Powder Charge and 280mm Nuclear Shell
The powder charge stack required to fire the 280mm (11-inch) nuclear shell in the M65 gun was just over three times the height of container number 1 in the photo.
The M65 280mm Atomic Gun was an artillery piece developed in the early 1950s and deployed between April 1955 and December 1962, in West Germany, South Korea and on Okinawa to shoot nuclear shells at invading Soviet or communist Chinese armies. The large nuclear weapons of the 1940s and early 1950s required such a massive gun. The effective firing range was approximately 20 miles. By the late 1950s, missiles and aircraft could deliver nuclear weapons at a greater range, making the gun obsolete.
After visiting the Cherokee National Museum, I drove southwest, to go to Fort Sill. This is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma. It is home to the Artillery Museum and the Air Defense Artillery Museum. I visited this place on June 8, 2019.
Powder Charge and 280mm Nuclear Shell
The powder charge stack required to fire the 280mm (11-inch) nuclear shell in the M65 gun was just over three times the height of container number 1 in the photo.
The M65 280mm Atomic Gun was an artillery piece developed in the early 1950s and deployed between April 1955 and December 1962, in West Germany, South Korea and on Okinawa to shoot nuclear shells at invading Soviet or communist Chinese armies. The large nuclear weapons of the 1940s and early 1950s required such a massive gun. The effective firing range was approximately 20 miles. By the late 1950s, missiles and aircraft could deliver nuclear weapons at a greater range, making the gun obsolete.
After visiting the Cherokee National Museum, I drove southwest, to go to Fort Sill. This is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma. It is home to the Artillery Museum and the Air Defense Artillery Museum. I visited this place on June 8, 2019.