Biography V-3
|unit_cost=
|production_date=
|number=
|variants=
|weight=
|length= 130 metres (bottom of page)
|part_length=
|width=
|height=
|diameter=
|crew=
|cartridge= 140 kg
|caliber= 150 mm
|action=
|rate= 300 shells per hour (projected)
|velocity= 1500 m/s
|range=
|max_range= 165 km
|feed=
|sights=
|breech=
|recoil=
|carriage=
|elevation=
|traverse=
}}
The V-3 cannon (German: Vergeltungswaffe 3) was a German World War II supergun invented by Röchling's Chief Engineer Coenders and housed in a huge underground complex at Mimoyecques in northern France. Also known as the "High Pressure Pump" (German: Hochdruckpumpe) and the "Fleissiges Lieschen" (English: diligent little Lisa), (bottom of page) the complex was attacked during Operation Crossbow using Tallboy bombs and Operation Aphrodite guided drones and liberated by Canadian forces in late August 1944 before it became fully operational.
As with the V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket, the V-3 was intended as a set of weapons, although only half of the cannons were built[1]. Project HARP used similar techology later in the 20th century.
The V-3 cannon used multiple propelling chargesNOTE: The claim that, instead of propelling (gas) charges, rockets were used as propellant is dubious since expended rockets would collect behind the shell. placed along the barrels' length and timed to explode as soon as the projectile passed them by, to provide an additional boost. Due to their higher suitability and ease of use, rocket boosters were used instead of explosive charges, arranged in symmetrical pairs, attached to the barrel with a low (below 30º) angle. This layout spawned the German codenames Hochdruckpumpe ("high-pressure-pump") and Tausendfüßler ("millipede"). Unlike conventional rifled weapons of the day, the smooth-bore gun ejected a fin-stablized shell, dependent upon aerodynamic (rather than gyroscopic) forces to prevent tumbling and consequent high drag[2].
The complex had been built and oriented with the sole purpose of attacking London from a safe distance. This leads to its alternate name, the London Gun. 600 tonnes of explosive a day was to be put on London; "as much in a fortnight as Berlin received during the whole war".
A new series of Baltic firing trials on July 4-5, 1943, ended inconclusively, with the barrel bursting after the eighth round. Then after calling I.G. Farbe for advice on the composition of the barrel and its side chambers, the Baltic 'pump' was ready on July 16, 1943 for further trials.
After seeing the June 23, 1943 Peenemünde photos with a V-2 rocketNOTE: The June 23, 1944 Peenemünde photos were taken by Flight Sergeant E. P. H. Peek in a PRU Mosquito returns to Leuchars airfield (Irving pg 64a), Duncan Sandys subsequently believed that a site being kept under observation near Cap Gris Nez (Mimoyecques) is a possible launch site. At the end of May 1944, the British Chiefs of Staff enjoined Dwight Eisenhower to arrange Operation Crossbow attacks on Mimoyecques near Cap Gris Nez, Siracourt between Calais and the river Somme, Watten, and Wizernes, which would soon be complete and invulnerable to air attack:
Captured V-3 equipment was sent back to the U.S. where the cannons were tested and evaluated at the Aberdeen Proving Ground before being finally scrapped in 1948.
In mid November 1944, Walter Dornberger witnessed V-3 trials at Misdroy and saw the barrel burst. Then beginning in late December 1944, two shorter-barreled 'pumps', one on a railway mounting and one at a 40 degree slope up the side of a hill at Hermeskill (in Lampaden, 13 km southeast of Trier in Germany), fired on the American Third Army (the railway gun) and Luxembourg (the hillside gun), as well as Antwerp. From December 30 1944 to February 22 1945 the two guns fired some 183 shells at Luxembourg (range 43 km). As required by Hitler's "Demolitions on Reich Territory" decree, both were blown up in the German retreat.
FortificationSupergunsVergeltungswaffenWorld War II German guns
V3V3 V-3Vergeltungswaffe 3V3 15?????????V3???-3V3-tykki???-3V-3?
The V-3 cannon (German: Vergeltungswaffe 3) was a German World War II supergun invented by Röchling's Chief Engineer Coenders and housed in a huge underground complex at Mimoyecques in northern France. Also known as the "High Pressure Pump" (German: Hochdruckpumpe) and the "Fleissiges Lieschen" (English: diligent little Lisa), (bottom of page) the complex was attacked during Operation Crossbow using Tallboy bombs and Operation Aphrodite guided drones and liberated by Canadian forces in late August 1944 before it became fully operational.
As with the V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket, the V-3 was intended as a set of weapons, although only half of the cannons were built[1]. Project HARP used similar techology later in the 20th century.
Description
The complex contained five hidden shafts, each containing five guns with a barrel length of about 120 m. These were the longest cannon ever built, surpassing the Schwerer Gustav or Dora railway-propelled 800 mm super-cannon, the Mörser Karl (Gerät 040) 600 mm tracked siege mortar, and the Leopold and Robert 320 mm railway cannons.The V-3 cannon used multiple propelling chargesNOTE: The claim that, instead of propelling (gas) charges, rockets were used as propellant is dubious since expended rockets would collect behind the shell. placed along the barrels' length and timed to explode as soon as the projectile passed them by, to provide an additional boost. Due to their higher suitability and ease of use, rocket boosters were used instead of explosive charges, arranged in symmetrical pairs, attached to the barrel with a low (below 30º) angle. This layout spawned the German codenames Hochdruckpumpe ("high-pressure-pump") and Tausendfüßler ("millipede"). Unlike conventional rifled weapons of the day, the smooth-bore gun ejected a fin-stablized shell, dependent upon aerodynamic (rather than gyroscopic) forces to prevent tumbling and consequent high drag[2].
The complex had been built and oriented with the sole purpose of attacking London from a safe distance. This leads to its alternate name, the London Gun. 600 tonnes of explosive a day was to be put on London; "as much in a fortnight as Berlin received during the whole war".
A new series of Baltic firing trials on July 4-5, 1943, ended inconclusively, with the barrel bursting after the eighth round. Then after calling I.G. Farbe for advice on the composition of the barrel and its side chambers, the Baltic 'pump' was ready on July 16, 1943 for further trials.
After seeing the June 23, 1943 Peenemünde photos with a V-2 rocketNOTE: The June 23, 1944 Peenemünde photos were taken by Flight Sergeant E. P. H. Peek in a PRU Mosquito returns to Leuchars airfield (Irving pg 64a), Duncan Sandys subsequently believed that a site being kept under observation near Cap Gris Nez (Mimoyecques) is a possible launch site. At the end of May 1944, the British Chiefs of Staff enjoined Dwight Eisenhower to arrange Operation Crossbow attacks on Mimoyecques near Cap Gris Nez, Siracourt between Calais and the river Somme, Watten, and Wizernes, which would soon be complete and invulnerable to air attack:
Captured V-3 equipment was sent back to the U.S. where the cannons were tested and evaluated at the Aberdeen Proving Ground before being finally scrapped in 1948.
In mid November 1944, Walter Dornberger witnessed V-3 trials at Misdroy and saw the barrel burst. Then beginning in late December 1944, two shorter-barreled 'pumps', one on a railway mounting and one at a 40 degree slope up the side of a hill at Hermeskill (in Lampaden, 13 km southeast of Trier in Germany), fired on the American Third Army (the railway gun) and Luxembourg (the hillside gun), as well as Antwerp. From December 30 1944 to February 22 1945 the two guns fired some 183 shells at Luxembourg (range 43 km). As required by Hitler's "Demolitions on Reich Territory" decree, both were blown up in the German retreat.
V-3 Museum
The Mimoyecques museum allows visitors to explore the galleries and view a few of the remains of the guns. The site includes a small scale replica of the V-3 and examples of machinery, rail systems and tools employed. The immense underground tunnels show various stages of construction and evidence of extensive allied bombing. The site also contains memorials to the slave-laborers who were employed by the Nazis to construct it, alongside memorials to the airmen lost in action during the destruction of the base.References and Notes
FortificationSupergunsVergeltungswaffenWorld War II German guns
V3V3 V-3Vergeltungswaffe 3V3 15?????????V3???-3V3-tykki???-3V-3?
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-3
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
