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Little David was the nickname of an American 36-inch (914 mm)
After the Siegfried Line was breached with conventional forces, Little David was instead considered for use against the extremely strong
newsreel
from the Army Pictorial Service
globalsecurity.org - 36-inch Little David
Present day photos of the Little David Mortar at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Mortars of the United States World War II mortars Trial and research firearms of the United States 914 mm artillery Individual cannons Military equipment introduced from 1940 to 1944 Articles containing video clips Japan campaign
caliber
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore matc ...
mortar designed to breach the Siegfried Line
The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the we ...
and then used for test-firing aerial bomb
An aerial bomb is a type of explosive or incendiary weapon intended to travel through the air on a predictable trajectory. Engineers usually develop such bombs to be dropped from an aircraft.
The use of aerial bombs is termed aerial bombing.
...
s during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. With the same calibre as the British Mallet's Mortar, constructed in May 1857, it is one of the largest-calibre guns ever built, having a larger calibre than both of Germany's Schwerer Gustav and Dora which were railway guns. retrieved 22 February 2013
History
The mortar was developed as an extension of a previous proposal to destroy heavy concrete fortifications such as the Siegfried Line with massive plastic explosive charges delivered by rocket or bomb. During a discussion between representatives of the Ballistic Research Laboratory and the Office of the Chief of Ordnance it was suggested that instead of dropping such a charge from an airplane, it could be fired from a mortar. Development began of a 914 mm siege mortar firing a 3,600 lb shell. The mortar's base was a large steel box that was placed below ground, with its top flush with the surrounding surface, allowing the mortar's muzzle to be lowered horizontal for loading at ground level.
After the Siegfried Line was breached with conventional forces, Little David was instead considered for use against the extremely strong fortification
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere ...
s during the expected invasion of Japan
Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ...
. The decision was made to test for this purpose, but the end of the war also removed all need for Little David to be deployed. The mortar was able to be transported as a two-piece mobile unit, consisting of the barrel and the base transported by two M25 tractors. In addition to the two main loads, the Little David unit would also include a bulldozer
A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous track ...
and crane with bucket to dig the emplacement for the mortar's base. Retrieved 14 February 2012
The huge mortar could be ready to fire in 12 hours. The largest (800 mm) known German artillery weapons were hauled on 25 railway cars and required three weeks to put in firing position, but had a longer range of compared to the of Little David.
Little David was by calibre one of the largest artillery pieces ever produced, although Dora fired a heavier shell. Little David's overall effectiveness would have been questionable because of its limited range and accuracy. When Japan surrendered, the invasion became unnecessary, and Little David (still in its trial phase) never saw combat.
With the closure of the Aberdeen Proving Ground Ordnance Museum and relocation to Fort Lee, retrieved 29 October 2021 the status of Little David is currently unknown as only restored pieces made the transfer. retrieved 29 October 2021
See also
* List of heavy mortars * List of the largest cannon by caliber * Schwerer GustavReferences
Notes
*Sources
External links
newsreel
from the Army Pictorial Service
globalsecurity.org - 36-inch Little David
Present day photos of the Little David Mortar at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Mortars of the United States World War II mortars Trial and research firearms of the United States 914 mm artillery Individual cannons Military equipment introduced from 1940 to 1944 Articles containing video clips Japan campaign