Siege artillery were heavy guns and other bombardment devices designed to bombard fortifications, cities, and other fixed targets. They were capable of firing heavy cannonballs or shells but required enormous transport and logistical support to operate. They lacked mobility and thus were rarely useful in more mobile warfare situations. They have been generally superseded by strategic bomber

Strategic bomber

A strategic bomber is a heavy bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of ordnance onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating an enemy's capacity to wage war. Unlike tactical bombers, which are used in the battle zone to attack troops and military equipment, strategic bombers are...

 aircraft and surface-to-surface missile

Surface-to-surface missile

A surface-to-surface missile is a guided projectile launched from a hand-held, vehicle mounted, trailer mounted or fixed installation or from a ship. They are often powered by a rocket motor or sometimes fired by an explosive charge, since the launching platform is typically stationary or moving...

s in modern warfare.

Muzzle-loading artillery

Caliber Caliber In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....  (mm)	Weapon name	Country of origin	Design
106	Canon lourd de 8 Gribeauval Canon lourd de 8 Gribeauval The Canon lourd de 8 Gribeauval was a French canon and part of the Gribeauval system developed by Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval...		1775
114	4.5-inch siege rifle		1862
121	Canon lourd de 12 Gribeauval Canon lourd de 12 Gribeauval The Canon lourd de 12 Gribeauval was a French canon and part of the Gribeauval system developed by Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval...		1775
134	Canon de 16 Gribeauval Canon de 16 Gribeauval The Canon de 16 Gribeauval was a French cannon and part of the Gribeauval system developed by Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval. It was part of the siege artillery....		1775
148	24-pdr M1839 rifle James rifle James rifle is a generic term to describe any artillery gun rifled to the James pattern for use in the American Civil War. Charles T. James developed a rifled projectile and rifling system. Modern authorities such as Warren Ripley and James Hazlett have suggested that the term "James rifle" only...		1839
153	Canon de 24 Gribeauval Canon de 24 Gribeauval The Canon de 24 Gribeauval was a French 24-pounder cannon and part of the Gribeauval system developed by Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval. It was part of the siege artillery....		1775
163	32-pdr M1829 rifle James rifle James rifle is a generic term to describe any artillery gun rifled to the James pattern for use in the American Civil War. Charles T. James developed a rifled projectile and rifling system. Modern authorities such as Warren Ripley and James Hazlett have suggested that the term "James rifle" only...		1829
178	42-pdr M1841 rifle James rifle James rifle is a generic term to describe any artillery gun rifled to the James pattern for use in the American Civil War. Charles T. James developed a rifled projectile and rifling system. Modern authorities such as Warren Ripley and James Hazlett have suggested that the term "James rifle" only...		1841
200	Kartouwe Kartouwe A kartouwe is a siege gun used in European warfare during the 16th and 17th centuries. The name is a corruption of Latin quartana...	Dutch Republic	16th cent.
230	Abus Gun Abus Gun The Abus gun is an early form of howitzer or more likely a bazooka created by the Ottoman empire. They were small, but often too heavy to carry, and many were equipped with a type of tripod...	Ottoman Empire	16th cent.
650	Dardanelles Gun	Ottoman Empire	1464
660	Dulle Griet Dulle Griet The Dulle Griet is a medieval supergun from Ghent, Belgium. The wrought-iron bombard was constructed in the first half of the 15th century from 32 longitudinal bars enclosed by 61 rings...	Holy Roman Empire	First half of 15th cent.
735	Faule Mette Faule Mette The Faule Mette or Faule Metze was a medieval supergun of the city of Brunswick, Germany....	Holy Roman Empire	1411
820	Pumhart von Steyr Pumhart von Steyr The Pumhart von Steyr is a medieval supergun from Styria, Austria, and the largest known wrought-iron bombard by caliber. The cannon was produced in the early 15th century and could fire, according to modern calculations, a 690 kg stone ball around 600 m, loaded with 15 kg of powder and set up at...	Austrian Empire	Early 15th cent.
890	Tsar Cannon Tsar Cannon The Tsar Cannon is a huge cannon on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin. It was cast in 1586 in Moscow, by the Russian master bronze caster Andrey Chokhov. Mostly of symbolic impact, it was never fired in war...	Tsardom of Russia Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...	1586

Breech-loading artillery

Caliber Caliber In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....  (mm)	Weapon name	Country of origin	Design
152.4	6 inch siege gun M1877 6 inch siege gun M1877 6-inch siege gun model 1877 was a Russian 152.4 mm heavy siege gun. The gun was produced by Obukhov Steel Works in Saint Petersburg. It was utilized in Russo-Japanese War, World War I, Russian Civil War and some conflicts of the early 20th century where former parts of Russian empire were...	Russian Empire	World War I
152.5	BLC 6 inch siege gun		1902 - 1915
152.4	6 inch siege gun M1904 6 inch siege gun M1904 6-inch siege gun model 1904 was a Russian 152.4 mm heavy siege gun. It was produced by Perm Works, with a total of about 200 pieces having been built....	Russian Empire	World War I
152.4	152 mm siege gun M1910 152 mm siege gun M1910 152-mm siege gun model 1910 was a heavy gun used by the Russian Army in World War I. The gun was developed by the French arms manufacturer Schneider and the first production bunch was built in France; later on the production continued in Russian Empire....	Russian Empire	World War I
210	210 mm gun M1939 (Br-17) 210 mm gun M1939 (Br-17) The 210 mm gun M1939 was a Czechoslovak heavy siege gun used by the Soviet Union during World War II. After the Germans occupied Czechoslovakia in March 1939 they took over the Škoda Works, which had been working on this design and a companion 305 mm howitzer. As a result of the...		World War II
210	Mortaio da 210/8 D.S. Mortaio da 210/8 D.S. The Mortaio da 210/8 D.S. was a siege howitzer which served with Italy during World War I and World War II. It was an old-fashioned weapon when introduced around 1900. It was mounted on a timber firing platform and lacked a recoil system of any kind. It was mounted on a De Stefano carriage which...		World War I / World War II
210	Paris Gun Paris Gun The Paris Gun was a German long-range siege gun used to bombard Paris during World War I. It was in service from March-August 1918. When it was first employed, Parisians believed they'd been bombed by a new type of high-altitude zeppelin, as neither the sound of an airplane nor a gun could be heard...	German Empire	World War I
233	BL 9.2 inch Howitzer BL 9.2 inch Howitzer The Ordnance BL 9.2 inch howitzer was the principal counter-battery equipment of British forces in France in World War I. It equipped a substantial number of siege batteries of the Royal Garrison Artillery...		World War I
240	24 cm Mörser M 98 24 cm Mörser M 98 The 24 cm Mörser M 98 was a heavy siege howitzer used by Austria-Hungary during World War I. It was designed to attack modern fortifications, but its short range and ineffective ammunition lead to the development of the more deservedly famous 30.5 cm Mörser M 11 and M 16.-History:Based on a...		pre-World War I
240	24 cm Haubitze 39 24 cm Haubitze 39 The 24 cm houfnice vz.39 was a Czechoslovak-designed siege howitzer used in the Second World War. It was kept in production after the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 and a total of eighteen was delivered to the Germans...		World War II
240	Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 The Canon de 240 L Modele 1884 started life as a coastal artillery piece for use in coastal fortifications. However the events of 1914 dictated that it would soon see action inland as heavy field artillery during World War I....		World War I / World War II
240	24 cm Kanone M. 16 24 cm Kanone M. 16 The 24 cm Kanone M. 16 was a superheavy siege gun used by Austria-Hungary during World War I and by Nazi Germany during World War II. Only two were finished during World War I, but the other six were completed in the early twenties and served with the Czechoslovak Army until they were bought by the...		World War I / World War II
240	24 cm Kanone 3 24 cm Kanone 3 The 24 cm Kanone 3 was a German heavy siege gun used in the Second World War only by the first battalion of Artillerie-Regiment 84. Only four were in service when Germany invaded Poland, assigned to the first two batteries of I./AR 84. In the Battle of France the battalion still only had 4 guns...	Nazi Germany	World War II
283	28 cm Haubitze L/12 28 cm Haubitze L/12 The 28 cm Haubitze L/12 was a German siege howitzer. It was developed by Krupp before World War I and saw service in both World War I and World War II. It may have participated in the siege of Sevastopol.-Design and description:...	German Empire	World War I World War I World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...  / World War II World War II World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
305	BL 12 inch Howitzer BL 12 inch Howitzer The Ordnance BL 12 inch howitzer was a scaled-up version of the successful 9.2 inch siege howitzer.-History:Following the success of their BL 9.2 inch Howitzer, Vickers designed an almost identical version scaled up to a calibre of 12 inch, the Mk II entering service on the Western...		World War I
305	305 mm howitzer M1915 305 mm howitzer M1915 305 mm howitzer M1915 was a Russian heavy howitzer.-See also:*List of siege artillery*BL 12 inch Howitzer British equivalent*Skoda 305 mm Model 1911 Austro-Hungarian equivalent...	Russian Empire	World War I
305	305 mm howitzer M1939 (Br-18) 305 mm howitzer M1939 (Br-18) The 305 mm howitzer M1939 was a Czech superheavy siege howitzer used by the Soviet Union during World War II. After the Germans occupied Czechoslovakia in March 1939 they took over the Skoda Works, which had been working on this design and a companion 210 mm gun. As a result of the...		World War II
305	30.5 cm M. 11 (Škoda)		World War I
305	30.5 cm M. 16 (Škoda)		World War I / World War II
380	38 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 16 38 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 16 The 38 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 16 was a superheavy siege howitzer used by Austria-Hungary during World War I.-History and Design:Two howitzers were initially ordered and both 'Barbara' and 'Gudrun', as they were nicknamed, were delivered in time to participate in the South Tyrol offensive of May...		World War I
381	BL 15 inch Howitzer BL 15 inch Howitzer The Ordnance BL 15 inch howitzer was developed by the Coventry Ordnance Works late in 1914 in response to the success of its design of the 9.2 inch siege howitzer.-History and use:...		World War I
420	42 cm Gamma Mörser 42 cm Gamma Mörser The 42 cm Gamma Mörser as it was known in World War II or, originally, the 42 cm kurze Marinekanone L/16 was a German siege howitzer. It was one in a series of super-heavy siege guns developed by Krupp before World War I, during that war the gun was used to attack the Kaunas Fortress...	German Empire	World War I / World War II
420	Big Bertha Big Bertha (Howitzer) Big Bertha Bertha") is the name of a type of super-heavy howitzer developed by the famous armaments manufacturer Krupp in Germany on the eve of World War I...	German Empire	World War I
540	Karl-Gerät 041	Nazi Germany	World War II
600	Karl-Gerät 040	Nazi Germany	World War II
800	Schwerer Gustav Schwerer Gustav Schwerer Gustav and Dora were the names of two massive World War II German 80 cm K railway siege guns. They were developed in the late 1930s by Krupp for the express purpose of destroying heavy fortifications, specifically those in the French Maginot Line...	Nazi Germany	World War II