Artillery is not in vain called "god of war". A hail of shells suddenly delivers a powerful blow that cannot be achieved by any other means. A plane with bombs can be seen from afar. A field engineer with a box of explosives can be stopped by a banal infantry patrol. But the shot from the gun is fast, powerful and almost inevitable.
Of course, engineers will always try to make the shells as powerful as possible, and the guns long-range. On the forehead, these tasks are accomplished by simply increasing the size. A longer barrel allows you to achieve long range shots. A shell of a larger diameter (caliber) may contain more explosives.
Despite the development of rocketry, the armament still has artillery systems with caliber up to 420 mm. But the biggest guns have always been a "piece of product" and even had their own names.
We present you the 10 largest cannons in the world - the awesome giants of military equipment.
10. Schneider howitzer sample 1916 (520 mm)
Railway mobile artillery systemObusier Mle 1916"Caliber 520 mm (better known as"howitzer schneider») 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 to a range of up to 15 km.
Despite the fact that two instances of the gun were built, they almost never participated in the hostilities. The barrel of the first gun exploded during testing, and in 1941, when trying to shell Leningrad with Hitler troops, the second gun also collapsed.
9. Karl (600 mm)
In the late 30s of the XX century, Germany was actively preparing for a new war. Likely opponents, well aware of what was going on, attended to the construction of titanic earthen and concrete fortifications along their borders.
For hacking fortified areas, German engineering talent created self-propelled artillery mounts with medieval characteristics of shells that were quite consistent with the nature of the fortifications.
In particular, self-propelled mortars "Karl" caliber 540 mm and 600 mm fired at a range of about 4 km with shells weighing 2 tons. A total of seven units were built on the tracked chassis. They all got their own names - the names of the ancient Norman deities.
8. Basilica (600 mm)
In the middle of the XV, the Turks, besieging Constantinople, faced a problem. The walls of the ancient fortress were completely impregnable for infantry. Primitive artillery left insignificant potholes on the stones, and dense fire of the city’s defenders did not allow to bring mines under the walls.
Inspired by the need, the Hungarian engineer Urban designed and cast a siege gun weighing 30 tons in bronze in just a few months. A gun named "Basilica", Had a caliber of about 550-600 mm and shot with stone cores weighing 500-600 kg at a range of up to 2 km.
The cannon showed its effectiveness by breaking through a century-old wall with several accurate shots. Unfortunately, the sample of engineering genius collapsed during further shooting. However, in the Museum of Fort Nelson (England) there is a “younger sister” of the Basilica, donated by the Turks to Queen Victoria.
7. Mad Greta (660 mm)
Already during the sunset of the Roman Empire, either at the end of the XIV, or in the middle of the XV century, one of the remarkable cannons was built in Belgium. "Dulle griet"Caliber 660 mm has a mass of 16 tons and a quite decent cannon barrel with a length of about 5 m.
Yes, it is “has” - the gun fought quite a lot, but despite all the quirks of fate, it survived to the present day. Today it is the largest of the forged muzzle-loading guns preserved in museums.
6. Lazy Metta (735 mm)
At the beginning of the 15th century, German master Henning Bussenshutte constructed a bombard weighing about 9 tons. The gun, nicknamed "Lazy Metta» (Faule mette), a caliber of about 750 mm in the tests sent a three hundred kilogram stone shell to a range of 2.5 km. The result is very decent for those times!
The gun at different times fired, according to historical sources, more than 10 times and with only one look inspired sacred awe at the opponents. Alas, at the end of the XVII century, the historical relic was put to remelting. History has demanded guns - albeit a smaller caliber, but a larger number.
5. Dora (800 mm)
Preparations for World War II set the German gunsmiths the task of not only destroying the megalithic fortified areas (which the mortar Karl dealt with). It was required to shoot very far and quite accurately. Thus was created a giant named "Dora"Caliber 800 mm.
The cannon on a non-demountable carriage had a total mass of 1,350 tons and could send seven-ton shells for almost 40 km. For such a colossus, movement was required not just a railway - double-track sections with 4 rails, precisely laid on reinforced ballast, were specially prepared for it.
Two guns were not only built, but even managed to fight. However, the appearance of missiles with a much wider range and mobility of combat crew sent "dinosaurs from artillery " to the museum of historical wonders.
4. Steyr bombardment (820 mm)
At the end of the XIV century in Austria, in the city of Steyr, in a single copy was built "Steyr bombardment» («Pumhart von steyr») With a caliber of about 820 mm. Theoretically, this weapon could send stone cores at a distance of about a kilometer. However, there are no historical facts about its real application.
This example of medieval engineering is noteworthy in that it is one of the first - and, at the same time, the largest guns with a barrel of composite construction. The trunk body is composed of longitudinal iron bars. Outside, an iron “tunnel” is fastened with several layers of transverse forged steel hoops.
3. The Tsar Cannon (890 mm)
A bronze colossus weighing about forty tons was conceived as a symbolic military image. The gun was supposed to inspire awe to the guests of the Moscow State and serve as a platform for the appeals of the tsar, giving his word special significance.
Despite this, the gun cast at the end of the sixteenth century was and still remains quite combat-ready. True, they never shot from a giant with a caliber of 890 mm, but in 1591 in fear of the raid of the Crimean Khan Gaza-Gerai Tsar Cannon even rolled out to a fighting position and fully charged.
2. Mortira Malleta (914 mm)
In the middle of the XIX century, England, besieging 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 gun seemed to weigh more than forty tons. Robert Mallet suggested making the design collapsible. Moreover, not only the gun carriage was understood, but also the barrel itself.
Despite bureaucratic obstacles, Mallett managed to secure funding for his project. Couple mortal mallet A caliber of 914 mm was even built. Alas, the protracted tests showed the unreliability of the design - and there the Crimean War ended.
1. Baby David (914 mm)
Towards the end of World War II, the Americans also attended to the construction of guns. "bigger and worse». Mortira "Baby David" (Little david) had the same caliber as the mortar Malletta (914 mm). The shell was also quite archaic design and also weighed about one and a half tons.
Tests have shown archaic not only concepts, but also the results of the shooting. Although the bomb flew almost 9 km, the accuracy was completely unsatisfactory. The successful test of the atomic bomb completely put an end to ideas to frighten the enemy of "tons of explosives from somewhere out of the sky."