“Dora”: how the largest cannon of the Second World War fired at the cities of the USSR. Fat Gustav Fat Gustav and Dora

Hitler had certain ideas - from massacre Jews before the conquest of Europe. And he tried in every possible way to show his greatness. The Nazis even built what would have been the world's largest hotel, but the project had to be canceled because there were more pressing issues, such as the invasion of France.

In the 1930s, France built a series of massive fortifications and obstacles called the Maginot Line to protect the country from invasion from the east. These fortifications were among the strongest at the time, with deep underground bunkers, modern retractable turrets, infantry shelters, barricades, artillery and anti-tank guns, etc. The Wehrmacht was unable to penetrate these formidable defenses. So Hitler went to the ammunition manufacturer Krupp to solve the problem.

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1. Krupp engineer Erich Müller calculated that to penetrate seven meters of reinforced concrete or one full meter of steel armored plate they would need artillery with massive dimensions.
2. The gun must have an internal diameter of more than 80 cm and a length of more than 30 meters if it were to fire projectiles weighing 7 tons each from a distance of more than 40 kilometers.
3. The cannon itself will weigh 1,300 tons and will have to be moved by rail. When these figures were presented to Hitler, he approved them, and the creation of the huge weapon began in 1937.
4. Two years later the super gun was ready. Alfred Krupp personally invited Hitler to the Rügenwald test site in early 1941 to evaluate the weapon's power. Alfried Krupp named the gun Schwerer Gustav, or "Fat Gustav", in honor of his father Gustav Krupp.
5. Schwerer Gustav was an absolute monster. Because he was so big and heavy, he could not move on his own. Instead, the cannon was broken into several pieces and transported on 25 freight cars to the deployment site, where it was assembled on site—a task that required 250 men to labor for nearly three days.
6. Laying paths and digging embankments took weeks of work and required 2,500 to 4,000 people working around the clock. 7. Schwerer Gustav moved along many parallel rails, which limited his mobility. Despite the huge firepower, Schwerer Gustav had no means to defend himself. This was decided by Flack's two battalions, which guarded the weapons from possible air attack.
8. For all the time and money spent on building the gun, it did little on the battlefield and did absolutely nothing against the French for whom it was originally intended. 9. Germany had already invaded France in 1940 before the gun was ready. They did this by simply bypassing the Maginot Line.
10. Schwerer Gustav was instead deployed to the Eastern Front at Sevastopol in Russia during its siege in 1942. It took 4,000 men and five weeks to get the gun ready to fire.
11. Over the next four weeks, Gustav fired 48 shells, smashing distant forts and destroying an underwater ammunition depot located 30 meters under the sea, protected by at least 10 meters of concrete protection. The gun was then moved to Leningrad, but the attack was cancelled. Krupp built another weapon with the same dimensions. It was named Dora after the wife of the company's chief engineer. Dora was deployed west of Stalingrad in mid-August 1942, but was hastily withdrawn in September to avoid capture. When the Germans began their long retreat home, they took Dora and Gustav with them. In 1945, the Germans blew up Dora and Gustav.

During World War II, the Nazis tried to create a new destructive weapon, against which the USSR and the Allies could not do anything. One such development is the huge Gustav and Dora guns. These superguns were used during combat operations, and if not for some problems, they could have led the Third Reich to victory.

The Fat Gustav gun was named after Gustav Krupp, head of the German industrial concern Friedrich Krupp AG. It was the most big gun in the world ever used in combat. It began to be designed back in 1934, and Hitler planned that the gun would be ready by the start of the war with France.

As was later confirmed, huge Gustav shells pierced up to 7 meters of reinforced concrete or armored steel 1 meter thick. It was precisely such a super-large-caliber cannon that was needed to destroy the fortifications of the Maginot Line forts.

The production of guns began at the Krupp military plant in Essen in 1937. In addition to Gustav, Dora was also built, named after the wife of the chief designer. The supergun cost Germany 7 million Reichsmarks, while the Krupp concern produced the Gustav completely free of charge, as its contribution to the war.

The guns were tested for a long time, and at the beginning of 1941 they were officially adopted by the Wehrmacht. Gustav did not have to take part in the 1940 campaign, since France successfully resisted for only a month and a half.

"Gustav" and "Dora" were the same type artillery installations caliber 80 centimeters. Chief engineer Eric Miller designed a carriage platform 47 m long and 7 m wide, weighing 1350 tons, transportable by rail. It turned out the only way make the weapon mobile.

The shells for the super-weapon still amaze the imagination. Thus, a concrete-breaking machine weighs 7 tons and is filled with 250 kilograms of explosives. And high-explosive ammunition is a little lighter, but already carries 700 kg of charge.

The shells were fired from a 32-meter-long steel barrel, which was aimed horizontally by moving the entire gun mount in a curved arc. railway. To service the Gustav, a crew of 250 people was required. Another 2,500 soldiers ensured the laying of the railway track, air defense, ground security.

"Gustav" was used during the siege of Sevastopol in 1942. Wehrmacht soldiers spent the entire month of May preparing firing positions, and in June 48 shells were fired at the fortifications of Soviet soldiers. German artillerymen knocked out several forts.

After the fall of Sevastopol, the Gustav was transported to Leningrad, and the Dora arrived near Stalingrad. During the Wehrmacht's retreat, the superguns were taken to Poland to suppress the Warsaw Uprising, and then to Germany.

At the end of the war, both guns were destroyed, and the remains of another, third gun in the series were discovered at a factory in Essen. It was built on the same carriage, but to increase its range, the barrel was designed longer (48 meters) with a smaller caliber (52 centimeters).

In general, Hitler's superguns showed themselves to be extremely expensive weapons that are very difficult to use, and the results obtained can hardly be called anything other than modest. Nevertheless, in Germany they believed that such weapons could bring victory.

Huge guns The Third Reich is just one of

Hitler and the Generals examine fat Gustav in 1941.

In 1936, Adolf Hitler was faced with the problem of breaking the French Maginot Line, a 400-kilometer defensive line consisting of fortified bunkers, defensive structures, machine gun nests and artillery emplacements.

Thanks to this, the Maginot line of defense, in addition to its considerable length, provided a defense depth of 100 kilometers. Having visited the Friedrich Krupp A.G. engineering plant in 1936, Hitler ordered the development of a weapon capable of destroying long-term fortifications, which was supposed to help overcome the Maginot Line. In 1937, Krupp engineers completed the development of this weapon, and in 1941, two copies of the weapon were created, the 800-mm Dora and Fat Gustav guns.

The Fat Gustav gun weighed 1,344 tons and some parts had to be dismantled to move it along the railroad tracks. The gun was the height of a four-story building, had a width of 6 meters and a length of 42 meters. The maintenance of the Fat Gustav gun was carried out by a team of 500 people under the command of a high-ranking army official. The team needed almost three days to prepare the gun for firing.

The diameter of the Fat Gustav cannon projectile was 800 mm. To push the projectile out of the barrel, a charge of smokeless powder weighing 1360 kilograms was used. There were two types of ammunition for the gun:
high explosive shell weighing 4800 kilograms, stuffed with powerful explosive, and an all-metal projectile weighing 7500 kilograms for destroying concrete.

The speed of the projectiles fired from the barrel of the Fat Gustav cannon was 800 meters per second.

The elevation angle of the Fat Gustav gun barrel is 48 degrees, thanks to which it can hit a target with a high-explosive projectile at a distance of 45 kilometers. The projectile, designed to destroy concrete, could hit a target at a distance of 37 kilometers. Having exploded, the high-explosive shell of the Fat Gustav cannon left a crater 10 meters deep, and a concrete-piercing shell could pierce about 80 meters of reinforced concrete structures.

They finished building it by the end of 1940 and the first test shots were fired at the beginning of 1941 at the Rugenwalde training ground. On this occasion, Hitler and Albert Speer arrived on a visit, Reich Minister for Armaments and Munitions.

Interesting Facts:

• In German the gun was called Schwerer Gustav.

• The construction of "Fat Gustav" was often described as a waste of time and money, which was partly true, although the defenders of Sevastopol may have had a different opinion. On the other hand, if it had not been possible to bypass the Maginot Line and it had been possible to shoot at Gibraltar, then the gun could have played important role in war. But there are too many "woulds" here.

• During the siege of Sevastopol, cannon shots were guided by data from a reconnaissance aircraft. The first defeat from the cannon was a group of coastal guns, destroyed by a total of 8 salvos. 6 salvos were fired at Fort Stalin with the same effect. 7 shots were fired at the Molotov fort and 9 at the Northern Bay, where a successful hit from a heavy shell penetrated the fort deep into the ammunition depots, which destroyed it entirely.

The Dora and Gustav guns are giant guns.

Super heavy artillery piece The railway-mounted Dora was developed in the late 30s of the last century by the 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 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 the same time, the company's factories had produced over 100 800mm caliber shells.

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).

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 assembly 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.

The queen of all Hitler's railway gun mounts. The construction of the huge gun, named “Gustav” at birth, was inspired by Hitler, who once asked what kind of gun was needed to destroy the fortifications of the Maginot Line with his shells.

Engineers from the Krupp concern began this work in 1937, but three years passed until the first barrel was prepared for fire tests, and another two years until the entire installation was assembled. But it was already 1942, the Maginot Line was far behind German lines. But there were other goals: the first was the British fortifications in Gibraltar, but the Spanish dictator Franco refused to join Hitler's operation. Leningrad, which had been under fire since the end of 1941, became the second target.

Sevastopol, the Soviet naval base on the Black Sea, was under siege, so the commander of the 11th German army Colonel General von Manstein was in a hurry. Supported by powerful air raids, Manstein wanted a railway siege train including self-propelled howitzer"Thor"

25 Gustav platforms were delivered to Manstein by sea to support the siege. The installation of the gun mount was carried out using two 110-ton cranes. Laying the rails and installing the equipment took a total of six weeks. Finally, on June 5, the Gustav fired its first shots. The targets were coastal batteries that defended the Russian fortress. The Fieseler Fi-156 Storch spotter reported the location of the projectile impact.

Eight shots were fired to suppress the fortress. The gun used two types of shells: 7-ton armor-piercing projectile, designed to destroy concrete fortifications, and a 5-ton high-explosive high-power projectile.

The next day, Gustav's deadly attention focused on Fort Molotov. It took seven shots to destroy the fort. Next came the time to fire at targets of particular complexity: an underground (and underwater) ammunition depot in adits near Sevastopol, overlooking the Sevastopol bays. 9 shells were fired, flying about 25 km through the air before diving under water to a depth of 30 m and piercing the concrete floor, and then exploding inside.

The Gustav continued its bombardment throughout the week as von Manstein's siege weapon, systematically targeting every Russian position. However, the defenders of the fortress had already left and died in battles in the labyrinth of tunnels that connected the forts. One after another they died from the explosions of charges brought in backpacks, or from the fire of flamethrowers. On July 1, the handful of surviving defenders capitulated.

The Gustav was dismantled and returned to Germany. The siege train was supposed to be used in the summer of 1943 to shell Leningrad, and then to support the offensive near Kursk. Operation Citadel soon collapsed and Soviet army went on the offensive. The Gustav never appeared assembled again. A train containing parts of an 800 mm gun was discovered in 1945, but nothing survived except a few shells.

Assembling an 800 mm gun is a difficult task. Firstly, it was necessary to install 1 km. double rail tracks laid in a specially dug trench. Then two massive portal cranes were installed to mount the gun. The full cycle of work took 3-6 weeks.

Technical characteristics of "Gustav" 800 mm guns ("Aiseban")

Caliber: 800 mm.
Length: 42.976 m.
Barrel length: 32.48 m.
Weight: 1350 t.
Maximum barrel elevation angle: 65°
Ammunition: 4800 kg high-explosive or 7100 kg armor-piercing projectile
Initial projectile speed: 820 m/s (high-explosive), 710 m/s (armor-piercing)
Maximum range: 47 km for a 4.8-ton projectile, 38 km for a 7-ton projectile.
Calculation: 1500 people during assembly and 500 people during shooting.

Conveyor

The 800 mm gun was mounted on 4 huge railway platforms, moving in pairs along parallel tracks. Each pair, fastened together, formed a double support.

Design

The gun was assembled on a fairly standard space-truss structure, if you do not take into account its dimensions, which made it impossible to place it on a single rail track. This is the main reason that the gun was designed to be mounted and fired from double rail tracks.

Artillery unit

The gun barrel was mounted on a huge frame suspended between two main transport sections.

Loading the gun

The long working platform extended far back beyond the breech of the gun. Winches at the end of the platform delivered shells and charges to the gun.

Powerful winches were used to service the 800 mm gun, the left one in the photo was for lifting the projectile, and the right one was for installing the charge.

The projectile moved tightly into the barrel. To assemble the cannon, 1,500 people were required, the crew consisted of 500 people.