italian supergun?

Discussions on all aspects of Italy under Fascism from the March on Rome to the end of the war.
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ziggy wiseman
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italian supergun?

#1

Post by ziggy wiseman » 20 Mar 2002, 21:41

One of my friend told me that Italian army used a 210mm.howitzer at early stage of ww2.It was supposely the most powerfull gun in Europe.Any details on that?
thanks!

Gwynn Compton
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#2

Post by Gwynn Compton » 20 Mar 2002, 23:42

It could well be true, however a 210mm Howizter isn't actually that big, the later German super heavy mortar "Thor" had a bigger barrel I think (it's a true monster) and was used against the defenders of Sevastapol.

Speaking of guns, apparantly a German Artillery piece that was captured by New Zealand forces is being placed outside our parliament, I'll get a picture as soon as it's there and try and identify what kind of artillery piece it is :)


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Johan Elisson
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"Thor"

#3

Post by Johan Elisson » 21 Mar 2002, 00:03

The Thor was just one of 6 heavy siege-mortars manufactured by Germany, Thor and it's "siblings" Odin, Adam, Eve, Loki and Ziu was of the type Gerät 040 or Gerät 041, also refered to as "Karlgerät". They had 60cm (Gerät 040) or 54cm (Gerät 041) mortar with projectiles weighting around 2 tons.

I don't have any details on the Italian howlitzer but it sure wasn't the largest one at the start of WW2, because Germany had a 280mm Howlitzer in WW1.

/Johan

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#4

Post by Karl » 21 Mar 2002, 10:13

Actually, the Germans already had a 420 mm mortar by 1909 and the Austrians a 305 mm by 1910.

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Lupo Solitario
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#5

Post by Lupo Solitario » 21 Mar 2002, 23:18

Apart debates on "mine is bigger than yours", the italian 210/22mm howitzer is considered an interesting and good heavy artillery gun.
Only 20 of those weapons had been supplied to italian army of which 16 were employed (and destroyed) on eastern front. A certain number was given to Hungarian army and some were captured by germans after italian surrender

bye

Lupo

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#6

Post by Karl » 22 Mar 2002, 07:06

>>>Apart debates on "mine is bigger than yours"<<<

Curious that you should see it that way Lupo.

Regards.

Desert Fox
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80 Cm baby!

#7

Post by Desert Fox » 22 Mar 2002, 08:29

http://www.cix.co.uk/~nrobinson/railgun ... 0index.htm

Well, it had an 80 cm Barrel, an operating career of 14 days, and at best one shell every 15 minutes loading cycle...

Also, if you look around on that site, there's a picture of 4 Allied Soldiers in the barrell... gives you an idea of how big it was huh?

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Re: "Thor"

#8

Post by Dan » 22 Mar 2002, 14:37

The Thor was just one of 6 heavy siege-mortars manufactured by Germany, Thor and it's "siblings" Odin, Adam, Eve, Loki and Ziu
I recognize the god of thunder, the father god, Adam and Eve and the trickster god, but who was Ziu? Are you sure that's spelled right? Could it have been Tyr or something like that? He was the god of war.

Thanks
Dan

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Johan Elisson
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#9

Post by Johan Elisson » 22 Mar 2002, 14:51

I recognize the god of thunder, the father god, Adam and Eve and the trickster god, but who was Ziu? Are you sure that's spelled right? Could it have been Tyr or something like that? He was the god of war.
Sorry, my book, Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two, says Ziu. I, as a Swede, haven't hear of a Nordic mythology-god namned Ziu either... But I will try to find out.

/Johan

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Johan Elisson
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#10

Post by Johan Elisson » 22 Mar 2002, 14:54

Ok! It didn't take a long time to find out!
Ziu is German for, what I secretly guessed, Zeus.

/.../und wie Zeus (griech.=Tiu/Ziu im Germanischen)./.../
from http://www.nordzeit.de/lp_heimkehr1.htm

/Johan

Dan
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#11

Post by Dan » 22 Mar 2002, 15:21

Thanks!

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ziggy wiseman
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italian super gun:Spain

#12

Post by ziggy wiseman » 22 Mar 2002, 17:31

Lupo,do you think this gun(210mm.)saw action in Spain?
thanks!

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Lupo Solitario
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210mm

#13

Post by Lupo Solitario » 22 Mar 2002, 20:19

No, in 1939 was still practically a prototype with only 7 guns built.
I add CTV practically didn't employ heavy artillery, AFAIK

bye

Lupo

PS Sorry for my precedent joke if I had offended someone but it was a way to retake argument on original Ziggy's one. My fault

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#14

Post by Karl » 23 Mar 2002, 05:22

Lupo,

I misunderstood your post. Easy to do especially on a volatile board like this one.

[O/T but re your order of battle question on the other board (that was you, wasn&#8217;t it?), I am interested too so I am going to have a look around for those details (if no one beats me to it first). Strange but totals are in every single book but those battle details and casualty figures are harder to find. At least around here.]

Bye.

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Lupo Solitario
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re

#15

Post by Lupo Solitario » 23 Mar 2002, 14:52

no trouble, friends as always.....but I don't understand which my post you are talking about....i think about 50% of post are about orders of battle..... :)

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