15 cm SK L/45

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
15 cm SK L/45
Breech
horizontal sliding-wedge
RecoilHydro-spring
ElevationSee table
Traverse−150° to +150°
Rate of fire5-7 rpm
Muzzle velocity840 metres per second (2,800 ft/s)
Maximum firing rangeSee table

The 15 cm SK L/45

German naval gun used in World War I and World War II
.

Naval service

The 15 cm SK L/45 was a widely used naval gun on many classes of World War I

cruisers in both casemates and turrets. It was constructed of an A tube and two layers of hoops with a Krupp horizontal sliding-wedge breech block. During World War I a few pre-war cruisers that were armed with 10.5 cm guns were rearmed with these weapons. In World War II the 15 cm SK L/45 was widely used as coastal artillery and as primary armament on German auxiliary cruisers
.

Ship classes that carried the 15 cm SK L/45 include:

15 cm SK L/45 mounts[1]
Type of mount Designation Weight Elevation Range (during World War I) Ship classes
Single pedestal mounts in casemates MPL C/06 15,770 kg (34,770 lb) −7° to +20° 14.9 km (9.3 mi) at 20° Nassau, Helgoland, Kaiser, von der Tann, Moltke, Blücher
MPL C/06.11 16,533 kg (36,449 lb) −10° to +19° 13.5 km (8.4 mi) at +19 König, Seydlitz, Derfflinger, Lutzow
MPL C/13 17,950 kg (39,570 lb) −8.5° to +19 13.5 km (8.4 mi) at +19 Bayern, Hindenburg, Mackensen
MPL C/13 mod 18,350 kg (40,450 lb) −8.5° to +22 15.8 km (9.8 mi) at +22 Wartime modification to MPL C/13
Single pedestal mounts in open half-shields MPL C/14 16,185 kg (35,682 lb) −10° to +22° 15.8 km (9.8 mi) at +22 Wiesbaden, Königsberg II
MPL C/16 17,116 kg (37,734 lb) −10° to +27° 16.8 km (10.4 mi) at +27 Cöln II, Emden II
MPL C/16 mod −10° to +30 17.6 km (10.9 mi) at +30 wartime modification to MPL C/16

Ammunition

Ammunition was of separate loading quick fire type. The projectiles were 61 cm (2 ft) long with a single bagged charge which weighed 13–14 kg (29–31 lb).

The gun was able to fire:

Coast defense gun

Nordarnøy, Gildeskål
, Norway
Rear view of the above pictured gun

The same gun was used for coast defense duties in concrete emplacements after World War I. One example was 3./Marine-Artillerie Abteilung 604 ("3rd Battery of Naval Artillery Battalion 604") in Jersey.[2] They show it using 44 kilograms (97 lb) shells with a range of 18,000 metres (20,000 yd)

Railroad gun

It was also used as a railroad gun during World War I.

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

  • BL 6 inch Mk XII naval gun
    British equivalent

Footnotes

Notes
  1. ^ SK - Schnelladekanone (quick loading cannon); L - Länge in Kaliber (length in caliber)
Citations
  1. ^ from NavWeaps
  2. ^ Gander and Chamberlain, p. 266

References

  • Gander, Terry; Chamberlain, Peter (1979). Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939–1945. New York: Doubleday. .
  • Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. .
  • Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. .
  • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. .

External links