15 cm SK L/45
| 15 cm SK L/45 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Naval gun Railroad gun Coast-defence gun |
| Place of origin | German Empire |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1908—45 |
| Used by | Germany |
| Wars | World War I, World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Krupp |
| Designed | 1906—08 |
| Manufacturer | Krupp |
| Specifications | |
| Barrel length | 6.71 metres (20 ft) |
| Shell | separate-loading, case charge |
| Caliber | 149.1 millimetres (5.87 in) |
| Breech | horizontal sliding-wedge |
| Recoil | hydro-spring |
| Muzzle velocity | 840 metres per second (2,800 ft/s) |
The 15 cm SK L/45[Note 1] was a 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 Dreadnoughts and Cruisers in both casemates and turrets. In World War II the 15 cm SK L/45 was widely used on German Auxiliary Cruisers.
Ship classes that carried the 15 cm SK L/45 include:
| Type of Mount | Designation | Weight | Elevation | Range (during World War I) | Ship classes |
| Single pedestal mounts in casemates | MPL C/06 | 15,770 kilograms (34,770 lb) | -7° to +20° | 14,900 metres (16,300 yd) | Nassau, Helgoland, Kaiser, von der Tann, Moltke, Blücher |
| MPL C/06.11 | 16,533 kilograms (36,449 lb) | -10° to +19° | 13,500 metres (14,800 yd) | König, Seydlitz, Derfflinger | |
| MPL C/13 | 17,950 kilograms (39,570 lb) | -8.5° to +19 | 13,500 metres (14,800 yd) | Bayern, Hindenburg, Mackensen | |
| MPL C/13 mod | 18,350 kilograms (40,450 lb) | -8.5° to +22 | 15,800 metres (17,300 yd) | Wartime modification to MPL C/13 | |
| Single pedestal mounts in open half-shields | MPL C/14 | 16,185 kilograms (35,682 lb) | -10° to +22° | 15,800 metres (17,300 yd) | Wiesbaden, Königsberg II |
| MPL C/16 | 17,116 kilograms (37,734 lb) | -10° to +27° | 16,800 metres (18,400 yd) | Cöln II, Emden | |
| MPL C/16 mod | -10° to +30 | 17,600 metres (19,200 yd) | wartime modification to MPL C/16 |
Ammunition
It used 45.3 kilograms (100 lb) 15 cm Spgr L/4.1 HE shells with a bursting charge weight between 3.9 kilograms (8.6 lb) and 4.09 kilograms (9.0 lb), depending on how the shell was fuzed.
Coast Defense 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
- ^ SK - Schnelladekanone (quick loading cannon); L - Länge in Kaliber (length in caliber)
- Citations
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. ISBN 0-385-15090-3.
External links
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