STORY OF "BIG BERTHA."

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18019, 18 February 1922, Page 2 (Supplement)

STORY OF "BIG BERTHA."

GUN THAT FIRED ON PARIS.

HOW THE GERMANS EVOLVED IT-

Though the main secret of the German guns which bombarded Paris wag soon known to British artillerists, the gun and its story long remained a mystery to the public. Commander Kinzcl, of the German Navy, who took part in the design, construction, and tests of the gun, has now made public an account of his experiences with it. Tho gun, he says, was a naval gnu in that it was invented and served by naval personnel. It was designed to firo 75 miles.

For a long lime the designers were at a loss, but ultimately they seem to have overcome all ballistic difficulties and the gun wa s built. Tho charge, ordinarily one-third of the weight of the projectile, was twice as heavy. The length of the chamber was monstrous. At an anglo of 45deg. tho barrel towered over houses, trees, and roofs. It needed some courage to shoot with a thing like "a stick of gigantic asparagus." But the material stood it.

Commander Kinzcl gives an interesting account of tho testing; no artillery trial ground, he says, was large enough. In conjunction with the Ministry of Marino the decision was reached to fire the gun from land at about tho approximate distance from the sea the shell was calculated to carry. Batteries on the shore were warned, the ground divided into observation areas and two 6eapJanes were

sent out to sea to watch for tho shell. It was estimated that it would explode at 110 kilometres (68 miles) from the gun.

At 3.15 one afternoon the seaplanes wero warned by wireless, " Attention shell fire." Three minutes wag the time estimated for the \shell to reach the marked area. Then came a ring on the telephone at the central station: "Reports of explosion heard." It was found on inquiry that the shell had fallen at 95 kilometres (59 miles) from the gun, and 1400 yards inland, It had hit a cowshed, but there woro no casualties. The pieces were collected and examined. They showed that the shell had been to a.a altitude of 40 kilometres. The distance. however, wae short of that for which the gun was designed, and there followed new consultations, calculations, and,, designs. Finally, s few weeks later, they Were in a position to bombard Paris. Two guns were made and a third put in hand. Commander Kinsol gives some de-

tails of the two when they had been I brought into position in a wood behind Laon in March, 1918. The nearest enemy lines were 12 kilometres (7J miles) away. Paris was 128 kilometres (80 miles) distant. Tiie crew were naval gunners. Special dugotifs had (o be made for the cartridges and shells and special smoke apparatus fur concealment, since at 45 degrees the barrel overshot the forest. The shells, he says, looked modest side by side with the "cartridges, which were three and four times as long as the shell and the length of two grown men. Xbat the gun could not lay Paris in ruins was plain: tllls w»s a "mural ?gun." On March 23, at 7.15 a.m., they opened fire, and then continued every quarter of an hour, later speeding the rounds. At 2 o'clock the sun came through, and they ceased for the day, so a s not to give away the position, as French observation balloons were searching the district. They fired for. three days before they got tho first news of where their shells had fallen. Within 30 hours Krench artillery had looated' and shelled them, but they continued to fire. Neither gun was hit.

The guns, however, had a life of less than 100 shots before the ignition chamber was so damaged that further firing was impossible. The old barrel was returned to the factory, a new one being ready. Tho battery lost 7 killed and 13 wounded. '