Like its precursor, the V-1 cruise missile and V-2 rocket, the Vergeltungswaffe 3, or “Retaliatory Weapon,” was another of Germany’s “Vengeance Weapons,” meant to inflict retaliatory damage on targets such as London and Antwerp. Sometimes referred to as an “England Cannon,” it was an enormous chambered cannon that was built directly into a hillside and capable of firing large artillery shells across the English Channel from France to London, or other location, depending on where it’s built. The V-3 worked using a multi-charge theory in which after the initial firing of the cannon, secondary propellant charges were fired to progressively accelerate the projective as it journeyed along the barrel of the cannon. During testing in May 1944, the V-3 was able to achieve a range of up to 55 miles; subsequent tests saw shells reach a distance of 58 miles.

Only two of these V-3’s were constructed, with only the second cannon actually being utilized. From January 11, to February 22, 1945, the cannon fired 183 times in the direction of the recently liberated city of Luxembourg (in the nation of Luxembourg). The cannon ultimately proved unsuccessful. Out of the 183 shells fired, only 142 actually landed, inflicting only 10 casualties, while wounding another 35. The cannon’s counterpart, aimed at London, was never fired.