Little David | |
---|---|
Type | Heavy mortar |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
In service | Testing only |
Used by | United States |
Wars | World War II |
Specifications | |
Mass | 173,000 pounds (77 long tons; 87 short tons) |
Barrel length | 22 feet (6.7 m) |
Shell | 3,650 pounds (1,656 kg) |
Caliber | 36 inches (914 mm) |
Barrels | 1 |
Muzzle velocity | 1,250 feet per second (381 m/s) |
Maximum firing range | 6 miles (9.7 km) |
Feed system | Muzzle loading |
Little David was the nickname of an American 36-inch (910 mm) caliber mortar designed to breach the Siegfried Line and then used for test-firing aerial bombs during World War II. 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 31.5-inch (800 mm) railway guns.[1]