What were the names of the two World War II German 80 cm K (E) railway siege guns?
Q: What were the names of the two World War II German 80 cm K (E) railway siege guns?
A: The two guns were called Schwerer Gustav (English: Heavy Gustaf, or Great Gustaf) and Dora.
Q: Who developed the two guns?
A: The two guns were developed in the late 1930s by Krupp, the famous German arms manufacturer.
Q: What was their purpose?
A: Their purpose was to destroy heavy fortifications, especially in the French Maginot Line.
Q: How much did they weigh and what was their range?
A: The guns weighed nearly 1,350 tonnes, and could fire shells weighing seven tonnes to a range of 37 kilometers (23 mi).
Q: When were they ready for action?
A: They were not ready for action when the Wehrmacht outflanked the Maginot line but they were ready in Autumn 1941 after the Wehrmacht invaded the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa).
Q: Where was Gustav used during World War II?
A: Gustav was used at the siege of Sevastopol in 1942.
Q: What is unique about Schwerer Gustav as an artillery piece?
A:Schwerer Gustav was the largest calibre rifled weapon in history to see actual combat and it fired some of heaviest shells ever fired from any artillery piece.
