# List of the largest cannon by caliber

This list contains all types of cannon through the ages listed in decreasing caliber size. For the purpose of this list, the development of large-calibre artillery can be divided into three periods, based on the kind of projectiles used, due to their dissimilar characteristics, and being practically incommensurable in terms of their bore size:
* Stone balls: Cannon of extraordinary bore, which fired stone balls, were first introduced at the turn of the 14th to 15th century in Western Europe. Following a logic of increasing performance through size, they had evolved from small handguns to giant wrought-iron or cast-bronze bombards within a span of just several decades.
* Iron balls and shot: By the 16th century, however, a general switch from stone balls to smaller, but much more effective iron projectiles was in full swing. This and the parallel tendency towards standardized, rapid-firing cannon made the enormously costly and logistically demanding giant guns soon obsolete in the European theatre (with the exception of the odd showpiece).
* Explosive shells: In the Industrial Age, artillery was again revolutionized by the introduction of explosive shells, beginning with the Paixhans guns. Breakthroughs in metallurgy and modes of production were followed up by new experimentation with super-sized caliber weapons, culminating in the steel colossi of the two World Wars. In the post-war era, the development of extremely overpowered artillery was gradually abandoned in favour of missile technology, while heavy guns are still demanded by various arms of the service.
The list includes only cannons that were actually built, that is, cannons that existed only as concepts, ideas, proposals, plans, drawings or diagrams are excluded. Also excluded are those cannons that were only partially built (not a single complete artillery piece of the cannon type in question fully built). The list includes cannons that were completed (fully built) but did not fire even once (or there is debate/insufficient evidence about whether the cannons were ever fired). Also cannons that never were used in combat are included. Naturally, the list only includes real cannons (made from metal and meant to be fired with gunpowder and a projectile to cause major destruction) and replicas etc. (made from plastic or fiberglass, for example) and other non-real cannons (meaning those cannon-like pieces that were not meant to be fired with gunpowder and a projectile capable of causing major destruction) are excluded.

## Cannon by caliber
### Stone balls

Heyday: 15th to 17th centuries
| Caliber (mm) | Name | Type | Produced | Place of origin | Made by | Remarks |
| 890 | Tsar Cannon | Bombard | 1586 | Tsardom of Russia | Andrey Chokhov | 1 made; it is debated whether the cannon was ever fired (evidence of gunpowder residue in the gun has been found in some studies); never used in combat; 1 survives |
| 820 | Pumhart von Steyr | Bombard | Early 15th century | House of Habsburg, Holy Roman Empire | | 1 made; 1 survives |
| 745 | Basilic | Bombard | 1453 | Ottoman Empire | Orban | 1 made; used in combat; none survive |
| 735 | Faule Mette | Bombard | 1411 | City of Brunswick, Holy Roman Empire | Henning Bussenschutte | 1 made; fired 12 times during its existence; none survive |
| 700 | Malik-i-Maidan | Bombard | 1549 | City of Bijapur, Adil Shahi dynasty | Muhammad Bin Husain Rumi | 1 made; used in combat; 1 survives |
| 660 | Dulle Griet | Bombard | First half of 15th century | City of Ghent, County of Flanders, Duchy of Burgundy | | 3 made (the Dulle Griet, the Mons Meg, and a third piece that went to France); used in combat; 2 survive (those named) |
| 635 | Thanjavur cannon (Rajagopala Beerangi) | Bombard | 1620 | Thanjavur Nayaks | Vikas Naikwade | 1 made; used in combat; 1 survives |
| 635 | Dardanelles Gun or Great Bronze Gun | Bombard | 1464 | Ottoman Empire | Munir Ali | 1 made; used in combat; 1 survives |
| 530 | Galeazzesca Vittoriosa | Bombard | 1471 | Duchy of Milan Caliber: 530 mm (ball diameter); Mass: ~ 8.6-8.8 t; Shell weight: 209 kg | Giovanni Garbagnate | |
| 520 | Faule Grete | Bombard | 1409 | Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights | Heynrich Dumechen | 1 made; used in combat |
| 520–820 | Grose Bochse | Bombard | 1408 | Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights | | 1 made |
| 520 | Mons Meg | Bombard | 1449 | Mons, County of Hainaut, Duchy of Burgundy | Jehan Cambier | 3 made (the Mons Meg, the Dulle Griet, and a third piece that went to France); used in combat; 2 survive (those named) |
| 510 | | Bombard | 1480 | Knights Hospitaller | | |

### Iron balls and shot

Heyday: 16th to 19th centuries
| Caliber (mm) | Name | Type | Produced | Place of origin | Made by | Remarks |
| 508 | Dahlgren smoothbore cannons, XX inch | | 1864 | American Civil War | John A. Dahlgren | 4 made; never used in combat |
| 508 | M. 1864 20-inch Rodman gun | | 1864 | American Civil War | Thomas Jackson Rodman | 2 made; 2 survive |
| 508 | 20 inch Perm Tsar Cannon/"Perm Giant" | | 1868 | Russian Empire | Motovilikha manufacturing plant | 1 made; never used in combat; 1 survives |
| 390 | Roaring Meg | Mortar | 1646 | Kingdom of England | Created by Colonel Birch for the Siege of Goodrich Castle | |
| 286 | Dal Madal Kaman/Dala Mardana | | 1565 or 1742 (differing sources) | Mallabhum, Malla dynasty | Jagannath Karmakar | 1 made; according to an Indian local legend of divine intervention, fired only once in battle; 1 survives |
| 280 | Kanone Greif | Scharfmetze ("medium size") | 1524 | Electorate of Trier | Master Simon | 1 made; evidence of being fired exists; no evidence of use in combat exists; 1 survives |
| 280 | Jaivana | | 1720 | Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur Riyasat | | 1 made; fired once; never used in combat; 1 survives |
| 254 | Zamzama | | 1757 | Lahore, Durrani Empire | Shah Nazir | 2 made; used in combat; 1 survives |
| 152 | Jahan Kosha Cannon | | 1637 | Bengal Subah, Mughal Empire | Janardan Karmakar | 1 made; 1 survives |
Twenty-inch (508 mm) Rodman and Dahlgren smoothbore cannons were cast in 1864 during the American Civil War. The Rodmans were used as seacoast defense. Although not used as intended, two 20-inch Dahlgrens were intended to be mounted in the turrets of USS Dictator and USS Puritan. Both Rodman gun and Dahlgren gun were designed to fire both shot and explosive shell.|}

### Explosive shells

Heyday: 19th to 20th centuries. List contains cannons of 16 inch or 400mm and greater caliber.
| Caliber (mm) | Name | Type | Produced | Place of origin | Made by | Remarks |
| 914 | Mallet's mortar | Mortar | 1857 | United Kingdom | Robert Mallet | 2 made; never used in combat; 2 survive |
| 914 | Little David | Mortar | 1945 | United States | | 1 made; never used in combat; 1 survives |
| 800 | Schwerer Gustav | Railway gun | 1941 | Nazi Germany | Krupp | 1 made; used in combat; largest cannon in history by projectile weight; none survive |
| 800 | Dora | Railway gun | 1942 | Nazi Germany | Krupp | 1 made (sister gun to Schwerer Gustav); unknown if used in combat; none survive |
| 610 | Mortier monstre | Mortar | 1832 | Belgium | Henri-Joseph Paixhans | 2 made; used in combat; at least 1 survives |
| 600 (later, 540) | Karl-Gerät | Mortar | 1940 | Nazi Germany | Rheinmetall | 7 made; used in combat; one survives |
| 530 | 53 cm/52 Gerät 36 [it] | Naval gun (never installed to a ship) | 1941 | Nazi Germany | Krupp | 1 made; only one protype gun made (with some secondary components never actually made); only fired experimentally; never used in combat; none survives |
| 520 | Obusier de 520 modèle 1916 | Railway gun | 1918 | France | Schneider et Cie | 2 made; used in combat; none survive |
| 508 | Dahlgren smoothbore cannons, XX inch | Naval gun (never installed to a ship) | 1864 | United States | John A. Dahlgren | 4 made; never used in combat |
| 508 | M. 1864 20-inch Rodman gun | Naval gun (never installed to a ship) | 1864 | United States | Thomas Jackson Rodman | 2 made (some sources say 3: 2 for Fort Hamilton in New York and third for USS Puritan); fired 8 times; never used in combat; 2 survive |
| 508 | 20 inch Perm Tsar Cannon/"Perm Giant" | | 1868 | Russian Empire | Motovilikha manufacturing plant | 1 made; never used in combat; 1 survives |
| 480 | 45 caliber 5 Year Type 36 cm gun | Naval gun (never installed to a ship) | 1918–1922 | Empire of Japan | Kure Naval Arsenal | 1 made (some sources say 2); only a prototype gun ever made; fired only experimentally; never used in battle; none survive |
| 460 | 46 cm/45 Type 94 naval gun | Naval gun | 1940 | Empire of Japan | Kure Naval Arsenal | ~27 made; used in combat (both Yamato and Musashi fired their guns against enemy only on one occasion (separate battles however)); main guns of battleships Yamato and Musashi; the largest ever ship-installed gun by caliber; none survives |
| 457.2 | BL 18-inch railway howitzer | Railway gun | 1920 | United Kingdom | Elswick Ordnance Company | 5 made; never used in combat; one survives |
| 457.2 | BL 18-inch Mk I naval gun | Naval gun | 1916 | United Kingdom | Elswick Ordnance Company | 3 made; used in combat; the largest ever ship-installed gun by shell weight; none survives |
| 457 | 18-inch/48-caliber Mark 1 gun | Naval gun (experimental; never installed to a ship) | 1942 | United States | | |
| 450 | 100-ton gun (RML 17.72 inch gun) | Naval gun | 1877 | United Kingdom | Elswick Ordnance Company | 15 made; fired numerous times, though never in anger; never used in combat; 2 survive |
| 432 | 432 mm (17 in) guns | Naval gun | (?)1877 | (?) United Kingdom | (?)Elswick Ordnance Company | Guns installed in Italia-class ironclad and Italian ironclad Andrea Doria |
| 420 | Big Bertha | Howitzer | 1910s | German Empire | Krupp | 12 made; used in combat; none survive |
| 420 | 42 cm Gamma howitzer | Mortar | 1910s | German Empire / Nazi Germany | Krupp | 10 made; used in combat; no known survivors |
| 420 | 2B1 Oka | Self-propelled artillery | 1957 | Soviet Union | KBM, Kirov Plant | 4 made; never used in combat; at least one survives |
| 420 | 42 cm Haubitze M. 14/16 | Howitzer | 1914-1918 | Austria-Hungary | Škoda | 8 made; used in combat |
| 412.8 | BL 16.25-inch Mk I naval gun | Naval gun | 1888 | United Kingdom | Elswick Ordnance Company | 12 made; never used in combat |
| 410 | 41 cm/45 3rd Year Type | Naval gun | 1920 | Empire of Japan | Kure and Muroran Ironworks | about 40 made; used in combat; at least 2 survive |
| 410 | Experimental 41-cm-Howitzer | Howitzer | 1926 | Empire of Japan | Japan Steel Works | |
| 406 | 16-inch gun M1895 | Coastal artillery | 1895 | United States | Watervliet Arsenal | 1 made; never used in combat; none survive |
| 406 | 16-inch/50-caliber M1919 gun | Coastal artillery | 1919 | United States | Watervliet Arsenal | at least 7 made; never used in combat |
| 406 | 16-inch howitzer M1920 | Coastal artillery | 1920 | United States | Watervliet Arsenal | probably 5 made, 4 deployed; never used in combat; none survive |
| 406 | 16-inch/45-caliber gun | Naval gun | 1914-1920 | United States | Washington Navy Yard, Bethlehem Steel | 41 made |
| 406 | 16-inch/50-caliber Mark 2 gun | Naval gun | 1917-1922 | United States | Washington Navy Yard, Bethlehem Steel | 71 made |
| 406 | 80-ton gun (RML 16 inch gun) | Naval gun | 1874 | United Kingdom | Royal Gun Factory | 8 made; used in combat; 2 survive |
| 406 | 406 mm/45 (16") Pattern 1914 | Naval gun (never installed to a ship) | 1914 | United Kingdom Russia | Vickers | made in UK for Russian battleships during WW1, although the battleships in question were never built; only 1 prototype gun made and proved (gun designated by Vickers as No. 1712A); never used in battle; none survive |
| 406 (16 inch) | 16 inch conversion of a BL 18-inch Mk I naval gun | Naval gun (never installed to a ship) | 1921-1924 | United Kingdom | Elswick Ordnance Company | 1 made; 16-inch conversion of a 18-inch Mk I (40 caliber) gun; an experimental gun used for prototype for the 16"/45 (40.6 cm) Mark I guns destined for the Nelson-class battleships; never used in combat (this gun was not used in combat as 18-inch gun and not used in combat after conversion into 16-inch gun); none survives |
| 406 | BL 16-inch Mk I naval gun | Naval gun | 1927 | United Kingdom | | 29 made; used in combat |
| 406 | BL 16-inch Mark II naval gun | Naval gun (never installed to a ship) | 1938 | United Kingdom | | 2 or 3 made; never used in combat |
| 406 | BL 16-inch Mark III naval gun | Naval gun (never installed to a ship) | 1938 | United Kingdom | | 2 or 3 made; never used in combat |
| 406 | BL 16-inch Mark IV naval gun | Naval gun (never installed to a ship) | 1943 | United Kingdom | | 1 partial protype made; one BL 16-inch Mark III naval gun was converted into a partial prototype of BL 16-inch Mark IV naval gun; this partial prototype was experimentally fired; never used in combat |
| 406 | 40.6 cm SK C/34 gun | Naval gun (never installed to a ship) | 1934 | Nazi Germany | Krupp | at least 12 made |
| 406 | 2A3 Kondensator 2P | Self-propelled artillery | 1956 | Soviet Union | KB SM, Kirov Plant | 5 made (1 prototype, 4 production); never used in combat; at least one survives |
| 406 | 406 mm/50 B-37 naval gun for Sovetsky Soyuz-class battleships | Naval gun (never installed to a ship) | 1937 | Soviet Union | Barrikady Plant, Stalingrad | 12 made; only one gun proof fired; the proof fired gun was used in the defense of Leningrad in WW2 as land artillery; one survives |
| 406 | 16-inch/56-caliber Mark 4 gun | Naval gun (never installed to a ship) | 1927 | United States | | 1 made; never used in combat; one survives (although altered) |
| 406 | 16-inch/45-caliber Mark 6 gun | Naval gun | 1941 | United States | Washington Navy Yard | |
| 406 | 16-inch/50-caliber Mark 7 gun | Naval gun | 1943 | United States | Washington Navy Yard | many made for the Iowa-class battleships; used in combat; many survive |
| 417 | Project HARP 16.4 inch gun | Research gun | 1962-1968 | United States Canada | | Repurposed American 16 inch naval guns used for high-altitude atmosphere studies. 1 made, located in Barbados; never used in combat; 1 survive |
| 406 | Project HARP 16 inch gun | Research gun | 1962-1968 | United States Canada | | Repurposed American 16 inch naval guns used for high-altitude atmosphere studies. 2 made, located in Highwater Range in Quebec and in the Yuma Proving Ground; never used in combat |