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Artillery is not for nothing called “god of war“. A hail of projectiles suddenly delivers a powerful blow that cannot be achieved by any other means. A plane with bombs can be seen from afar. A sapper with a box of explosives can be stopped by a banal infantry patrol. But a shot from a cannon is fast, powerful and almost inevitable.
Of course, engineers will always try to make the projectiles as powerful as possible, and the guns as long-range as possible. “In the forehead” these tasks are solved by a simple increase in size. A longer barrel allows you to achieve a greater range of shots. A larger diameter (caliber) projectile may contain more explosives.
Despite the development of rocket technology, artillery systems with a caliber of up to 420 mm are still in service. But the biggest guns have always been “piece products” and even had their own names.
We present you the 10 largest guns in the world – awesome giants of military equipment.
10 Howitzer Schneider model 1916 (520 mm)
Mobile artillery system on the railHowitzer Mle 1916“caliber 520 mm (better known as”Schneider howitzer”) was designed and built in France at the height of the First World War. Shells weighing about one and a half tons were to be sent at a distance of up to 15 km.
Despite the fact that two copies of the gun were built, they almost did not have a chance to participate in hostilities. The barrel of the first gun ruptured while still being tested, and in 1941, when Nazi troops tried to shell Leningrad, the second gun also collapsed.
9. Karl (600 mm)
In the late 30s, Germany was actively preparing for a new war. Potential adversaries, seeing perfectly where things were going, took care of building titanic earthen and concrete fortifications along their borders.
To break into fortified areas, German engineering talent created self-propelled artillery mounts with medieval shell parameters quite consistent with the nature of the fortifications.
In particular, the self-propelled mortars “Karl” calibers of 540 mm and 600 mm were fired at a distance of about 4 km with shells weighing 2 tons. In total, seven units were built on a tracked chassis. All of them received their own names – the names of the ancient Norman deities.
8. Basilica (600 mm)
In the middle of the XNUMXth century, the Turks, besieging Constantinople, ran into a problem. The walls of the ancient fortress were completely impregnable for the infantry. Primitive artillery left minor potholes on the stones, and the dense fire of the defenders of the city did not allow a mine to be brought under the walls.
Inspired by necessity, the Hungarian engineer Urban designed and cast in bronze a siege gun weighing 30 tons in just a few months. The gun namedBasilica“, had a caliber of about 550-600 mm and fired stone cannonballs weighing 500-600 kg at a distance of up to 2 km.
The cannon showed its effectiveness, breaking through the centuries-old wall with several accurate shots. Unfortunately, the sample of engineering genius was destroyed during further firing. However, in the museum of Fort Nelson (England) there is a “younger sister” of the Basilica, presented by the Turks to Queen Victoria.
7. Mad Greta (660 mm)
Already during the decline of the Roman Empire, either at the end of the XNUMXth or in the middle of the XNUMXth century, one of the remarkable cannons was built in Belgium. “Dull Griet“caliber 660 mm has a mass of 16 tons and a quite decent cannon barrel about 5 m long.
Yes, it “has” – the gun fought quite a lot, but despite all the quirks of fate, it has survived to this day. Today it is the largest of the forged muzzle-loading guns preserved in museums.
6. Lazy Metta (735mm)
At the beginning of the 9th century, the German master Henning Bussenshutte designed a bombard weighing about XNUMX tons. The weapon, nicknamed “lazy metta“(Faule Mette), with a caliber of about 750 mm, sent a three-hundred-kilogram stone projectile to a distance of 2,5 km during tests. The result is very worthy for those times!
The cannon at different times fired, according to historical sources, more than 10 times and with just one look inspired awe on opponents. Alas, at the end of the XNUMXth century, the historical relic was allowed to be melted down. History demanded cannons – albeit a smaller caliber, but a larger number.
5. Dora (800 mm)
Preparations for the Second World War set the German gunsmiths the task of not only destroying megalithic fortified areas (which the Karl mortar managed to do). It was necessary to shoot very far and quite accurately. Thus was created a giant named “Dora»caliber 800 mm.
The gun on a non-separable carriage had a total mass of 1 tons and could send seven-ton projectiles almost 350 km. Such a colossus needed more than just a railway to move around – double-track sections with 40 rails, precisely laid on hardened ballast, were specially prepared for it.
Two guns were not only built, but even had time to fight. However, the appearance of missiles with a much greater range and mobility of the combat crew sent “dinosaurs from artillery” to the Museum of Historical Curiosities.
4. Steyr bombard (820 mm)
At the end of the XIV century in Austria, in the city of Steyr, in a single copy was built “Steyr bombard‘(‘Pumhart von Steyr”) with a caliber of about 820 mm. Theoretically, this weapon could send stone balls at a distance of about a kilometer. However, there are no historical facts about its actual use.
This example of medieval engineering is remarkable in that it is one of the first and, at the same time, the largest cannons with a composite barrel. The body of the barrel is made up of longitudinal iron bars. Outside, the iron “tunnel” is fastened with several layers of transverse forged steel hoops.
3. Tsar cannon (890 mm)
The bronze colossus weighing about forty tons was conceived as a symbolic military image. The cannon was supposed to inspire awe to the guests of the Moscow State and serve as a platform for the tsar’s appeals, giving special meaning to his words.
Despite this, the gun cast at the end of the 890th century was and still remains quite combat-ready. True, they never fired from a giant with a caliber of 1591 mm, but in XNUMX, in fear of an attack by the Crimean Khan Gaza-Gerai Tsar Cannon even rolled out to a combat position and fully loaded.
2. Mortar Mallet (914 mm)
In the middle of the XIX century, England, besieging the Crimea with its allies, was faced with the need to have heavy siege weapons. The problem was the delivery of guns to the battlefield. Indeed, a large cannon seemed to weigh more than forty tons. Robert Mallet suggested making the structure collapsible. Moreover, not only the carriage was disassembled, but the barrel itself.
Despite bureaucratic obstacles, Mallett managed to secure funding for his project. Pair Mortar Mallet caliber 914 mm was even built. Alas, prolonged tests showed the unreliability of the design – and there the Crimean War ended.
1. Baby David (914 mm)
By the end of the Second World War, the Americans also attended to the construction of guns “bigger and scarier». Mortar “Little David” (Little David) had the same caliber as the Mallett mortar (914 mm). The projectile was also quite archaic in design and also weighed about one and a half tons.
Tests showed the archaism of not only the concept, but also the results of firing. Although the bomb flew almost 9 km, the accuracy was completely unsatisfactory. The successful test of the atomic bomb put an end to the idea of scaring the enemy with “a ton of explosives from somewhere in the sky.”