The Second World War foreshadowed the technological revolution of war, first with the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The end of the most terrible conflict humans have ever fought and the start of a nuclear arms development age impelled by the rise of tensions occasioned by the Cold War, it marked.
Initially, atomic technology had been an American monopoly, but in 1949, the Soviet Union broke this by developing nuclear capabilities of its own. Thereafter, what appeared to be a race began: nations racing to improve their atomic arsenals and their delivery systems. Of the most daring projects birthed in that era was the M65 280mm Motorized Heavy Gun, better known as “Atomic Annie.”
The theory of nuclear artillery first evolved in 1944, but only appeared in the early 1950s. M65 was an artillery piece that could lop a 15-kiloton nuclear shell out to a maximum range of 20 miles. In design, it was much like the German K5 railway gun and was developed at the Watervliet Arsenal in New York.
On May 25, 1953, Atomic Annie was tested at the Nevada Test Site as part of Operation Upshot-Knothole. In a test named “Grable,” the M65 fired a nuclear shell detonated 524 feet above its target, exploding with an enormous force and a typical mushroom cloud. This demonstration was attended not only by senior U.S. officials but also by more than 20,000 soldiers, and to a large degree it showed its potential for destruction.
The test was such a success that 20 M65 cannons were produced, tipping the scales at 83 tons when assembled with its carriage. The cannons deployed at these locations became staples of Germany and Korea, serving as a deterrent during the early years of the Cold War. Their operational lifespan was short. By 1963, advancements in missile technology and the development of smaller, more manageable nuclear shells made the M65 obsolete.
Though Atomic Annie had a brief life of duty, her legacy through military history runs deep. The original gun firing the Grable shot is kept at the U.S. Army Artillery Museum near Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Other residual fragments can be found in museums around the United States, which further include the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum located in Maryland.
The M65 Atomic Cannon represents an artifact of ingenuity and a relic of ambitions from times when the very limits of military technology were being stretched out. It was decided not practical finally, but Atomic Annie lives on as a cultural icon for the nuclear age and the relentless quest for military superiority.