Some ... interesting... weapons.
- The
Paris Gun http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Gun - "It was capable of hurling a 94 kilogram (210 lb) shell to a range of 130 kilometres".
- two railway guns, "
Schwerer Gustav" and "
Dora"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwerer_Gustav - "could fire a shell that weighed more than 7 tons at distances up to 37 km". Dora was featured in one of Harry Turtledove's
Worldwar novels.
-
Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte: Huge tank.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landkreuzer_P._1000_Ratte , and site with photos of scale model:
http://www.panzerbaer.de/workshop/wdieb_mod_87-a.htm . It never even got to the prototype stage. Also see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landkreuzer_P._1500_Monster , and
-
Gyrojet rocket pistol (and rifles) fires bullet-sized spin-stabilized rockets. "Due to the properties of the rocket, with continued acceleration after it left the barrel, the Gyrojet had poor short-range power, but improved dramatically with distance. After about 75 yards (70 m) the motor would burn out, at which point the rocket had about 50% more power than the common .45 ACP round." OTOH, "A round can actually be stopped if a finger or even piece of cardboard is held directly at the end of the barrel. This flaw is fatal, however, for a firearm intended to be used at relatively close range. "
-
V-3 cannon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-3_cannon - "The complex contained five hidden shafts, each containing five guns with a barrel length of about 120 m. These were the largest Axis artillery pieces, surpassing the Schwerer Gustav or Dora railway-propelled 800 mm super-cannon, the Mörser Karl (Gerät 040) 600 mm tracked siege mortar, and the Leopold and Robert 320 mm railway cannons. The calibre was 150 mm and the shell weight was 140 kg.
The technological innovation employed by these huge guns was the use of multiple propelling charges, placed along the barrels' length and timed to explode as soon as the projectile passed them by, to provide an additional boost. Due to their higher suitability and ease of use, rocket boosters were used instead of explosive charges, arranged in symmetrical pairs, attached to the barrel with a low (below 30º) angle. This layout spawned the German codenames Hochdruckpumpe ("high-pressure-pump") and Tausendfüßler ("millipede"). Unlike conventional rifled weapons of the day, the smooth-bore gun ejected a fin-stablized shell, dependent upon aerodynamic (rather than gyroscopic) forces to prevent tumbling and consequent high drag.
These guns had a muzzle velocity of 1500 m/s and the rate of fire for the entire complex of 25 guns was projected to be 300 shells per hour, with a projected maximum range of 165 km.
It was of course very hard to aim even a single gun, but that was not much of a problem since the complex had been built and oriented with the sole purpose of attacking London from a safe distance. This leads to its alternate name, the London Gun."
