17. The V-3 Supergun was designed to obliterate London in a barrage of artillery fired from over 100km away in France
The Vergeltungswaffe 3 (also known as the “V-3” or “Retribution Weapon 3”) was a supergun developed by the Nazis to bombard London. Employing the multi-charge principle, wherein several propellant charges are placed along the length of a barrel and timed to detonate as a projectile passes to provide an additional explosive impetus, the V-3 was theoretically capable of hitting targets up to 165 kilometers away; each shell weighed approximately 140 kilograms, containing an explosive charge of 25 kilograms, and the weapon had a projected rate of fire of 300 shells per hour.
Extrapolated from incomplete French plans during World War I, Hitler consented to the construction of the supergun as an act of retribution in the aftermath of the Allied bombing of the Peenemünde rocket center on August 17, 1943. Trials held during May and June 1944 demonstrated proficiency at ranges of up to 88km, and preparations began for the weapon to be deployed in the Pas-de-Calais region of France to target London; during the construction of an immense mountain fortress to house the supergun, RAF Bomber Command’s 617 Squadron – also known as the “Dambusters” – attacked the site using deep-penetration bombs. Eventually deployed at Lampaden, Germany, in range of the city of Luxembourg, the V-3 begun firing on January 11, 1945. In total 183 rounds were fired, with only 44 confirmed hits in the targeted urban area and causing minimal casualties. The guns were dismantled in February due to advancing Allied forces, before being later captured by the U.S. Army.