[4] ("Dicke", meaning fat or big in German, is apparently not a reference to the physical aspect of Mrs. The gun was designed in preparation for the Battle of France, b… See more ideas about Railway gun, Railway, Military. Schlanke Emma ( Slim Emma ), Austrian 30.5cm howitzer disassembled and ready for transport. Shells continued to land at 15-minute intervals, with 21 counted on the first day. The legendary Krupp's Big Bertha, a German 42cm howitzer of the type used to crush the Belgian fortresses in 1914. The German objective was to build a psychological weapon to attack the morale of the Parisians, not to destroy the city itself. Their most successful design, nicknamed Big Bertha had its railroad offshoot, the Gamma device, which was a 42 cm gun capable of firing two types of ammunition ― one weighing 886 kg (1,953 pounds) and another 760 kg (1,680 pounds). The tube was 21 meters (69 ft) long and projected 3.9 meters (13 ft) out of the end of the gun, so an extension was bolted to the old gun-muzzle to cover and reinforce the lining tube. A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval ordnance, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railway wagon. [6] Unusually for Krupp, both the Beta and Gamma weapons eschewed the usual sliding-wedge Breech mechanism in favour of a screw-type breech, after the practice common in Britain and France. Krupp first investigated the possibility of building a 35-cm weapon, but instead jumped to 42-cm as this was the smallest shell that could carry the large bursting charge required to fulfil the APK's requirements. The distance was so far that the Coriolis effect—the rotation of the Earth—was substantial enough to affect trajectory calculations. It was also featured on a postcard. Ejercito Alemán Artilleria Historia Vehículos Del Ejército Vehículos Blindados Batalla De Stalingrado Grandes Armas Historia Militar Segunda Guerra Mundial Download this stock image: Railway mounting for Big Bertha gun, c1914-c1918. The guns were so called because they were specially built to shell Paris at a range, never before attained, of approximately 121 km (75 miles). * * * Either of two different sets of long range artillery produced by the Krupp works (see Thyssen Krupp Stahl) in Germany during World War I. Railway mounting for Big Bertha gun, c1914-c1918. A big gun like the K5-E couldn't be aimed in just any direction, either. The shells killed 250 people and wounded 620, and caused considerable damage to property. ("Dicke", meaning fat or big in German, is apparently not a … The largest French gun produce by Schneider of France the Obusier de 520 modèle 1916, a 20-inch (520 mm) railway "Fort Buster" to do what the German 16.53-inch Big Bertha had done at the outbreak of World War I and reduce the German forts in the final line of German defenses. All this evolution happened right at the last possible moment, and it was not until August 1914 that the big howitzers moved off to war. Railway mounting for Big Bertha gun, c1914-c1918. The Paris gun emplacement was dug out of the north side of the wooded hill at Coucy-le-Château-Auffrique. During WWI the famous German armament manufacturer, Kuipp, had built huge a howitzer (a gun with a relatively short length for the diameter of its barrel) with the nickname "Big Bertha." [6] The thickness of the shell casing, to withstand the forces of firing, meant that shells would explode into a comparatively small number of large fragments, limiting their destructive effect. French Marines and an entire train composed of rail artillery. This was not an unreasonable assumption, as Zeppelins on night-time air-raids over the United Kingdom had previously used the tactic of cutting their engines when upwind of the target, then releasing their bombs as they silently drifted overhead. During the war, the Germans gave numerous other nicknames to the M-Device. Damage To Buildings In Paris. World War One First World Railway Gun Big Bertha Big Guns German Army Military History Wwii Battle 12 August 1914 - The Guns Of August Above: the enormous Gamma Mörser, direct ancestor to the Big Bertha Barbara Tuchman named her seminal history of the Great War The Guns of August for good reasons, and the biggest of those is Big Bertha. The shells were propelled at such a high velocity that each successive shot wore away a considerable amount of steel from the rifled bore. [1][9] This figure does not include additional barrels; two extra barrels were already available before the war started,[1] and possibly up to 20 barrels were built, though some sources state 18. Willy Ley, "German Siege Guns of the Two World Wars", Journal of Coastal Artillery, Feb, 1943, pp. The Big Bertha was a German initiative set into action before World War 1 (1914-1918). The German Heavy Gustav was the largest gun ever built. Lima H0 - L303501 - railway cannon - "Krupp K5" Wehrmacht's railway cannon 'Leopold' - DRG DC - in original packaging - mint. The 18-inch railway gun 'Boche-Buster' and crew outside Bourne Park Tunnel at Bishopsbourne in Kent 21 March 1941. A further, 6-meter–long smooth-bore extension was attached to the end of this, giving a total barrel length of 37 meters (121 ft). Nazi Germany Built the Biggest 'Big Gun' Ever (And it Was a Total Paper Tiger) It was more than 150 feet long, 40 feet tall and weighed almost … The Germans, like their counterparts in Austria-Hungary, observed the outcome of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 with great interest where German Krupp guns were utilized to good effect by the Japanese in sinking all Russian Navy capital ships from land-based positions during the Siege of Port Arthur. With thinner walls, the barrel was of generally lighter construction than Gamma's and fired lighter shells of around 830 kg. Footage of damaged buildings caused by Big Bertha. The first K12 was delivered to the German Army in 1939 and a second in 1940. It was given the nickname ‘Big Bertha’ and 12 were built, seeing service throughout the war. [5]) The name "Big Bertha" subsequently came to be applied generically by the Allies to any very large German gun, such as the railway-mounted battleship guns known as "Langer Max" and the ultra-long range "Paris Gun". The Germans had always loved big guns. Artist: Unknown. Another huge gun, 42-cm Gamma-Device howitzer, was the forerunner of the Bertha. Big Bertha, German Dicke Bertha, a type of 420-mm (16.5-inch) howitzer that was first used by the German army to bombard Belgian and French forts during World War I. Big Bertha, the Howitzer L/14, manufactured by the German industrialist Gustav Krupp. During the war, the Germans gave numerous other nicknames to the M-Device. The new weapon was a gun about 12 meters high, 47 meters long, weighing 1,350 tonnes and was firing 10 tonnes shells through a 30 meters long pipe. Afterwards, he turned his model-making talents to building wooden models for museums, theatres, and other displays. Bertha proved very effective against older constructions such as the Belgian forts designed in the 1880s by Brialmont, destroying several in a few days. Only two operational M-Geräte were available at the beginning of World War I, although two additional barrels and cradles had apparently been produced by that time. Due to the weapon's apparent total destruction by the Germans in the face of the final Allied offensives, its capabilities are not known with full certainty. The Breach Loading 18inch Rail Howitzer gun is one of just twelve railway guns left in the world and today it began its 387-mile journey from Larkhill, Wiltshire, to the Netherlands. Strictly speaking, however, Dicke Bertha, or Big Bertha, is only applicable to … After 65 rounds had been fired, each of progressively larger caliber to allow for wear, the barrel was sent back to Krupp and rebored to a caliber of 238 mm (9.4 in) with a new set of shells. The name "Big Bertha" subsequently came to be applied generically by the Allies to any very large German gun, such as the railway-mounted battleship guns known as "Langer Max" and the ultra-long range "Paris Gun". Many countries have built railway guns, but the best known are the large Krupp-built pieces used by Germany in World War I and World War II. Scenes of destruction in Paris after the city is hit by 'Big Bertha' - German gun. The barrel was over 100 feet long, longer than any gun barrel in existence, and the body of the gun was bigger than any tank to see battle so far. In 2011-2012, Mario Draghi promoted the measures he took in connection with the so-called Euro rescue operations as "La Grosse Bertha." It weighed 150 tons, and was what the Germans called a Bettungsgeschütz, or "bedding gun", i.e., it was mounted on a stationary carriage that was emplaced in a concrete foundation, which took days to prepare. [1] The two operational M-Geräte formed the Kurze Marine Kanone Batterie (KMK) No. Big Bertha was a 96,000lb (43 ton) system that could lob 1,800lb shells nearly 8 miles (7.8) firing a 419mm projectile. Paris Gun, any of several long-range cannon produced by the German arms manufacturer Krupp in 1917–18 during World War I. Big Bertha was a mobile artillery piece while the Gamma had to be emplaced before firing, though they … Just click on thumbnail for expanded image. The legendary Krupp's Big Bertha, a German 42cm howitzer of the type used to crush the Belgian fortresses in 1914. The name Big Bertha, which was derisively applied to the guns by Parisians under bombardment from them, is more properly applied to the 420-millimetre howitzers used by the German army to batter Belgian forts in August 1914, at the start of the war. The type was quickly named the ‘Dicke Bertha’ (Fat Bertha, but typically trans­lated ‘Big Bertha… This aiming arc was fitted with a massive "spade" that was buried in the ground and which helped anchor the weapon. The first howitzer was demonstrated to Kaiser Wilhelm II in March 1914, who was greatly taken by the new weapon, and the second was delivered in June 1914. Smaller guns were often part of an armoured train. Krupp. 13-20, Michal Prasil: Skoda Heavy Guns, Schiffer Military History, ISBN 0-7643-0288-4, Articles with dead external links from November 2014, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWbertha.htm, https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Big_Bertha_(howitzer)?oldid=4378297. [8] The most spectacular success was against the nearby Fort Loncin, which exploded after taking a direct hit to its ammunition magazine. The gun was fired from a wooded hill (Le mont de Joie) near Crépy, and the first shell landed at 7:18 a.m. on 21 March 1918 on the Quai de la Seine, the explosion being heard across the city. Press Photo German "Big Bertha" Railway Gun Muzzle Hiding in Bushes - hcb54542. [1]:120[Note 2] The small amount of explosive – around 6.6% of the weight of the shell – meant that the effect of its shellburst was small for the shell's size. The model can be seen at the Paris Army Museum, Big Bertha (German language: Dicke Bertha) — literal translation "Thick (or fat) Bertha" — is the name of a type of super-heavy howitzer developed by the famous armaments manufacturer Krupp in Germany on the eve of World War I. It is believed that near the end of the war they were completely destroyed by the Germans. The gun was later placed on display at the United States Army Ordnance Museum,[11] and scrapped at the end of World War II.[12]. Schwerer Gustav (English: Heavy Gustaf) was a German 80-centimetre (31.5 in) railway gun. Library ... Railway big bertha gun. WW1 - A satirical cartoon illustrating the German gun personified as 'Big Bertha' attacking the city of Paris. Herbert Jager's book German Artillery of World War One has a great section devoted to this series of guns. The model can be seen at the Paris Army Museum The event marked the debut of the Big Bertha howitzer in combat. The largest French gun produce by Schneider of France the Obusier de 520 modèle 1916, a 20-inch (520 mm) railway "Fort Buster" to do what the German 16.53-inch Big Bertha had done at the outbreak of World War I and reduce the German forts in the final line of German defenses. It was developed in the late 1930s by Krupp in Rügenwalde as siege artillery for the explicit purpose of destroying the main forts of the French Maginot Line, the strongest fortifications in existence at the time. ø The Railway Gun and Armoured Train Page; ø The Ballistic Mystery of Paris Gun. It could toss a 16 ½ inch diameter, 1800 pound, shell almost eight miles. Also called the "Kaiser Wilhelm Geschütz" ("Emperor William Gun"), they were often confused with Big Bertha, the German howitzer used against the Liège forts in 1914; indeed, the French called them by this name, as well. [6] A crater produced by a shell falling in the Tuileries Garden was described by an eyewitness as being 10 to 12 ft (3.0 to 3.7 m) across and 4 ft (1.2 m) deep.[7]. Between 320 and 367 shells were fired, at a maximum rate of around 20 per day. its not lucky, just precision. [6], Gamma-Gerät (Gamma-device) — the railway-transported, concrete-emplaced predecessor to the Big Bertha. With the discovery (in the 1980s) and publication (in the Bull and Murphy book) of a long note on the gun written shortly before his death in 1926 by Dr. Fritz Rausenberger, who was in charge of its development at Krupp, the details of its design and capabilities were considerably clarified. A model of Dora, Kupp’s second Heavy Gustav. Bertha's official name was the L/12 (the barrel was 12 calibrein length), or the M-Device. [4][6], It had its genesis in the lessons learned by the Germans (and Austrians) from the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. A full-scale wooden model was built by Emil Cherubin in 1932. Sold for. [Note 3] Within a few hours, sufficient casing fragments had been collected to show that the explosions were the result of shells, not bombs. 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