V-3 cannon

Welcome, I will be talking about some WWII experimental artillery again more precisely a super long range artillery piece built by the Nazis. It was called the V-3 cannon (Vergeltungswaffe 3) also known as the Hochdruckpumpe ("High Pressure Pump", HDP for short), which was a code name intended to hide the real purpose of the project.  The V-3 was built with a goal of firing over the English Channel at London all the way from France, however that purpose was never fulfilled due to it being destroyed by allied bombings.

The V-3 cannon 430 ft. in length and was a very particular design. It was a multi chamber weapon. Meaning the cannon had multiple solid fuel rocket boosters all going off at once to use the explosive energy from all of them to launch the 5.9 in. caliber 310 lb. projectile a range of 165 Km. to add to that it had a fire rate of 300 an hour. Compared to other artillery of the era it was quite good except for one little detail.

The problem was the fact that the V-3 had to be built into the ground and could not move after it was built. The elevation could not change making it a hit the target on your first try or someone is getting fired type weapon. This also was bad due to the fact that if the Germans had to retreat they would have either had to disassemble the gun or blow it up so the allies couldn’t get their hands on it.  I personally think that this weapon, had it been operable during the blitz would have been a massive game changer. The Germans would have been able to bomb London without risking the lives or their pilots. Cause damage with 0 risk of casualties on your side. However the fact it had to be built into a stationary position was its downfall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-3_cannon