Yeah, I know, not much of a prize...
That said, Geoff B, a regular visitor from Australia, is a Friend of the Armorer. I was thinking about putting up these pictures, harvested (legally) from elsewhere - about the biggest gun of WWI (which is *not* the German Paris Gun, though that had the longest barrel). A French monstrosity.
The Schneider Obusiers de 520mm. This 520mm (20.47 inches) howitzer was the biggest gun of the Great War. It fired a 3,100 lb shell (of which 600 lbs was the explosive filler) to a range of over 10 miles. The rail car that carried this honker was just under 100 feet long and weighed 290 tons.
Okay, MCart is always (come to think of it, CAPT H does, too) griping about the lack of size referents in my teaser contests. So, here's one:
This pic of the Schneider's breech should give you some idea of scale.
This morning, along comes some Kewl Stuff from Geoff. Including a picture (the others will appear later, as will some *other* interesting stuff from another Aussie, an Army Armorer, I just met) that will give you an even better sense of scale. Test yourself - which rounds do you think the Schneider fired? (Rhetorical question for the literals among you).
If you are interested in a listing of the various calibers - click here.
Thank you, Geoff! Yer a Friend of the Armorer! Take that, and a coupla bucks, and it will get you coffee at Starbucks anywhere on the Planet!
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