The Giant Tsar Cannon, a landmark of the Moscow Kremlin, topped the rating of the largest cannon in the world compiled by Popular Mechanics magazine.
The Tsar Cannon was made of bronze in 1586 and is capable of firing 600 kilograms of stones. The 35-inch cannon never participated in military operations, and its purpose, according to Tsar Boris Godunov (1552 – 1605), was to sow terror in the hearts of people and foreign ambassadors.
In 1812, Napoleon wanted to take the giant cannon to Paris, but his project failed, as he was forced to flee quickly from the Kremlin and Moscow under pressure from the fires of fire and the forces of Russian Marshal Kutuzov.
The German “Gustav” and “Dora” were included in the classification of the ten largest guns. In 1936, Hitler offered the German gunsmith, Gustav Krupp, the production of a giant cannon that could penetrate the French Maginot Line of Defense. Krupp made two 800 mm (31 in) cannons, named after him and his wife, named “Gustav” and “Dora”.
The weight of each of the two guns was 1,350 tons, and their assembly required a period of 3 days. They were able to fire 7 tons of concrete-penetrating munitions at a distance of 40 km.
The two guns were late for the occupation of France, but one of them “Dora” participated in the storming of the Soviet Sevastopol in the Crimea in 1941, firing 14 rounds every day. The two cannons were dismantled after the end of World War II.
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was passionate about everything big and ordered the manufacture of a 990 mm cannon with a barrel length of 152 meters. His project was called “Babylon the Great”. It was theoretically able to launch a projectile to any point on the planet with a sub-orbital ballistic trajectory. But the parts for the cannon were preserved in the Spanish and Swiss arms factories.
Also included in the classification was a huge American hunting rifle dating back to the 19th century that was able to hit a flock of ducks with a single shot. And the hunter was unable to carry that impressive rifle. So it was put into a boat.