German Railroad Guns in action
Don Greer Carrollton TX: squadron/signal publications, 1976. Presumed First English Language Edition, First printing. Wraps. Format is approximately 11 inches by 8.125 inches. 48, [2] pages, plus covers. Illustrated covers. Illustrations (some color). Cover has some wear and soiling. This is publication ARMOR No. 15. Railway guns were large guns and howitzers mounted on and fired from specially constructed railway cars. They have been obsolete since World War II and have been superseded by tactical surface-to-surface missiles, multiple rocket launchers, and bomber aircraft. Schwerer Gustav (English: Heavy Gustav) was a German 31.5 in railway gun. It was developed in the late 1930s by Krupps siege artillery for the explicit purpose of destroying the main forts of the French Maginot Line. The fully assembled gun weighed nearly 1,490 short tons, and could fire shells weighing 7.7 short tons to a range of 29 mi. The gun was designed for the Battle of France, but was not ready when that battle began. Gustav was later deployed in the Soviet Union during the Battle of Sevastopol, part of Operation Barbarossa, where, among other things, it destroyed a munitions depot located roughly 98 ft below ground level. The gun was moved to Leningrad, and was destroyed by the Germans near the end of the war in 1945 to avoid capture by the Soviet Red Army. Schwerer Gustav was the largest-calibre rifled weapon ever used in combat and, in terms of overall weight, the heaviest mobile artillery piece ever built. It fired the heaviest shells of any artillery piece. It was surpassed in calibre only by the unused British Mallet's Mortar and the American Little David bomb-testing mortar—both at 36 inches—but was the only one to be used in combat. Squadron ceased operations in January 2021, and had not published any new titles for some time prior to that. In May 2022, the Squadron-Signal line was relaunched. Don Greer Autobiography: I was born an artist. As a child during WWII, the events and armaments used during the war were particularly fascinating to me. I would spend hours drawing the airplanes, tanks and ships that were the pride of our country. I guess that's when my passion for drawing military machine began. One of my favorite airplanes to draw was the P-51 Mustang, a true workhorse of the war. I went to work at a small art studio and eventually got a job with GM Trucks as an artist apprentice. I learned a lot from the talented artists there as I observed the technical skills necessary to become an illustrator. I was hired by AMT, a model company in Troy Michigan, to illustrate the cars and trucks that were used on the boxes. It was there I met Al Borst, a veteran of WWII who became an inspiration to me. He was incredibly talented, and he taught me many tricks of the trade. I worked at AMT for eight years before I met Jerry Campbell at Squadron in Highland Park, Michigan. He hired me as am illustrator in 1970 where I worked on the company catalogue as well as Squadron Signal Books. My first book cover was the P-47 Thunderbolt in 1975. Throughout my years as an illustrator for Squadron Signal Publications I have illustrated hundreds of books, from aviation, tanks, ships and more. I retired from Squadron in 2015 after a career of over sixty years. I hope that my art will continue to educate and inspire long after I am gone. Condition: Good / No DJ issued.
Keywords: Railway Guns, Railroad Guns, Railway Artillery, Shells, Propellant, Casing, Elevation, Barrel, Loader, Schwerer Gustav, Rail Gun, Kurze Bruno, Muzzle, Illustrated works, Pictorial Works
ISBN: 0897470486
[Book #84808]
Price: $55.00