2-716-537 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Firing the 111-Ton Gun, with 1800-lb. projectile and 960-lb. of gunpowder, at Woolwich, June 1887', (1901). William Armstrong's 'monster' gun which was then the largest gun in existence, being tested at Woolwich Arsenal in southeast London. Designed to arm warships, its shells could penetrate wrought iron, and had a range of 8 miles. The gun was the main attraction at the Royal Mining, Engineering and Industrial Exhibition, held at Newcastle in 1887 to celebrate the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria's accession to the throne. From "The Illustrated London News Record of the Glorious Reign of Queen Victoria 1837-1901: The Life and Accession of King Edward VII. and the Life of Queen Alexandra". [London, 1901]