FREE RAILWAY GUNS OF WORLD WAR II PDF Steven Zaloga,Peter Dennis | 48 pages | 25 Feb 2016 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9781472810687 | English | United Kingdom List of railway artillery - Wikipedia Part of the progression of ever-larger howitzers on the Western Front Railway Guns of World War II, it did not enter service until Five guns and two complete equipments on railway wagons were produced. After World War I there was no use for such large but relatively short-ranged weapons and they were placed in storage. In World War II the two wagons were used to mount In late one inch howitzer was mounted on the railway mounting nicknamed "Boche Buster" which had been used in Railway Guns of World War II War I to carry a inch gun. In there were concerns that an enemy invasion was imminent, crossing the English Channel from France. Three heavy rail-mounted guns were deployed on the Elham Valley Railway line in Kent. The railway route followed a meandering course, enabling the guns to be trained by moving them along the line to a suitable location. The wooded Railway Guns of World War II also gave cover for the guns. The heaviest gun was stationed at Bourne Park, where there was a short tunnel; the gun could be stood down in the tunnel, avoiding enemy attack. The other two guns were deployed to Elham railway station. The guns remained in the area for the greater part of the hostilities. The howitzer gun at Bourne, the so-called "Boche Buster", had a barrel of 18 inches diameter and was, apart from a ponderous and unreliable Russian siege cannon, the largest railway gun in Europe. It had originally had a inch barrel during World War Iand the last action in which it fired was in when three rounds completely destroyed the railway station at Arras Railway Guns of World War II France. The gun was then stored at Nottingham until early inwhen the authorities realised the potential of the weapon for military defence. It was fitted with an inch naval barrel at the Darlington railway works in the spring of The barrel was one of several that had been removed from British battleships following the Washington Naval Treaty inwhich banned very large naval guns. It was manned by 50 men and several specialist gunnery officers from the 2nd Regiment of the Royal Artillery. The complete battery, including Royal Engineers to work the railway locomotives and supervise track work, numbered 80 men and was Railway Guns of World War II as the 11th Super Heavy Battery. After initial training at Catterick Camp in the summer and autumn ofthe 11th Super Heavy Battery, under the Railway Guns of World War II of Major Boyle, moved to Kent in early January For the journey the gun was disguised as three banana wagons by the skilful use of steel hoops and canvas. At tons all up, the gun was far in excess of the weight limit of the Elham railway, and considerable strengthening works were carried out. It arrived at Bishopsbourne in February, and arrangements were made to store it in the tunnel at Bourne Park. This had originally had two tracks, but had been reduced to single track as an economy measure before the war. To allow through trains to pass while the gun was there, the second track was reinstated. At Bishopsbourne station itself arrangements were made to allow mess and sleeping coaches to be shunted into the siding. The gun was first fired, for calibration tests, on the morning of 13 Februarywhen the equipment was towed to a stretch of track near the Black Robin public house, Kingston. Several rounds were fired out into mid-channel, the results Railway Guns of World War II which were sighted and marked by observation posts on the cliffs at Dover. In the Kingston and Barham area villagers were warned to open doors and windows, but the blasts were so severe that in many cases houses were damaged. The gun was fired on only two other occasions, shortly after the first; one at the World's Wonder bridge between Barham and Elham and the other at Lickpot bridge, Elham. The railway track had to be altered whenever the gun was run out for firing. At the places where the army decided the gun was most likely to be used in countering an invasion threat, the track was strengthened and the sleeper spacing reduced. The recoil on firing made the gun run back 20 feet, and even then tended to distort the track. A yard spur railway line was laid into the fields, just north of Kingston village, in order to allow the gun to train on the beaches at Sandwich Bay and Pegwell Bayas well as the Straits of Dover and the English Channel approaches. On 20 Junethe "Boche Buster" was inspected by Winston Churchill at Bishopsbourne station, and later that day the Prime Minister viewed the smaller guns at Elham. In the army decided that all the guns would be more useful in the Allies' drive towards Germany and they were taken to Salisbury Plain for testing prior to the invasion of Normandy. The four BL inch railway howitzers that were deployed during the Second World Railway Guns of World War II were all scrapped in the post-war period. Only the gun from the fifth howitzer, named "barrel number one", survives, [4] it was used for artillery testing at MoD Shoeburyness in before being put into storage at the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich. After decades in storage, the barrel was put on public display at Larkhillwhen the Royal Artillery relocated there in with the closure of its Woolwich Barracks. In March it was loaned to the Spoorwegmuseumthe Dutch national rail museum. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Redirected from BL 18 inch railway howitzer. Type of Railway howitzer. The inch "barrel number one" on display at the Dutch Railway Museum in The Guardian. Journal of the Ordnance Society. United Kingdom Government. Retrieved 8 April Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description with empty Wikidata description Commons category link is on Wikidata Use dmy dates from June Namespaces Article Talk. Views Read Edit View history. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Download as PDF Printable version. Wikimedia Commons. Example at Catterick, 12 December Elswick Ordnance Company. Wikimedia Commons Railway Guns of World War II media Railway Guns of World War II to BL 18 inch railway howitzer. Krupp K5 - Wikipedia Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. Enabling JavaScript in your browser will allow you to experience all the features of our site. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. NOOK Book. World War II marked the zenith of railway gun development. Although many of the railway guns initially deployed at the start of the conflict were of World War I vintage, Germany's ambitious development program saw the introduction of a number of new classes, including the world's largest, the 80cm-caliber Schwerer Gustav and Schwerer Dora guns, which weighed in at 1, tons and fired a huge 7-ton shell. This book provides an overview of the Railway Guns of World War II of railway guns in service during World War II, with a special focus on the German railway artillery used in France, Italy, and on the Eastern Front, analyzing why railway guns would largely disappear from use following the end of the war. Steven J. Zaloga has worked as an analyst in the aerospace industry for over two decades, covering missile systems and the international arms trade. The author of numerous books on military technology Railway Guns of World War II history, with an accent, he resides in Maryland. Peter Dennisinspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learnstudied illustration at Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of books. A keen wargamer and model-maker, he is based in Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom. Home 1 Books 2. Read an excerpt of this book! Add to Wishlist. Sign in to Purchase Instantly. Members save with free shipping everyday! See details. Overview World War II marked the zenith of railway gun development. About the Author Steven J. Related Searches. Brittany Hitler's Final Defenses in France. One of the prime objectives for the Allies following the D-Day landings was the capture One of the prime objectives for the Allies following the D-Day landings was the capture of sufficient ports to supply their armies. The original Overlord plans assumed that ports along the Breton coast would be essential to expansion of the View Product. Gustaf Mannerheim. Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim is a legendary figure, whose life and career were deeply influential Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim is a legendary figure, whose life and career were deeply influential in Finnish Railway Guns of World War II European history. He is viewed by many as the father of modern Finland after leading the 'White' faction Railway Guns of World War II victory and independence M10 and M36 Tank Destroyers Although tanks like the Sherman and Panther captured the headlines, the Allies' M10 tank destroyer While their mission was not principally fighting one M7 Priest mm Howitzer Motor Carriage. 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