Legend has it that during World War II, Germany invented a giant gun, which could hit Paris from Berlin. Is it true?/You don't say.

You mean Gustav train gun and Dora gun, right?

Dora gun is a kind of over-range gun, which was secretly developed after Hitler came to power. The barrel of Dora cannon is 32.48 meters long, the total length is 42.9 meters, the caliber is 800 mm, and the total weight of the cannon is 1.329 tons. This is the largest caliber giant gun in the world, and a soldier can squat in the barrel. Germans call this kind of gun "Dora cannon". It fires two kinds of shells. One is a Grenade, which weighs 4.8 1 ton and has a range of 47 kilometers. The other is a concrete destruction bomb, weighing 7. 1 ton and with a range of 38 kilometers.

catalogue

Real fighting

Final results

Performance of multi-pull gun

Combat application

launch

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Real fighting

It is not easy to find a suitable target for this gun. In the original plan, this gun was mainly used to deal with the fortifications of maginot line and Gibraltar, but France was quickly defeated and Franco refused to give up Spanish neutrality. The only remaining target is the Soviet Union, so Sevastopol is chosen as the target, because only the strongest firepower can break the city's strict defense line and reduce the casualties of the Germans.

The gun was quickly dismantled and transported to Crimea. Each transportation task requires 28 special vehicles, including one gantry crane for assembly and two diesel locomotives for destination traction. Arrived at the Isthmus of Perekop in early March 1942, and stayed there until early April. A branch railway line from Simferopol-Sevastopol to saraj, Bach was built to support equipment transportation. A circular track was also laid for assembling 1 12-ton gantry crane. In addition, an 8-meter-deep ditch was dug to avoid Soviet air strikes and artillery fire, and a fake artillery position was built several kilometers away. Finally, two light anti-aircraft guns were moved here to provide close air defense protection.

Although Krupp has shown great creativity in the design of gun parts, it is not easy to assemble, especially when it is hung on a gantry crane, and it is even more difficult to connect the second half and the first half of the 102 ton gun barrel. The whole assembly process took three weeks, with a major general in charge, 1720 people. The gun finally started firing on June 5. Its fastest firing rate is about 4 rounds per hour. Due to the large size and weight of the projectile, even with the assistance of mechanical power, the filling speed is still very slow. Moreover, each launch requires a lot of data calculation, including initial velocity, flight time, charge, temperature, bore pressure, distance, weather conditions and the wear degree of rifling.

During the whole siege, the gun fired 48 shells at different targets, mainly including:

● June 5: According to the guidance of the aerial reconnaissance plane, adjust the artillery target and aim at the Haiphong company 25 kilometers away. A * * * hit eight shells and completely destroyed the target. After that, the cannon turned to aim at Stalingrad and completely destroyed it with six concrete destroyers.

● June 6th: The first target of the day was Fort Molotov, which was destroyed by seven shells. Then it bombed the White Cliff, which may be the strongest defensive stronghold in Sevastopol. This is an ammunition depot 30 meters below sea level in Seville Bay, and its concrete wall is at least 10 meter thick. The cannon fired nine shells at it, and the last explosion was amazing, completely destroying the target and sinking a ship in the bay.

● June 1 1: Five shells were fired at the Siberian fort.

June 17: Five shells were fired at Gorky, Ma Keqin, which was the last five shells fired during the siege. This is a heavy defensive position, equipped with two 305 mm twin guns.

(The target of the remaining shells is unknown)

After Sevastopol surrendered on July 4, the gun was transported back to Germany to repair the badly worn barrel. Germany intended to use it to bomb Stalingrad and Leningrad, but it didn't fight again, although unconfirmed reports said that it fired several shells when 1944 suppressed the Warsaw Uprising.

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Final results

The final outcome of the gun is caused by many contradictory reasons. But it is likely to be abandoned by the Germans at the end of 1944. This is an unrealistic weapon, and its cost is staggering, about 7 million marks, which does not include supporting equipment. This is equivalent to the cost of at least 2 1 tiger king tank, and the cost of each tiger king tank is 32 1500 mark. Moreover, it needs to consume a lot of human resources, and most of the 1720 who serve it are first-class engineers.

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Performance of multi-pull gun

Basic parameter

Diameter: 800 mm

Service telephone number: 1942

Total length of gunner: 47.3m.

Shell weight: 7 100kg

Gun height: 12m

Total system weight: 1350 tons.

Maximum elevation angle: 65 degrees

Effective range: 47 kilometers

Manufacturer: Krupp

Type: Gustav 800 mm train gun.

First shot: Gustav. The second gun: Dora.

Detailed introduction

France for the sake of

Dora Cannon (16) once again resisted the German invasion and built the world-famous maginot line along the Franco-German border. The total length of the defense line is 35 1 km, which consists of about 5600 permanent fortifications. The fortifications are solid, and the cover and walls of the shelter are all 3. 5m thick. Even if a 420 mm shell like Bertas cannon hits directly, it is difficult to cause casualties and equipment damage.

1935, in order to break through maginot line, Hitler ordered the development of a new super cannon beyond the "Parisian cannon". This arduous task is still undertaken by the famous Krupp Arsenal in Germany. After seven years of hard work, in the spring of 1942, Krupp Arsenal finally built a super cannon with a diameter of 800 mm. It is so big that a big soldier can squat in the gun bore. In memory of its founder Gustav Krupp, Hitler called it "Gustav Heavy". In memory of his wife, the designer Mullah named the second giant gun "Dora" [Dora (the name of Mullah's wife)], but German artillery preferred to call it "Dadullah" gun.

Dora is not as good as Paris Cannon in barrel length and range, but it is the best in the world in many aspects: the whole gun is about 43 meters long, 7 meters wide, 12 meters high and weighs 1350 tons, almost twice as much as Paris Cannon. The shells are also staggering, among which the high-explosive bomb weighs 4.8 1 ton and contains 700 kilograms of explosives. Another kind of armor-piercing projectile used to destroy concrete bunkers weighs 7. 1 ton and contains 250 kilograms of explosives. Powerful, the maximum range can penetrate 1000 mm thick armored steel plate or 7000 mm thick reinforced concrete wall.

As the trump card of the German high command, "Most Dora" was commanded by an army major general. When shooting, it is commanded by a colonel. There are more than 1400 soldiers directly operating the artillery, plus two anti-aircraft artillery regiments, support personnel and maintenance personnel, which need more than 4,000 people.

In contrast, the Iowa-class battleship has nine 406 mm main guns, each of which weighs more than 1.200 kg, enough to blow a hole the size of a football field on the ground. One shell is enough to destroy an artillery company, not to mention the power of Doraemon 7. 1 ton shell.

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Combat application

1942 In May, the Germans besieged the Soviet fortress Sevastopol, and they could not attack it for a long time. Dora cannon was transferred to the front. On June 7th, in the battle to conquer the fortress of Sevastopol, the artillery, especially the "Dadullah" gun, made great contributions. The "Dadullah" artillery fired 48 giant shells (accounting for one third of the life of its 150 barrel) at seven main targets of the fortress, and all the targets were destroyed. The violent explosion was like lightning and thunder, earth-shattering, and thick smoke rose from the fortress. Where the shells landed, they immediately turned into ruins. In particular, one of them destroyed a huge ammunition depot 30 meters deep under the rocks on the north bank of Ferria Bay. It shocked the Germans and the Soviets. On average, every seven shells can destroy a target with amazing accuracy. Although people think that the real efficiency of "Dadola" is not directly proportional to the cost of manufacturing it, that is, the ratio of efficiency to cost is very low, the outstanding performance of "Dadola" in Crimea has made the soldiers who participated in the war unforgettable all their lives. After the capture of fortress Sevastopol, Dora Gun took part in the siege of Stalingrad. In order to avoid being captured by the enemy, the Germans demolished all the Dora guns, but some of them were captured by the allies.