Here is the gun he used, a sweet handling 1890 James Burrows 20g side x side Hammer Gun.
The gun was given to Dad when he returned from WW2, by the parents of his best friend at school who was killed alongside him at The Battle of Remagen ,Part of Operation Lumberjack & the fierce fighting for control of the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine. Unfortunately not many now know of this bloody battle for a hugely important target ,so here is some info my Dad has passed onto us over the years that may interest some.
The bridge was of so much importance to the Germans they used everything from Rail Road Guns & its huge Karl-Gerät super-heavy mortar ,firing a 24 inch diameter 4700lb+ shell, to the then revolutionary turbojet bombers, the first of their kind & which we countered by us by putting in the largest concentration of anti-aircraft weapons at the bridge used during World War 2.
They sent over 400 planes to attack our lines & even used V2 Rockets, the first time the missiles had been used against a tactical objective and the only time they were fired on a German target. My Old Man said they would lift the guys a foot off the ground in their Fox Holes when they hit.
So many planes were attacking & being hit the old man said in the heat of battle there would be bits of burning planes falling all around them .
Happy Thanksgiving Pede! Btw those rolling green hills behind you make me long to be there...
Here is the gun he used, a sweet handling 1890 James Burrows 20g side x side Hammer Gun.
The gun was given to Dad when he returned from WW2, by the parents of his best friend at school who was killed alongside him at The Battle of Remagen ,Part of Operation Lumberjack & the fierce fighting for control of the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine. Unfortunately not many now know of this bloody battle for a hugely important target ,so here is some info my Dad has passed onto us over the years that may interest some.
The bridge was of so much importance to the Germans they used everything from Rail Road Guns & its huge Karl-Gerät super-heavy mortar ,firing a 24 inch diameter 4700lb+ shell, to the then revolutionary turbojet bombers, the first of their kind & which we countered by us by putting in the largest concentration of anti-aircraft weapons at the bridge used during World War 2.
They sent over 400 planes to attack our lines & even used V2 Rockets, the first time the missiles had been used against a tactical objective and the only time they were fired on a German target. My Old Man said they would lift the guys a foot off the ground in their Fox Holes when they hit.
So many planes were attacking & being hit the old man said in the heat of battle there would be bits of burning planes falling all around them .
https://i.imgur.com/3xZ6OtO.jpg