18" Railway Howitzer at Fort Nelson

Only four 18" railway howitzers were built by the British Army in World War I. They could not be brought into action before the Armistice. During the Second World War one was used at Dover.

This example is displayed at the Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson Portsdown above Portsmouth.

The barrel is 52 feet long, it weighs 180 tonnes and fires a projectile weighing 2,500 lbs over a range of 12.6 miles. It took a crew of 24 to fire the railway gun.