Takom 2035 German Empire Krupp 420mm Big Bertha Bertha Siege Ho

Dicke Bertha (German: Gruba Berta, official designation M-Gerat) was a German 420 mm heavy howitzer from World War I, put into service just before its outbreak as a secret weapon of the German army. Probably only 12 of these weapons were manufactured. The initial velocity of the high-impact projectile was 400 m / s, the maximum range was from 12,500 to 15,000 meters.

Fat Berta was developed in the Krupp factory as a German response to the increasingly powerful fortifications erected in Belgium and France just before 1914. Two versions of this weapon were created. The first one (designation: Gamma wz. 1913) was a stationary gun, while the second one (designation: M wz. 1914) was a mobile version, capable of wheel and rail transport. Both versions were able to fire projectiles weighing up to 930 kilograms, which were able to penetrate a concrete ceiling with a thickness of 2.5 meters and up to 300 mm of armor plate. This weapon was used for the first time at the beginning of the German offensive in 1914 to destroy the forts in Liege, Namur and Manovillers on the Western Front, where it achieved impressive successes. It was also used at the Battle of Verdun in 1916, but with less success.