Anti-Aircraft Dumpling Cannon
February 1967: Munich resident Helmut G. Winter was sick and tired of the noise of military aircraft flying low over his house. So he built a catapult and started launching Bavarian potato dumplings at the planes.
In one week he launched 120 dumplings. He never managed to score a direct hit. But eventually both the West German Luftwaffe and American pilots conceded defeat and agreed to a flight path that avoided his house.
Reportedly, he gave the Americans a model of his dumpling cannon as a gesture of thanks, inscribed "As a souvenir and a warning — Helmut G. Winter, The Bavarian Dumpling Shot." I bet this model has now been lost or thrown away, instead of being in a museum where it belongs.
In one week he launched 120 dumplings. He never managed to score a direct hit. But eventually both the West German Luftwaffe and American pilots conceded defeat and agreed to a flight path that avoided his house.
Reportedly, he gave the Americans a model of his dumpling cannon as a gesture of thanks, inscribed "As a souvenir and a warning — Helmut G. Winter, The Bavarian Dumpling Shot." I bet this model has now been lost or thrown away, instead of being in a museum where it belongs.
Cincinnati Enquirer - Feb 20, 1967
Newsweek - Mar 13, 1967
Newsweek - Mar 13, 1967
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Mar 1, 1967
Comments
10 to 1 it's sitting in the attic of some Rod & Gun Club.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 01/30/16 at 10:22 AM
Good thing he didn't have some PVC and Aquanet.
Posted by BrokeDad in Midwest US on 01/30/16 at 11:38 AM
I'll believe it when I see a citation from the Sueddeutsche rather than the Cincinatti...
Posted by Richard Bos on 01/30/16 at 01:32 PM
Richard -- Just checked, and there's actually a bunch of german sources about it. Must be a famous bit of german weird news. For instance:
http://www.merkur.de/lokales/muenchen/stadt-muenchen/knoedeln-gegen-kampf-jets-424319.html
http://www.br.de/radio/bayern2/bayern/land-und-leute/pasinger-knoedelkrieg-helmut-winter-100.html
Based on quickly scanning them, it seems that his dumpling cannon model actually is still preserved somewhere.
http://www.merkur.de/lokales/muenchen/stadt-muenchen/knoedeln-gegen-kampf-jets-424319.html
http://www.br.de/radio/bayern2/bayern/land-und-leute/pasinger-knoedelkrieg-helmut-winter-100.html
Based on quickly scanning them, it seems that his dumpling cannon model actually is still preserved somewhere.
Posted by Alex on 01/30/16 at 04:22 PM
Who says you can't fight city hall? This guy defeated two Air Forces with a Dumplingapault!
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 01/30/16 at 05:30 PM
Poor Helmut was ahead of his time. Today he could have scaled up his catapult and been a formidable competitor on the Punkin Chunkin circuit (WCPCA).
Posted by Fritz G on 01/31/16 at 08:46 AM
Alex: yes, that's clear enough. Thanks. And the first article even provides some much-needed background.
Posted by Richard Bos on 01/31/16 at 04:39 PM
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Category: Military | 1960s | Weapons