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

Osprey New Vanguard #265

by Steven J. Zaloga, Jim Laurier (Illustrator)

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.

Genres: History

88 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 27, 2018

About the author

Steven Zaloga is an author and defense analyst known worldwide for his articles and publications on military technology.  He has written over a hundred books on military technology and military history, including “Armored Thunderbolt: The US Army Sherman in World War II”, one of the most highly regarded histories of the Sherman Tank.  His books have been translated into Japanese, German, Polish, Czech, Romanian, and Russian. He was a special correspondent for Jane’s Intelligence Review and is on the executive board of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies and the New York Military Affairs Symposium. From 1987 through 1992, he was the writer/producer for Video Ordnance Inc., preparing their TV series Firepower.  He holds a BA in history from Union College and an MA in history from Columbia University.

Mr. Zaloga is also a noted scale armor modeler and is a host/moderator of the World War II Allied Discussion group at Missing-Lynx.com, a modelling website. He is a frequent contributor to the UK-based modeling magazine Military Modelling. He is a member of the Armor Modeling and Preservation Society.

Reviews

[Syaddad Bahalwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting topic since every item inspired from Germany technology.

[James Crabtree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zaloga's work on the biggest of the big guns (minus railroad guns) is a fascinating study that goes from the big smooth-bore cannons forged in the last half of the 19th century to Dr. Bull's Big Babylon, a gun which would have dwarfed previous guns in range and capability if it had been completed. Superguns provides photos and artwork of these behemoths, discussing range and, often, the specific purpose of the few copies built. For instance, the Paris Gun was fielded knowing that the three completed weapons could not hope to provide the concentrated power necessary to devastate the French capital and its accuracy rapidly declined but by hitting Paris with artillery the Germans were demonstrating that they were possibly close enough to capture it. The weapon was a failure both as an artillery piece and as a terror weapon. Atomic cannons (both US and Soviet) gave the ground forces the means to hit the enemy with tactical nukes but were cumbersome because of the size of the nuclear weapons available in the 1950s... eventually they would be replaced by rockets and other weapons. And Saddam's Supergun, the Big Babylon, would have been able to deliver explosives (or possibly chemicals) against a distant target... but the necessity of constructing it on a hillside made it very vulnerable to air attack.

Very well illustrated with original artwork, line drawings and photographs. It could have used a few maps but it is well-written and provides the reader with other sources to get detailed information on the weapons discussed.