Mark Wade's Encyclopedia
Astronautica - Gun-Launched.
For more about WWI guns, see Mark Iavarone's
Big Guns of the Great War page.
(05 Mar 03)
FOR RECORD ONLY:
This page "evaporated" as it was being published, before it was backed up,
for some mysterious reason (probably unintentional overwriting or deleting),
and is being recreated.
Ordnance Superguns
(03 Mar 03)
First of all, I must acknowledge that, in what follows, I am leaning heavily on
the information and illustrations presented in Mark Wade's
Encyclopedia Astronautica {heavy on pop-up ads},
especially in the section on
Gun-Launched payload delivery systems and the section euphemistically
called A Brief
History of the HARP Project. In addition, I use some of the text
and images from Monsieur C. Luzent's
Les Canons de l'Apocalypse (The Cannons of the Apocalypse), in French.
Supplementing the material from those two sites with that from my own
collection and site and memory, I offer here for your edification a summary of
the history and status of superguns.
I define "superguns" for this page as those capable of launching
ballistic projectiles, whether with explosive or research payloads, at such high
velocity that they can achieve near-earth or full orbit.
Tsar Cannon (left) and Big Bertha (right)
(left - from Russian Tsar Cannon site)
{That cannonball is THREE feet (one meter) across!
It is a decorative fake, though, cast in 1836; the gun was intended to fire stone
shot,
although it was never even fired once!}
(right - image courtesy of C. Luzent, les Canons de l'Apocalypse - all rights reserved)
The term "supergun" can be applied equally to many other guns,
weapons all, that were uncommonly long or of extremely large bore; except
for the German WWI Paris Gun and its direct predecessors, these are
covered on the regular Ordnance pages. Notable among these are 1586
890mm (35") Tsar Cannon at the Kremlin [actually more of a 5.34m
(17½') long mortar], the WWI German "Big Bertha" (a 520mm howitzer,
NOT a long gun and definitely NOT the "Paris Gun")
and the French Schneider 520mm gun, the WWII German RR guns 280mm K-5
(Leopold/Anzio Annie), 211 mm (8.3") K-12, and 800mm (31½")
Dora/Schwere Gustav (claimed as the world's largest gun), and even our own
175mm and 280mm Atomic Cannon and perhaps the biggest of all, Little
David*, the 914mm (36¼") siege mortar. However,
engineering marvels though they be, they are "merely" very, very large
regular guns. The Paris Gun, however, was a direct ancestor
of the both the German WWII V-3 and the HARP guns and
so is covered here (as on the Astronautics and Apocalypse sites).
-
* - Little David was a 22' (67m) long muzzle-loader developed for the invasion of
Japan; it fired a 3,650# (1,656Kg) shell 6 miles (9.6Km) and, while successfully
tested, was never used in action. Amazingly, it was readily portable,
assembling and disassembling easily and quickly (unlike Dora).
The HARP Project (High Altitude
Research Project) was the brainchild of Dr. Gerald
V. Bull. It's trail (to follow) is one that ran from Canada to the U.S. to
Barbados and, eventually, Iraq. The trail involved sheer brilliance, pettifoggery,
obstructionism, idiocy, deceipt, and, eventually, even, assassination!
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
Dr. Gerald V. Bull (clearly with one of the 16" guns and,
equally clearly, NOT in the Barbados!)
This is as far as I got in restoring the page; stick with me, please.
Also, some of the images have to be reloaded.
There's lots more to follow! - 05 Mar 03, 16:45
Fantasy:
Newton's Orbital Cannon
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
In his 1687 work, Principia Mathematica, Sir Isaac Newton postulated a giant
cannon that could launch a projectile into orbit; his thesis was that if a cannon were
placed horizontally on a mountain top and the charge increased with each succeding
round, the range would increase until, eventually, the shot would not fall back to
earth at all but remain in orbit, pulled back only by atmospheric drag.
Jules Verne Moon Gun
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
Shell (cabin) to be fired from Verne's Columbiad Cannon
Jules Verne, the "father" of Science Fiction, put more science than fiction into his 1865
story of a giant moon gun, From the Earth to the Moon; with a bore of 2.74m
(9') and 277m (900') long, the gun was to be constructed in a deep well in Florida (the
southernmost point on the East Coast and filled with over 100 tons of the
newly-developed guncotton, a better gas producer than gunpowder. With all
sorts of clever devices to protect the passengers, there was more of an air of reality
than fancy about the whole thing, and many of his calculations and contrivances were
verified, and even realized, in the actual space program.
And Harsh Reality:
Paris Gun
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
Paris Gun in Shop (left) and Deployed (right)
This is a long and complex story and I will only highlight it here. Back in 1906,
the British Admiralty introduced the Dreadnaught, with TEN 305mm
guns, thereby obsoleting all other heavily-armed vessels and starting an "arms race";
by 1913, they had reached 381mm. In 1913, the Germans had Krupp construct
naval guns of 350mm or 380mm. At its maximum elevation of 16° the 380
could hurl a projectile 20,250m (12½ miles). Needless to say, these guns
were soon developed into giant siege cannon, the SKL/45, for the probable siege of
huge forces encamped before Paris in 1914. They were named "Lange
Max" (Long Max) or "Brummer" (Growler).
These images, from M. Luzent's les Canons de l'Apocalypse, show Max(es)
emplaced, on a concrete mount, on a steel mount, at four firing positions (the last as
captured by the Australians), an elevation drawing, and a drawing of the RR mount:
(images courtesy of C. Luzent, les Canons de l'Apocalypse - all rights reserved)
[For far more detail on these guns and their deployment, see
C. Luzent's SKL/45 MAX page.]
Many were recaptured intact and, after WWI, the International Control Commisoon
ordered the destruction of all but a few gus, which were turned over to the Belgians
for use in their defenses; when WWII began, they were quickly overrun by the
Wehrmacht.
Even today, some vestiges of the SKL/45 emplacements are still visible and the mouth
(or is it mount?) of one gun survives in an Australian military museum.
The main significance of the SKL/45 Max here is that it served as the basis for
the Paris Gun. The Paris Gun was officially called the
Kaiser Wilhelm Geschuetz (Kiaser Wilhelm's Gun) and was NOT
Lange Max (the SKL/45, above) nor Big Bertha. It was a huge railway
gun, 210mm until rebored to 240mm, with a stayed barrel reaching out 34m
(111½') and with a range of 131Km (80 miles), during which flight the
trajectory reached an apex of 40Km (25 miles) up, the outer limits of
substantial atmosphere, a record whch stood until the first V-2 flight on 03
Oct 1942. There were three guns emplaced around paris (see map)
and they fired 351 rounds, of which only a few did any major damage, but
even though they were almost impossible to aim precisely and only fired a
7Kg (15½#) warhead, they did manage to kill 256 souls and wound 620.
Thus, their value as a psychological weapon was superb, even if they couldn't
hit the broadside of a barn deliberately.
Barrels wore out after only 65 rounds and were rebored to 240mm.&b=nbsp;
one spare mount was captured but no complete gun was ever found.
The Paris Gun was also the direct ancestor of the V-3 (see below).
(images courtesy of C. Luzent, les Canons de l'Apocalypse - all rights reserved)
In addition to the Paris Gun, the French, themselves, developed a supergun ca. 1920,
a series designated the ALVF (l'artillerie lourde sur voie ferrée/Heavy Railway Artillery).
The culmination of this series was the ALVF 340 224 of 340mm (13.4") bore and 51m
(167') length of 1929, with a demountable forward barrel section and a range
exceeding 125Km (80 miles). They were probably demolished before the
German forces overran France.
(images courtesy of C. Luzent, les Canons de l'Apocalypse - all rights reserved)
Valier-Oberth Moon Gun
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
A workable 1926 concept by rocket pioneers Max Valier and Hermann Oberth
for a version of the Verne gun, with multiple combustion chambers, to be
emplaced in a tall mountain and which, as modified by Willy Ley and Baron
von Pirquet in 1929, would form the basis for the WWII V-3.
{to be expanded}
V-3
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
Code-named the "Hochdruckpumpe" (HDP - High-Pressure Pump)
and also known as "Fleissiges Lieschen" (Diligent Little Lisa) and "Tausend
Fussler" (1,000 GIs), this fixed 150mm multi-chambered weapon would have
fired directly across the Channel on London if it hadn't been destroyed first.
{to be expanded}
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
5 inch HARP Gun
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
Gerald Bull's initial Canadian Armament and Research Development
Establishment (CARDE) big gun (there were earlier smaller ones), later to the
joint Canadian-American HARP Project, with McGill University.
{to be expanded}
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
HARP 7" & 5" probes - From left to right: HARP 7-1, 7-2, 5-1, and 5-3.
Both 5" and 7" guns used flechette/arrow/dart projectiles pushed through the
barrel by a sabot. These projectoles were named "Martlets"
for the bird on the coat of arms of McGill University.
7 inch HARP Gun
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
Next step up, for three times the payload; at about the same delivery cost,
and pushing out to some 500Km (310miles) altitude.
{to be expanded}
16 inch HARP Gun
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
The 16" HARP Gun being fired in the Barbados
Onward and upward!&nsp; Per ardua ad astra! 92Km (57½ miles)
with a (relatively) huge payload. Then, disaster (political).
{to be expanded}
SHARP
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
100mm SHARP (Super High Altitude Research Project) light gas (hydrogen)
gun, developed by John Hunter at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in California.
{to be expanded}
Babylon Gun
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
[Thumbnail image; click on pictre for larger image.]
The 350mm (13¾") Iraqi (Gulf War) gun and intended 1m (39") progeny.
{to be expanded}
Jules Verne Launcher (the Hunter Gun)
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
John Hunter's private venture, Jules Verne Launcher Company, to put 3,300Kg
(3 ton) payloads in a low-earth (185Km/115 mile) orbit; failed of funding.
{to be expanded}
Chinese Supergun
(image courtesy of M. Wade, Encyclopdia Astronautix - all rights reserved)
21m Supergun
{to be expanded}
Sad Epilogue
Not only is Gerald Bull gone but NOT ONE of his
projects survives, unless one is to count the SHARP program at LLL, and that is
more a product of John Hunter than of Gerry Bull. All that brainpower,
manpower, ingenuity, determination, skill, and hardware is ALLES KAPUT!
Here, through the kind (written) permission of that skilled documentarian of the
Barbados, photographer Stephen E. Mendes, from his fine
Barbados Photo Gallery, are
his photographs of all that remains of this grand vision and execution therof
{Thumbnail images by SB, III - please click on the picture for a larger image.]:
Look on my works, oh ye mighty and despair!
(Photos from, © by, and used with kind permission of, Stephen E.
Mendes' Barbados Photo Gallery
These are remnants of earlier essays (I thought they were coastal
defen(s)(c)es, but Stephen Mendes assures me they never had any such; why
should anyone lug all that armor ashore just to use the gun inside?
(Photos from, © by, and used with kind permission of, Stephen E.
Mendes' Barbados Photo Gallery
Now, that's more like it! A naval mount, sans armor, and a special-work
mount for a long gun. But here's the really sad part:
(Photos from, © by, and used with kind permission of, Stephen E.
Mendes' Barbados Photo Gallery
A whole lot of once-valuable ancillary equipment was abandoned along with
the guns:
(Photos from, © by, and used with kind permission of, Stephen E.
Mendes' Barbados Photo Gallery
In addition, some mysterious aircraft wreckage was left behind for which no
truly satisfactory explanation seems available:
(Photos from, © by, and used with kind permission of, Stephen E.
Mendes' Barbados Photo Gallery
Did they use them to fly Iragi materials out or as high-velocity impact targets
or what?
In light of the Columbia disaster, the terrible waste of resources in present
delivery systems, and just generally, one can but hope that this clever,
efficient, and inexpensive means of launching space vehicles will be revived
and revitalized - soon.
THUMBS UP!
THUMBS UP! - Support your local police, fire, and emergency personnel!
S. Berliner, III
To contact S. Berliner, III, please click here.
=
of this series of Ordnance pages.
© Copyright S. Berliner, III -
2003
- All rights reserved.
Return to Top of Page
times since the counter was reinstalled 11 Apr 00.
-
(The Cannons of the Apocalypse) is a site covering all the giant guns of WWI
and WWII; it is absolutely incredible! The only catch is that it is seulement
en français (entirely in French). The Google translation is awful; if you can
struggle through in French, give a go; otherwise just use the cannon shells at the top
and bottom (left is back, right is forward) to navigate and enjoy the fabulous pictures.
You'll find the Paris gun, Big Bertha, the K-5 and K-12, Dora, our 280, and the HARP and
Saddam (Bull) guns, and far more!
