Mystery in Brussels: The assassination of Gerald Bull
Who murdered Gerald Bull? The Canadian engineer became famous as the creator of modern artillery. However, his projects were much more ambitious: from atmospheric research to launching satellites into space, to building weapons that — it was suspected — Saddam Hussein could use to destroy Israel.
At the turn of 1990 and 1991, an international coalition was preparing to liberate Kuwait, which Iraq occupied under Saddam Hussein. Planners preparing for the "Desert Storm" operation encountered an unexpected problem: the GC-45 howitzers.
The artillery available to the Iraqi army outclassed the equipment that the world's greatest powers — the United States, the United Kingdom, and France — brought to war. While the American 155-mm M109 howitzer could fire a distance of 20 kilometres, the Iraqi GC-45, despite having the same calibre, held a stunning advantage: it could hit targets almost 40 kilometres away.
The course of the "Desert Storm" operation proved that fears about Iraqi artillery were exaggerated: when aviation destroyed the Iraqi reconnaissance and command system, even the world's best artillery was rendered useless. How did the Iraqi army acquire weapons that outclassed those of competitors around the world?
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This was due to the cooperation that Hussein's regime established with Gerald Bull — a brilliant Canadian engineer who became known as the creator of modern artillery. Ironically, Bull's lifelong goal was to build a gun for launching into space rather than for warfare.
From artillery to atmospheric research
Just after graduation in the 1950s, Gerald Bull worked for CARDE (Canadian Armament Research and Development Establishment) on wind tunnels and shock waves generated by flying artillery shells, as well as the Velvet Glove rocket. However, after a conflict with his superiors, Bull changed employers.
Bull's next project was HARP — a program focused on stratospheric studies, conducted using Martlet research rockets launched to great altitudes. Martlets released a cloud of dipoles at high altitudes, which could be easily tracked by radar, providing information about the direction and strength of winds at various heights.
With an old naval gun of 406 mm at his disposal, Gerald Bull and his team launched increasingly sophisticated rockets higher each month. In 1966, he set a record by reaching an altitude of 180 kilometres. Although the HARP program was discontinued due to budget cuts and changes in the Canadian government, it managed to provide invaluable data on the upper atmosphere and near space.
From atmospheric research to artillery
Following the closure of the HARP program, Gerald Bull worked on weaponry. In 1973, he modified shells for the 175-mm M107 howitzer to enable it to fire over a distance of 50 kilometres. The modified shells were delivered to Israel, and for his achievements, the engineer was granted American citizenship by a decision of Congress.
Despite this success, Bull had no scruples in searching for funding and moved to Brussels to work for anyone willing to pay. His GC-45 howitzers (and the G-5 developed based on them), along with modified ammunition, were sent to South Africa, significantly contributing to the country's victory over the Cuban expeditionary corps in Angola.
His innovative artillery also reached China and Iraq, playing an essential role during the Iraq-Iran war. Over time, these innovations were copied and developed worldwide. His cooperation with Iraq extended beyond the construction of long-range howitzers.
Bull's vision of launching satellites from a giant gun appealed to Saddam Hussein. Alongside arms purchases, the Iraqi president began financing work on guns reminiscent of Germany's V3 Wonder Weapons — the test gun Baby Babylon and the ultimate full-scale giant named Big Babylon (plans envisaged constructing several specimens).
The deal was twofold — Iraq financed Bull's space gun work while requiring him to improve Iraq's Scud ballistic missiles, increasing their range. Bull agreed to the arrangement.
Baby Babylon had a calibre of 350 mm and a barrel length of 45 metres. The test gun was completed and tested, and based on the trials, work began on its larger version. Big Babylon was to have a calibre of 1,000 mm, a barrel length of 156 metres, and a weight of over 1,600 tonnes. According to the designer, the giant gun was to launch 200-kg payloads into low Earth orbit for a fraction of the cost offered by the rocket technology available at the time.
Who killed Gerald Bull?
On March 22, 1990, Gerald Bull was assassinated — he was shot five times in the head and back at the doorway of his Brussels apartment. Officers who arrived at the scene found a key in the door lock and a briefcase with over $20,000 (currently approximately CAD 65,000), apparently not of interest to the killer.
Who murdered Gerald Bull? According to the official investigation, the engineer was shot by unknown assailants. However, alternative theories quickly emerged.
Iraq was blamed for his death (due to alleged misunderstandings), as was Iran (due to the threat posed by Iraqi artillery), and also Israel (due to the belief that Big Babylon could be a dangerous weapon and a threat in light of Hussein's improved ballistic missiles).
This theory is detailed and analyzed by Israeli journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Ronen Bergman. In his book "Rise and Kill First," detailing assassinations carried out by Israeli services over the years, Bergman points to the perpetrators.
According to his journalistic investigation, direct responsibility for Gerald Bull's death was borne by then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, who was said to have approved the order to kill the scientist by Mossad agents. Did the Prime Minister of Israel indeed have any motive?
Gerald Bull's space gun
Analyses concerning the potential of the Big Babylon gun indicate that using it as a weapon with a range of up to 1,000 kilometres was possible but extremely impractical. This is because its enormous size would make aiming the gun — even with some mechanism to move the barrel — very difficult.
Due to its size, the entire installation would be hard to conceal, making it a vulnerable target for air or missile attacks. Moreover, the very act of firing would be immediately noticeable due to the associated seismic shocks, unambiguously indicating the installation's coordinates. Jerusalem did not disregarded Bull's collaboration with Hussein: the real threat to Israel was not the giant gun but rather the improved Iraqi Scuds.
The question of potentially using the giant guns to place payloads into orbit remains unanswered. The Baby Babylon gun was destroyed shortly after the "Desert Storm" operation by a UN commission overseeing Iraq's disarmament.
The few surviving fragments of the Big Babylon gun were seized by British services before they could be sent to Iraq. A several-foot section of the barrel, consisting of two segments, can be viewed at the British Royal Armouries Museum.
