German super gun of the Second World War. Fat Gustav - Hitler's biggest gun ← Hodor. Dora's ancestor - the Colossal cannon

home Female name The Germans named the most gigantic cannon of World War II “Dora”. This 80 centimeter caliber artillery system was so huge that it could only move along railway

. She traveled half of Europe and left an ambiguous opinion about herself.

Dora was developed in the late 1930s at the Krupp plant in Essen. The main task of the super-powerful weapon is to destroy the forts of the French Maginot Line during a siege. At that time these were the strongest fortifications that existed in the world. "Dora" could fire projectiles weighing 7 tons at a distance of up to 47 kilometers. When fully assembled, Dora weighed about 1,350 tons. The Germans developed this powerful weapon as they prepared for the Battle of France. But when the fighting began in 1940, the most big gun

World War II was not yet ready. In any case, Blitzkrieg tactics allowed the Germans to capture Belgium and France in just 40 days, bypassing the Maginot Line defenses. This forced the French to surrender with minimal resistance and the fortifications did not have to be stormed. "Dora" was deployed later, during the war in the East, in the Soviet Union. It was used during the siege of Sevastopol to fire at coastal batteries heroically defending the city. Preparing the gun from the traveling position for firing took a week and a half. In addition to the direct calculation of 500 people, a security battalion, a transport battalion, two trains for the supply of ammunition, an anti-aircraft battalion, as well as its own military police

and a field bakery.

The German gun, the height of a four-story building and 42 meters long, fired concrete-piercing and high-explosive shells up to 14 times a day. To push out the largest projectile in the world, a charge of 2 tons of explosives was needed.

When the barrel expired, the gun was taken to the rear. After repairs, it was planned to use it under besieged Leningrad, but this was prevented by the liberation of the city by our troops. Then the supergun was taken through Poland to Bavaria, where in April 1945 it was blown up so that it would not become a trophy for the Americans.

In the XIX-XX centuries. there were only two weapons with a large caliber (90 cm for both): the British Mallet mortar and the American Little David. But “Dora” and the same type “Gustav” (which did not take part in the hostilities) were the largest caliber artillery that took part in the battles. Also these are the biggest self-propelled units ever built. However, these 800 mm guns went down in history as “a completely useless work of art.”

The Third Reich developed many interesting and unusual “miracle weapon” projects. For example, .

The Germans gave the female name “Dora” to a giant cannon of World War II. This 80 centimeter caliber artillery system was so huge that it could only be moved by rail. She traveled half of Europe and left an ambiguous opinion about herself.

. She traveled half of Europe and left an ambiguous opinion about herself.

"Dora" could fire projectiles weighing 7 tons at a distance of up to 47 kilometers. When fully assembled, Dora weighed about 1,350 tons. The Germans developed this powerful weapon as they prepared for the Battle of France. But when fighting began in 1940, the biggest gun of World War II was not yet ready. In any case, Blitzkrieg tactics allowed the Germans to capture Belgium and France in just 40 days, bypassing the Maginot Line defenses. This forced the French to surrender with minimal resistance and the fortifications did not have to be stormed.

"Dora" was deployed later, during the war in the East, in the Soviet Union. It was used during the siege of Sevastopol to fire at coastal batteries heroically defending the city. Preparing the gun from the traveling position for firing took a week and a half. In addition to the immediate crew of 500 people, a security battalion, a transport battalion, two trains for the supply of ammunition, an anti-aircraft battalion, as well as its own military police and a field bakery were involved.

and a field bakery.

The German gun, the height of a four-story building and 42 meters long, fired concrete-piercing and high-explosive shells up to 14 times a day. To push out the largest projectile in the world, a charge of 2 tons of explosives was needed.

When the barrel expired, the gun was taken to the rear. After repairs, it was planned to use it under besieged Leningrad, but this was prevented by the liberation of the city by our troops. Then the supergun was taken through Poland to Bavaria, where in April 1945 it was blown up so that it would not become a trophy for the Americans.

In the XIX-XX centuries. there were only two weapons with a large caliber (90 cm for both): the British Mallet mortar and the American Little David. But “Dora” and the same type “Gustav” (which did not take part in the hostilities) were the largest caliber artillery that took part in the battles. They are also the largest self-propelled units ever built. However, these 800 mm guns went down in history as “a completely useless work of art.”

"Dora" was built to break through the Maginot Line. An order for a gun that could penetrate a 1 meter thick armor plate and a 7 meter thick layer of reinforced concrete at maximum range firing range of 35–45 kilometers, entered the Krupp plant in 1936. Three guns were built according to this project. The first of them was “Dora”, the second (also with a caliber of 80 cm) was tested at the German training ground in Rügenwald (now Darlowo, Poland) and was called “Heavy Gustav” (Schwerer Gustav), but was not used anywhere. The third gun of this type with a barrel caliber of 52 cm and a length of 48 meters, called the “Long Gustav”, was not completed at all; it was destroyed by allied aircraft.

The position for “Dora” in the Crimea was chosen by General Zuckerort, commander of a formation of heavy guns, while flying an airplane around the outskirts of Bakhchisarai. The cannon was supposed to be hidden in the mountain, for which a special cut was made in it. Since the position of the gun barrel changed only vertically, to change the direction of fire horizontally, the Dora moved along a sharply curved arc of the railway track. Engineering preparation of the area was carried out by 1.5 thousand workers and a thousand sappers for four weeks.

An entire marshalling station was built at the site where the gun was deployed. In 43 cars of the first train, service personnel, kitchen and camouflage equipment arrived. An assembly crane and auxiliary equipment were brought in 16 cars of the second train. In 17 carriages of the third, parts of the gun itself and the workshop were delivered. The fourth train of 20 cars transported a 400-ton, 32-meter barrel and loading mechanisms. In 10 cars of the fifth train, in which an artificial climate was maintained (15°C), shells and powder charges were placed. The Dora was served and guarded by 4,370 officers and soldiers. The gun was assembled in 54 hours and was ready for firing by the beginning of June.

How to distinguish between pictures taken in Rügenwald and near Sevastopol

Most of the photographs of the Dora cannon were taken at a position in the Bakhchisarai area.

NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCES

EXAMPLES OF MIXING

On the morning of June 5, 1942, two diesel-electric locomotives with a power of 1050 horsepower each rolled out this colossus with a total weight of 1350 tons into a crescent-shaped combat position and installed it with centimeter precision.

The first shot consisted of a projectile weighing 7088 kilograms, two powder charges of 465 kilograms each and a cartridge case weighing 920 kilograms.

"Dora" - a unique super-heavy railway artillery piece German army. Developed by Krupp (Germany) in the late 1930s. It was intended to destroy the fortifications of the Maginot Line and fortifications on the border of Germany and Belgium. The gun was used during the assault on Sevastopol in 1942. Presumably, also during the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising in September-October 1944.
After World War I development German artillery was limited by the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was prohibited from having guns with a caliber over 150 mm, as well as any anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns. Therefore, according to the leaders of Nazi Germany, the creation of powerful and large-caliber artillery was a matter of prestige.
In 1936, while visiting the Krupp plant, Adolf Hitler demanded that the concern's management create a super-powerful weapon to destroy the French Maginot Line and Belgian border forts (such as Fort Eben-Emael).

The gun was supposed to have a vertical guidance angle of +65º and a maximum range of 35-45 km, and the gun shell was supposed to penetrate armor 1 m thick, concrete 7 m, hard soil 30 m. The Krupp design team, which began creating a new heavy-duty weapon according to The proposed tactical and technical task was headed by Professor Erich Müller, who had extensive experience in this field. In 1937, the project was completed, and in the same year the Krupp company was given an order to manufacture a new gun, after which the concern began its immediate production. In 1941, the Krupp company built the first gun, named “Dora”, in honor of the wife of the chief designer. In the same year, a second 800 mm gun was created, which was named “Fat Gustav” in honor of the director of the company, Gustav von Bohlen and Halbach Krupp. The order cost the state 10 million Reichsmarks. A third gun of an identical type, but with a barrel caliber of 520 mm and a length of 48 meters, called the “Long Gustav”, was also designed, but not completed.

Caliber - 813 mm.
Barrel length - 32 m.
Projectile weight - 7100 kg.
The minimum firing range is 25 km, the maximum is 40.
The total length of the gun is 50 m.
Total weight - 1448 tons.
Barrel survivability - 300 shots.
Rate of fire - 3 shots per hour

In 1941, the guns were tested at the test site in Rügenwald and Hillersleben (120 km west of Berlin) in the presence of Adolf Hitler and Albert Speer and other high-ranking army officials. The test results met the requirements of the technical specifications, although the installations did not have some mechanisms. By the end of 1941, all tests were completed and the gun was completely ready for use. combat use, by this time more than a thousand 800-mm shells had been manufactured.

Projectile " Dora» pierced a 1 m thick armor plate or an 8 meter reinforced concrete floor.

The super-weapon was transported using several trains (up to 60 locomotives and wagons with a staff of several hundred people).

Engineering preparation of the area was carried out by 1.5 thousand workers and a thousand sappers for four weeks. Since the equipment " Dora"was delivered in 106 wagons on five trains; an entire marshalling yard was built at the site where the gun was deployed. For misinformation, trains with equipment " Dora“They were first delivered near Kerch, where they stood until April 25, and after preparation, the positions were secretly transferred to Bakhchisarai. In 43 cars of the first train, service personnel, kitchen and camouflage equipment arrived. An assembly crane and auxiliary equipment were brought in 16 cars of the second train. In 17 carriages of the third, parts of the gun itself and the workshop were delivered. The fourth train of 20 cars transported a 400-ton, 32-meter barrel and loading mechanisms. In 10 cars of the fifth train, in which an artificial climate was maintained (constantly 15 degrees Celsius), shells and powder charges were placed. The gun was assembled in 54 hours and was ready for firing by the beginning of June.

Number of service personnel " Dora» 4139 soldiers, officers and civilians. Among other things, the crew of the gun included a guard battalion, a transport battalion, a commandant’s office, a field bakery, a camouflage company, a field post office and a camp... brothel with a staff of 40 “workers”.

Transportation of implements and maintenance personnel.

The gun was transported by rail. So, near Sevastopol " Dora"was delivered by 5 trains in 106 cars:
1st train: service (672nd artillery division, about 500 people), 43 cars;
2nd train, auxiliary equipment and erection crane, 16 cars;
3rd train: cannon parts and workshop, 17 cars;
4th train: loading mechanisms and barrel, 20 cars;
5th train: ammunition, 10 cars.

In the first battle " Dore"was to enter under the walls of the French fortification "Maginot". However, during the design and manufacture of the gun, the Germans bypassed the Maginot from the rear and forced Paris to capitulate.

The locking of the barrel bolt, as well as the delivery of projectiles, were carried out by hydraulic mechanisms. The gun was equipped with two lifts: for cartridges and for shells. The first part of the barrel was with a conical thread, the second with a cylindrical thread.
The gun was mounted on a 40-axle conveyor, which was located on a double railway track. The distance between the tracks was 6 meters. In addition, another railway track was laid on the sides of the gun for installation cranes. Full mass guns was 1350 tons. To fire, the gun needed an area up to 5 km long. The time spent preparing the gun for firing consisted of choosing a position (could reach 6 weeks) and assembling the gun itself (about 3 days).

In the spring of 1942, Hitler summoned the commander of the 11th Army, General Erich Fritz von Manstein, to Berlin. The Fuhrer was interested in why the military leader was delaying the capture of Sevastopol. Manstein explained the failure of the two assaults by saying that the approaches to the city were well fortified, and the garrison was fighting with incredible fanaticism. “The Russians have a lot of heavy naval artillery, including an invulnerable fort with guns of incredible caliber,” he said.

Position for " Dora" was chosen by General Zukerort himself, the commander of a formation of heavy guns, while flying over the area of ​​​​Bakhchisarai by plane. The cannon was supposed to be hidden in the mountain, for which a special cut was made in it. Since the position of the gun barrel changed only vertically, to change the direction of fire horizontally " Dora"was mounted on a railway platform, standing on 80 wheels, moving along a sharply curved arc of the railway track with four tracks.

« Douro"was used in battle against the famous Soviet 30th battery of Captain G. Alexander. A group of Wehrmacht staff officers flew to Crimea in advance and chose a firing position in the area of ​​​​the village of Duvankoy. For engineering training, 1,000 sappers and 1,500 workers were forcibly mobilized from among local residents. A special railway line was equipped at the Dzhankoy station, where the tracks were four-rail.

Data on the use of a supergun near Sevastopol are contradictory. In his memoirs, Manstein stated that " Dora"Fired 80 shells at the Soviet fortress. German cannon spotted pretty soon Soviet pilots, which dealt a serious blow to her position and damaged the energy train.

In general, the application of " Dora"did not produce the results that the Wehrmacht command had hoped for: only one successful hit was recorded, which caused the explosion of a Soviet ammunition depot located at a depth of 27 m. In other cases, a cannon shell, penetrating the ground, pierced a round barrel with a diameter of about 1 meter and a depth 12 m. As a result of the explosion of the warhead, the soil at its base was compacted, forming a drop-shaped deep funnel with a diameter of about 3 m. Defensive structures could only be damaged if there was a direct hit.

On the morning of June 5, 1942, two diesel locomotives with a power of 1050 horsepower each rolled out this colossus with a total weight of 1350 tons into a combat crescent position and installed it with centimeter precision. The first shot consisted of a projectile weighing 7088 kilograms, two powder charges of 465 kilograms each, and a cartridge case weighing 920 kilograms. The barrel lift gave it an elevation of 53 degrees. Especially to correct the shooting, a balloon was raised into the air a little further from the Dora. When fired, the maintenance team hid in cover several hundred meters away. The shot caused a mini-earthquake effect. The roar when over 900 kilograms of gunpowder burned in 6 milliseconds and pushed out a 7-ton projectile was simply monstrous - in the carriage 3 kilometers away, according to contemporary eyewitnesses, dishes were bouncing. The rollback pressed the rail track by 5 centimeters.

Erich von MANSTEIN: “...On June 5 at 5.35 the first concrete-piercing projectile was fired at the northern part of Sevastopol by the “ Dora" The next 8 shells flew into the area of ​​battery No. 30. Columns of smoke from the explosions rose to a height of 160 m, but not a single hit armored towers was not achieved, the shooting accuracy of the monster gun from a distance of almost 30 km turned out to be, as one would expect, very low. On that day, Dora fired 7 more shells at the so-called “Fort Stalin”; only one of them hit the target.

The next day, the gun fired at Fort Molotov 7 times, and then destroyed a large ammunition depot on the northern shore of Severnaya Bay, hidden in an adit at a depth of 27 m. This, by the way, displeased the Fuhrer, who believed that Dora should be used exclusively against heavily fortified fortifications. Over the course of three days, the 672nd Division spent 38 shells, leaving 10. Already during the assault, 5 of them were fired at Fort Siberia on June 11 - 3 hit the target, the rest were fired on June 17. Only on the 25th was new ammunition delivered to the position - 5 high-explosive shells. Four were used for test firing and only one was fired towards the city...."

Researchers pass over in silence the question of how exactly “ Dora"was taken from Crimea. In any case, it is clear that the Germans dismantled all the equipment, which was of course secret, and carefully removed all traces.

After the capture of Sevastopol " Douro“They were sent near Leningrad, to the Taitsy station area. When the operation to break the blockade of the city began, the Germans hastily evacuated the supergun to Bavaria. In April 1945, as the Americans approached, the gun was blown up.

The most accurate assessment of this miracle military equipment given by the Chief of the General Staff ground forces fascist Germany Colonel General Franz Halder: “A real work of art, but useless.”

On April 22, 1945, the advanced units of the Allied army were 36 km away. from the city of Auerbach (Bavaria) they discovered the remains of Dora guns blown up by the Germans. Subsequently, everything that was left of these giants of the 2nd World War was sent for melting down.

The super-heavy railway-mounted artillery gun "Dora" was developed in the late 30s of the last century German company"Krupp". This weapon was intended to destroy fortifications on the borders of Germany with Belgium and France (Maginot Line). In 1942, "Dora" was used to storm Sevastopol, and in 1944 to suppress the uprising in Warsaw.

The development of German artillery after World War I was limited by the Treaty of Versailles. According to the provisions of this treaty, Germany was prohibited from having any anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, as well as guns whose caliber exceeded 150 mm. Thus, the creation of large-caliber and powerful artillery was a matter of honor and prestige, the leaders of Nazi Germany believed.

Based on this, in 1936, when Hitler visited one of the Krupp factories, he categorically demanded that the company’s management design a super-powerful weapon that would be capable of destroying the French Maginot Line and Belgian border forts, for example, Eben-Emal. According to the requirements of the Wehrmacht, a cannon shell must be capable of penetrating 7 m thick concrete, 1 m thick armor, 30 m hard ground, and the maximum range of the gun should be 25-45 km. and have a vertical guidance angle of +65 degrees.

The group of designers of the Krupp concern, which began creating a new super-powerful gun according to the proposed tactical and technical requirements, was headed by Professor E. Muller, who had extensive experience in this matter. The development of the project was completed in 1937, and in the same year the Krupp concern was given an order for production new gun caliber 800mm. Construction of the first gun was completed in 1941. The gun, in honor of E. Muller’s wife, was given the name “Dora”. The second gun, which was named “Fat Gustav” in honor of the management of the company Gustav von Bohlen and Halbach Krupp, was built in mid-1941. In addition, a third 520 mm caliber gun was designed. and a trunk length of 48 meters. It was called "Long Gustav". But this weapon was not completed.

In 1941, 120 km. west of Berlin, at the Rügenwalde-Hillersleben training ground, guns were tested. Adolf Hitler himself, his comrade-in-arms Albert Speer, as well as other high army officials were present at the tests. Hitler was pleased with the test results.

Although the guns did not have some mechanisms, they met the requirements that were specified in the technical specifications. All tests were completed by the end of the 42nd year. The gun was delivered to the troops. By this time, the company's factories had produced over 100 800 mm caliber shells.

Some design features of the gun.

The locking of the barrel bolt, as well as the delivery of projectiles, were carried out by hydraulic mechanisms. The gun was equipped with two lifts: for cartridges and for shells. The first part of the barrel was with a conical thread, the second with a cylindrical thread.
The gun was mounted on a 40-axle conveyor, which was located on a double railway track. The distance between the tracks was 6 meters. In addition, another railway track was laid on the sides of the gun for installation cranes. The total weight of the gun was 1350 tons. To fire, the gun needed an area up to 5 km long. The time spent preparing the gun for firing consisted of choosing a position (could reach 6 weeks) and assembling the gun itself (about 3 days).

Transportation of implements and maintenance personnel.

The gun was transported by rail. Thus, “Dora” was delivered to Sevastopol by 5 trains in 106 cars:
1st train: service (672nd artillery division, about 500 people), 43 cars;
2nd train, auxiliary equipment and erection crane, 16 cars;
3rd train: cannon parts and workshop, 17 cars;
4th train: loading mechanisms and barrel, 20 cars;
5th train: ammunition, 10 cars.

Combat use.

In World War II, Dora took part only twice.
The first time the gun was used was to capture Sevastopol in 1942. During this campaign, only one case was recorded of a successful hit by a Dora shell, which caused an explosion of an ammunition depot located at a depth of 27 meters. The remaining Dora shots penetrated the ground to a depth of 12 meters. After the explosion of the shell, a drop-shaped shape with a diameter of about 3 meters was formed in the ground, which did not cause much harm to the defenders of the city. In Sevastopol, the gun fired 48 shells.

After Sevastopol, "Dora" was sent to Leningrad, and from there to Essen for repairs.
The second time Dora was used was in 1944 to suppress the Warsaw Uprising. In total, the gun fired more than 30 shells into Warsaw.

The end of Dora and Gustav.

On April 22, 1945, the advanced units of the Allied army were 36 km away. from the city of Auerbach (Bavaria) they discovered the remains of the Dora and Gustav guns blown up by the Germans. Subsequently, everything that was left of these giants of the 2nd World War was sent for melting down.