A brief history by
the late Robert D Fritz
Work on the giant weapon begun as far back as 1934, when
German army ordnance enquired of Krupp's the weight and speed required of a
projectile to demolish the massive defences of the Maginot line which the
French were then in the process of completing. Preliminary blueprints for an
80cm siege gun were compiled by Krupp's ballistic experts, but nothing more was
heard from the authorities about it even during Hitler's visit to the works at
Essen, in March 1936, during which he enquired into the giant guns feasibility,
nothing was commissioned. It wasn't until October, 1939, that Hitler, in
preparing his plans for attacking Russia, initiated orders for the production
of the 80cm guns.
After orders in 1939 were given to develop and produce the
gun, Krupp built a test model (late 1939) and sent it to Hillersleben. After
the test programs for the gun were completed (mid 1940) and the results sent
back to the Wafruf office in Berlin, the gun and its carriage were removed and
presumably scrapped. The test results were favourable and contracts were let to
Krupp at Essen for the manufacture of two of the guns in late 1940-41, and a
third in 1944. This last one was found unfinished in its shop at Krupp, when
the American forces swept through Essen.
Krupp was thoroughly equipped to turn out munitions. Among
its facilities were open hearth and electric steel furnaces, foundries, forge
and press shops, armour plate rolling mills, plate and spring shops, testing
laboratories, low pressure vessel shops, and a large number of machine shops
devoted to specific tasks. These buildings and the others were listed
numerically in classes: e.g., machine shop 10, 11, 12, etc.; foundry 3, 4, 5,
etc.; armour plate mill 1, 2, etc.
It was in machine shops 20, 21 (heavy gun shop and machine
shop respectively), that the tube for the 80cm gun was made. The shells for
this gun were made in draw and press shop 1; its carriage was made in machine
and erecting shop number 1 (for gun mounts and gun carriages).
In machine shops 20 and 21, there were large gun lathes and
milling machines for production of heavy gun tubes. In draw and press shop 1,
there were three piercing presses from 250 to 1,500 tons, three drawbenches
from 500 to 2,510 tons some turning lathes, five furnaces, and one 800 ton
vertical drawing press. The power plant which was part of this shop provided
the air, water, and electric power for the draw and press shop. Railroad tire
shop 3 was also used in producing big shells. In this shop were 25
miscellaneous lathes, grinders, one shell bander, 12 car wheel lathes (not
used), and six vertical mills. These two shops turned out the 80cm shells for
the Gustav Geschutz and the Dora. In the machine and erecting shop 1 were 90
miscellaneous lathes, planers, milling machines, horizontal boring mills,
grinders, and drill presses. This shop machined and assembled the parts for the
80cm gun railway carriage.
The two 80 centimetre guns which Krupp produced in 1941-1942
were the largest guns in the world. They were identical railway pieces but were
different from conventional single track railway guns in that a 4 track system
was needed for emplacement. The first gun produced was named Gustav Geschutz,
after an engineer at Krupp; the second one produced was named the Dora, for the
wife of the engineer who built it. Each gun was put under the command of a
major general, and crews were selected and trained in the operations of the
gun: presumably these crews had nothing to do with the construction of the gun
emplacements, for this was probably a job of the German engineers, because of
the road bed and track construction involved.
Invasion of Russia
The invasion of Russia started at 3:00 a.m. on June 22,
1941. The Russians were taken completely by surprise, and because of this the
fast advancing German panzer columns met little resistance. Counter attacks
made by the Russians quickly turned into envelopments by the Germans. But as
the germane armies continued to penetrate deeper and deeper into Russian
territory, their advance began to slow down. Losses in men and equipment
mounted steadily on both sides, although in most cases Russian losses far
exceeded those of the Germans. As the war progressed, Hitler decided on a feint
toward Moscow, while concentrating his main forces for a push far to the south,
through the Ukraine. The Russian high command failed to see through this ruse
until it was too late.
As the German forces pushed closer and closer to the Crimea,
plans were drawn up for the occupation of that peninsula. Included in these
plans were the heavy siege artillery to be used against the fortifications at
Sevastopol -and Kerch, the two strongholds in the Crimea.
Sometime in February of 1941, the Gustav Geschutz, one of
the siege guns to be used at Sevastopol, started its long ride from Germany to
the Crimean front. The train, 25 cars long, included gondolas, special flat
cars, accessory cars, ammunition cars, and two cranes for emplacing the gun. The
probable route taken was through southern Poland to the Ukraine, using the rail
links between captured cities. Along the way in the Ukraine the gun was
transported on the new German railway built from the Ukraine to the Crimean
isthmus.
The gun reached the Perekof isthmus around the early part of
March, 1942. Here it was held with the other siege artillery and ammunition,
which were accumulating, until early in April when the siege artillery was
moved into the Crimea, to the north of Simferopol (southern Crimea ). As the
German forces drew closer to Sevastopol, preparations were made for the coming
siege. The port had already been blockaded so that no reinforcements could be
landed. As the Germans closed in, the siege artillery was moved into position.
A railway spur was built to the Simferopol-Sevastopol railway, ten miles north
of the target area. At the end of this spur were built the four semicircular
tracks for the Gustav Geschutz. The train was moved down the Simferopol -
Sevastopol line and onto this spur. The emplacement of the Gustav was then
begun (early May). By June 5 the gun was ready to fire. On June 6 all of the
siege guns began the reduction of fort Stalin.
The target area was a line of thick-walled forts built into
a steep ridge which overlooked the north shore of Sevastopol bay (two thousand
meters to the Southwest, across the bay, was Sevastopol). Immediately north of
the ridge, flowing west to the Black Sea, was the Belbeck River with the town
of Belbeck on its north bank. The mission of the siege artillery (and the
Luftwaffe) was to neutralise all fortifications on the ridge and especially
those across the river from the town. A beachhead was to be established on the
south bank of the river, from which shock troops and tanks would storm the
middle fort on the ridgeline, fort Stalin.
On June 9 the north attack, was started, preceded by strong
air and artillery preparation. Meanwhile, Rumanian troops further south were
preparing to launch an attack to the west across the Bayadar River. From June
10 to June 13 the north beachhead gained ground until, on June 14, fort Stalin
was finally captured. The shock troops pushed over the ridgeline at this point
and swept down to the north shore of Sevastopol bay.
On June 15 the Rumanians in the south launched their attack
(with air support from the north) westward. They made a deep advance toward
Balaklava, on the Black Sea.
On June 18 the breach in the ridge line in the north was
enlarged. A heavy bombardment was made against fort Maxim Gorki (really two
adjacent forts). There was an internal explosion and the fort was quickly
captured. On the 19th Sevastopol itself was brought under fire from the siege
artillery. Since there was only a slight increase in range, the siege guns did
not have to move their positions. Also on the 19th the attack was begun against
the fort on the cape above Sevastopol bay. On June 20 after air force and
artillery preparation, the attack was made on fort Lenin. This was the
easternmost fort of those on the ridge. Because its bombardment had been
thorough, it was quickly captured.
On June 21 the cape fort fell. Now the entire ridge was in
German hands. Sevastopol was being subjected day and night to intensive
artillery fire. Under the shells of the 80 centimetre gun and the 60 centimetre
mortar (Thor) and other guns, the city was beginning to disintegrate. On this
day the Russians abandoned their positions north of the Chernaya River to set
up a defence line along its south bank.
Consequently, on June 22, 23 and 24, the Germans pushed to
the head of Sevastopol bay, reaching Inkerman on the 25th,
In the south during these three days the Rumanians were
still advancing on Balaklava. However, the next day they took not only
Balaklava but also Kadikoi. On the 27th the Rumanians were driving on mount
sapeum at Inkerman; on the 27th the Germans were preparing to attack Southwest
toward Sevastopol.
June 28 saw the siege of Sevastopol rapidly drawing to an
end. The Germans at Inkerman began their drive toward Sevastopol. At the same
time the Rumanians and Germans in the south started their push west. Under both
of these drives the Russian lines gave way, allowing the two advancing forces
to take considerable gains.
On June 29 the northern and southern armies consolidated
along one front. Malakov hill, a flat-topped fortress, in the way of the
Germans advancing along the south shore of Sevastopol bay, was shelled by
artillery batteries on the north side of the bay. It fell after a short but
heavy bombardment. After seizing the entire remaining defence line, the
Rumanians and Germans pushed to the eastern city limits of Sevastopol. The city
surrendered on July 1, thus ending the siege, although some Russians held out
in the Khersones peninsula until July 4. Sevastopol was a vast pile of rubble
and of the 80,000 population only 200 were left. In all, over 30,000
tons of artillery ammunition were used in the siege, or 50 tons day and night
for 25 days. Twenty-five tons of bombs were dropped during the siege. Three hundred
rounds were fired by the Gustav Geschutz alone. One of its gun tubes was worn
out, and this was sent back to the Krupp works where a liner was added. This
tube came back to the Crimean front, where its parent gun was using the spare
tube which was brought along.
Stalingrad
Little could be found on the deployment of the Dora at
Stalingrad. It was presumably constructed in Germany later than the Gustav
Geschutz, and transported to the Russian front. It arrived ten miles to
the west of Stalingrad sometime in mid-august of 1942 where it was emplaced and
ready to fire on September 13. On September 14 the siege of Stalingrad
began. It lasted until November 19, when the German Sixth Army under General Paulus,
smashing at Stalingrad with everything it had, was finally routed by the
Russian counter offensive which began on November 20. The German left flank was
quickly enveloped and the Russian armies driving from the Southeast closed the
last possible corridor of retreat, when they met the Russian armies from the
north, at Marinovka. Paulus did not realise the strength of the encircling
Russians until too late. The German perimeter began to diminish in spite of the
stubborn counterattacks. Paulus refused the Russian demand to surrender, and
because of this, on January 8 and 9, 1943, his Sixth German Army was
annihilated. Paulus himself was captured in the business district of southern
Stalingrad, on February 2.
Capture
When the remaining German armies began their long retreat
from Stalingrad, the Dora was taken from its emplacement and transported west
to prevent its capture by the Russians. At about the same time the Gustav
Geschutz was dismantled in the Crimea and sent west also. As the Russians swept
into Poland and north-eastern Germany, the two guns were moved southward into
Germany from their respective positions in Poland and Czechoslovakia.
In April, 1945, the American forces were also making
considerable headway against the Germans. The US ninth army was advancing on
Magdeburg; the U.S. first army had reached the Mulde river south of Dessau, and
was pushing on Halle and Leipzig (which it captured on April 19 and 20,
respectively), and the U.S. third army was sweeping through Bayreuth toward
Chemnitz. At Oberlichtenau, just north of Chemnitz, the Germans, realising that
capture of the Dora was not far off, destroyed it with demolition charges and
dispersed the parts.
In early June, 1945, an ordnance intelligence team, upon
discovering parts of the Dora in the railway yards at Chemnitz, could only
photograph the guns' wreckage, as the Russians had already occupied the city
(given to them by the Yalta conference), and had posted guards around the area
of the wreckage.
The third army was pulled out of the Chemnitz region, and
redeployed to the south in preparation for an attack on Regensberg.
One of the first Americans to see and examine the Gustav
Geschutz was Colonel FB Porter, FA then commander of the 416th field artillery
group. On April 22, he was passing along a little used road through a forest
ten miles north of Auerbach (about 30 miles southwest of Chemnitz), on his way
to assist in the attack on Regensberg, when he came to a small dirt road which
led through the forest to the village of Metzenhof (or Metzendorf). There he
met an American soldier who said that there were some big guns back in the
woods. He followed the indicated route for about a half a mile until he came to
a single track railway along which were the remnants of fourteen cars of the
Gustav Geschutz. In this train, near Metzenhof, he found the Gustav's two gun
tubes, one cradle, the right bottom carriage half, and other parts and
accessories for the gun. One tube was intact (the spare tube), but the rest of
the parts had been hurriedly damaged by the fleeing Germans.
He continued on his way south, to the Regensberg area where
the 416th field artillery group participated in the capture of that city.
Later in June, when colonel porter moved his group
headquarters back to Auerbach, he again investigated the railway spur near
Metzenhof. This time he found the other parts of the gun scattered along
some fifty miles of railway track. In a further check down the track, on a
siding at the village of Vorra, colonel porter found the Gustav's breech ring,
the bronze recoil jacket, the left bottom carriage half, the trunnion bearings,
and the second gasoline-electric generator. Investigating further, he found, in
a railway tunnel twenty-five miles south toward Weiden, the remainder of the
twenty-five car train for the gun. The parts on these cars had been damaged
also. It was apparent that the Germans had hurriedly sabotaged the gun, for
there were still demolition charges on the various gun parts.
When colonel porter went to Paris, he informed ordnance
intelligence of his discovery. With the knowledge of the damaged gun plus that
supplemented by a captured German officer (who had been with the Gustav
Geschutz in the Crimea), colonel porter wrote reports for the British and
French ordnance. When he came back to the United States, he wrote another
report which has been published in many of the military and scientific
magazines.
What finally happened to these giant guns? The parts of the
Gustav Geschutz at Metzenhof were scrapped on the spot and probably sent to
German steel mills in the Ruhr. The cars at Vorra and those in the railway
tunnel near Weiden were also scrapped and sent to the Ruhr to be melted down.
And the Dora, captured by the Russians? No one knows, except
the Russians, what happened to it. It might have been melted down also, or it
might have been reconstructed.
Specifications not
found elsewhere
weight of gun 1,344 tons
length overall of gun 164 feet (49.98 m)
height overall of gun 35 feet (10.66 m)
weight of projectile with windshield 16,540 lbs
diameter of projectile 31.5 inches (80 cm)
weight of explosive charge 2,400 lbs. of RDX
length overall of projectile 11 feet 6 inches (3.50 m)
weight of propellant charge 2,500 lbs. in 3 increments
muzzle velocity of gun 2,500 ft per sec
maximum range 51,000 yds. 30 miles
maximum elevation 48 degrees
Robert D. Fritz wishes to thank the following
Charles H. Yust, Jr.
G. B. Jarrett, ( Colonel U.S.A. Retired)
Frederick B. Porter, Colonel U.S.A. Retired
also
Ordnance museum U.S.A.O.C.& S., Aberdeen proving ground
Imperial war museum, London, England for their kind help in furnishing material for
this reconstruction.
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