Big Bertha (Howitzer)

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For other uses of the term, see Big Bertha.

"Big Bertha"

Big Bertha (German: Dicke Bertha; literal translation "Fat Bertha") is the name of the L/14 model of heavy mortar-like howitzers built and used by Germany during World War I. The name "Big Bertha" is often mistakenly applied to the Langer Max and Paris Gun railway guns.

Designed in 1904 and produced by the Krupp factories in Essen, Germany, in 1914, the L/14 howitzer was a movable 42 cm siege mortar with shells weighing 820 kg each and a maximum range of 12 km, with a maximum elevation grade of 80 degrees. Only 4 of them were built, and were used during the German assault upon Verdun from February 1916, along with other assaults. The howitzer was named after Gustav Krupp's wife, and the term has since been applied to any large woman. There is a cannon named after this one in Estonia; The Estonian Volunteer Defense League's tank-destroying unit "Tankipurustajad" calls its anti-tank cannon "Bertha" with respect to its supposed great-grandmother.

This gun is the older version of its now more powerful sister the M68 howitzer artillery gun. They are used to shoot over long ranges to clear away many forces at a time.

The Howitzer was transported across the countryside long distances using train tracks.

In WW2 at least two machines were created re-proposing the concept of the siege mortar: the Sturmtiger and the Mörser Karl.