TOP-5 super-heavy artillery guns of the First World War

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The First World War was the era of the heyday of the gigantic weapon. Each country participating in the armed conflict sought to create its own super-heavy cannon, which would be superior in all respects to the enemy's weapon. The weight of such giants could reach 100 tons, and the mass of one projectile could exceed 1000 kilograms.

Background

Super-heavy artillery has its roots in ancient times. So, in Ancient Greece and Rome, catapults were used to destroy the walls of forts and fortresses. Back in the XIV century, the British and French began to use powder cannons, which fired huge stone or metal cannonballs. For example, the Russian Tsar Cannon in 1586 had a caliber of 890 mm, and the Scottish siege cannon Mons Meg in 1449 fired cannonballs with a diameter of half a meter.

Tsar Cannon | Photo: Kultura.rf.

In the 19th century, artillery began to develop rapidly and be used in all wars. Special artillery units began to form. During the Crimean War (1853 - 1856), howitzers up to 8 inches were used. In 1859, during the Sardinian War, the French first used rifled guns (Armstrong's cannon), which in many respects were superior to smooth-bore guns.

Armstrong System Cannon | Photo: Wikipedia.

The First World War can rightfully be called an artillery war. If in the Russo-Japanese War (1904 - 1905) no more than 15% of the soldiers died from artillery in total, then in the First World War this figure was as much as 75%. By the beginning of the war, there was a sharp shortage of heavy long-range guns. So, Austria-Hungary and Germany were armed with a small number of 100-mm and 105-mm howitzers, 114-mm and 122-mm guns were from Russia and England. But this caliber was catastrophically insufficient to effectively defeat the siege of the enemy. That is why all the strange gradually began to develop an artillery piece of huge caliber.

1. Heavy 420-mm howitzer "Skoda", Austria-Hungary

A tractor towing a monitor and receiver carts with a Skoda 305-mm howitzer. Photo: Wikipedia.

By the beginning of the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian Skoda plant was the largest manufacturer of super-heavy guns. In 1911, a 305-mm howitzer was created on it, which meets all the latest European standards. The mass of the gun was about 21 tons, and the barrel length exceeded 3 meters. A projectile weighing 282 kilograms could hit a target at a distance of 9600 meters. A distinctive feature of the gun was its mobility. If necessary, the design of the tool could be disassembled into three component parts and transported over a long distance using a tractor.

Heavy 420-mm Skoda howitzer | Photo: History of the Habsburg state.

At the end of 1916, the Skoda concern created a real giant - a 420-mm howitzer, the total weight of which exceeded 100 tons. A huge SN charge weighing 1,100 kilograms flew to 12,700 meters. Not a single fortress could resist such a weapon. Nevertheless, the Austro-Hungarian giant had two significant drawbacks. Unlike the smaller specimen, the howitzer was not mobile and could fire only eight rounds per hour.

2. "Big Bertha", Germany

Big Bertha | Photo: Dnpmag.

The most famous gun of the First World War is considered to be the legendary German "Big Bertha". This 43-ton giant mortar was named after the then owner of the Krupp concern, which was engaged in the production of super-heavy artillery for Germany. During the war, nine copies of Big Bertha were made. The 420-mm mortar could be transported by rail or disassembled using five tractors.

Big Bertha | Photo: YaPlakal.

A shell weighing 800 kilograms hit the target at an impressive distance of 14 kilometers. The cannon could fire both armor-piercing and high-explosive shells, which, when exploded, created a funnel with a diameter of 11 meters. The Big Berts took part in the assault on Liege in 1914, in the siege of the Russian fortress of Osovets and in the Battle of Verdun in 1916. The mere sight of giant howitzers inspired fear and undermined the morale of enemy soldiers.

3.380 mm howitzer BL, UK

The British responded to the Triple Alliance with a series of super-heavy weapons. The largest of these was the BL 380 mm siege howitzer. The gun was created on the basis of the existing 234-mm MK cannons. For the first time, BL howitzers were used by the British Admiralty Marines. According to Novate.ru, the gun weighed 91 tons (and this does not include 20 tons of ballast). Despite the fact that such guns possessed stunning destructive power, they also had a number of shortcomings, due to which the British subsequently abandoned their development.

380 mm howitzer BL | Photo: zonwar.ru.

The transportation of the gun could take several months, and twelve soldiers were needed to service the howitzer. Moreover, 630 kilogram shells flew with low accuracy and short distance. This led to the fact that at the beginning of the war, only 12 copies of BL were created. Later, the Marines handed over 380-mm howitzers to coastal artillery, but even there they were not able to find the proper use.

4.370-mm mortar "Phillot", France

The French, also realizing the need for heavy artillery, created their own 370-mm mortar, focusing on mobility. The gun was transported along a specially equipped railroad to the battlefield. Outwardly, the gun was not bulky, its weight was about 29 tons. The performance characteristics of the "Fillo" were much more modest than those of the German and Austrian guns.

370-mm mortar "Fillo" | Photo: Great Military Encyclopedia.

The firing range of a heavy projectile (416 kilograms) was only 8100 meters, and a high-explosive one (414 kilograms) was 11 kilometers. Despite its mobility, placing the shell on the battlefield was an extremely laborious task. In fact, due to the low efficiency of the mortar, the work of the gunners was unjustified, but at that time the "Phillot" was the only super-heavy cannon in France.

5.305-mm howitzer, Russian Empire

305-mm howitzer model 1915 | Photo: Military Review.

In Russia during the First World War, things with super-heavy artillery were somewhat tight. The empire had to buy howitzers from England, since until 1915 the country produced guns with a maximum caliber of 114 mm. In July 1915, the first super-heavy 305-mm howitzer in Russia was tested. In total, during the war, the Obukhov plant constructed about 30 copies of the 1915 model cannon. The mass of the gun was 64 tons, and the weight of the projectile was 377 kilograms with a maximum flight range of 13.5 kilometers. The transportation of the howitzer by rail was envisaged.