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Plate 007 · Railway Gun · World War II
Schwerer Gustav
"Heavy Gustav"
The largest-caliber rifled weapon ever used in combat — a 1,350-ton railway gun.
Moving Image
Footage
Archival reels of the 80 cm railway gun being assembled and fired at Sevastopol, 1942.
Schwerer Gustav: Biggest Gun Ever Used in Combat
American Heroes Channel via YouTube
Historical Record
Provenance & Service
Built by Krupp to breach the Maginot Line, Schwerer Gustav and her sister Dora required 250 men to assemble and 2,500 men to operate. Her one operational deployment was at the Siege of Sevastopol in 1942, where she fired 47 shells, destroying an underground ammunition magazine beneath Severnaya Bay. She was destroyed by German forces in April 1945 to prevent capture.