at its emplacement to the west of the city sometime in mid-August 1942. It was ready to fire on 13 September. It was withdrawn when Soviet forces threatened to encircle the German forces. When the Germans began their long retreat, they took Dora with them. Langer Gustav The Langer Gustav was a long cannon with 52 centimetre (20.5 in) calibre and a 43-metre barrel. It was intended to fire super-long-range rocket projectiles weighing 680 kilograms to a range of 190 kilometres (118 mi). This gave it the range to hit London from Calais, France. It was never completed after being damaged during construction by one of the many RAF bombing raids on Essen. Landkreuzer P. 1500 Monster Project The Monster was to be a 1,500 tonne mobile, self-propelled platform for an 80-cm K (E) gun, along with two 15 cm sFH 18 heavy howitzers, and multiple MG 151 autocannons normally used on combat aircraft. It was deemed impractical, and in 1943 was canceled by Albert Speer. It never left the drawing board and no progress was made. It would have surpassed the Panzer VIII Maus (the heaviest tank ever built) and the Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte (never built) in weight and size. Postwar whereabouts On 14 April 1945, one day before the arrival of US troops, Schwerer Gustav was destroyed to prevent its capture. On 22 April 1945, its ruins were discovered in a forest north of Auerbach and about southwest of Chemnitz. In summer 1945 Schwerer Gustav was studied by Soviet specialists and in autumn of the same year was transferred to Merseburg, where the Soviets were gathering German military material. In March 1945, Dora was transferred to Grafenwöhr and was blown up there on 19 April 1945. The debris was discovered by American troops sometime after the discovery of Schwerer Gustav's ruins. The debris was scrapped in the 1950s. Part of the third (52 centimetre) gun was found after the war in the Krupp production facilities in Essen. The world's largest "Dora ensemble" is located in the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr in Dresden. Ammunition Models 80 cm "Schwerer Gustav" (Heavy Gustav) - Deployed in March 1942 against Sevastopol. 80 cm "Dora" - Deployed against Stalingrad in September 1942. Possibly never fired. 52 cm "Langer Gustav" (Long Gustav) - Started but not finished. See also Large-calibre artillery List of the largest cannon by caliber Sturmtiger Karl-Gerät Leopold