Hitler created the largest gun ever, and it was a total disaster

Amanda MaciasApr 14, 2015, 22:13 IST

Eager to invade France, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler demanded a new weapon that could easily pierce the concrete fortifications of the French Maginot Line - the only major physical barrier standing between him and the rest of western Europe.

In 1941, German steelmaker and arms manufacturer Krupp A.G. built Hitler the "Gustav Gun," the largest gun ever used in combat, according to Military Channel's "Top Secret Weapons" documentary.

The four-story, 155-foot-long gun, which weighs 1,350 tons, shot 10,000-pound shells from its mammoth 98-foot bore.

Here's what the gun looked like when fired:

The massive weapon was presented to the Nazi's free of charge to show Krupp's contribution to the German war effort, according to historian C. Peter Chen.In the spring of 1942, the Germans debuted the mighty "Gustuv gun"at the Siege of Sevastopol. The 31-inch gun barrel fired 300 shells on Sevastopol.Screen grab22 men standing on top of the Gustav gun.However, as the Nazi's would soon find out, the ostentatious gun had some serious disadvantages:

Its size made it an easy target for Allied bombers flying overhead
Its weight meant that it could only be transported via a costly specialized railway (which the Nazi's had to build in advance)
It required a crew of 2,000 to operate
The 5-part gun took four days to assemble in the field and hours to calibrate for a single shot
It could only fire 14 rounds a day

Within a year, the Nazi's discontinued the "Gustav gun," and Chen notes that Allied forces eventually scrapped the massive weapon.

NOW WATCH: This 26-year-old from Baltimore took a 35,000-mile road trip and ended up fighting in the Libyan revolution

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Hitler created the largest gun ever, and it was a total disaster

Here's what the gun looked like when fired:

NOW WATCH: This 26-year-old from Baltimore took a 35,000-mile road trip and ended up fighting in the Libyan revolution