Atomic Cannon

What a great little place to stop, get ready for a mini workout going up the hill, if you have kids make sure they wear appropriate shoes, breathtaking view perfect for a family shot!

**Be aware** As of about a week ago the park where the cannon is located was closed to the public. Not sure when it will reopen.

The park (Freedom Park) is south of I70 with a picnic area, an old tank and a couple of other guns along a paved but rather the worse for wear path up at a rather steep ascent to a hilltop, where Atomic Annie sits. The hill overlooks Marshall Airfield to the North on the other side of the interstate. A cool piece of history, nice bit of local flora on the walk up.

Wrong address! The park is south of the highway, whereas this pin puts it to the north, in the closed base. As of 08/2021, the trail is still closed, but it's a nice shady park to stretch, read some history, and view the cannon from a distance.

Still closed according to website. You can check here to see if opened again: http://www.junctioncity.org/86/Freedom-Park

It is known as the M65 280mm which carried the W9 warhead a 15 kiloton shell. This is one of seven remain atomic cannons around the country out of 20 that were built.

They are located
1. Fort Sill Oklahoma. The original one
2 Army Ordinance Museum Aberdeen MD
3 National Museum of Nuclear Science & history Albuquerque NM
4. Freedom Park Junction City Kansas
5. Rock Island Arsenal Memorial Field Rock Island Illinois
6. Watervliet Arsenal Museum Watervliet New York
7. Yuma Proving Grounds Yuma Az

Plus a prototype at the Virginia War Museum Newport News which is a prototype at 240mm

The first and only test firing was on May 25, 1953 at the Nevada Test Site.
The cost to produce each weapon was reported to be $800,000

They did see Service in Europe and Korea but were basically obsolete soon after entering service. Due out Ballistic Missile systems

Not sute how you actually get there. The route took us to a closed road and we couldn't go any further. I guess it is located on base and maybe it"s because we tried to visit on a Sunday.

Nice place to stop and stretch your legs, and a pretty cool piece of history!

It's a good place to walk or hike with the family when u get to the top you see all of fort Riley

It’s still closed 07/25/21

Still closed. path is overgrown, signs are faded or missing. Doesn’t look like it will be opening anytime soon. You can see it from 70 but it’s not worth stopping.