# The guns of Dover.



## starling (Jun 12, 2012)

What Did the guns of Dover achieve,during ww2.? Thanks.


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## yulzari (Jun 12, 2012)

Provide counter battery fire against German guns shelling England.


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## Glider (Jun 12, 2012)

One of them got a lucky direct hit on a German gun, odds must have been millions to one


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## Njaco (Jun 12, 2012)

They also assisted the Luftwaffe in their attacks on convoys, especially during the BoB.


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## Glider (Jun 13, 2012)

Njaco said:


> They also assisted the Luftwaffe in their attacks on convoys, especially during the BoB.



The guns of Dover helped the Luftwaffe? I thought the guns of Dover were british


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## stona (Jun 13, 2012)

They made loud bangs which made people jump and scared the sea gulls.
Steve


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## starling (Jun 13, 2012)

Thanks guys,do you know what size,age ,how many there were etc.? During the battle of Britain,did any of these guns have the range,to bombard any of the cross channel ports which were filling up with invasion barges,and did they.? Thanks.Starling.


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## Njaco (Jun 13, 2012)

Glider said:


> The guns of Dover helped the Luftwaffe? I thought the guns of Dover were british



Thats what I get for staying up so late. I misread as 'off Dover' - meaning the guns over Calais. 

I need a Motrin.


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## starling (Jun 13, 2012)

Hi guys,there were 2 14in guns,like the guns on duke of York ,that aided the 3rd Canadian div.What were those battles like.?thanks,starling.


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## Thorlifter (Jun 13, 2012)

starling said:


> What were those battles like?



Loud....

Just kidding. I think it's a good question as I've never heard of them before. Just FYI, look here....Cross-Channel guns in the Second World War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## davebender (Jun 13, 2012)

Battleship size naval rifles can shoot a long way if the mount allows high elevation. The two British 15" guns of Wanston Battery had a maximum range of 38 km. 


Krupp K5 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
German K5 railway guns (28.3cm) had a maximum elevation of 50 degrees which allowed a maximum range of 64 km. Krupp made 25 of these monsters during the early 1940s.


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## Njaco (Jun 13, 2012)

August 22, 1940

A convoy code named "Totem" was battling heavy seas through the Straits of Dover when they reported that they were under attack. As it turned out, the convoy was under attack by German gun batteries based at Cape Griz Nez. German batteries shelled Dover during a cross-Channel duel which had lasted all day. Their first target was the convoy of ships edging up the English side of the Channel under Royal Navy escort. Then the guns turned on Dover. The Germans had installed 14-inch batteries with a 20-mile range along the coast from Boulogne to Calais as part of the plan to invade England. Those guns were used for the first time when shells sent water spouts 100 feet above the convoy. RN escorts laid smoke to conceal the convoy.The convoy later reported that most of the shells were wide and no damage was done to the ships. The convoy continued on after the eighty minute bombardment without any further enemy attack. But their position had been reported and with the weather postponing any air attacks on the English mainland, it presented a target for the Luftwaffe. With dusk, the guns turned on civilian targets in Dover. During a 45-minute barrage a shell burst through the stained glass window of a church and exploded near the altar. By nightfall the convoy, with its 50,000 tons of food and war material, was snug at anchor.

BBC - Archive - WWII: The Battle of Britain - News Report | Convoy Shelled in Straits of Dover


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## parsifal (Jun 14, 2012)

During the latter part of 1940, the Germans started installing their huge guns on the French coast that could fire shells across the channel, the first was the 38cm gun at SIEGFRIED BATTERY just south of Cape-Gris-Nez, followed by Three 30.5 cm guns at FRIED AUGUST BATTERY north of Boulogne, Four 28 cm guns at GROSSER KURFURST at Cape-Gris-Nez, Two 21 cm guns at PRINZ HEINRICH BATTERY just outside Calais, Two 21 cm guns at OLDENBURG BATTERY in Calais, Three 40.6 cm guns at LINDEMANN BATTERY between Calais and Cap-Blanc-Nez, Four 38 cm guns at TODT BATTERY outside Cap-Gris-Nez. These guns were later backed up by three K5 railway mounted guns which were also capable of firing shells not only across the channel but also at allied shipping in the channel. At this time the British had little answer to this formidable fire power, a worried Winston Churchill came to Dover to see the situation for himself, he had already ordered the high ground either side of the port of Dover to be heavily fortified with large caliber guns. The only answer this British had to these guns at this time were the Royal Marine Siege Regiment at St Margaret's Bay where they had two 14 inch guns nick named 'Winnie Pooh' they had been fitted with 18 in turrets to increase the operating room.

These guns were insufficient to meet the developing german threat and could never match the formidable firepower of the German guns. Winnie was the first gun to fire a shell that landed on main land Europe in August 1940, Winnie was joined later in the year by Pooh together they were used to bombard the long range guns on the French coast. They had several successes. These guns were manned by twenty five men of various ranks, there was also a separately manned firing control room, they were protected against Luftwafe low flying air attack by 'Pom-Pom' and 'Ack Ack' anti aircraft crews. Behind the guns were the shell and cordite magazines protected by layers of earth and heavily camouflage, each gun had a railway line running to it for delivery of the shells and cordite.

Winnie and Pooh were too slow to effectively engage German shipping in the channel. Neither could most of the german emplacements , however the German K5 railway mounted guns were firing on British shipping in the channel with some degree of accuracy. Winston Churchill was incensed by this situation and ordered the building of new heavy gun batteries in Dover to stop German shipping moving up and down the English channel so freely. Three 6 in guns with a range of 25,000 yards were installed at Fan Bay Battery, Four 9.2 in guns with a range of 31,000 yards at South Foreland Battery, Two 15 in guns with a range of 42,000 yards at Wanstone Battery.

In addition to these guns three railway 13.5 guns were added these were named Gladiator, Sceneshifter, and Piecemaker they were relics of WW1, the first of these to be used was Sceneshifter, when not in use it was hidden from the Luftwafe in Guston railway tunnel hauled there by the Royal Engineers using diesel locomotives.


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## starling (Jun 14, 2012)

Thanks guys,how many British ships were sunk by the k5 railway guns.? Starling.


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## parsifal (Jun 14, 2012)

I dont know, but i dont think it was many. About a year agao I got into a rather spirited debate about fighters in general, but finished up looking at the coastal shipping losses in western Europe for all protagonists. This included lookingt at the losses in shipping in the Channel. From memory there were 3 or 4 allied merchantmen lost to these heavy guns, whilst I remember at least two german R Boats being sunk by the British Batteries

here is the link....the relevant discussion starts at about post 76

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/polls/3-fighters-30447-6.html


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## starling (Jun 14, 2012)

Thanks guys,I think I'll leave that last thread for tomorrow,Starling.lol.


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## starling (Jun 15, 2012)

Hi guys,thanks for the above thread,it does however contain air warfare mostly.Can anybody point me in the right direction,concerning the part the guns of Dover played in the liberaton of the channel ports,Starling.


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