Paris Gun

Nickname for the German Kaiser Wilhelm Geschütz long-range gun, commonly called the ‘Paris Gun’ from its use to bombard Paris during March-August 1918.

The gun was positioned on railway mountings in the Forest of Coucy, 125 km/78 mi from the city. A total of 183 shells landed inside the city boundaries and 120 outside during the bombardment, killing 256 people and wounding 620. The worst single incident was on Good Friday, 29 March 1918, when a shell hit the roof of the church of St Sepulchre which collapsed, killing 88 and wounding 68 of the congregation.

Seven 21-cm guns were made, using bored-out 38-cm naval guns fitted with special 40 m-/130 ft-long inserted barrels, although for most of the war there were only two mountings so that there were effectively only two guns each with two spare barrels. As the guns wore out, due to the high pressures and temperature of the powder charge, the barrels were removed and re-bored to 24-cm calibre to be used with a fresh outfit of ammunition. The shells weighed 120 kg/264 lbs and were fired by a 180 kg/400 lb powder charge, giving them a range of up to 131 km/82 mi. The guns were withdrawn in the face of the Allied advances in August 1918; one spare mounting was captured by US troops near Chateau-Thierry but no gun was ever found by the Allies, during or after the war.