Little David was the nickname of an American 36 inch (914 mm)
caliberThe term caliber designates the inside diameter of a tube, the diameter of a solid wire or rod, or a measurement of the length of a gun relative to its diameter....
mortarA mortar is a muzzle-loading indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It typically has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber.- Function :...
used for test firing bombs during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Towards the end of the war it was modified to serve as a siege mortar, as it was expected that the US forces would encounter extremely strong
fortificationFortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defense in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
s during the
invasion of JapanOperation Downfall was the overall Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The operation was cancelled when Japan surrendered after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan.Operation Downfall had two parts:...
. When
Japan surrenderedThe surrender of Japan in August 1945 brought World War II to a close. By August 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy effectively ceased to exist, and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
the invasion became unnecessary and Little David was therefore never used in combat. Little David is one of the largest artillery pieces by caliber, though smaller than the 19th century French Monster and British Mallet's mortars.
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Little David was the nickname of an American 36 inch (914 mm)
caliberThe term caliber designates the inside diameter of a tube, the diameter of a solid wire or rod, or a measurement of the length of a gun relative to its diameter....
mortarA mortar is a muzzle-loading indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It typically has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber.- Function :...
used for test firing bombs during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Towards the end of the war it was modified to serve as a siege mortar, as it was expected that the US forces would encounter extremely strong
fortificationFortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defense in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
s during the
invasion of JapanOperation Downfall was the overall Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The operation was cancelled when Japan surrendered after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan.Operation Downfall had two parts:...
. When
Japan surrenderedThe surrender of Japan in August 1945 brought World War II to a close. By August 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy effectively ceased to exist, and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
the invasion became unnecessary and Little David was therefore never used in combat. Little David is one of the largest artillery pieces by caliber, though smaller than the 19th century French Monster and British Mallet's mortars. The mortar was to be transported by two
artillery tractorArtillery tractor is a kind of tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, a vehicle used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights. The first such devices were designed prior to the outbreak of World War I, often based on agricultural machines such as the Holt tractor. Such tractors allowed the...
s, making it more mobile than a railway gun. Its potential effectiveness was questionable because of its limited range and accuracy.
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