[SunkenCiv]

Colossal German Cannon Shells Paris From 75 Miles Away

Gerald Bull was fascinated by the Paris Kanonen, coauthored a book about it, and developed some of the same ideas in his prototype for shell-launched orbital satellites. Ultimately non-feasible, it could still fire a shell into space, on a sub-orbital trajectory. Here's a larger format of the gun, showing Bull's barrel extension.

Space cannon blasts into 1960's space race

Here's a small format shot, showing the cannon being fired, appears to have been colorized using crayons:

There Is A Giant Space Gun Rusting Away In Barbados

[Smokin' Joe]

Gerald Bull was fascinated by the Paris Kanonen, coauthored a book about it, and developed some of the same ideas in his prototype for shell-launched orbital satellites.

I thought the idea of shooting something into space was from Jules Verne's story of a trip to the moon.