book : Heavyweights - The Military Use of Massive Weapons

Heavyweights - The Military Use of Massive Weapons 224 pages B&W and color photos Hard cover 22 x 30 cm 1,339 kg English Delivering the heaviest possible munitions onto the enemy and his strongpoints serves a number of military functions: it destroys protective positions and so is ideal for siege or trench warfare; it kills and maims at a distance without endangering one s own troops or provides devastating close-range protection against attack; also significant, it saps the enemy s morale as it searches them out far from the front lines, degrading their performance and reducing their manoeuvrability. Before the end of the 14th century, strong city walls and castle ramparts were almost impregnable: after the advent of gunpowder even the walls of Constantinople, which had defended the Roman Empire for centuries, fell before the Turkish supercannon. Before long, every army had its artillery train, and a significant point of pride was the largest, most potent of the weapons. At sea, cannon were the only weapons that could splinter the massive wooden walls of warships in the days of sail, and sea battles continued to see huge weapons employed through to World War II: the 460mm guns of the Yamoto or the 16-inch guns of the Iowa class battleships could engage the enemy at 24 miles and the latter saw service into the 1990s. It was only the advent of carrier-based aviation that saw the end of the huge battleships and their strategic importance.