The 42 centimetre kurze Marinekanone 14 L/12, or Minenwerfer-Gerät (M-Gerät), popularly known by the nickname Big Bertha, was a German siege howitzer built by Krupp AG in Essen, Germany and fielded by the Imperial German Army from 1914 to 1918. The M-Gerät had a 42 cm (17 in) calibre barrel, making it one of the largest artillery pieces ever fielded.
Model of an M-Gerät at the Musée de l'Armée
The Gamma-Gerät, predecessor of the M-Gerät
A 42 cm projectile in 1918
Ruins of the Fort de Loncin, 1914
Krupp, also known as Friedrich Krupp AG and later Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp after acquiring Hoesch AG in 1991, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Germany's premier weapons manufacturer during both world wars. From the Thirty Years' War to the end of World War II, it produced battleships, U-boats, tanks, howitzers, guns, utilities, and hundreds of other commodities. The company also produced steel used to build railroads in the United States and to cap the Chrysler Building.
The three rings were the symbol for Krupp, based on the Radreifen – the seamless railway wheels patented by Alfred Krupp. The rings are currently part of the ThyssenKrupp logotype.
ThyssenKrupp HQ in Essen
Stereoscopic image from Krupp's great exhibit of guns at the Columbian Exposition in 1893
An assortment of naval guns and field artillery pieces from the Krupp works in Essen, Germany. (Circa 1905)
