Another big gun thread

[chunkolini]

Anybody remember the Iraqi Supergun?
Mad scientist Gerald Bull was the main man. A naive genius with a penchant for ballistics.
From the obscure corner of my personal nerdy library
A fabulous weird book, reads like a John Le Carre thriller and would make a great film.
Covers the HARP project and all sorts of cold war weirdness
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arms-Man-G...william+lowther&qid=1591527746&s=books&sr=1-1

 

[TechnicAl]

I used to work with a guy who was a Director of the firm that made it
I actually started work there but only lasted one day....when I got home Id got a better offer....those were the days

 

[chunkolini]

I remember seeing it on the news, those massive 'Tubes' being prepped for export and thinking it was just some industrial stuff, but why the massive wall thickness?
it was fascinating as the story unravelled.

 

[gordon stephenson]

I remember the super gun very well, Seemed like a crazy idea, Lots of flanged machined tubes shipped out via Teesside, As I remember the joints couldn't take the massive pressure, And a local uk firm (Destec) remachined the flanges and designed special joints, I believe the export paperwork listed them as machine tools etc.
P.S. Wasn't Gerald Bull murdered when he answered his hotel room door?

 

[TechnicAl]

I remember the super gun very well, Seemed like a crazy idea, Lots of flanged machined tubes shipped out via Teesside, As I remember the joints couldn't take the massive pressure, And a local uk firm (Destec) remachined the flanges and designed special joints, I believe the export paperwork listed them as machine tools etc.
P.S. Wasn't Gerald Bull murdered when he answered his hotel room door?

Yes they were seized at Teesport on their way to Iraq....I think they were described as chemical piping.......Common knowledge round here that they were for the "gun"...Forgemasters were failing and needed the money.. Someone was murdered and there were some that were scared....the Israeli Mossad were blamed

 

[Kayos]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Curveball-...ld=1&keywords=curveball&qid=1591529288&sr=8-4

This is another great book on the subject

 

[chunkolini]

He went down the pan big stylee, jail, pills, booze and was eventually murdered possibly by those nice boys and girls from Mossad.

 

[Parm]

Even though it was intended for wrong things it just goes to show what extreme things we are capable of when our engineers put their mind to things

 

[TechnicAl]

Even though it was intended for wrong things it just goes to show what extreme things we are capable of when our engineers put their mind to things

It was never tested so no-one had any idea if it worked....I think the "inventor" had previously fired big guns but the barrels were one piece.....I heard it suggested that this big gun was more likely to blow itself to bits rather than whoever it was fired at.......It was made in small pieces because it would have been recognised for what it was if it was a gun barrel shape / size.....Its more like a Carry On than a Le Carre really.

 

[Shox Dr]

Slightly OT. In the 1984 a gun dealer from Leeds was found with his throat slit locked in a toilet on board a plane that had just landed at Manchester airport from Amsterdam. Verdict was suicide. Whoever commits suicide by cutting their own throat. It kicked off, but I cant remember what the outcome was.

He was called John Longstaff, had an amazing place in Pudsey

(@northwest do you remember)

 

[chunkolini]

A bit more about the business on wikipedia, and mention of a film. No doubt awful but I'll have to find it online
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Babylon


Not so similar to the German V3 which I always thought it was a clone of.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-3_cannon

Boys toys are always fascinating. But this nonsense is keeping me away from working on the house.

 

[Parm]

What sort of “bullet” would a gun like that need?

 

[Shox Dr]

What sort of “bullet” would a gun like that need?

A kin big one. The ‘barrel’ wasn’t rigid enough to support its own weight so would have been laid up the side of a dune/hill

 

[TechnicAl]

What sort of “bullet” would a gun like that need?

Did they ever get that far?....Anthrax was mentioned so probably a bucket...only joking

 

[Wozzaaah]

What sort of “bullet” would a gun like that need?

A gert biggun!
Read an article on it this morning after seeing this thread and the larger of the two was designed to fire a projectile of 1m diameter!

 

[Parm]

A gert biggun!
Read an article on it this morning after seeing this thread and the larger of the two was designed to fire a projectile of 1m diameter!

Bloody hell

Bit more than just a gun

 

[TechnicAl]

Bloody hell

Bit more than just a gun

That Bull fella had ambitions to fire craft into space.......not sure how they were supposed to return....so a 1m dia "bullet" would have been small in his eyes.

 

[Shox Dr]

That Bull fella had ambitions to fire craft into space.......not sure how they were supposed to return....so a 1m dia "bullet" would have been small in his eyes.

That idea resurfaced a while back

 

[northwest]

Slightly OT. In the 1984 a gun dealer from Leeds was found with his throat slit locked in a toilet on board a plane that had just landed at Manchester airport from Amsterdam. Verdict was suicide. Whoever commits suicide by cutting their own throat. It kicked off, but I cant remember what the outcome was.

He was called John Longstaff, had an amazing place in Pudsey

(@northwest do you remember)

I know the story well. The place is Henry Kranks and it was bought from Longstaff's widow by one of the employees. Really nice guy once you get to know him and he has a gun collection to rival many Museums.
I know a bit more detail but sometimes it's best just to let sleeping dogs lie.

 

[Shox Dr]

I know the story well. The place is Henry Kranks and it was bought from Longstaff's widow by one of the employees. Really nice guy once you get to know him and he has a gun collection to rival many Museums.
I know a bit more detail but sometimes it's best just to let sleeping dogs lie.

I used to go to with my dad in the late 70s, amazing place. Didn’t know it was H Cranks now, been meaning to go over there last time I spoke they had a load of 30/30 going cheap