The British Army’s Great Panjandrum: The Most Bonkers Vehicle Ever Dreamed Up

The Great Panjandrum was a driverless bomb-delivery vehicle created by the British Army during World War II to aid the Allies on D-Day. Designed by C.R.

Finch-Noyes, the vehicle resembled a large spool with two massive 10-foot steel wheels on each side of a barrel-shaped axle, carrying over a ton of explosives.

The idea was to use rocket power to propel the Great Panjandrum up to 60 mph and crash it into German defenses.

However, the vehicle was plagued by control issues and failed a 1944 test, leading to its mothballing in favor of modified tanks known as Hobart’s Funnies.

Despite its failure, the British engineered other custom military vehicles for beach warfare, including Hobart’s Funnies, which were designed by Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart and included modified tanks with assault bridges, mine-clearing chain flails, and flamethrowers.

While the Great Panjandrum was not effective, Hobart’s Funnies played a significant role in the war effort.