Railway Guns of World War I

by Marc Romanych, Greg Heuer, Steve Noon (Illustrator)

Overview

World War I was the Golden Age of the railway gun. Even though at the start of the conflict none of the armies possessed any railway artillery pieces and the very idea was comparatively new, more railway guns were used during this war than in any other conflict. Designed to break the stalemate of trench warfare, the first railway guns were simple, improvised designs made by mounting surplus coastal defence, fortress, and naval guns onto existing commercial railway carriages. As the war dragged on, railway artillery development shifted to longer range guns that could shell targets deep behind enemy lines. This change of role brought much larger and more sophisticated guns often manufactured by mounting long-barrel naval guns to specially-designed railway carriages.


This book details the design and development of railway guns during World War I from the very first basic designs to massive purpose built "monster" railway guns. Accompanying the text are many rare, never-before-published, photographs and colour illustrations depicting how these weapons were used during World War I.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472816412
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	08/24/2017
Series:	New Vanguard
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	326,682
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Marc Romanych is a retired US Army combat arms officer, and the author of several books for Osprey on World War I artillery and fortifications. He has a BA in History from the University of Maryland and an MA in International Relations from St Mary's University. Interested in the Maginot Line since 1995, Marc has extensively explored its fortifications. He is a member of Association du P.O. de Sentzich, a Maginot Line preservation group. Marc lives near Baltimore, Maryland.


Greg Heuer is retired Chief Engineer and Program Manager for Raytheon Company. He has a BS in Electronics Engineering with a minor in Business Administration from New Mexico State University. Interested in the intersection between modelling, art and the history of manufacturing technologies, Greg has extensively researched, studied, and modelled super heavy and railway artillery. Greg lives near Newport, Rhode Island.

Steve Noon was born in Kent, UK, and attended art college in Cornwall. He's had a life-long passion for illustration, and since 1985 has worked as a professional artist. He has provided award-winning illustrations for the publishers Dorling Kindersley, where his interest in historical illustration began. Steve has illustrated over 30 books for Osprey.
Greg Heuer is retired Chief Engineer and Program Manager for Raytheon Company. He has a BS in Electronics Engineering with a minor in Business Administration from New Mexico State University. Interested in the intersection between modeling, art and the history of manufacturing technologies, Greg has extensively researched, studied, and modelled super heavy and railway artillery. Greg lives near Newport, Rhode Island.
Steve Noon was born in Kent, UK, and attended art college in Cornwall. He's had a life-long passion for illustration, and since 1985 has worked as a professional artist. He has provided award-winning illustrations for the publishers Dorling Kindersley, where his interest in historical illustration began. Steve has illustrated over 30 books for Osprey.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Before the War 4

Design and Development 6

Railway Gun Design

Nomenclature

1914 and 1915: The First Railway Guns

1916: Greater Range and Firepower

1917: More Railway Guns

1918: Super-Heavy Railway Guns

Operational History 33

Organization

Operation of the Railway Guns

Employment and Tactics 43

Legacy of the Railway Guns 46

Bibliography 47

Index 48