arantxa Posted 24 August , 2019 Share Posted 24 August , 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heid the Ba Posted 26 August , 2019 Share Posted 26 August , 2019 (edited) I'm usually wrong about these things but it looks like a French 305mm to me, the frame at the back and the shape of the gun mount look right. Vailly is likely to be Vailly-sur-Aisne and without checking I'd say it is likely to be 1914 and the initial German advance. *awaits correction* Edited 26 August , 2019 by Heid the Ba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arantxa Posted 26 August , 2019 Author Share Posted 26 August , 2019 Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 26 August , 2019 Share Posted 26 August , 2019 It's 1918... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heid the Ba Posted 26 August , 2019 Share Posted 26 August , 2019 I’m not arguing, but how do you know it’s 1918? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools mckenna Posted 26 August , 2019 Share Posted 26 August , 2019 4 minutes ago, Heid the Ba said: I’m not arguing, but how do you know it’s 1918? I'm not sure how he knows that but it's definitely not 1914 as a gasmask tin can be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heid the Ba Posted 26 August , 2019 Share Posted 26 August , 2019 Thanks, I’m even worse on equipment than I am on weapons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 27 August , 2019 Share Posted 27 August , 2019 8 hours ago, Heid the Ba said: I’m not arguing, but how do you know it’s 1918? When did the Germans advance enough to capture railway guns (usually positioned well behind enemy lines)? Anyway, the uniforms and equipment made it clear that this wasn't 1914. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heid the Ba Posted 27 August , 2019 Share Posted 27 August , 2019 Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Feledziak Posted 27 August , 2019 Share Posted 27 August , 2019 from page 270 of "The German 66th Regiment" it would appear that on 26th/27th May, a rail gun was captured by Captain NIEMEYER and company 1 IR66. The gun was at Vailly railway station and preparing to move off. For a considerable time this gun had been the terror of Laon. That was 1918. The below image is from IR171 and looks a match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 27 August , 2019 Share Posted 27 August , 2019 Well spotted, Martin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heid the Ba Posted 27 August , 2019 Share Posted 27 August , 2019 Good stuff Martin! At least I got the gun right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arantxa Posted 27 August , 2019 Author Share Posted 27 August , 2019 Very impressive thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Haselgrove Posted 27 August , 2019 Share Posted 27 August , 2019 Here is another photo taken from "Chemin des Dames" by Gerard Lachaux and again confirming the identification as a French 305mm gun. Michael. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heid the Ba Posted 27 August , 2019 Share Posted 27 August , 2019 That looks to be a photo of the gun firing, with no-one in sight. Any idea how they managed that? Timer? Very long lanyard? Electric trigger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 27 August , 2019 Share Posted 27 August , 2019 The caption says that the gunners needed shelter from the muzzle blast (literally approx. 'noise of the round's departure') so some such mechanism must have been required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Feledziak Posted 27 August , 2019 Share Posted 27 August , 2019 It is an epic thought that these monsters could lob a massive shell, payload 20 Km. { or so it says } Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heid the Ba Posted 28 August , 2019 Share Posted 28 August , 2019 As a railway gun the range was just over 30km, so possibly it means they fired 20km behind enemy lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 28 August , 2019 Share Posted 28 August , 2019 16 hours ago, Martin Feledziak said: It is an epic thought that these monsters could lob a massive shell, payload 20 Km. { or so it says } Substantial but not overly massive - a 305 shell would weigh about 400 kg. A 15" naval shell weighed over 870 kg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heid the Ba Posted 28 August , 2019 Share Posted 28 August , 2019 Maybe not compared to a 15" shell but massive compared to an 18pdr or even a 60pdr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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