Atomic cannon in action and German predicesor (pure whiffery)

[famvburg]

     Naw, man, Elefants!

King Tigers...definitely King Tigers - they're sleeker! 

[sagallacci]

I have to say that I DID think about just that, or other variations of Porsche heavy hulls. I could compromise and do Henschel hulls with Porsche suspension (like the JagdTiger)

[RussC]

     Naw, man, Elefants!

King Tigers...definitely King Tigers - they're sleeker! 

Maus hulls !

[sagallacci]

Maus hulls would be a bit oversize compared to the gun, unless you, say, used a cut down K5E carriage. Wasn't there some consideration of doing something not unlike that in RL? A pair of tracked units (or was it a single uberhull?) to haul one of those 28cm guns around?

Perversely, the idea of a skeletonized Maus hull (the armor pulled, leaving only enough structure to support the drive train and suspension) as a monster prime mover has some appeal.

[jcf]

Perversely, the idea of a skeletonized Maus hull (the armor pulled, leaving only enough structure to support the drive train and suspension) as a monster prime mover has some appeal.

... and it has historical precedent as during the First World War the Austro-Hungarian forces used Austro-Daimler built Porsche-Lohner Mixte petrol-electric 'Land-Trains' in the Alps and the C-Zug tractor system used to move a 420mm siege mortar. The load was dispersed amongst six identical units consisting of a generator-tug and eight-wheeled trailer. The two back wheels of the tug and all trailer wheels had its own electric motor, giving ten-wheel drive.

[rickshaw]

Only problem would be that Maus was even less reliable than all the other Panzers.  There were also significant differences between the two prototypes extending to such things as one having its engine inverted compared to the other.  They were also fuel hungry buggers.   Knowing Ferdinand Porsche, if you had him design an SP 28cm gun, each component would be completely different and no two would be interchangeable!

There was a drawing published purporting to show a planned 28cm SP gun, mounted on two Tiger I chassis, armour and all.  I'd hate to think how unweildy it would have been, with that high centre of gravity.  It'd topple on an even a moderate slope in all likelihood.   The American Atomic cannon was much more sensible.

[sagallacci]

I suggested the Maus only for the absurdity of it all. You sure about the engines on the Maus? The DBs were inverted V-12s and always were. However, different engines would be irrelevant for functionality. The only noteable difference I was aware of was the different road wheels and (maybe?) the tracks. You are right about the general impracticality of Porsche's military designs.

[rickshaw]

I suggested the Maus only for the absurdity of it all. You sure about the engines on the Maus? The DBs were inverted V-12s and always were. However, different engines would be irrelevant for functionality. The only noteable difference I was aware of was the different road wheels and (maybe?) the tracks. You are right about the general impracticality of Porsche's military designs.

I am positive.  One Maus had the engine the right way up.  The other had it mounted the reverse way (described in the article I read as "inverted").   They were essentially hand built prototypes, distinct from one another in many major ways.  One never mounted a turret (until the Russians put it on display with the turret from the other one it) while the other did.  Engines and power systems were unique between them it seems as well.

[sagallacci]

On the other, other hand, one could claim the Mauses (Mices, Mooses??) in question were the production version, as a contract for 130 (!!!) of them was issued. In RL, they were never done due to the steel mill where the armor was to have been made was put out of action due to Allied bombing. Only four additional turrets had been made by that point. And as an aside, the E-100 was never to have had a Maus turret, that was a fudge of post war reconstruction of documents.

[rickshaw]

Just found this picture:


Captioned:

This was on 25 May 1953, when gun #9 fired the only live round ever, a 15 Kiloton weapon, at a distance of 17 miles (27 km) at the Nevada atomic test site (as best as I recall, this was the idiotic exercise where real, live (then) soldiers participated and were sent into the base of the mushroom cloud {wonder how they are today? - SB,III}.

[Source]

Some interesting pictures there also of the Renwall Atomic Cannon - as originally issued.

[NARSES2]

I've seen that photo lots of times and always assumed it was faked ! Were we really that naive about nuclear matters back then or just cynical ? Geez I'm getting old 

[rickshaw]

I've seen that photo lots of times and always assumed it was faked ! Were we really that naive about nuclear matters back then or just cynical ? Geez I'm getting old 

A combination of both.  Unfortunately, "the end justifies the means" when people fear they are facing an existential crisis such as the Cold War represented. 

[RussC]

I've seen that photo lots of times and always assumed it was faked ! Were we really that naive about nuclear matters back then or just cynical ? Geez I'm getting old 

A combination of both.  Unfortunately, "the end justifies the means" when people fear they are facing an existential crisis such as the Cold War represented. 

  Sometime if looking about for videos, look up "Trinity and Beyond - the Atomic Bomb Movie" and see just how deep that went. Astounding the things that were done to people and to animals during that time. Footage of the 64' Chinese test and conscript firemen racing into ground zero to render the ground cool enough to study by hand, and Cavalry units on horses in foil suits with gas masks charging into the cloud with sabers and AK's drawn. Plus the actual scenes from motion picture cameras of dogs and pigs on the ships at Bikini.... 

[rickshaw]

Done that.  I studied "Nuclear Strategy" as part of my Masters degree.  It was an interesting course but after you finished a seminar you had to stop thinking about how acceptable x number of "megadeaths" (millions dead) in a given nuclear war scenario could be for a nation.  Quite an eye opener.  I also visited the Australian nuclear test sites as part of the last major cleanup.  Again, an interesting experience. 

[tonton42]

I've seen that photo lots of times and always assumed it was faked ! Were we really that naive about nuclear matters back then or just cynical ? Geez I'm getting old 

Me be the picture is issued from this movie ? See the link : http://www.dissident-media.org/infonucleaire/Upshot_Knothole.mpg

France had studied an atomic canon at the end of fifties or biginning of sixties (I saw some parts of the artillery when I worked as a technician in armaments, breech, tube, and a model wooden made at 1/10 scale). But it had been judged most dangerous for allied soldiers than enemies !!!

Regards