Talk:Dover Strait coastal guns

Boche Buster : 18 inch howitzer ?
My info is that Boche Buster (the rail carriage originally used in WWI to carry a 14 inch Mk III gun) carried an 18 inch howitzer in WWII, not a 13.5 inch gun, and that this did not have the range to fire across the Channel. It was used to cover possible invasion routes on the Kent coast - its job was to lob big shells relatively short distances. My sources are I.V. Hogg, Dale Clarke, Simon Stevin Vlaams Vestingbouwkundig Centrum (http://www.geocities.com/wmfanr1/WMF-home.htm) and also this forum at Armchair General (serious arty types there) : http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38099&page=270 I really don't think Probert Encyclowhatever is a serious reference source. Rcbutcher (talk) 12:39, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

In my opinion the gun in the first picture is not 38 cm long. It looks to be kinda longer. Sorry for mistakes. Pole and Nonsensopedian. 77.255.125.66 (talk) 11:02, 9 June 2011 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 12:28, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 3 one external links on Cross-Channel guns in the Second World War. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.doverpages.co.uk/big_guns.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140414084352/http://www.fsgfort.com/uploads/pdfs/Public/British%20Coastal%20Artillery%20P.pdf to http://www.fsgfort.com/uploads/pdfs/Public/British%20Coastal%20Artillery%20P.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140414084352/http://www.fsgfort.com/uploads/pdfs/Public/British%20Coastal%20Artillery%20P.pdf to http://www.fsgfort.com/uploads/pdfs/Public/British%20Coastal%20Artillery%20P.pdf

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at ).

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 16:32, 21 July 2016 (UTC)

CE
Tidied references and citations (used sfn as it's the only one I know) added infobox, moved some photos to gallery to reduce overcrowding added couple of sources. All open to discussion, regards Keith-264 (talk) 11:26, 20 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Moved article to identify which channel and add dates. Keith-264 (talk) 12:14, 20 October 2016 (UTC)

British and German railway guns
Pp 43-44, Railway Guns of World War II by Steven Zaloga, Osprey, 2016

In August 1940, German heavy guns positioned on the Pas-de-Calais began shelling coastal transports near Dover. The German bombardments later extended to land targets and eventually involved both fixed-gun batteries and railway guns. The British response primarily involved coastal guns, but at least [four World War I long-range railway guns were activated under the direction of Lt. Col. Montague Cleeve, who commanded a railway artillery battery in the Great War. Three railway mountings originally designed for the 14in gun and 18in howitzer were rebuilt to accommodate BL 13.5in Mk. V naval guns (BL Breech Loading) from the old Iron Duke-class battleships. These were named HMG Gladiator, Sceneshifter and Peacemaker (aka Piece Maker), with the first completed in September 1940 and the last in May 1941. These were deployed with the Royal Marine Siege Regiment in Dover, and took part in the artillery exchanges across the Channel. The railway guns were not viewed as being as effective as the fixed coastal guns and in November 1943 the Royal Marines handed them back to the army for training use.]

A fourth railway gun, the 18in howitzer HMG Boche-Buster, was taken out of mothballs, and after refurbishment was used to fire several test shots by the 11th Super Heavy Battery in February 1941 near Catterick Camp. However, it was not used in the cross-Channel exchanges since it did not have sufficient range.

Perhaps some part the section I have marked with square brackets could be added? Sitalkes (talk) 01:47, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

Also, some part of this (pp 16-17, 22-23) could be added to the German section, the part about the turntables being able to be traversed quickly and precisely being rather important:

At the Conclusion of the Battle of France, many of the existing batteries were sent to the Belgian and French coasts with the heaviest concentration in the Pas-de-Calais area for operations along the English Channel. Many of these batteries were emplaced with Vogele turntables that permitted quick and precise traverse. The Vogele turntable was a simplified version of the railway turntable found in many railyards. Its most significant difference was that it was easily transportable and relatively quick to deploy. Each turntable was carried on a railway flat-car, and it took about 48 hours to assemble one in the field. These turntables offered greater targeting flexibility than older techniques such as the use of curved tracks. Once the Channel duels began in earnest, the issue of protecting railway guns arose... the ususal method of protecting railway guns was to house them in railway tunnels. There were not enough tunnels available in the Pas-de-Calais area, so another option was developed, the "Dom bunker" ("cathedral bunker") so named for its shape. This was an elongated bunker made from steel reinforced concrete that could resist direct bomb hits. Several of the gun batteries on the Pas-de-Calais had these bunkers constructed nearby...

In 1941, there were three regiments in this area controlling 11 railway artillery batteries. Nearly all these batteries were deployed in the coastal defence role... these guns did not have the range to bombard England except for a very narrow swath of the coast, nor did they have the accuracy or fire controls to engage in long-distance duels against maritime targets. There were a total of 864 rounds fired by the railway artillery against British targets around the English Channel in 1940-44; most of these, 362 rounds, in 1940 in preparation for Operation Sealion

Sitalkes (talk) 01:55, 28 June 2017 (UTC)