Photo credit: Het Spoorwegmuseum (Dutch Railway Museum) in Utrecht.
The 200-tonne 18 inch Railway Howitzer has arrived at Fort Nelson.
This gun was developed during the First World War as part of the trend to build bigger calibre guns capable of firing heavier, more destructive shells.
The First World War ended before any 18-inch howitzers were ready, but five were completed soon afterwards.
This railway howitzer will be in the company of other mighty weapons, including the Dardanelles gun from 1464 and Mallet’s mortar of 1857, as well as parts of the massive ‘Iraqi Supergun’ ordered by Saddam Hussein – but never completed as the British government seized these parts in 1990.
The gun weighs about the same as 17 double decker buses.
At rest in Fort Nelson’s Artillery Hall (Image by Brody Kinnear)
Nicholas Hall, Keeper of Artillery at Fort Nelson, said “Today has been the most exciting day of my career.“
For more, see the News article here:
