gray01 Jan-Feb 2011_Gray01_Jan-Feb 2005.qxd - Korean War ...

The Atomic Cannon in Korea
By Bill Russell
The atomic cannon, developed in
1949 as a huge artillery piece to
fire a nuclear weapon, was basically
a “super” 240 mm gun that was the
biggest in the arsenal and mounted on
the German K5 railroad gun carriage. It
was nicknamed “Atomic Annie,”
derived probably from the nickname
“Anzio Annie,” the big German K5 gun
used against the Americans during the
landings in Italy in World War Two.
The massive gun underwent a threeyear
development period. The project
was completed in time for a demonstration
model to be used in the Dwight
Eisenhower’s Inaugural Parade in
January 1953. On May 25 of that year,
the atomic cannon was tested at the
Nevada Test Site called Frenchman’s
Flat. The demonstration resulted in the
successful detonation of a nuclear shell
at a range of 7 miles. It was the first and
only nuclear shell fired from the cannon.
The explosion occurred 524 feet
above the desert floor with a force of 15
kilotons, the same force that devastated
Hiroshima in 1945. (A kiloton is a measurement
of the yield of a nuclear
weapon equivalent to the explosion of 1,
000 tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT).
Witnessing the spectacular event were
2,500 soldiers and 500 official guests.
Some soldiers huddled in trenches less
than two miles away.
As a tactical exercise, the soldiers
charged towards the explosion a few
minutes later, with the mushroom cloud
still hanging overhead. Units became
disoriented in the swirling dust churned
up by the winds created by the tremendous
pressure of the nuclear explosion.
One wonders how many of those soldiers
survived or how their lives were
probably shortened by this foolhardy
exercise.
The explosion occurred 524 feet above the desert floor with a force of 15 kilotons,
the same force that devastated Hiroshima in 1945. (A kiloton is a measurement of
the yield of a nuclear weapon equivalent to the explosion of 1, 000 tons of trinitrotoluene
(TNT).
There were at least 20 of the cannons
manufactured at a cost of $800,000
each, for deployment to Europe and
Korea. Apparently they were shifted
around frequently to avoid being detected
by opposing forces. However,
because of the development of missilebased
nuclear artillery, the M65 (as it
was officially designated) was virtually
obsolete soon after it was developed.
The atomic gun’s effectiveness in
Korea is questionable at best. If the use
of nukes in Korea was considered,
wouldn’t it have been more effective to
simply drop them from an airplane
rather than shooting a nuke over a
mountain? Nevertheless, the gun
remained in the U.S. Army’s arsenal as a
prestige weapon until 1963, when it was
deactivated.
It is not known how many “Atomic
Annies” were deployed to Korea. We are
aware of at least one that author John
Martin Campbell wrote about in his
book, Slinging the Bull in Korea. He
cited the two soldiers who saw one and
didn’t know what it was until a captain
explained what it was and that he was
pulling it back by orders from his headquarters.
Much has been written about the
administration’s debate in the winter
and spring of 1953 about whether to
expand (or end) the war with nuclear
weapons and compel the Communists to
accept an armistice. By May of 1953 it
appears that the decision to use nuclear
weapons was on the planning table.
Based on this, it would seem improbable
that the atomic cannon was deployed
before the armistice. In fact, according
to reports, the atomic cannon and the
Honest John nuclear-capable missiles
were introduced into Korea in January
1958, when the Reds had begun their
massive military build-up in violation of
the ceasefire terms.
The Communists came to the conference
table in June 1951but it was not
likely under a nuclear threat as has been
suggested. The atomic gun was still in
development at that time. And, as everyone
knows, negotiations went on for the
next two years. In November 1952,
when I was serving in Korea,
Eisenhower visited the war zone and
promised to end the war. How? Did he
have the atomic cannon in mind?
As has been reported, some have suggested
he did, but the atomic cannon
was not emplaced in Korea at that time.
It was not deployed until January of
1958, according to information on the
internet. However, only those soldiers
who were crew members of the gun(s) in
Korea know for certain.
So far as ending the war, it was seven
months after Eisenhower became president
and eight months after he came to
Korea with the promise to end the war
that a ceasefire was signed by both parties.
In Eisenhower’s defense, however,
he didn’t say when. Whether or not the
Communists were influenced by the
threat of nuclear action is debatable.
Sources: Wikipedia.com, YouTube.com, the
free library. com., and article, Beyond
Brinkmanship: Eisenhower, nuclear warfare,
and Korea, 1953-1968, and other related
websites
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William Russell, a former U.S. Army
Combat Correspondent, is a member of
CID 173 Mid-Florida. Reach him at
1000 Winderley Pl., Unit 240, Maitland,
FL 32751-4118, 407-260-1540,
BillRider29 @embarqmail.com
January – February 2011
The Graybeards