These Five Weapons Made WW I an Absolute Bloodbath-- Part 2: Triplanes, U-boats and Monster Guns

FOKKER TRIPLANE

Baron von Richtofen flew it and Snoopy battled it, but the Fokker Dr 1 Triplane had the maneuverability and rapid climb rate, it terrorized the skies over the Western Front in 1917 and 1918.

TYPE 93 U-BOAT

They weren't fast, especially under water and had limited endurance and couldn't stay underwater for too long.  But armed with 88 or 101 millimeter deck guns and six torpedo tubes with 16 reloads.

The 24 Type 93s sank 411,000 tons of Allied shipping.

BIG BERTHA AND THE PARIS GUN

BIG BERTHA was a giant German howitzer  with 16.5inch caliber and could hurl a nearly one ton shell eight miles.  In 1914, it leveled Belgian forts and almost allowed German armies to capture Paris.

The PARIS GUN made history by hurling shells into the stratosphere.  It could hurl a 200-pound shell 81 miles which allowed Germans to bombard Paris.  But, it was expensive and fragile (the barrel had to be replaced after firing 20 shots).

But, being able to bombard targets that far away gave it notoriety.

--Cooter