Photo above: Part of Operation Upshot-Knothole, was a 15-kiloton test fired from a 280-mm cannon on May 25, 1953 at the Nevada Proving Grounds. Frenchman's Flat, Nevada - Atomic Cannon Test, History's first atomic artillery shell fired from the Army's new 280-mm artillery gun. Hundreds of high ranking Armed Forces officers and members of Congress are present. The fireball ascending. Photo:  Federal government of the United States via Wikipedia.

"After the successful test, 20 of the atomic cannons were produced, each at a cost of $800,000 dollars. They were sent to Europe and Korea, but never saw action. Only eight now survive, including the original Atomic Annie used in the test," the Atlas Obscura reports.



"You can still see the gargantuan, 85-ton, 84-foot-long weapon at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma. A plaque attached to a commemorative rock alongside the 280 mm motorized gun and its transporters details the development of "Atomic Annie," as it's known."

Photo above: World's First Nuclear Gun. Picture taken by Mark Pellegrini, at the United States Army Ordnance Museum (Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD). Via Wikipedia.

"Atomic Annie” was the US Army’s largest artillery weapon at the time. It weighed 85 tons, but was fully mobile and manned like any other piece of artillery," the official NATO website reports.

Photo above: An M65 atomic cannon at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Photo: PlaidBaron/Wikipedia.

"The M65 atomic cannon, often called Atomic Annie, was an artillery piece built by the United States and capable of firing a nuclear device. It was developed in the early 1950s, at the beginning of the Cold War; and fielded between April 1955 and December 1962, in West Germany, South Korea and on Okinawa.

"On May 25, 1953, at 8:30 a.m., the atomic cannon was tested at the Nevada Test Site (specifically Frenchman Flat) as part of the Upshot–Knothole series of nuclear tests. The test—code named "Grable"—was attended by the Chairman-delegate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Arthur W. Radford and United States Secretary of Defense Charles Erwin Wilson; it resulted in the successful detonation of a 15 kt (63 TJ) shell (W9 warhead) at a range of 7 miles (11 km). This was the first and only nuclear shell to be fired from a cannon.

"After the successful test, at least 20 cannons were manufactured at Watervliet and Watertown Arsenals, at a cost of US$800,000 each. They were deployed overseas to Europe and Korea, and frequently shifted around to avoid being detected and targeted by opposing forces. Due to the size of the apparatus, their limited range, the development of nuclear shells compatible with existing artillery pieces (the W48 for the 155 mm and the W33 for the 203 mm), and the development of rocket- and missile-based nuclear artillery (such as the Little John and Honest John tactical nuclear missiles), the M65 was effectively obsolete soon after it was deployed. However, it remained a prestige weapon and was not retired until 1963. Of the twenty M65s produced, at least seven survive on display. Most no longer have their prime movers." (Wikipedia)

Photo above:  M65 Atomic Cannon - Las Vegas, NV May 8, 1953 - Shown is a view from the front prime mover of the 280-mm Gun. The barrel is in the position that is used when in transport. Photo: Federal Government of the United States via Wikipedia

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