Comments by "David Himmelsbach" (@davidhimmelsbach557) on "What was the largest artillery gun ever used in combat?" video.

  1. The 80cm heavy gun Gustav was actually the only one of its type to get into action. Named Gustav by the Krupp factory it took years to manufacture. The barrel alone took months and months. The confusion exists because the German troops nic-named the same gun "Dora." While the intent was to build three of them, the barrel for the second gun was diverted to Dora/Gustav as it was worn out... finally... at Sevastapol. So the second chassis was never mated to it. The third barrel was mated to the 2nd chassis -- and sent off to the artillery range -- never to see action in the field. The 2nd chassis was never built fully, being semi-permanently mounted. This is the gun that was visited by Hitler and Guderian -- where Adolf asked if it could be used against tanks. LOL At the end of the war, the US Army found it disassembled -- and photographed it. At first sight the troops thought is was a refinery component. But the rifling gave the game away. The only functional gun was redeployed up towards Leningrad -- where 11th Army was also sent. It was either captured by the Reds or destroyed in the field by the Germans. No-one has ever come forward to tell the tale. The test range gun was even fitted with a smooth bore extension -- with the hope that it could reach London from well behind the coast of France. Barrel wear for this mortar -- it ALWAYS had to fire above 45 degrees elevation -- was astounding -- very much like the Paris gun. BTW, the first gun was a Birthday present from Krupp to Adolf -- a freebie ! Yes, Krupp surprised Hitler. Like any surprise party, there was a conspiracy of silence by Krupp and the Army so that they could stun him. You guessed it, he LOVED it. Saddam Hussein attempted to build a 100cm mortar -- to be mounted against a hillside. Its inventor-designer was blown away by Mossad. So it was never completed.
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  2. Atomic Annie was never used in combat, but was pretty spectacular, too. ( Named in 'honor' of Anzio Annie. Heh. ) It was combat deployed during the Cold War.
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