Mounting heavy artillery on mobile railroad cars was first proposed by Russian Gustav Kori in 1847, and was first used in combat in the American Civil War.
When World War I began, France and Germany appropriated naval cannons and coastal defense batteries and deployed them to the front via rail.
Once in place, railway guns were mounted on specially constructed semicircular tracks, which allowed them to be pointed in the direction of targets.
In World War II, Germany built the utterly massive Schwerer Gustav gun, which could fire 31-inch, seven-ton shells and hit targets up to 30 miles away.
As these guns were hugely expensive and vulnerable to air attacks, after World War II they were phased out in favor of bomber aircraft and surface-to-surface missile launchers.
These photographs span the history of railway guns, from the very first used by Confederate forces in the American Civil War, to Autochrome photos of guns on the western front of World War I, to then near-obsolete behemoths of World War II.
1918
An artillery unit poses on a massive railway gun in France.
1862
A 32-pound rail-mounted Brooke naval rifle used by Robert E. Lee's forces at the siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War.
1916
A Krupp 42 cannon on a flat wagon.
1916
A 274-millimeter railway gun used in France in World War I.
1916
An eight-inch Mk. VI railway gun in use during World War I at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in England.
August 1916
A 12-inch railway gun in action at the Somme, France.
Sept. 5, 1917
French soldiers camouflage a 370-millimeter railway gun on the western front in World War I.
Sept. 5, 1917
French soldiers camouflage a 370-millimeter railway gun on the western front in World War I.
1918
A 16-inch gun which was used on the Hindenburg Line in France.
1940
German railway guns used in World War II.
1940
A railway gun painted for use in desert combat.
1940
An Italian soldier fires a 194-millimeter railway gun during the battle of Monte Cassino in Italy.
1940
A German railway gun in action in France.
1940
American soldiers pose on a captured German railway gun.
June 1944
An American soldier examines a German 10-inch railway gun on the Cherbourg Peninsula in France.
When World War I began, France and Germany appropriated naval cannons and coastal defense batteries and deployed them to the front via rail.
Once in place, railway guns were mounted on specially constructed semicircular tracks, which allowed them to be pointed in the direction of targets.
In World War II, Germany built the utterly massive Schwerer Gustav gun, which could fire 31-inch, seven-ton shells and hit targets up to 30 miles away.
As these guns were hugely expensive and vulnerable to air attacks, after World War II they were phased out in favor of bomber aircraft and surface-to-surface missile launchers.
These photographs span the history of railway guns, from the very first used by Confederate forces in the American Civil War, to Autochrome photos of guns on the western front of World War I, to then near-obsolete behemoths of World War II.
1918
An artillery unit poses on a massive railway gun in France.
1862
A 32-pound rail-mounted Brooke naval rifle used by Robert E. Lee's forces at the siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War.
1916
A Krupp 42 cannon on a flat wagon.
1916
A 274-millimeter railway gun used in France in World War I.
1916
An eight-inch Mk. VI railway gun in use during World War I at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in England.
August 1916
A 12-inch railway gun in action at the Somme, France.
Sept. 5, 1917
French soldiers camouflage a 370-millimeter railway gun on the western front in World War I.
Sept. 5, 1917
French soldiers camouflage a 370-millimeter railway gun on the western front in World War I.
1918
A 16-inch gun which was used on the Hindenburg Line in France.
1940
German railway guns used in World War II.
1940
A railway gun painted for use in desert combat.
1940
An Italian soldier fires a 194-millimeter railway gun during the battle of Monte Cassino in Italy.
1940
A German railway gun in action in France.
1940
American soldiers pose on a captured German railway gun.
June 1944
An American soldier examines a German 10-inch railway gun on the Cherbourg Peninsula in France.
