Luxembourg Bombardment
The project eventually came under the control of the SS and SS General Hans Kammler ordered the project to be ready for action in late 1944. Assisted by Walter Dornberger, a battery of two shorter guns approximately 50 metres (160 ft) long with 12 sidechambers were constructed and placed in the hands of the army artillery unit Artillerie Abteilung 705 under the command of Hauptmann (Captain) Patzig. These were sited in a wooded ravine of the Ruwer River at Lampaden about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) southeast of Trier in Germany.
The two guns were aimed west, resting on 13 steel support structures on solid wooden bases on a 34 degree slope. The city of Luxembourg (which had been liberated in September 1944) was at a range of about 43 kilometres (27 mi) and was designated Target No. 305. Between the two gun tubes concrete blockhouses were constructed as well as ten smaller bunkers to hold projectiles and propellant charges.
The assembly and mounting of the Lampaden guns coincided with the final preparations for the Battle of the Bulge. However, the supply of ammunition became problematic due to the state of the German railway network. As time had become critical, it was decided to use a 150-millimetre (5.9 in) finned projectile with a discarding sabot, weighing 95 kilograms (210 lb) and carrying a 7–9 kg (15–20 lb) explosive charge. The propellant comprised a 5 kg (11 lb) main charge and 24 subsidiary charges for a total of 73 kg (160 lb).
By the time the Ardennes offensive began on December 16, 1944, Kammler received orders from OB West (German Army Command in the West) to begin firing at the end of the month and on December 30, 1944 the first gun tube was ready for action. Two warm up rounds were initially fired, followed by five high-explosive shells which were fired in sequence, attended by Kammler. The muzzle velocity was approximately 935 metres per second (3,070 ft/s).
The second gun tube was brought into operation on January 11, 1945 and in total some 183 rounds were fired until February 22, 1945, with 44 confirmed hits in the urban area. The guns were not particularly effective; from the 142 rounds that landed in Luxembourg, total casualties were 10 dead and 35 wounded. One gun was dismantled on February 15, and firing ceased on February 22, when US Army units had advanced to within 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) of the Lampaden site.
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