DORA RAILWAY GUN

The Dora (also known as Schwerer Gustav) is a German 802 mm rail gun from the Second World War. The initial velocity of the demolition shell from this gun was up to 820 m / s, with a maximum range of approx. 47-50 kilometers. The barrel length was 32.48 meters, and the weight of the shells reached 7100 kilograms! Design work on Dora began in 1935 at the Krupp factory, and their initiator was Adolf Hitler, who wanted to obtain a cannon capable of destroying any position fortified on the Maginot Line. However, work on this atypical and - as it turned out - not very practical weapon was completed only in 1942, i.e. two years after the German victory over France! The gun's range was undoubtedly phenomenal for those times and it could fire powerful missiles, but it had an insanely low rate of fire (2-3 shots per minute) and required a tedious process of preparing a combat position. It could also be easily destroyed by enemy air forces. The gun was used in combat during the siege of Sevastopol in 1942. Dora was also supposed to take part in the siege of Leningrad, but for communication reasons, she did not make it to this city. Most likely the gun was destroyed by its own crew in Germany in April 1945.