The howitzer was mainly designed by Krupp's Director of design, Professor Fritz Rausenberger, and his predecessor, Director Dräger. Many sources say that Bertha is a reference to Bertha Krupp, heiress and owner of the Krupp industrial empire. However, not all accept this connection. During the war, the Germans gave numerous other nicknames to the M-Device. ("Dicke", meaning fat or big in German, is apparently not a reference to the physical aspect of Mrs. Krupp.) The name "Big Bertha" subsequently came to be applied generically by the Allies to any very large German gun, such as the railway-mounted battleship guns known as "Langer Max" and the ultra-long range "Paris Gun". Strictly speaking, however, Dicke Bertha, or Big Bertha, is only applicable to the 42-cm M-Gerät howitzer.