8. Awkward Tests That Inspired Little Confidence
The Great Panjandrum was supposed to be developed in secrecy in order to spring it as a surprise on the Germans. However, tests were carried out on a British beach that was popular with vacationers, so the trials were witnessed by huge crowds. The design’s flaw emerged at the first trial run in 1943: the weapon failed to move in a straight line. When the rockets were ignited and the device was launched, it made its way up the beach in a reasonably satisfactory manner at first. Then one of the wheels malfunctioned, which caused the Great Panjandrum to careen wildly off course.
The problem persisted in subsequent trials, as each time it proved impossible to get the rockets on both sides to ignite at the same time or continue to fire simultaneously. After weeks of troubleshooting, the developers returned to the beach, and this time, they had added a third wheel to the device to increase its stability. That test proved an even greater embarrassment than earlier ones. The device hurtled toward the beach, but failed to reach the shore, and instead made a wide turn and doubled back toward the craft that had launched it. In the meantime, some of the rockets had detached from the Great Panjandrum’s wheels to launch themselves at the observers on the beach, whistle over their heads, or explode underwater nearby.
