Chapter 1394 - 10. National Combustion (Part 1)_4

Due to the huge amount of explosives, the destructive power of the 420mm high-explosive shells was terrifying. To illustrate this, compare them to the more conventional 155mm and 210mm howitzers. In typical tests, anyone within a radius of 15 meters from the center of a 155mm shell explosion would be killed by the blast alone, not counting shrapnel which could reach 50 meters. A 210mm howitzer's high-explosive shell could create a crater 18 meters in diameter and two swimming pools deep. An experienced gunner could demolish a permanent cement position with just three shots. The might of the 420mm high-explosive shells used by "Big Belle" could therefore be imagined.