Extreme Engineering

[Hornbein]

An extremely massive and unwieldy weapon. I knew about the WWI railroad artillery but for WWII Deutschland outdid itself. To bear the weight the railroad line had to have two parallel tracks for a total of four rails. Then two more rails at the firing site for the crane used to assemble the gun. Two locomotives were required for aiming. It had handbrakes. The shells could penetrate four feet of steel armor. When fired the crew of four thousand had to be 250m away. The blast shattered windows several kilometers distant. It was used to shell Sevastopol.

 

[Hornbein]

Gadget madness. Too elaborate to summarize. Is it hyperLEGO?

 

[Hornbein]

Jet engines run at 1500 C but the turbine blades don't melt. Ninety years of engineering.