Developed during the Cold War for use against Soviet forces if they attacked West Germany, the U.S. M65 280mm gun was designed to fire atomic rounds and was identified in 1949 as the smallest gun capable of containing the W-9 15 kiloton warhead. On 25 May 1953, it fired the first atomic artillery round at Frenchman Flat at the Nevada Test Site, sending the 15 kiloton projectile 6.2 miles before it detonated 525 feet above the ground. Although widely called “Atomic Annie,” the gun never bore that name on the tube during its service life. One newly completed gun appeared in President Dwight Eisenhower's inaugural parade on 20 January 1953. Twenty M65s were made between 1951 and 1953, with most deployed to West Germany, but their great size and weight made them difficult to maneuver through German villages and along narrow roads. By the late 1950s, ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads could outrange the M65, and the guns were removed from service by December 1963.

Photo: James Hulse

Photo: James Hulse

Photo: James Hulse

Photo: James Hulse

Lawton, Oklahoma · USA