Page "Supergun" Paragraph 8

For all their manufacturing quality the superguns were only moderately successful.

Their military effectiveness turned out to be out of all proportion to their overwhelming logistical demands and financial costs.

For the cost of a single supergun, two or three large bombards with a reasonably smaller caliber ( in German Hauptbüchse ) could be produced whose firepower was enough to shatter any medieval wall, in particular when it was concentrated in a battery.

Due to their less bulky dimensions and higher rate of fire, these artillery pieces could be more flexibly deployed and caused more destruction in any given length of time.

Furthermore, the transition from stone to smaller, but much more devastating iron balls meant that super-sized bores became unnecessary.

The caliber of a 50 pound ball, for example, could be reduced from 28 to 18 cm when using an iron projectile instead.