9. The Anti-Tank Dog

Canine lovers may want to skip this one.

During WWII, the Soviets turned Lassie into a suicide bomber. Dogs were strapped with explosives and trained to slide underneath German tanks, where a lever on their backs would act as a trigger detonating the bombs – and the dogs.

 

Initially, dogs were trained to bite down on a cable releasing the explosive packs underneath their targets before retreating back to their handlers. But when faced with battlefield conditions, frightened dogs would run away or return to handlers before placing the explosives. So, the Red Army decided to train them for suicide missions.

When deployed to the battlefield in 1941, many dogs still scrambled at the real sound of artillery and gunfire. Some ran back to handlers injuring or killing them.

Still, these four-legged troops managed to take down a few Nazis. During the battle of Kursk, 16 dogs disabled 12 German tanks. But victories were few, so the Soviets ceased the program.