The "Little Joe" Crossbow

[George K]

https://www.historynet.com/the-little-joe-crossbow-weapon-of-the-oss/

One of their ideas, which reached prototype form in February 1943, was the “Little Joe Penetrometer” — essentially a hand-held, vertical-profile pistol crossbow. The frame was made from heat-treated aluminum; the bowstring from 50 rubber bands. A section of graphite-coated linen in the center of the bowstring was the contact point for an 8-ounce bolt with a broad-headed metal tip.

With a muzzle velocity more in the neighborhood of 170 feet per second, Little Joe failed to meet its design specification. But it was very quiet (just 72 decibels on firing) and very accurate (6-inch groups at 20 yards), with an effective range of 30 yards—at which distance the bolt would pass through a uniformed human. Despite the evident mechanical ingenuity of the Little Joe and some improved models (one of them dubbed the “Joe Louis”), U.S. special operations forces never adopted the pistol-style crossbow, suppressed pistols being more practical and efficient.