French gun (320mm) at moment of firing during a night bombardment. The belch of smoke from the explosion of the charge is a flash of light at night and makes a most unusual sight. The outbreak of the WWI caught the French with a shortage of heavy field artillery. In compensation, large numbers of large static coastal defense guns and naval guns were moved to the front. A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval ordnance, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railway wagon. By 1916, both sides were deploying railway guns. Photo taken by Central News Photo Service.