Tsar cannon: history, creation, description, legends. Huge tsar cannon of a small tsar Tsar cannon who

Story: The famous Tsar Cannon, which is an integral part of the exhibition exposition of the Moscow Kremlin, was created in 1586. It was cast at the Cannon Yard by the famous master Andrei Chokhov on the orders of Fyodor Ivanovich, the Tsar of the Russian State. History has preserved the name of the creator of the unusual gigantic cannon, since it was engraved on the massive barrel, as was the year of its casting. The appearance of such an unusual foundry was the result of centuries of improvement in the technology of casting reliable and powerful guns.

Over the four-year history, the Tsar Cannon has changed its location more than once. At first, it was located on the territory of the Cannon Yard, and only in the 18th century it was moved with great difficulty to the Moscow Kremlin. And even here, the masterpiece of the foundry was at first located in the courtyard near the Reserve building, and then this landmark was moved to the main gate and installed on a gun carriage.

Four large cannonballs were placed at the foot of the massive cannon, and each of them weighed almost a ton. The cores for this masterpiece were specially cast in St. Petersburg in 1834 at the famous Byrd foundry. The last time the masterpiece of the foundry changed its location in 1960, when the Tool was being built, it was carefully transferred to Ivanovskaya Square and installed next to the temple where it still flaunts today.

The massive Tsar Cannon was never used as powerful weapon, since it is simply impossible to shoot from a huge cast-iron gun carriage. If you try to shoot a bomb from a large barrel, or it can simply blow it apart, and the gunners who are nearby will die. And the documents relating to the testing of the gun have not survived to this day, so scientists are still arguing about its main purpose. Until the 20th century, many military historians believed that the gun could fire shot consisting of small stones.

But most researchers are convinced that the foundry masterpiece was created for the sole purpose of frightening the ambassadors of foreign states, and in particular the envoys of the Crimean Khan. The secret of the gun was revealed in 1980 at the time of a scheduled repair, when the craftsmen explored the internal channels. It turned out that this product is neither a gun nor a shotgun, but was created as a bombard, so no slope was required for its barrel.

Peculiarities: The grandiose Tsar Cannon in Moscow is a huge cannon 5.34 meters long, with a barrel diameter of 120 centimeters on the outside and a caliber of 890 millimeters. Only high-quality bronze was used to cast the massive gun, and the surface of the barrel is beautifully decorated with all sorts of figured friezes, unusual inscriptions and ornamental belts. The breech and muzzle cutoffs of the barrel protrude slightly above the surface of the decorative belt, for the design of which the creator of the gun used unique figured attachments.

The central part of the huge barrel of the grandiose weapon is divided into separate parts by flat and ornamental relief friezes. On the side you can see cast brackets designed to fully strengthen the ropes at the time of moving the gun. Above the front right bracket there is an inscription glorifying Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich. And the seed hole is located directly in the barrel, near the large rear belt. The huge Tsar Cannon weighs almost forty tons, so moving it from its place is an impossible task even for Russian heroes.

Now the Tsar Cannon and the Tsar Bell are the most unusual sights of Moscow, attracting the attention of visitors to the Moscow Kremlin.

As soon as they call the Tsar Cannon: the first among guns in caliber, a masterpiece of foundry art, pride artillery collection, a symbol of Russian power. Even one of these epithets is enough to attract the attention of tourists to it. The caliber of the miracle gun is 890 millimeters, and this figure is really the largest of all known world analogues.

The Tsar Cannon - both as a tool, and as an open-air museum exhibit, and as a visiting card of Belokamennaya among other historical monuments - is very original. On the one hand, it is an example of the largest medieval tool, and on the other hand, it is the clearest example of "gigantism" of the 19th century. The origin of the name of the original attraction, which scientists have not yet figured out, is also intriguing. Some suggest that it is due to the fact that one of the Russian autocrats is depicted on the cannon. Others believe that the name is due to the exceptionally impressive size of this weapon.

Be that as it may, there are few foreign tourists who, having arrived in Moscow, would not want to look at this miracle of props. In addition to the fact that the Tsar Cannon is the largest-caliber gun in the world, it is 5.34 meters long and weighs about 40 tons. These indicators were enough to include the majestic Moscow beauty in the Guinness Book of Records. And after that, how can you pass by such a unique attraction, not touch it with your own hands and not take a picture against its background?

History of the Tsar Cannon

In 1586, alarming news spread throughout Moscow that the Crimean Khan Islyam II Gerai was moving into the city with his horde, so it was necessary to create a weapon for the defense of the Kremlin, and this task was entrusted to the Russian master Andrei Chokhov. In the same year, a huge cannon was cast in the cannon yard. It was installed right on Red Square, near the so-called Execution Ground. As a base, a log peal (flooring) was used. Before that, 200 horses had to be used, which dragged the gun along the logs, 4 brackets were provided on each side for attaching ropes. After some time, the log flooring was replaced with stone.

The Polish hussar Samuil Matskevich recalled on this occasion that “in the Russian capital there is a huge gun so big” that the soldiers of the Commonwealth during the rain can hide “inside it”.

Meanwhile, the Crimean Khan did not reach Moscow, so no one had a chance to see how the unique gun fired. In the 18th century, the cannon was moved to the Moscow Kremlin, and since then it has been located there, in the very heart of the capital. First, the gun was placed in the courtyard of the Arsenal, built by Peter I as a Zeikhgauz - a repository for old and captured weapons. Subsequently, the Tsar Cannon "guarded" the main gates of the Arsenal.

In 1835, along with other century-old tools, it was placed along the Armory. It was erected on a new cast-iron carriage, made according to the sketches of Academician A.P. Bryullov. In the 60s of the last century, the Tsar Cannon celebrated another "housewarming": it was placed in the place where it is still located.

Despite the surviving evidence that the sovereign Fedor I Ioannovich gave the order to make such a large weapon to meet the troops of the Crimean Khan, many researchers believe that in fact the Tsar Cannon was only supposed to make a "frightening" impression on foreigners with its impressive appearance. Writer Albert Valentinov, for example, claimed that the master himself, Andrei Chokhov, initially knew that his huge clumsy offspring would not shoot. Even if we assume, the writer reasoned further, that the huge amount of gunpowder that is necessary to push out a two-ton cannonball will not blow the barrel to smithereens, it is simply impossible to imagine the Tsar Cannon in battle. After all, because of this heavy weight dragging from one position to another would be an almost insoluble problem. Valentinov also claimed that the caster set himself, first of all, the goal of showing the capabilities of the Russian arms industry, and the cannon itself was supposed to become a symbol of Russia's power in the face of possible enemies. Chokhov's logic, in his opinion, was simple and should have convinced all foreigners: if Russian craftsmen could create such a large cannon, they could do it even more with smaller weapons.

The opinion of the writer echoes the assessments of many highly specialized gunsmiths. So, one of them, Alexander Shirokorad, in his work “Miracle Weapon Russian Empire” claims that at a cost of cost, instead of this gun, two dozen small-sized shotguns could be made, which would take only 1-2 minutes to load. While it would take a whole day to load our mighty beauty. Shirokorad, in this regard, asks a rhetorical question, a quote: “What place did our military think, who wrote the Tsar Cannon into shotguns? ..”

It would seem that the assessments of specialists, supported by simple logic and iron arguments, should have put an end to the discussion about whether the mission of this weapon was military or, conversely, only propaganda? However, subsequent studies did not confirm the version that the Tsar Cannon was cast only to frighten foreigners with its awesome appearance. As it turned out, it really belongs to the bombard type - large-caliber siege weapons with a slight extension of the barrel, designed to fire 800-kilogram stone cannonballs.

When the Germans advanced near Moscow in 1941, they seriously planned to use the Tsar Cannon to protect the capital from the enemy.

In 1980, the gun was sent for repairs to Serpukhov. At the same time, specialists from the Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy examined it. They confirmed that the structure of the trunk clearly indicates that it is classic bombarda, designed for firing with stone cores, that is, "shot". They classified it as a mounted fire weapon, which did not need to be transported from place to place - such weapons were simply dug into the ground.

Other researchers have no doubt that the Tsar Cannon was fired at least once, but still fired. Others object: tides of bronze remained in the barrel chamber, which should not have been there after firing. The latter reinforce their position by the fact that the gun does not have an ignition hole, and this circumstance makes firing from it a priori impossible.

What does the Tsar Cannon look like?

Regardless of whether the Tsar Cannon could have been used to defend the Kremlin or whether it had a completely “decorative” purpose, it had and still has a ceremonial and majestic appearance. Cast in bronze, the beautiful cannon solemnly, even somewhat proudly, rises on a cast-iron carriage, which is almost two centuries old. Next to it are cannonballs cast back in 1834 from the same material, each of which weighs 1.97 tons. Of course, the gun cannot shoot such nuclei.

Once on the right side of the Tsar Cannon, you will see the image of the sovereign-autocrat Fyodor I Ioannovich, also known by the name of Theodore the Blessed, sitting on a horse. He has a crown on his head and a scepter in his hands. Those who are not very familiar with history will be able to read next to who exactly is depicted here.

It is believed, and we said about this at the very beginning, that the gun got its name - the Tsar Cannon - thanks to this image. After all, Fedor Ivanovich was not only the Grand Duke of Moscow, but also the king of all Russia. However, on this score, as well as on other points related to the history of the attraction, there is an alternative opinion: the gun got its name due to its dimensions, which really make it the “king” among all ordinary guns.

Now he has moved to the opposite side of the trunk, which faces another famous landmark - the Tsar Bell. On it we can see the inscription that the cannon was cast in "the most famous royal city of Moscow in the summer of 7094 in the third year of his state", and that the cannon was cast by "cannon maker Ondrey Chokhov". But why is such a year indicated, which evokes associations with the Byzantine chronology, which, in turn, goes back to the Old Testament? The fact is that in the 16th century the chronology in Russia, as in Byzantium, was conducted from the "creation of the world." Counting the years from the Nativity of Christ, as we are used to today, began in Russia at the end of the 17th century, at the direction of Peter the Great.

And, of course, we will not ignore the barrel of the gun, decorated with beautiful ornaments. About the gun carriage, which was cast according to the drawings of Peter Jan de Wiet, let's say separately. The casters covered this 15-ton structure with a very original weave of plants, among which there is an image of a lion fighting a snake, which has symbolic meaning. According to the general opinion, the king of beasts was placed here not by chance, but in order to emphasize the special status of the Tsar Cannon. The "plant" theme is continued on the spokes of large wheels, which are made in the form of intertwining leaves.

A legend has survived to this day, according to which the Tsar Cannon still fired. And this happened only once, under False Dmitry I. When this self-proclaimed ruler was exposed, he tried to hastily leave the capital. On the way he was overtaken by an armed detachment. The soldiers brutally killed the impostor, but after the body was buried, the next day he was ... found near the almshouse. There was no limit to the surprise of the Muscovites, but the corpse should not be left unburied. For the second time, it was buried in another place, to an even greater depth. But when the body of False Dmitry appeared again, people were seriously worried. There was a rumor that even the earth would not accept an impostor. And it was decided to burn the body, after which gunpowder was mixed into the ashes and fired from the Tsar Cannon in the direction of the Commonwealth, from where, in fact, False Dmitry came. Of course, this is only a legend, but who knows - suddenly something like this happened? After all, it is not in vain that people say that there is no smoke without fire.

And further interesting fact. It turns out that in the place where the Tsar Cannon majestically "poses" in front of visitors, there used to be an ordinary tavern, in which the most diverse people liked to pass a glass or two.

Tsar cannon and its copies

One of the most famous copies legendary weapon located in Donetsk. For the capital of Donbass, it was cast specially by order of the Moscow government at the Izhstal OJSC enterprise (Udmurtia). In terms of mass, the “clone” even surpasses the original, it weighs 42 tons, of which a total of 3 tons falls on both wheels. The weight of the core is 1.2 tons, and the diameter of the trunk is 89 cm.

The Donetsk Tsar Cannon, cast iron, unlike the Moscow one, was installed in front of the city hall in May 2001. In order to get closer appearance to the original, the barrel was covered with a special paint imitating medieval bronze. The production of the duplicate took almost three months, being divided into two stages. First, a casting mold was made, and then it was filled with cast iron. All artistic elements, and there are 24 of them (the head of a lion, patterns on the trunk, the image of Tsar Fedor and many others) were made by Donetsk cabinetmakers Vitaly Antonenko and Mikhail Berezovsky.

Another one famous copy Tsar Cannon is located in the capital of the Republic of Mari El, Yoshkar-Ola. It is installed at the entrance to the National Art Gallery, which is on Obolensky-Nogotkov Square. The Mari copy was specially cast at the shipbuilding and ship repair plant named after S. N. Butyakov.

No less famous is the Perm model of the Tsar Cannon. She is the youngest of all, she was made in the Motovilikha iron-cannon factory back in 1868, and in full size. Unlike " older sister"In Moscow, the Perm 20-inch model has successfully passed, as they say, a battle test. During testing, 314 shots were fired from it, and not only with ordinary nuclei, but also with bombs of various systems.

During the World Exhibition of 1873 in Vienna, the Perm cannon was installed in front of the Russian pavilion. After the exhibition, she was to be transported to Kronstadt, and a special carriage was even made for her. It was planned that the gun would serve for the defense of St. Petersburg from the sea. However, this giant was returned back to Perm. The fact is that by that time it was technically outdated. It was replaced by lighter guns made of high-strength cannon steel, the production technology of which was developed by the Zlatoust engineer-inventor Pavel Matveyevich Obukhov, who opened a plant in the city on the Neva. The Permian Tsar Cannon, like the Moscow one, was preserved as a monument.

How to get there

The Tsar Cannon is one of the most famous sights of Moscow, located in the heart of the city, so it is very easy to find it.

Using the metro, you get to the Alexandrovsky Sad station and go directly to this park, located on the northwestern side of the Kremlin walls. Here, at the subway station, there are ticket offices to the Kremlin. Having bought a ticket, go up to the Kutafya tower and, after crossing the bridge and passing the Trinity Tower, you will find yourself directly on the territory of the Kremlin.

Then go in the direction of Senate Square and turn right, after which you reach the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, next to which there is a unique, silent in its grandeur ancient weapon - Her Majesty the Tsar Cannon.

Everyone knows where the Tsar Cannon, one of the largest historical and cultural treasures of Russia, is located - outside the walls of the Moscow Kremlin, where hundreds of tourists come every day to see this amazing masterpiece of engineering art. By the way, the grandiosity of the scale of Russian masters was also appreciated by the international community, so this exhibit is included in the Guinness Book of Records.

Tsar Cannon: the history of the creation of a unique masterpiece

famous historical fact is that the Tsar Cannon, whose history began in a difficult time for Russia, was cast in 1586, when a horde of conquerors headed by the Crimean Khan was moving towards Moscow. The answer to the question of who cast the Tsar Cannon is also known to historians - the author of the project is the craftsman Andrey Chokhov, who decided to create an instrument of unprecedented size, which was supposed not only to frighten the Tatars, but also to protect Moscow from the horde of conquerors.

At first, the cannon was deployed on a hill from which it could protect the bridge over the Spassky Gates and the Moscow River. But since the horde was stopped earlier, the Muscovites were never able to see the cannon, called the Tsar Cannon for its dimensions unprecedented before the village, “in work”.

Here the gun stood until the end of the 17th century, and then it was moved to the walls of the Kremlin, where the gun towered until the beginning of the 18th century. But this site was chosen by Peter I, who started the construction of the Arsenal building (then it was called the Zeikhgauz). And the Tsar Cannon, as a vivid example of a Russian gun, was first installed in its courtyard, and then moved to the main gate, so that at a glance at it, visitors would think about the power of Russian artillery weapons.

The first modernization of the Tsar Cannon took place in 1835. The gun has long been turned into an exhibit, so it was installed on a new cast-iron carriage, the author of which was Academician A.P. Bryullov, and moved to the Armory. Here it stood until 1950, because that year, on the orders of V.I. Stalin, the construction of the Kremlin Palace of Congresses began, so the Armory was demolished, and the cannon was moved back to the Arsenal.

Today, the Tsar Cannon proudly stands on Ivanovskaya Square, having survived a comprehensive restoration (1980) during this time.

Tsar Cannon: "pearl" of the collection of artillery weapons

Today, the Tsar Cannon and the Tsar Kolokol are excellent examples of Russian bronze casting, but besides this, the cannon can be proudly called the pearl of the collection of Russian artillery weapons. And this is not surprising, because the dimensions of this weapon are really grandiose, especially by the standards of the 16th century:

• length - 5 meters;
• weight - almost 40 tons;
• stem diameter - 1.2 meters;
• caliber - 890 mm.

Made of high-quality bronze and the best cast iron (the carriage and cannonballs lying nearby are cast from it), the cannon glorifies the Russian prince Fyodor Ioannovich, who is depicted on the right side of the cannon in the form of an equestrian rider with a scepter and a crown. The image is equipped with an explanatory inscription, stating that this horseman is Fedor Ioannovich, the Grand Duke and Sovereign-Autocrat of Russia.

By the way, many modern historians are inclined to believe that it was not the gigantic dimensions, but it was this picture that gave the gun such a sonorous title, because in the historical annals there are records indicating that it was often called the “Shotgun”.

On the other hand, there is an inscription stating that the creator of the gun is "Ondrej Chokhov", and its barrel is decorated with a magnificent decorative pattern.

The base is also unique in its kind - the casters depicted on it a lion, which is a symbol of unlimited power, fighting a snake, and covered the base with an amazing floral ornament. The authors of the project made the wheels no less original, decorating them with knitting needles from intertwining leaves.

Tsar Cannon and its secrets

Cannons were actively used in the Middle Ages, but looking at the Tsar Cannon and the cannonballs lying near it, you involuntarily doubt the possibility of using it as a weapon. We note right away that the cores are really a decorative element. As for the cannon itself, experts are sure that it is hardly possible to shoot from it, since according to all the laws of physics it should have been torn apart after the first released core (by the way, no tests of the weapon or evidence of its participation in battles were officially recorded anywhere) .

One of the hidden secrets of the unique Tsar Cannon was partially revealed only in 1980, during the restoration in Serpukhovo. Outstanding scientists studied it for several months, but the final report prepared by them, unfortunately, was not published, remaining under the heading "Top Secret". But the records in the drafts that have survived to this day allow us to make an unambiguous conclusion that this unique weapon is not a cannon, but a real bombard for firing stone cannonballs (this is evidenced by the measurements of the barrel and its flat bottom).

By the way, the remains of gunpowder were found in the channel, which could indicate that the gun still fired, but the absence of scratches in the barrel, which leave stone balls, refute this version.

So, we can say that the Tsar Cannon reliably keeps its secrets, which even modern scientists cannot reveal.

Tsar Cannon: The Legend of the Cannon and False Dmitry

There is one very old Moscow legend, which says that the Tsar Cannon was loaded once and even fired. Such an extraordinary event happened almost immediately after the exposed False Dmitry tried to escape. He was caught up, brutally killed and buried, but after burial, the impostor's body was found near the cemetery. It was buried again, but in some incomprehensible way it ended up in another cemetery. The Muscovites began to whisper that the body of a traitor who encroached on the royal power, and the land does not want to accept, and then they decided to burn it. The remaining ashes were then mixed with gunpowder and fired with this “shell” in the direction of Poland, where False Dmitry was from, from the Tsar Cannon.

Of course, this is just a legend, so let's not disturb the past, but enjoy the present, admiring this magnificent masterpiece and being proud of the skill of Russian craftsmen!

Address: Russia, Moscow, Moscow Kremlin
Date of creation: 1586
Characteristics: length - 5.34 m, barrel diameter - 120 cm, caliber - 890 mm, weight - 39.31 tons
Coordinates: 55°45"05.2"N 37°37"04.8"E

The Tsar Cannon is considered one of the main attractions of the Kremlin in Moscow. This is the greatest monument of Russian artillery. There are few foreign tourists who left Moscow without looking at the cannon.

Being the largest caliber gun in the world, the Tsar Cannon is in the Guinness Book of Records.

History of the Tsar Cannon

In 1586, alarming news came to Moscow: the Crimean Khan was moving towards the city with his horde. In this regard, the Russian master Andrey Chokhov cast a huge gun that fired stone buckshot and was intended to protect the Kremlin. Initially, the gun was installed on a hill to protect the bridge across the Moscow River and the defense of the Spassky Gate.

However, the khan did not reach Moscow, so the townspeople did not see how the gun, called the tsar cannon for its size, beats. In the XVIII century. the cannon was moved to the Moscow Kremlin, and since then it has not left its limits. In that place, the tsar-cannon stood until the beginning of the 18th century, until Peter I conceived the construction of the Zeikhgauz (Arsenal of the Moscow Kremlin), organizing a weapons storage for ancient and trophy exhibits in it.

First, the gun was placed in the courtyard of the Arsenal, and then it guarded its main gate. In 1835, the gun was erected on a new cast-iron carriage, made according to the sketches of Academician Bryullov A.P.. The Tsar Cannon, along with other ancient guns, was placed along the Armory. In 1960, the construction of the Kremlin Palace began. The old building of the Armory was demolished and the gun was again delivered to the Arsenal.

Closer to 1980, the Tsar Cannon, along with the gun carriage and cannonballs, was taken out for a planned restoration. They were returned to their original place in 1980.

Today, the gun can be viewed on Ivanovskaya Square. Nearby is the bell tower of Ivan the Great and the Church of the Twelve Apostles.

Pride of the Artillery Collection

The Tsar Cannon is located on a cast-iron carriage, which performs a decorative function. The cannon itself was cast in bronze. Nearby are decorative cast iron cores. On the right side of the cannon, Fyodor Ivanovich is depicted on horseback. The prince has a crown on his head, and he holds a scepter in his hands. Next to the image it is written that this is the Grand Duke Fedor Ivanovich, who is the Sovereign Autocrat of Great Russia. It is believed that the cannon could have received its name due to the image of the prince. In addition to the Tsar Cannon, you can find another name - "Russian Shotgun". This name is due to the fact that the gun was cast specifically for firing shots, the so-called buckshot.

On the left side of the cannon it is written that its author is "Litecs Ondrey Chokhov". The gun barrel is decorated with beautiful ornaments. The gun carriage deserves special attention. To highlight the high status tools, casters depicted the king of animals - a lion. The gun carriage is covered with an extraordinary weave of plants, among which is the symbolic image of a lion fighting a snake. The spokes of the large wheels are made in the form of intertwining leaves.

The gun is striking in its size:

• Length - 500 cm;
• Barrel diameter - 120cm;
• Caliber - 890 mm;
• Weight - almost 40 tons.

The force of 200 horses was used to move the cannon. According to some experts, this huge gun never fired. And it was made solely in order to only scare strangers, in particular the Crimean Khan.

The Secret of the Tsar Cannon

This is a fairly strong artillery piece of the Middle Ages. However, looking at it and at the cannonballs located nearby, it becomes clear that it is simply impossible to shoot from such a weapon. So what is this weapon on display: props or not? It should be said right away that 4 cast-iron cores, folded in a pyramid near the foot of the cannon, perform a purely decorative function. Inside they are hollow, the weight of one such core is 1970 kg, and the weight of a stone one is 0.819 tons. It is physically impossible to shoot from such a carriage and use cast-iron cores, since the gun would most likely be torn apart. In addition, no documents have been preserved about any tests of the Tsar Cannon and battles with its participation. Therefore, today there are many contradictions around the purpose of the tool.

Until the 20th century, many military men and historians believed that this was a shotgun, that is, a weapon for buckshot, which at that time consisted of small stones. In 1930, the Bolsheviks decided to call the shotgun a cannon. They did this to increase the "rank" of the gun, for the purpose of propaganda.

The secret of this exhibit was revealed only in 1980, when it needed to be restored.

The gun was removed from the carriage and placed on a large trailer using a large truck crane. Then the weapon was taken to Serpukhov, where it was restored. Simultaneously with the repair work, specialists from the Artillery Academy examined the exhibit, made appropriate measurements, but no one saw the report. However, the surviving drafts allow us to conclude that the Tsar Cannon is not a cannon at all.

The secret of the weapon lies in its design. At the very beginning, the diameter of the channel into which the projectile is placed is 90 cm, and at the end it is 82 cm. At a distance of 31.9 cm, the channel is cone-shaped. Next is the charging chamber. The diameter at the beginning is 44.7 cm and at the end 46.7 cm. The length of such a chamber is 173 cm. The flat bottom is characteristic. In this regard, it was stated that the Tsar Cannon is an ordinary bombard, which involves firing with stone cannonballs. A gun is usually called a gun with a barrel length of more than 40 calibers. And this gun has a length of only four calibers, the same as the bombard. As a shotgun, such a weapon is extremely inefficient.

Bombards are large-sized wall-beating weapons that destroy the fortress wall. The carriage was not used for them, since the barrel was simply buried in the ground, and two trenches were dug nearby for artillery crews, since such guns often burst. The rate of fire of such weapons is up to 6 shots per day.

When examining the canal of the gun, particles of gunpowder were found. This suggests that the gun fired at least once. Of course, this could have been a trial, so to speak, test shot, since the gun did not leave Moscow. And who in the city limits could be shot from it? Another refutation of the use of the tool is the absence of any traces in the barrel, including longitudinal scratches left by stone cannonballs.

The legend of the Tsar Cannon and the impostor False Dmitry

According to legend, the Tsar Cannon, nevertheless, fired. It happened once. After the impostor False Dmitry was exposed, he tried to escape from Moscow. But on the way he was brutally killed by an armed detachment. The next day after the burial, the corpse was found near the almshouse. He was buried even deeper, but after a while, the body reappeared, but in a different cemetery.

The Tsar Cannon has long been one of the symbols of Russia. Almost no foreign tourist leaves Moscow without seeing the miracle of our technology. She entered dozens of jokes, which featured the Tsar Cannon that never fired, the Tsar Bell that never rang, and some other non-working miracle Yudo like the N-3 lunar rocket.

Alexander Shirokorad

In line with the Tsar Cannon, the poet Alexander Roslavlev even put the famous monument to Alexander III by Trubetskoy:

Third wild toy

For Russian serf:

There was a tsar-bell, a tsar-cannon,

And now the king...

But, alas, our venerable historians and dissident jokers are wrong all around. Firstly, the Tsar Cannon fired, and secondly, this gun is not a cannon at all.

But I'll start in order. The Tsar Cannon was cast by the famous Russian master Andrei Chokhov (until 1917 he was listed as Chekhov) on the orders of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. A giant gun weighing 2,400 pounds (39,312 kg) was cast in 1586 at the Moscow Cannon Yard. The length of the Tsar Cannon is 5345 mm, the outer diameter of the barrel is 1210 mm, and the diameter of the thickening at the muzzle is 1350 mm.

Currently, the Tsar Cannon is on a decorative cast-iron carriage, and nearby are decorative cast-iron cannonballs, which were cast in 1834 in St. Petersburg at Byrd's iron foundry. It is clear that it is physically impossible to shoot from this cast-iron carriage or use cast-iron cannonballs - the Tsar Cannon will be blown to smithereens! Documents about the testing of the Tsar Cannon or its use in combat conditions have not been preserved, which gave rise to lengthy disputes about its purpose. Most historians and military men in the 19th and early 20th centuries believed that the Tsar Cannon was a shotgun, that is, a weapon designed to shoot shot, which in the 16th-17th centuries. /bm9icg===>ekah consisted of small stones. A minority of specialists generally exclude the possibility combat use guns, believing that it was made specifically to frighten foreigners, especially the ambassadors of the Crimean Tatars. Recall that in 1571 Khan Devlet Giray burned down Moscow.

In the XVIII - early XX centuries, the Tsar Cannon was called a shotgun in all official documents. And only the Bolsheviks in the 1930s decided to raise her rank for propaganda purposes and began to call her a cannon.

The secret of the Tsar Cannon was revealed only in 1980, when a large automobile crane removed it from the carriage and placed it on a huge trailer. Then the powerful KrAZ took the Tsar Cannon to Serpukhov, where the cannon was repaired at military unit No. 42708. At the same time, a number of specialists from the Artillery Academy. Dzerzhinsky made her inspection and measurement. For some reason, the report was not published, but from the surviving draft materials it becomes clear that the Tsar Cannon ... was not a cannon!

The highlight of the gun is its channel. At a distance of 3190 mm, it has the form of a cone, the initial diameter of which is 900 mm, and the final diameter is 825 mm. Then comes the charging chamber with a reverse taper - with an initial diameter of 447 mm and a final (at the breech) 467 mm. The length of the chamber is 1730 mm, and the bottom is flat.

So this is a classic bombard!

Bombards first appeared at the end of the 14th century. The name "bombard" comes from the Latin words bombus (thunder sound) and arder (burn). The first bombards were made of iron and had screw-on chambers. So, for example, in 1382 in the city of Ghent (Belgium) the bombard "Mad Margaret" was made, named so in memory of the Countess of Flanders Margaret the Cruel. Bombard caliber - 559 mm, barrel length - 7.75 caliber (klb), and channel length - 5 klb. The weight of the gun is 11 tons. The Mad Margarita fired stone cannonballs weighing 320 kg. The bombarda consists of two layers: the inner layer consisting of longitudinal strips welded together, and the outer one consisting of 41 iron hoops welded together and with the inner layer. A separate screw chamber consists of a single layer of discs welded together and is equipped with sockets where the lever was inserted when it was screwed in and out.

It took about a day to load and aim large bombards. Therefore, during the siege of the city of Pisa in 1370, whenever the besiegers prepared to fire, the besieged went to the opposite end of the city. The besiegers, taking advantage of this, rushed to the attack.

The charge of the bombard was no more than 10% of the weight of the core. There were no trunnions and carriages. The guns were stacked on wooden decks and log cabins, and piles were driven in behind or brick walls were erected to stop. Initially, the elevation angle did not change. In the 15th century, primitive lifting mechanisms began to be used and bombards were cast from copper.

Let's pay attention - the Tsar Cannon does not have trunnions, with the help of which the gun is given an elevation angle. In addition, she has an absolutely smooth rear section of the breech, with which she, like other bombards, rested against a stone wall or log cabin.

Protector of the Dardanelles

By the middle of the 15th century, the Turkish Sultan had the most powerful siege artillery. So, during the siege of Constantinople in 1453, the Hungarian foundry worker Urban cast for the Turks a copper bombard with a caliber of 24 inches (610 mm), which fired stone balls weighing about 20 pounds (328 kg). It took 60 bulls and 100 men to transport it to the position. To eliminate the rollback, the Turks built a stone wall behind the gun. The rate of fire of this bombard was 4 shots per day. By the way, the rate of fire of large-caliber Western European bombards was about the same order. Just before the capture of Constantinople, a 24-inch bombard exploded. At the same time, its designer Urban himself died. The Turks appreciated the large-caliber bombards. Already in 1480, during the fighting on the island of Rhodes, they used bombards of 24-35-inch caliber (610-890 mm). The casting of such giant bombards required, as indicated in ancient documents, 18 days.

It is curious that the bombards of the XV-XVI centuries. eks in Turkey were in service until the middle of the 19th century. So, on March 1, 1807, during the crossing of the Dardanelles by the English squadron of Admiral Duckworth, a 25-inch (635 mm) marble ball weighing 800 pounds (244 kg) hit the lower deck of the Windsor Castle ship and ignited several caps with gunpowder, as a result of which there was a terrible explosion. 46 people were killed and wounded. In addition, many sailors, frightened, threw themselves overboard and drowned. The same core hit the ship "Active" and punched a huge hole in the side above the waterline. In this hole, several people could stick their heads out.

In 1868, over 20 huge bombards were still on the forts defending the Dardanelles. There is evidence that during the Dardanelles operation in 1915, a 400-kilogram stone ball hit the English battleship Agamemnon. Of course, it could not penetrate the armor and only amused the team.

Let's compare the Turkish 25-inch (630-mm) copper bombard, cast in 1464, which is currently kept in the museum at Woolwich (London), with our Tsar Cannon. The weight of the Turkish bombard is 19 tons, and the total length is 5232 mm. The outer diameter of the barrel is 894 mm. The length of the cylindrical part of the channel is 2819 mm. The length of the chamber is 2006 mm. The bottom of the chamber is rounded. The bombard fired stone cannonballs weighing 309 kg, and a charge of gunpowder weighed 22 kg.

The bombard once defended the Dardanelles. As you can see, outwardly and in terms of the channel structure, it is very similar to the Tsar Cannon. The main and fundamental difference is that the Turkish bombard has a screw breech. Apparently, the Tsar Cannon was made according to the model of such bombards.

Tsar Shotgun

So, the Tsar Cannon is a bombard designed to fire stone cannonballs. The weight of the stone core of the Tsar Cannon was about 50 pounds (819 kg), and the iron core of this caliber weighs 120 pounds (1.97 tons). As a shotgun, the Tsar Cannon was extremely ineffective. At the cost of costs, instead of it, it was possible to make 20 small shotguns, which take much less time to load - not a day, but only 1-2 minutes. I note that in the official inventory "At the Moscow arsenal of artillery" # for 1730 there were 40 copper and 15 cast-iron shotguns. Let's pay attention to their calibers: 1500 pounds - 1 (this is the Tsar Cannon), and then calibers follow: 25 pounds - 2, 22 pounds - 1, 21 pounds - 3, etc. Largest number shotguns, 11, account for the 2-pounder caliber.

And yet she shot

Who wrote the Tsar Cannon into shotguns and why? The fact is that in Russia all the old guns that were in the fortresses, with the exception of mortars, were automatically transferred over time to shotguns, that is, in the event of a siege of the fortress, they had to shoot with shot (stone), and later - with cast-iron buckshot at the infantry marching to assault. It was not advisable to use old guns for firing cannonballs or bombs: what if the barrel would blow apart, and the new guns had much better ballistic data. So the Tsar Cannon was recorded in shotguns, in the late XIX - early XX centuries the military forgot about the order in smooth-bore fortress artillery, and civilian historians did not know at all and decided by the name "shotgun" that the Tsar Cannon should have been used exclusively as an anti-assault guns for firing "stone shot".

The point in the dispute whether the Tsar Cannon fired was put in 1980 by specialists from the Academy. Dzerzhinsky. They examined the channel of the gun and, based on a number of signs, including the presence of particles of burnt gunpowder, concluded that the Tsar Cannon was fired at least once. After the Tsar Cannon was cast and finished at the Cannon Yard, it was dragged to the Spassky Bridge and laid on the ground next to the Peacock cannon. horses, and they rolled a cannon lying on huge logs - rollers.

Initially, the Tsar and Peacock guns lay on the ground near the bridge leading to the Spasskaya Tower, and the Kashpirova cannon was located near the Zemsky order, located where it is now Historical Museum. In 1626, they were lifted from the ground and installed on log cabins, densely packed with earth. These platforms were called roskats. One of them, with the Tsar Cannon and the Peacock, was placed at the Execution Ground, the other, with the Kashpir Cannon, at the Nikolsky Gate. In 1636, wooden roskats were replaced with stone ones, inside which warehouses and shops selling wine were arranged.

After the "Narva embarrassment", when the tsarist army lost all siege and regimental artillery, Peter I ordered that new guns be poured urgently. The king decided to get the copper necessary for this by melting down bells and ancient cannons. According to the “nominal decree” it was “ordered to pour the Peacock cannon into cannon and mortar casting, which is in China near the Execution Ground on a roll; a cannon to Kashpirov, near the new Money Yard, where the Zemsky order was; cannon "Echidna", which is near the village of Voskresensky; the Krechet cannon with a ten-pound cannonball; cannon "Nightingale" with a core of 6 pounds, which is in China on the square.

Peter, due to his lack of education, did not spare the most ancient tools of Moscow casting and made an exception only for the most large guns. Among them, of course, was the Tsar Cannon, as well as two mortars cast by Andrei Chokhov, which are currently in the Artillery Museum in St. Petersburg.