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Was Big Bertha useful?
Big Bertha was the the 420mm (16.5-in.) howitzer used by German forces advancing through Belgium in 1914. They were nicknamed for the Krupp arms works matriarch Bertha Krupp von Bohlen. Transported in pieces, moved by rail and assembled in place, they proved devastating in destroying Belgian forts.
How was Big Bertha used in ww1?
Big Bertha, German Dicke Bertha, a type of 420-mm (16.5-inch) howitzer that was first used by the German army to bombard Belgian and French forts during World War I. At the time of their construction, the Big Berthas were the largest, most-powerful mobile artillery pieces in use by any army.
How was Big Bertha destroyed?
The four Beta-M-Gerät guns produced were fielded by KMK Batteries 8 and 10 after their M-Gerät gun barrels had been destroyed by premature detonation.
How fast does an artillery shell go?
The short barrel and lower firing pressure restricts the maximum ranges of mortars to much shorter than the ranges of other artillery pieces. The speed of these artillery shells can reach up to speeds of about 1600 m/s or, in English units, about one mile per second.
What was the Big Bertha howitzer?
Big Bertha was the the 420mm (16.5-in.) howitzer used by German forces advancing through Belgium in 1914. They were nicknamed for the Krupp arms works matriarch Bertha Krupp von Bohlen. Transported in pieces, moved by rail and assembled in place, they proved devastating in destroying Belgian forts.
What was the name of the German howitzer in WW1?
Big Bertha, German Dicke Bertha, a type of 420-mm (16.5-inch) howitzer that was first used by the German army to bombard Belgian and French forts during World War I.
Why was the German gun called Big Bertha?
Officially designated as the 42-cm kurze Marinekanone 14 L/12 in Räderlafette (“42-cm short naval canon 14 L/12 on wheeled carriage”), the gun was nicknamed “Big Bertha” by German soldiers after one of its projectiles completely destroyed Fort Loncin during the siege of Liège, Belgium.
How long did it take to assemble a German Big Bertha?
After detraining, the transport wagons were hauled by tractor to the firing site, where the guns were reassembled. Under ideal conditions a Big Bertha could be assembled in six hours. At the start of war, the German army had only two Big Berthas, and both saw their first action against the complex of Belgian forts around Liège on August 12, 1914.