A captured German railway gun, known as the Amiens Gun, on display at Central Station in Sydney. ...

Accession Number P09332.001
Collection type Photograph
Object type Print
Maker Unknown
Place made Australia: New South Wales, Sydney
Date made 1920
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Copyright

Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain

Public Domain Mark This item is in the Public Domain

Description

A captured German railway gun, known as the Amiens Gun, on display at Central Station in Sydney. It had been exhibited in Paris before it was sent to England for transport to Australia as a war trophy. On the side of the gun has been painted: "Captured by the British 4th Army August 8th 1918". It was captured by the 31st Battalion along the Villers-Bretonneux front. The Germans used it to shell the railway marshalling yards at Amiens, disrupting the flow of men and materials to the front lines. The 28cm calibre gun described on the image as Little Bertha, was 72 feet long and weighed 185 tons when complete. The Amiens gun barrel weighs 45 tons (40,824 kilograms) and has a calibre measurement of 28 centimetres (11.15 inches). Built in 1904 by Friedrick Krupp, it was originally a German naval gun, until it was modified to be used as a railway gun during the war. The gun was moved from Sydney to Canberra in 1923. While the gun's carriage was eventually destroyed, the barrel remains intact, and is on display outdoors at the Australian War Memorial.