These big railway guns have always attracted a lot of attention from armor modelers. Here are basically battleship guns for the Army. These behemoths were perfect for firing on troops from long distances and were basically impervious to return fire. Two of these big 280mm guns were used in the Anzio campaign and called 'Anzio Annie' by those on the receiving end. Hidden in railway tunnels, it was impossible to destroy them, but they were eventually abandon as the rail lines leading to them had been destroyed.

They were used on other fronts as well, including bombarding Great Britain from emplacements across the Channel. In all 22 of these mammoth guns were built and all saw at least some action. What some don't realize is that with big guns comes the requirements for a lot of propellant and explosive. Such was the need that the over 500 rounds fired by the Anzio guns put a severe strain on available munitions for other fronts!

This book is #12 in the Armor Photogallery series and follows very much in the same format. We are fortunate that two of these big K5 guns remain extant, though they are missing a lot of detail bits. The main one is at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, USA. This gun has the lion's share of the photos and is in fairly good shape, though sporting a spurious camouflage scheme. The other is in the Musee du Mur de l'Atlantique in the Pas de Calias, France. It is exposed to the salt air and is not in very good shape. As with the US gun, it is missing a lot of detail parts, but since it is a different variant, those differences still extant are highlighted.

The rest of the book includes a historical section with a number of very good period photos that help to fill in the missing spaces. A real treat is a set of 1/35 and 1/72 scale drawings. These will be of great help to modelers and are very much appreciated.

All in all, this book is the perfect reference for those who really want to detail out one of these big guns. Buy it!

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