation of weapons, in fear of the land, wealth, and power. Whatever positives are supported for the weapon acquisition and testings, the debate over the war and peace goes on, without a final verdict!
Quoting Jeremy Gilley, ‘We all want a world without war, without conflict, without human suffering’, let us hope and pray for the same.
