Big Bertha

:For the world's largest drum, see Big Bertha (drum). For use of this term to describe large railway banking engines, especially of a 0-10-0 configuration, see MR 0-10-0 Lickey Banker

Related Topics:
Big Bertha (drum) - MR 0-10-0 Lickey Banker

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Big Bertha (German: Dicke Bertha; literal translation "Fat Bertha") is the name of the L/14 model of heavy mortar-like howitzers built and used by Germany during World War I. The name "Big Bertha" is often mistakenly applied to the Long Max and Paris Gun railway guns.

Related Topics:
Mortar - Howitzer - Germany - World War I - Long Max - Paris Gun - Railway gun

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Designed in 1904 and produced by the Krupp factories in Essen, Germany, in 1914, the L/14 howitzer was a movable 42 cm siege mortar with shells weighing 820 kg each and a maximum range of 15 km, with a maximum elevation grade of 80 degrees. Only 4 of them were built, and were used during the German assault upon Verdun from February 1916, along with other assaults. The howitzer was named after Gustav Krupp's wife, and the term has since been applied to any large woman. There is a cannon named after this one in Estonia; The Estonian Volunteer Defense League's tank-destroying unit "Tankipurustajad" calls its anti-tank cannon "Bertha" with respect to its supposed great-grandmother.

Related Topics:
Krupp - Verdun

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In WW2 at least two machines were created re-proposing the concept of the

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siege mortar: the Sturmtiger and the Mörser Karl.

Related Topics:
Sturmtiger - Mörser Karl

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