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Anzio Annie makes her way to Fort Lee
By F.m. Wiggins (Staff Writer)
Published: December 20, 2010





FORT LEE - The newest arrival to Fort Lee is a little older than most of the transplants to the post.

At 70, Annie may not be very pretty. She's a little hard and isn't even really a she - or a person, for that matter.

Annie is in fact Leopold, a Krupp K-5 railway gun that was nicknamed "Anzio Annie" by U.S. soldiers during the invasion of Anzio, Italy.

"It's one of 25 that were made by Krupp Manufacturing during and before World War II," said Chris Semantik, director of the Army Ordnance Museum. The museum is currently located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. but is on its way to Fort Lee as part of the move of the Ordnance School and Corps.

Semantik said that "Anzio Annie" is actually constructed from pieces of two Krupp K-5s that were used by the German Army in defense of the Anzio beachhead.

"It's one of the largest artifacts we have preserved in our collection," Semantik said.

The majority of the gun is currently in place on Fort Lee. However, the heaviest component and perhaps the most feared component - the barrel - is still on its way. The two 12-wheel bogies and gondola of the gun are already on post. They were transported by truck to Fort Lee. The massive barrel will be transported by rail because it is too heavy to be moved by truck.

The barrel itself is nearly half the weight of the K-5 at 110 tons. The entire artillery piece weighs in at 218 tons.

The shells fired by the weapon weighed 500 pounds each and could be launched 11 miles away.

When the barrel will arrive though is not known. Semantik said that a special railroad car in Ohio owned by Norfolk Southern Railroad will carry the barrel to Fort Lee.

This will be the first time the gun has made a long-distance journey since being taken from Europe to Hoboken, N.J., before finally making its way to Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Semantik said that after being abandoned by the Germans in Anzio, two K-5s were discovered, Leopold and Robert. They were captured and transported to Naples before they were brought to the United States by ship and taken to Aberdeen Proving Ground for testing and intelligence.

Some of the lessons learned from Anzio Annie were carried over into Army weapons, including the atomic cannon.

"It was loosely based on Anzio Annie, but in the post-war environment it was noted that the artillery piece had some great pitfalls in that the sweep of the gun was limited," Semantik said. "We learned from those limitations."

The Krupp K-5 is one of the Ordnance Museum's most visited and most famous pieces. It is also one of only two remaining examples of the weapon worldwide. Of the 28 made before and during the war, only Anzio Annie and a second example in France remain.

Semantik said that eventually, in order to preserve the piece, it will be stored inside in a climate controlled storage facility.

Semantik said that eventually, in order to preserve the piece, it will be stored inside in a climate controlled storage facility.

note that it doesn't say museum or open to the public

piney,
"storage facility" is code for a museum... Supposedly, there's some sort of legal requirement that the government cant use a certain type of funds to build a "museum" - although they can use it to create a "climate-controlled artifact storage facility" (aka a museum).

That being said, the FY11 Military Construction request says "Museum Operations Support Bldg," so I dont quite understand what all the fuss is about avoiding the term "museum" - but I have heard the "museum"/"storage facility" wink-wink kabuki dance from a number of sources...

Additionally, the latest maps I have seen place said "storage facility" right at where the Fort Lee main gate is currently

Neil

...try 'Institutional Instructional Support Facility with artifact storage"..... and use your secret decoder ring(!?)

Don

- Dontos

...try 'Institutional Instructional Support Facility with artifact storage"..... and use your secret decoder ring(!?)

Don

wouldn't it be "Support Facility, Institutional Instruction"

- ShermanWasRight

- Dontos

...try 'Institutional Instructional Support Facility with artifact storage"..... and use your secret decoder ring(!?)

Don

wouldn't it be "Support Facility, Institutional Instruction"

"Support Facility, Institutional Instruction, 1 ea., masonry, w/secured entry doors"

Here's a K5e transitting through Bulgaria.

From www.lostbulgaria.com

I was wondering if any of you had any information on “Leopold’s” (aka. Anzio Annie) or “Robert’s” (aka. Anzio Express), first US move from New York to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in 1944.

Leopold arrived in Taranto some months later and, by means of a crane and a barge, was loaded on to the liberty ship, Robert A Livingstone. On 6 July 1944, she docked in New York and, in September the same year, Leopold arrived at Aberdeen Artillery Proving Ground, where, today, it remains on permanent display.

samilitaryhistory.org/vol133lw.html

If I can find photos of this move and/or sufficient information on this move, I’m planning to attempt to transform my Hasegawa 1/72 K5(E) into a functional model of one of these prototypes on my 1:64 scale railroad.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give me in this matter…