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A little Gunner zen...

By The Armorer on February 10, 2007 | | Comments (13)

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By J.M. Heinrichs on February 10, 2007 2:50 PM
Paris Gun Cheers
 
By BillT on February 10, 2007 3:48 PM
"After confirming the Jawa's uniform allowed him to roam the Orc encampment unquestioned, Frodo proceded to secrete the Ring within one of Sauron's suppositories..." Oh. *Not* a caption contest. Sorry 'bout that. German 170mm railway gun.
 
By John of Argghhh! on February 10, 2007 3:55 PM
Actually, I think not. Among other things, the barrel is both too thick and too short, and doesn't have the cantilever bracing. The original caption for the picture describes it as a break in shooting the "langen Mar" (yes, Mar, not Max) while the cannoneers calibrate and "abrade" (abgerieben) the projectiles. In context I'm guessing they are cleaning the projectiles or, since these guns wore so fast the rotating bands were deliberately made large so they could be shaped according to barrel wear.
 
By John of Argghhh! on February 10, 2007 3:58 PM
Snerk. It's not a whatzis, either. Yer both wrong, but now I won't id the gun. I'll let you all figure it out. Not that I didn't give it mostly away, I haven't googled it, either.
 
By BillT on February 10, 2007 5:13 PM
I still say it's a rail gun, and pert' darn close to 170mm. Judging by how far the landser's coal scuttle droops (it's pushed back on his head and he's gazing down at the obturating band), that guy's no more than five-foot-two...
 
By John of Argghhh! on February 10, 2007 5:17 PM
It's bits and pieces may be hauled by rail, but it's assembled into a circular pit.
 
By Jason Long on February 10, 2007 6:22 PM
170mm!!!? That's only a bit over 6 inches! Look at the width of that shell; it's damn near as wide as the shoulders of the guy polishing it. It's a 380mm S.K. L/45 in Eisenbahn-Bettungs-Schießgerüst auf Bettung. Nicknamed Wotan. Didn't have to use google-fu, just turn around and grab my copy of Kosar's book on RR guns of the world.
 
By Martin Morehouse on February 10, 2007 10:06 PM
Concerning the gun above; the one in my neighborhood isn't quite as big. "The Largest Museum Display Item Is A German 1917 Krupp 210mm Lange Morser (Howitzer). The only one in the world where everything moves as it did during World War One." It belongs to the 'Battery Corporal Willis S. Cole Military Museum' about a mile fom my house. The owner used to bring it to Ft Lewis for Armed Forces Day, but it has been sitting in his front yard for several years now. I'll have to get a picture of it.
 
By LarryK on February 11, 2007 1:15 AM
Are you sure that isn't Rick Moranis from the movie SPACE BALLS next to that shell?? "May da Schwartz be wid you!"
 
By BillT on February 11, 2007 7:43 AM
Look at the width of that shell; it's damn near as wide as the shoulders of the guy polishing it. He's a gunner with the Kaiser's Dverger Brigade. *fiddling with split-screen magnifier* Okay, it's a rail gun in a roundhouse. Without the roundhouse. *fiddling with brain* Okay, I didn't google that "Wotan" bit (I'm being a stubborn bassett), but John's circular pit hint and a closer squint at the cradle (which looks akin to the type we used on the "disappearing guns" at Sandy Hook) is nudging me into the Coastal Defense aisle. I just realized that guy at center front is wearing an early attempt at a stealth uniform. He's got the hood back over his shoulders, though, so his helmet isn't concealed...
 
By Tbird on February 11, 2007 4:10 PM
Looks like a german railroad gun. From the uniforms it appears to be WW I vintage. Me thinks a little photo-manipulation here. If the soldier standing next to the shell isn't a midget, say average height, the distance between his wrist and fingertips would be about six inches. That would mean the shell would be from 14 to 16 inches in diameter or up to 400mm. The point of the shell appears to be solid with no evidence of a fuse. AP? but what would the German's be doing firing AP rounds from a railroad gun. Could be a 14 or 16 inch shell for a battleship battery super imposed on the photo.
 
By John of Argghhh! on February 11, 2007 4:21 PM
Tbird - the pic is untouched, at least by me, I've seen it many other places, and never seen anything that doesn't have the shell. I personally don't have any problem with that shell for that gun. The Germans had several guns in that caliber range, most of them naval guns mounted on rail carriages. As for fuzing, rounds like this were routinely base-fuzed, especially if they were intended to penetrate before exploding.
 
By BillT on February 11, 2007 4:57 PM
As for fuzing, rounds like this were routinely base-fuzed, especially if they were intended to penetrate before exploding. As in "punching a hole in a Dreadnaught class before going blooey."
 
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