Railway guns - Germany: books - history, types and construction

German Railway Gun Leopold - 28 cm K5 (E)

Technical/historical background by the Dutch expert Jan Coen Wijnstok, illustrated with 31 b&w period photos and a selection of 224 detailed walkaround photographs highlighting in color all exterior and interior details of the World's only preserved K5(E) railway guns: Ausf. C from the US Ordnance Museum, Aberdeen, USA and Ausf. D from the Musée du Mur de l'Atlantique, Audinghen, France.

Includes the bonus giant (990 x 680 mm size) fold out sheet of super-detailed 1/72nd and 1/35th scale drawings of K5(E) Ausf. C & D in both firing and transport mode, and 1/10th scale drawings of K5's charges and projectiles.

Twelfth volume in the Series of all-picture books showing AFVs preserved at museums and collections throughout the World, designed for the enthusiast and military modeler.
Most complete reference book for super-detailing the Trumpeter, Dragon and Hasegawa kits. Reissued.

Product details

Author:	Jan Coen Wijnstok
Details:	56 pages, 29.5 x 21 x 1.5 cm / 11.6 x 8.25 x 0.59 in, paperback
Illustrations:	31 b&w and 224 colour photos
Publisher:	Model Centrum (PL, 2015)
ISBN:	9788360672242

K5 Rail Gun - Krupp's WWII Behemoth (Legends of Warfare)

Known by various names such as Anzio Annie, Anzio Express, and Leopold, the German 8 cm Kanone 5 Eisenbahngeschütz (railway gun), commonly abbreviated as K5(E), stands as Germany's most successful and widely employed railway gun design.
Twenty-four of these formidable weapons, capable of shelling England from positions in France, were utilized on multiple fronts, including France, Italy, Russia, and Holland.

This illustrated book captures the operation and deployment of these fearsome weapons through 80 vintage black-and-white photos.
Complementing the historical images are over 150 full-color photos showcasing the only surviving examples, providing detailed insights into the construction nuances of these massive railway guns.

Product details

Author:	David Doyle
Details:	128 pages, 23 x 23 x 1.9 cm / 9.1 x 9.1 x 0.75 in, hardback
Illustrations:	80 b&w and 150 colour photos
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing Ltd (USA, 2023)
Series:	Legends of Warfare
ISBN:	9780764366444

World War II German Super-Heavy Siege Guns (Osprey)

As the outbreak of World War II approached, Nazi Germany ordered artillery manufacturers Krupp and Rheimetall-Borsig to build several super-heavy siege guns, vital to smash through French and Belgian fortresses that stood in the way of the Blitzkrieg.
These 'secret weapons' were much larger than the siege artillery of World War I and included the largest artillery piece of the war, the massive 80 cm railway gun 'schwere Gustav' (Heavy Gustav). However, these complex and massive artillery pieces required years to build and test and, as war drew near, the German High Command hastily brought several WWI-era heavy artillery pieces back into service and then purchased, and later confiscated, a large number of Czech Skoda mortars.

The new super siege guns began entering service in time for the invasion of Russia, notably participating in the attack on the fortress of Brest-Litovsk. The highpoint for the siege artillery was the siege of Sevastopol in the summer of 1942, which saw the largest concentration of siege guns in the war.
Afterwards, when Germany was on the defensive in the second half of 1943, the utility of the guns was greatly diminished, and they were employed in a piecemeal and sporadic fashion on both the Eastern and Western Fronts.

In total, the German Army used some 50 siege guns during World War II, far more than the thirty-five it had during World War I. Supported by contemporary photographs and detailed artwork of the guns and their components, this is an essential guide to these guns, exploring their history, development, and deployment in stunning detail.

Product details

Author:	Marc Romanych , Martin Rupp
Details:	48 pages, 25 x 18.5 x 0.8 cm / 9.8 x 7.3 x 0.31 in, paperback
Illustrations:	numerous b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Osprey Publishing (GB, 2020)
Series:	New Vanguard
ISBN:	9781472837172

Deutsche Eisenbahngeschütze

Railway guns are known to be cannons on rails. But what hardly anyone knows about is the variety of these monsters on rails that existed. Built to bring death and destruction over 100 kilometers or more, these cannons were considered the only means of causing damage behind enemy lines in a time when there were no rockets.

The fact that these long-range weapons were mostly nothing more than a waste of men and material is another story. This special edition by Gerhard Taube shows and describes the development, technology and use of German railway guns.

Product details

Author:	Gerhard Taube
Details:	184 pages, 26.5 x 23 cm / 10.4 x 9.1 in, hardback
Illustrations:	318 b&w photos, 30 drawings
Publisher:	Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2017)
ISBN:	9783613039759

Eisenbahnartillerie : Einsatzgeschichte der deutschen Eisenbahnartillerie im Westen 1940 bis 1945 - Eine Dokumentation

This documentation presents the railway artillery units with their guns, their firing positions and operations - with a focus on the Belgian and French coasts - and describes suggestions for visiting the facilities that still exist today.

Deployment plans for the 80 cm Gustav guns and for new types of ammunition (Röchling grenades and Peenemünder arrow projectiles) are presented, as is the withdrawal of the units from Belgium/France and the whereabouts of the guns.
The areas of deployment of the railway artillery in Italy, Russia, Norway and the Netherlands are also presented. The descriptions are supplemented by overview maps, structural diagrams and a large number of photos.

Product details

Author:	Wolfgang Gückelhorn, Detlev Paul
Details:	288 pages, 29 x 21.5 x 2.5 cm / 11.4 x 8.5 x 0.98 in, hardback
Illustrations:	523 b&w and 108 colour photos, 188 drawings
Publisher:	Helios-Verlag (D, 2014)
ISBN:	9783869331164