Test Firing Dangerous Bob's Restored WW2 Artillery Gun

When you’re sick you call a doctor. When your car breaks down, you call a mechanic. When you want an artillery gun, you call Bob Bigando, or Dangerous Bob, as he’s more commonly referred to in the firearms community. Bigando is the one of the nation’s leading experts when it comes to big guns. He helps collectors find, buy, restore and fire large caliber weapons.
Video by Ben Philippi.

[@ge0arc244]

The people I admire most do not play sport's for a living or act in tv or movie's. They rebuild old into new, Turn forgotten into unforgettable and remind us of our past good and bad. Nice Thumbs up!

[@coreoncrack]

True that !

[@KingSlimjeezy]

well said my man

[@prawnstar9213]

100% IMO nothing feels better than fixing something that sat broken and unused for a while.. or even just fixing something broken… gain that knowledge and confidence

[@RockIslandAuctionCompany]

The sound of that brass ejecting is pure music.

[@joeshmoe9978]

Rock Island Auction Company ...that was a nice sound though, but back in the day it would have been followed by yelling Germans. 😂

[@neilwilson5785]

I haven't had a proper brass ejection since 1986. Ahh happy memories.

[@bryanmartinez6600]

Sounds so much better than blanks feels more complete blanks just go poof

[@rbollard1]

Yeah! I love that sound too!

[@01Bouwhuis]

@@joeshmoe9978 More like laughing germans , behind their 88 mm guns...

[@codzilla73]

19 years ago this man taught us how to bump fire. Hats off:)

[@neilwilson5785]

Las Vegas.

[@Vkhani12345]

@@neilwilson5785 Las vegas is a great city indeed!

[@gangsterno1880]

Thanks for uploading. This is the gun my grandfather was part of a crew for in WWII. He was in the South African army and fought at Tobruk where he was captured . He was part of the rear guard left to slow the Germans down as the rest of his unit and others escaped to fight again at El Alamein. Its good to see the gun in action even though the shots would likely have been fairly ineffective against the German armour.

[@Gunscom]

Great comment. Thanks for sharing.

[@tomw377]

IIRC, the 2-pounder (and it's 6-pounder brother) was a very effective weapon. Ultimately, tho, it was rendered obsolete as tank design progressed beyond its capabilities. That said, the 2-pounder remained very effective against most Japanese tanks encountered in the Burma / New Guinea / Borneo / Tarakan campaigns.

[@Wally1967]

And Malaya Jan 1942 2/4th Anti-Tank Regiment (Australia) destroyed six of the nine Japanese tanks during the Battle of Muar. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Muar

[@user-hl7nt1og7k]

The QF 2-pdr was THE best anti-tank gun from the beginning of its service to 1941.

[@zcoppleman7230]

Great to see! My Grandfather fired these as an Anti-Tank Gunner with the Royal Australian Artillery in WW2.

[@scottdoran3112]

I was wonderring where the dents in the brass came from until I saw the ejection process...great video thanks!

[@cosmiccolonel]

The 2 pounder was a brilliant little gun in its time…… glad to see there are still examples doing the do!!👍

[@biddyboy1570]

My Grandfather was gun crew on these in the desert. He said that it was like firing a peashooter at German tanks.

[@Klimotine]

@ph0b0s they "where" until the 17pdr which was better then the 8.8 cm flak

[@Klimotine]

@ph0b0s even without it the solid apcbc flew faster and could punch through more steel, same with the soviet 122mm

[@Klimotine]

@ph0b0s compared to the 122 yes to the 17pdr no, not at all, the 8.8cm flak was horribly outclassed, at longer ranges the 8.8cm KwK 43 L/71 (tiger 2s gun) was better but horribley unreliable

[@Klimotine]

@ph0b0s holy shit 15km??? Dude mbt guns cant fire that far

[@Klimotine]

@ph0b0s 15km is for aircraft, the ground target range was 8km, even then it struggles to pen the turret of a bt7

[@AlphaGator9]

I am a retired "Redleg" - used to Chief an M102 for the U.S. Army. Love Artillery! - As a hobby i play a World War 2 table top wargame, and i am just interested in this gun. Thank you for sharing your hard work. Love it!

[@Wheelabarraback]

So good to see a fella like you fixing up old guns and test firing them without all the vanity and testosterone of some on KZbin.

[@tommygun6028]

Great job Buddy... What a beautiful piece of History 😎👍😁

[@johnhood9567]

Look up the Victoria Cross citation for (ironically named) British 2nd Lieutenant George Ward Gunn, 3rd RHA. His unit, equipped in 1941 with Ordnance QF 2lb AT guns (this gun) mounted "portee" on the back beds of trucks, was attacked in great force by Afrika Korps armour at Sidi Rezegh during Operation Crusader in the western desert campaign. They fought the position till all the guns but one were knocked out and all the other crew except one Sergeant were either killed or out of action, at which point Lt. Ward Gunn and the Sergeant continued to operate the last serviceable 2 pdr and were able to put 40 rounds down range on target (under very heavy fire) during which they accounted for 2 attacking tanks knocked out before Lt. Ward Gunn was finally killed. He was awarded the VC posthumously.

[@robinsonlisani4149]

Old but not obsolete...badass gun

[@jademers88]

as a non gun person and a non historical person, this was pretty damn cool!

[@upadhyayrathiraj1518]

Excellent. This gun is in our regimental museum, few pieces also issued to units for display.

[@simonyip5978]

British artillery was called either by the calibre in inches (2" mortar, 3" mortar, 4.2" mortar, 5.5" howitzer/field gun, 4.5" naval dual purpose gun, 3.7" anti aircraft gun, etc) or by a weight in imperial measurements (lbs - pounds) like the 2lb, 6lb, 17lb anti tank guns, the 25lb field gun, the 60lb howitzer, etc. The 2lb was equal to a 40mm, the 6lb was equal to a 57mm and the 17lb was the equivalent to roughly a 75mm gun.

[@gleggett3817]

17pdr was equivalent to US 76mm.

[@beshkodiak]

I love that little carriage. I've got a spare bofors 40mm barrel that I was of a mind to make a recoilless gun, but a 2 pounder like this would be quite fun...

[@senseipt]

4:07 Haha! He looks at the hill, then at the cannon and then back at the hill as if the round went over and god-knows-where LOL

[@MrPickledede]

My grandfather used that weapon in ww2 in north africa against the germans

[@mrijk1946]

MrPickledede he died ?

[@johngibson2884]

Swaged -bored adaptor gave it the ability to punch through front of a Tiger1 at about 90 meters ...side armour 150meters .....good for urban combat as the swivel mount gave it incredible range of fire ...quickly

[@sullybiker6520]

This was a great design. The deployment method was very rapid, and it was pretty decent on early Axis Armour, and fine (like the American 37mm m3) for the duration of the war in the Pacific.

[@CZ350tuner]

The development of the 2 pounder was delayed when the ammunition originally produced in advance (562,000 APHE shells between 1934 and 1937) failed to achieve the war Department's strict criteria that at 500 yards 70% of direct hits on a 90 degree 25mm. face Hardened Rolled Homogenous Armour Plate target should penetrate. In other words 7 out of 10 hits should punch through enough to detonate on the far side. In reality it achieved less than 30% in hundreds of test firings. The 2 Pounder 40mm. APHE shell was a scaled down 47mm. 3 Pounder APHE shell, which was a lower velocity gun. This was a tool steel hollow projectile with a Hotchkiss Mark.IV. base mounted inertial impact triggered fuse. A similar arrangement was used with the serrated 2 Pounder HE shell. I happen to have one of these unfired 1934 pattern APHE projectiles in my collection, complete with fuse. It appears to have been an instructional prop for training gunners pre-war. During test firings it was found that the APHE shells either: (A) had the base mounted fuse fall out in the barrel during acceleration and become a separate projectile whilst the "uncorked" now inert APHE shell spilt its Lydite filling (sometimes burning) as it flew up the range. (B) the base mounted fuse fell out on impact with the target and the shell then acted like an AP shot. This led to later experiments of firing the projectile empty at targets. (C) the shell dug partially in an detonated without penetration, bursting backwards away from the target plate. (D) the shell detonated on impact just like an HE shell causing superficial damage to the target's surface. Both the 1934 pattern APHE and HE shells contained 1.89 pounds of Lydite explosive granules. It was also found that the APHE shell performed better without a filling or fuse. However the APHE shell still failed to meet the WD's criteria. This is when the British Army abandoned APHE shells and converted to the better performing AP shot (1937). Existing stocks of the useless 1934 pattern APHE shells were never issued for combat but were instead used up as inert target practice training ammunition on UK ranges from 1937 until 1960. Maximum penetration for various 2 Pounder 40mm. shot and shells before and during WW2: Versus Face Hardened Rolled homogenous Armour Plate @ 100 yards @ 90 degrees. Test target was a 25mm. plate and penetration taken from projected extrapolation method on judged successful penetrations of target plates over 100 hits. APHE = 46mm. APHE (no filling & no fuse) = 58mm. AP/T (Tool Steel) = 62mm. AP/T (Hadfield Steel) = 77mm. APCBC/T = 84mm. APCNRSV (Littlejohn Adapter with cast iron cored shimmed shot) = 103mm. Although available until 1943 when stocks exhausted, the 2 Pounder HE shell was shunned by tank crews and only found use with AT guns for anti-infantry and soft targets.

[@rancidpitts8243]

Thank you. I like information like this, it fills the gaps.

[@_Matsimus_]

UBIQUE

[@966Mako]

Gun, cannon/artillery & aircraft videos bring all the cream to the top.

[@jamesalvarez8581]

I finally found what I'm gonna use for home protection in this cannon !

[@missfit0199]

This man is a legend

[@banzi-rc7dm]

I like what this guys doing restoring old guns me and him have the same passion I own several large guns my artillery consists of a ww2 American 114 155mm howitzer a British 6 pound gun and now to AA first up is my german 88mm flak cannon and a 20mm flak 38 vierling and british 3.7in AA gun

[@nor0845]

Excellent. Well done! Thank you for posting.

[@djamison9r]

I WANT ONE!!!

[@gauravdhar5482]

Me too..!!😆😆

[@humppi.2304]

Yeah as if someone didn't.

[@ntnko]

This is the majestic hair dude in Ian of Forgotten Weapon's cannon firing videos

[@cheesenoodles8316]

Awsome....that was a cool 5 mins & 30 seconds. More please.

[@wcharliewilson7004]

Be it that the brass is rare, I would advise placing a brass catch to prevent it from hitting the rear stabilizer. That's where those rim dings are coming from. Cool toy.

[@frankanddanasnyder3272]

Bob's secret spot to fire the gun without getting arrested.....

[@rancidpitts8243]

He said "Pretty Darn Cool". I concur.

[@markcantemail8018]

Thank you Bob . There is a Trophy Cannon from the Spanish American war up at our Burial Ground . It is a 2 pounder . I have a lot to learn about the Gun , and know your 2 pounder is not the same as far as Ammo . 6 Mile range 1890 specs ? I can use your great Video as a step to learn more . And it is very entertaining !

[@AtlantaFalconry]

I have a 90mm atg I need restored, already have the form 1 approved.

[@chuckwagon5518]

What a great country the US of A is! Try firing this gun in Britain, Canada or Germany and I bet you wind up in prison!

[@quattro4468]

Chuck Wagon depends on the state. You can't do this in all states. Also you can own guns in Canada. Hell you can buy ak47 more readily in Canada because the us banned any more imports from Russia.

[@quattro4468]

Also you can own sports shotguns for trap and hunting in Britain and Germany just fine. Most of Scandinavian even Sweden permits high powered rifles. There's even a channel dedicated to long range sniper shooting in Scandinavian countries. It's better to know the facts than to just repeat 5hings because it makes you feel good.

[@Lgg42069]

@@quattro4468 AK-47s are prohibited in Canada mandatory 10-year sentence if you get caught with one I'm Canadian I know also all Centerfire rifles are restricted to five rounds all ar15s are restricted and can only be transported 2 government approved ranges to be fired our laws are f****** garbagarbage

[@nebulousisgod]

I do love my country but there’s something majorly wrong with a nation that’s so obsessed with violence and has more mass shootings of innocents than any other developed nation on earth.

[@Klimotine]

@@nebulousisgod i agree with you

[@Paul_Sergeyev]

One might call me a mad man, a pervert... But I want to see someone go hunt big game with this thing.

[@rob762x51]

Great segment. Top Notch!

[@donnieporter7890]

Real cool thanks for the video

[@Edwardnarby92]

They used one of these to take out two Japanese light tanks in Hong Kong back in December 1941.

[@cannoneer155mm]

With a good lathe you can make the cases with brass pipe and bar stock for the rim and primer pocket.

[@machinenkanone9358]

Excellent. Love the low Tech

[@jballew2239]

Dangerous Bob! I still have tinnitus from that 90mm , haha!

[@ersikillian]

That real cool! A nice compact design.

[@chaselastname7918]

This. Is. Epic. Need one in my life!

[@rickycinaz]

His like don’t mind me neighbors just moving my cannon. Lol great video 👍

[@chupacabra2203]

I’ve seen someone hit in the gut by a 120 mm recoil

[@matthewcullen1298]

You must get a lot of satisfaction out of your work

[@khrystree9233]

Amazing! Did not even think anyone would have one! And this guy gets to fire his! What a clever platform design also 😀 K

[@Enes-wj5xq]

Thanks for the sharing

[@jamestheotherone742]

For a brief period of time (1938- 1941) this was a bad-assed AT gun. The anti-tank missile of the day. But then the German tanks to heavier and thicker.

[@mr.l6615]

I want a canon too! Looks fun! Plus how cool is it to tow it through town?

[@iambox3432]

Should have put the front stabilizer feet down :D

[@danor6812]

He stated to do that, you need to remove the wheels.

[@MrMrsregor]

*1:51*

Great video. Really liked Bob.

[@Otokichi786]

An early World War II 40mm Anti Tank gun that was limited to AP only and had superior armor penetration than the U.S. 37mm AT gun. However, the U.S. 37mm gun fired a variety of loads for anti personnel and anti material use.

[@Trucksofwar]

What a beauty! They’re a rare piece now the old 2 pounder

[@jamesshepherd5222]

Awesome job. And you have an awesome job.

[@shuikicheung9956]

Well done! Good job!l never seen British 2 pounds canon firing?!

[@i-a-g-r-e-e-----f-----jo--b]

Great hobby you have there! I'm happy KZbin sent me here even though its 5 years late, how much would/did you sell the 2 pounder for?.

[@stefanschaad2843]

Awesome! What a little beauty. Nice restoration

[@TheEarl777]

Great job Bob. Farkin awesome.

[@thomasbroking7943]

6ft trigger pull. ..great fun

[@icebobk6702]

How do u own an Artillerie piece or anti-tank cannon like this?

[@kamyarchristopher228]

It was very interesting. I wish you were filming with the drone.

[@alberthodge631]

good for you.....thanks

[@chrish4596]

Da hat ja jemand sehr viel vertrauen in Britische Militärtechnik. :-) schönes Teil,danke fürs zeigen.

[@rubenskiii]

Lovely gun with so many neat features! Better get Ian over for some extra love!

[@Euragone68]

Coolest video I've seen in awhile... Thanks for sharing.

[@Torrriate]

Bob Big-Gun-Do, is what I heard.

[@thebestofj.fraley]

Hun, I'm going out plinkin? You Taking the 2? OOh Yea!

[@flaviojunior4218]

Awesome! No words.

[@themann9801]

Despite losing a war against Japanese during invasion of Malaya, this gun has proof it's worthiness throughout the battle.

[@markm.3297]

That is "pretty darn cool". Thanks Bob.

[@hieuhieu3756]

Love your test Bob great job

[@mahmoudsobhyx]

Merica Rocks !! I am so jealous

[@waynedaley7048]

Like your ride bob 🇨🇦

[@Paid2Win]

Hey dude I live in Az, I will sweep your floors, shine your boots, whatever the hell I can do to help just to be a fly on the wall and learn what I can.

[@gumloon]

Outstanding video. Thanks for sharing.

[@rbollard1]

Wow. Bob that is awsome.

[@owensthilaire8189]

Very cool brother.

[@DataWaveTaGo]

Great! Just great! Hats off!

[@Jason-hv4eu]

Awesome restoration and video! Great work! Thanks for sharing.

[@th3d3vil08]

You are a saint my friend and doing God's work! I've been looking into buying civilian owned artillery, for quite some time. In about twelve months time. I'd like to seriously speak to you about purchasing one. However if you only restore, do u know where I might be able to find a dilapidated version, that you could restore? I'm 100% serious and thank you for your time!

[@johnkolinoff8591]

Very nicely done you do good work..

[@Weirdperson97]

Wow radical gun.

[@Bustamamgendut]

Love to watch ejected shell dude 👍

[@lsd-25ayahuascadmt7]

I know I gotta find some pretty secluded spots when I go plinking, but this guy? He fucks.

[@alexfioruzzi5130]

*CARA ISSO FOI SIMPLESMENTE SENSACIONAL E SUPER EFICIENTE*

[@TheBic4]

Amazing he could import that with any hassle from customs for not having a tax stamp. 60s were a magical time

[@willcouldkill]

Why did bob go before a judge for transferring a destructive device and what was the outcome of the case ?

[@avishekbanerjee8808]

Sweet video..

[@RikthDcruze]

Please tell me the steel used in the barrel of the gun and the side plates.

[@colekirton28]

It’s funny to think he is my uncle and I see him like all of the time 😂

[@danor6812]

I'm curious. They were originally a 2 pounder. Then made into 6 pounders. Did the trigger operator still sit on them when they were made into 6 pounders? Seeing how it moved you with the 2 pounder is why I asked.

[@tacticaltrioadventure5224]

Awesome men I really liked

[@RichardAHolt]

Another quality blast shield by Dodge.

[@thomaspavelko9412]

You can tell you have definitely done it rough when you drive though your small town towing a cannon and no one even bothers to look.

[@tb7771]

Found a PAK 40 recently in front of a firestation. I need to find out if it is property of the Legion. I hope not because I really want to buy it and restore it rather than letting it rust away.