During World War II, the Nazi developed several seriously powerful weapons. One of those superior and devastating weapons was Great Gustav. As you might assume, the Nazi wanted weapons that are bigger than anything seen before. Many of those weapons remained only as projects that were never realized.
But Gustav, was the biggest gun and artillery weapon ever to be used in combat. Gustav fired the heaviest shells ever known. Built before the occupation of France, Gustav was designed to penetrate the walls of French Maginot Line.
Engineer Erich Muller was tasked with designing the gun. At the end, the plans included weapons with the calibers of 70cm, 80cm, 85cm, and 1 meter. Muller designed a gun that can fire a projectile weighting 7 tons.
He built the first test model in 1939, and Gustav did not disappoint. The gun was able to penetrate seven meters concrete wall and 1 meter steel wall. Gustav was the first gun, while Dora was the second gun Muller made for the Nazi. Gustav was 47.3 meters long, 7.1 meters wide, and 11.6 meters tall. The gun weighted 1350 tons, and 250 soldiers were needed to operate the gun. In addition, 2500 soldiers were tasked to lay down the tracks for the movement of Gustav.
