Karbine wrote:Thats the one i saw,when did they fire that? was it ever used in battle?
Do you have any videos of the ww2 version firing?
How many were deployed to Germany depneds on the source. There were probally a minimum of 12, with two spares. Some sources claim as many as 38, but I'm skeptical. They may be confusing the large cannon with the slightly smaller and much more common 203mm caliber or 'eight inch' cannon that was provided with nuclear ammunition later in the 1950s. The eight inch was much more mobile as it could be towed by a single heavy truck and emplaced ready to fire in ten minutes or less.wrote:by Xavier on 12 Feb 2005 17:12
"the one firing the atom bomb is a american gun, during a test (the only one) in the nevada desert.
several were based in germany during the cold war, and I think one is preserved in the entrance of the aberdeen proving grounds
According to Fehernbach 'This Kind of War' President Eisenhower, shortly after taking office, ordered a battalion of twelve of the large cannon deployed to Japan and staged ready to move to Korea on a few hours notice. Commuist spys were then 'allowed' knowledge of the weapons presence and of plans for its use in Korea. It was hoped this would help the Chinese and North Koreans in their decision to reach a cease fire agreement.
The cannon used to fire the nuclear projectile in the video was originally designed to specs drawn up in the 1920s. Construction of some test examples was started in the 1930s and limited production ordered when the US begain mobilization in 1940. Production was terminated around 1943 when its was decided by US Army Ground Forces HQ that superheavy artillery would not be cost effective.
