The fate of Dora
We have the testimony of Marshall Johnson who discovered the remains of one of the guns in 1945
1945 - We ( 417th Field Artillery Group) entered the Gafenwar (Spelling?) Panzer Training grounds to establish headquarters for the American Army of occupation. I wandered out in the surrounding woods around the camp and came upon this gun. It was mounted on a series of flat cars. At the time I thought it was a complete railroad gun that had been demolished by out troops. I also thought that may be the gun was built to resemble the "Big Bertha" of World War One and never used.
Marshall Johnson - Age 86, Marengo, Il. USA
Sorry that is not more detailed. Like I stated before he remembers it being on four flat cars with the breach being on a separate car. If he remembers any further details I will pass it along to you.
On Palpatine's page there is a picture of a GI standing next to the muzzle. (g6bw.jpg) It looks like it was taken at the same place as the photos my father photos. On the outside chance, I printed out the photo to see if he might remember the guys name!
Pictures copyright Marshall Johnson
Further information
My father-in-law, LT William Schwartz, served with the 255th FA battalion during WWII. He took the photos that are attached, except for the one where he is standing in the breech. It certainly adds perspective to the actual size of the gun! The 255th FA Bn was attached to the 35th Infantry Division during this campaign. I am not sure where the photo was taken, although Brad states that it was near Grafenwohr. If you can lend any additional information, other than that on the web site, such as the approximate date, I would greatly appreciate it. I asked my wife, Mary Anne, if you could publish the photos on your site and she agreed. If you would kindly give her credit, it would be appreciated.
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