Howitzer travelling to Utrecht for display

A MASSIVE piece of Britain’s military history began a journey to the Netherlands yesterday.

Since 2008, the 200-tonne breech-loading Howitzer – one of the world’s 12 surviving railway guns and the UK’s largest artillery piece – has stood in the grounds of the home of the Royal Artillery at Larkhill, in Wiltshire, a monument to the history of the Gunners of the Royal Regiment of Artillery.

Yesterday, it left on its way to Utrecht, where it will be displayed by the Dutch national railway museum, as part of its War and Peace exhibition.

The exhibition is being held to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the Spanish War of succession in 1713.

In preparation for the move the huge artillery piece has undergone restoration work, after a campaign to restore it to a high standard. The move will be funded by the Netherlands.

The Howitzer’s journey will be documented by Channel 5 as part of its Monster Moves series, which should be screened in July of this year.

The gun, which can fire 18in shells but was never actually used in combat, was dismantled for the 387-mile move – the barrel alone weighs 104 tonnes, and needed a special crane that can handle loads of up to 500 tonnes.