Corps loans 90-year-old cannon

A World War I-era cannon first fired by Marines more than 90 years ago to commemorate the opening of the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Va., was returned to the center in July, on loan for the next decade from the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

The detachment of Marines fired the seven-inch tractor-mounted behemoth Oct. 16, 1918, a Navy release said. It’s been returned to the Navy proving ground in anticipation of the facility’s 100th anniversary.

On the day the installation was founded, the Marines launched a 152-pound projectile about 24,000 yards down the Potomac River. Army observers later described the weapon as, “the heaviest and hardest hitting gun for which a mobile field mount of this kind had ever been requested by any nation or army.”

Its range — between 19,000 and 25,000 yards — was more than double that of its predecessors.

Then:

A 1918 file photo shows the first gun fired at Naval Weapons Station Dahlgren. The World War I-era 7-inch, 45-caliber tractor-mounted gun will be reconditioned and placed on display during Rear Adm. John Dahlgren\'s 200th birthday commemoration scheduled for Nov. 13. Courtesy Photo

Today:

Transportation personnel at Naval Support Facility Dahlgren prepare to off-load a World War I-era tractor-mounted artillery piece, the first gun originally test fired to mark the establishment of Dahlgren as a naval proving ground on Oct. 16, 1918. The 7-inch, 45-caliber gun will be restored by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. Courtesy Photo Date: 07.20.2009

7 inches is 177mm

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