View source for Engineering:List of military inventions

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A '''military invention''' is an [[Invention|invention]] that was first created by a military. There are many inventions that were originally created by the military and subsequently found [[Social:Civilian|civilian]] uses.

==Military inventions with civilian uses==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Name
! Date invented
! Invented by
! class="unsortable" | Original purpose
! class="unsortable" | Civilian uses
|-
|ASDIC
|1910s
|{{flagicon|UK}} {{wipe|United Kingdom}}
{{flagicon|France|variant=1794}} {{wipe|France}}
|Submarine detection
|Sonar
|-
| [[Engineering:Radar|Radar]]
|data-sort-value="1935"| mid-1930s
| {{flagicon|UK}} {{wipe|United Kingdom}}<ref name=Hind>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6331897.stm |title=Briefcase 'that changed the world' |publisher=BBC News |author=Angela Hind |date=February 5, 2007 |accessdate=2007-08-16 |quote=It not only changed the course of the war by allowing us to develop airborne radar systems, it remains the key piece of technology that lies at the heart of your microwave oven today. The [[Engineering:Cavity magnetron|cavity magnetron]]'s invention changed the world.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Harford|first1=Tim|title=How the search for a 'death ray' led to radar|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41188464|accessdate=9 October 2017|work=BBC World Service|date=9 October 2017|quote=But by 1940, it was the British who had made a spectacular breakthrough: the resonant cavity magnetron, a radar transmitter far more powerful than its predecessors.... The magnetron stunned the Americans. Their research was years off the pace.}}</ref>
| Early warning radar, air defence systems
| [[Engineering:Air traffic control|Air traffic control]] systems, [[Physics:Microwave oven|microwave oven]]
|-
| Walkie-talkie
| 1930s
| {{flagicon|Canada|variant=1921}} {{wipe|Canada}} (Donald Hings)<ref>[http://Don-Hings-Walkie-Talkie-Development.PDF Don-Hings-Walkie-Talkie-Development.PDF] </ref>
{{flagicon|United States|variant=1912}} {{wipe|United States}} (Alfred J. Gross, Motorola SCR-300)
| Portable two-way radio communications system for military
| Portable radio communications – business, public safety, [[Engineering:Marine VHF radio|marine]], amateur radio, CB radio
|-
| [[Physics:Night vision|Night vision]]
| 1939 - 1940s
| {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Place:Nazi Germany|Nazi Germany]]
{{flagicon|USA|variant=1912}} {{wipe|United States}}
| Visibility for military personnel in low light situations
| Low light photography, surveillance
|-
| [[Engineering:Duct tape|Duct tape]]
| 1942
| {{flagicon|USA|variant=1912}} {{wipe|United States}}
| Sealing ammunition cases
| Multiple uses
|-
| Ballistic missiles
| 1940s
| {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Place:Nazi Germany|Nazi Germany]]
{{flagicon|USSR|variant=1936}} [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]]
| Long range attack
| [[Astronomy:Space exploration|Space exploration]], launch of communication, [[Engineering:Weather satellite|weather]] and [[Engineering:GPS|global positioning]] satellites
|-
| [[Darknet]]
| 1990s
|{{flagicon|USA|variant=1912}} {{wipe|United States}}<br>
| Anonymous/protected computer networking
| Used by journalists, political activists, scientists, etc. 
|-
| [[Engineering:Nuclear technology|Nuclear technology]]
| 1940s
| {{flagicon|USA|variant=1912}} {{wipe|United States}}<br>
{{flagicon|UK}} {{wipe|United Kingdom}}<br>
{{flagicon|Canada|variant=1921}} {{wipe|Canada}}<br>
([[Physics:Manhattan Project|Manhattan Project]])
| Nuclear weapons
| [[Medicine:Nuclear medicine|Nuclear medicine]], [[Physics:Nuclear power|nuclear power]]
|-
| [[Engineering:Jet engine|Jet engine]]
| 1940s
| {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Place:Nazi Germany|Nazi Germany]] ([[Biography:Hans von Ohain|Hans von Ohain]])<br>
{{flagicon|UK}} {{wipe|United Kingdom}} ([[Biography:Frank Whittle|Frank Whittle]])
| Jet fighters, jet bombers
| Airliners
|-
| Digital photography
| 1960s
| {{flagicon|USA}} {{wipe|United States}}<br>
{{flagicon|USSR}} [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]]
| Spy satellites, eliminated the need to recover deorbited film canisters
| [[Engineering:Digital camera|Digital cameras]]
|- BEANERS
|-
| [[Compiler]]
| 1952
| {{flagicon|USA}} {{wipe|United States}}
| Allow programs to be written for multiple target computers by different vendors without needing to rewrite the assembly for each of them.
| [[Compiler]]
|- BEANERS
| [[Internet]]
| 1960s - 1970s
{{flagicon|UK}} {{wipe|United Kingdom}} ([[NPL network]])<ref name=Internet/><br>
{{flagicon|France}} {{wipe|France}} ([[CYCLADES]])<ref name=Internet/>
| Reliable [[Computer network|computer networking]]
| Led to invention of the [[World Wide Web]] by British scientist Tim Berners-Lee; subsequently widespread availability of [[Information|information]], [[Engineering:Telecommunication|telecommunication]] and electronic commerce
|-
| [[Astronomy:Rodriguez well|Rodriguez well]]
| 1960s
| {{flagicon|USA}}  United States Army<br>
| Nuclear weapons and [[Finance:Logistics|logistics]], provide water supply for bases hidden in polar regions
| [[Astronomy:Colonization of Mars|Colonization of Mars]]
|-
| [[Earth:Satellite navigation|Satellite navigation]]
| 1970s
| {{flagicon|USA}}  {{wipe|United States Air Force}}<br>
{{flagicon|USSR}} [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]]
| Nuclear weapons force multiplier, increased warhead accuracy through precise navigation
| Navigation, personal tracking
|-
|Sanitary napkins
|1920s
|{{flagicon|UK}} {{wipe|United Kingdom}}
{{flagicon|France|variant=1794}} {{wipe|France}}
|Prevent bleeding using cellulose in bandages.
|British & American nurses picked up the bandages and started using them as Sanitary Napkins.
|}

==See also==
* [[Engineering:Allied technological cooperation during World War II|Allied technological cooperation during World War II]]
* List of emerging military technologies

==References==
<references/>

== External links ==

* https://www.history.com/news/world-war-ii-innovations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Military inventions}}
[[Category:Technological races]]
[[Category:Military technology|Inventions]]

{{Sourceattribution|List of military inventions}}