Superguns 1854-1991: Extreme artillery from the Paris Gun and the V-3 to Iraq's Project Babylon (New Vanguard)

Ever since the mid-19th Century, national militaries have sought to create monster artillery pieces, designed to shatter armies, cities, and fortresses and their morale. Starting with William Armstrong's "Monster Gun" Superguns will then take a look at the Wilhelm Gun that bombarded Paris in World War I, and World War II designs, and the Dora and Arrow guns, including the so-called V-3 London Gun. During the Cold War both the Americans and Soviets attempted to construct nuclear artillery pieces including the Oka/Kondensator, and the Atomic Cannon. These guns then entered the Space Age, with Dr Gerard Bull's HARP gun and its descendants, including most famously Saddam Hussein's 1m-calibre "Supergun"--Project Babylon. Modern superguns featured also include current efforts at very-long-range magnetic rail-guns, capable of firing shells at seven times the speed of sound. Using detailed commissioned artwork and contemporary photographs, this fascinating study will examine history's great behemoths that have sought to terrorize armies and civilians for one and a half centuries. Over the last 150 years, gun designers have sought to transform warfare with artillery of superlative range and power, from William Armstrong's 19th-century “monster guns” to the latest research into hypersonic electro-magnetic railguns.Taking a case study approach, Superguns explains the technology and role of the finest monster weapons of each era. It looks at the 1918 “Wilhelm Gun,” designed to shell Paris from behind the German trenches; the World War II “V-3” gun built to bombard London across the Channel; the Cold War atomic cannons of the US and Soviet Union; and the story of Dr Gerald Bull's HARP program and the Iraqi “Supergun” he designed for Saddam Hussein. Illustrated throughout, this is an authoritative history of the greatest and most ambitious artillery pieces of all time.