A fine model of the German Leopold railway gun used and captured by Allied forces in Italy. Highly detailed the gun barrel and mechanism can be poised between fully lowered (travelling/loading position) to near vertical. A crew of six men and an ammunition trolley are supplied, all contained within a display case with railway track base.

At 280mm (11in) the German railway gun 'Leopold' was the largest weapon used against Allied troops during the Anzio beach landing in Italy and the only surviving German WW2 railway gun. Crewed by between 15 and 25 men the 70.8 feet long barrel, weighing 187,880lbs, could fire projectiles up to 550lbs to maximum range of 54,680 yards. The gun carriage of 69.8 feet is mounted on two railway trucks, 95.7 feet long and 8.85 feet wide. Initially the gun travelled with a turntable car which enabled a 360 degree traverse to be obtained.

A degree of mystery surrounded the gun, despite repeated air attacks and naval bombardment of its known area of deployment the gun would not be silenced. It was hard to imagine that a weapon capable of firing 550-pound shells could be concealed, but it wasn't until Allied forces broke out of the beachead, driving the Germans from the guns position that the concealment was discovered. Unable to remove the gun due to the destruction by bombing of the Italian raiway network the Germans were forced to abandon 'Leopold' and its twin 'Robert'. Mounted on railway carriage trucks the guns had been drawn into mountain tunnels when not firing, keeping them out of the sight of Allied reconnaissance. Both guns had been extensively damaged, however Allied forces salvaged 'Leopold' after reconstruction of the Italian railway system permitted the gun to be moved to Naples and finally shiped to the USA. 'Leopold' is currently on display at the US Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground (Maryland USA).