28cm kurze Bruno Kanone (Eisenbahn)

The 28cm kurze Bruno Kanone (Eisenbahn) was the first of four models of railway artillery loosely based on a First World War original, and carried a L/40 gun.

During the First World War Krupp had produced the 28cm S.K. L/40 Bruno E.u.B., a dual purpose mount that allowed the gun to be fired from the rails or from an specially prepared firing position. In 1936 the Germans put in place an emergency armament programme, and in order to speed up the production of railway guns, the decision was made to mount a number of surplus 28cm guns on the old Bruno carriage. The originals had long been scrapped, but Krupp had the production drawings, which they passed on to Hanomag at Hanover.

The kurze Bruno was armed with a 28cm L/40 naval gun. The carriage originally had most of its First World War features, including jacks to allow the carriage to be lifted off the bogies and a central pivot, designed to allow it to be moved onto a steel or concrete firing position.  Over time most of these older features were removed. The kurze Bruno had a shelter at the rear of the carriage, to protect the crew and the ready ammunition. The carriage was supported by two five axle bogies.

The kurze Bruno could be fired from a normal railway track, but in that case a curved section was needed to allow it to be aimed. If time allowed a more practical approach was to construct a special Vögele turntable. This consisted of a circular rail and a special carriage designed to carry the entire railway gun. The gun would be moved onto the carriage, which could then rotate around the rail. The entire setup resembled the sort of turntables used in railway yards. It still needed quite a bit of time to set up, but not as long as the First World War firing positions. There were special ammo cars designed to run on the circular track of the turntable, to make it easier to bring the heavy ammo from the original railway line to the correct end of the gun.

Eight kurze Brunos were built in 1937-38.. They were used by Eisenbahnbatterien 690, 694, 695 and 696, each with two guns.  

The kurze Bruno was followed by three further versions. The lange Bruno had a L/45 barrel. The schwere Bruno was in the middle, with an L/42 barrel. Finally the ‘new’ Bruno had a more modern carriage and a longer gun, although was still some way behind the newly built 28cm K(5).

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