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. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best known are the large Krupp-built pieces used by Germany in World War I and World War II. Smaller guns were often part of an armoured train.

Railway guns have been rendered obsolete by advances in technology. Their large size and limited mobility make them vulnerable to attack, and similar payloads can be delivered by aircraft, rocket, or missile.

The design of a railroad gun has three issues over and above those of an ordinary artillery piece to consider. Namely how the gun is going to be traversed - i.e. moved from side to side to aim; how the horizontal component of the recoil force will be absorbed by the gun's carriage and how the vertical recoil force will be absorbed by the ground.

World War I (WWI), which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939 (World War II), and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. It involved all the world's great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and Russia) and the Central Powers (originally centred around the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy; but, as Austria–Hungary had taken the offensive against the agreement, Italy did not enter into the war). These alliances both reorganised (Italy fought for the Allies), and expanded as more nations entered the war. Ultimately more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. More than 9 million combatants were killed, largely because of enormous increases in lethality of weapons, thanks to new technology, without corresponding improvements in protection or mobility. It was the sixth-deadliest conflict in world history, subsequently paving the way for various political changes such as revolutions in the nations involved.

Jason Pierce (born 19 November 1965, Rugby, Warwickshire, England), also known as J. Spaceman or Spaceman, is an English musician. He was formerly the joint leader – with Peter Kember – of the alternative rock band Spacemen 3, and is now the leader and sole permanent member of the band Spiritualized.

In between his work with Spiritualized and Spacemen 3, Pierce has been active with a network of free jazz players and improvisers, collaborating with acclaimed artists, including Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, jazz pianist Dr. John, Primal Scream, Daniel Johnston, and Yoko Ono among others.

Pierce was seriously ill with pneumonia in 2005. Both his lungs had filled with liquid, and the 5'11 (180 cm) musician's weight plunged to seven stone (44.5 kg) and his heart stopped beating twice.

In 2006, Pierce released his first solo album, Guitar Loops, a limited release on Coxon and Wales's Treader record label. Also in 2006, he composed the original score for an art installation called "Silent Sound" by British artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. The live performance at St. George's Hall in Liverpool was recorded and released as a limited edition signed and numbered CD. A second performance of Silent Sound took place in 2010 as part of the AV Festival, at Middlesbrough Town Hall. A second limited edition signed and numbered CD was released.