38 cm SK C / 34

38 cm SK C / 34
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General Information
Manufacturer country:	German Empire
Developer / Manufacturer:	Friedrich Krupp AG
Production time:	1939 to 1943
Number of pieces:	at least 24
Technical specifications
Pipe length:	19,630 mm
Caliber :	380 mm
Caliber length :	52

The 38 cm SK C / 34 was a ship gun of the German Navy in World War II , which was also used as a coastal and railway gun.

History of origin

The starting point for the development was the construction of the battleships of the Bismarck class , which were to be equipped with 38 cm cannons as main armament. The performance data of the 38 cm SK L / 45 gun model from the First World War and used on the battleships SMS Bayern and SMS Baden did not meet the requirements of the Navy. Above all, the maximum tube elevation of only 20 ° and the resulting comparatively small maximum firing range of 23,300 meters were considered unsatisfactory. The gun's low elevation and lateral aiming speeds were also criticized.

During the examination of various 38 cm designs, the following alternatives with regard to the performance of the gun were discussed:

L / 47 with V ₀ = 785 m / s
L / 50 with V ₀ = 800 m / s
L / 52 with V ₀ = 820 m / s
L / 56 with V ₀ = 865 m / s range 41 km with a 35 ° pipe elevation

The L / 47 and L / 50 drafts were discarded due to only minor performance advantages over a 35 cm gun. The L / 56 draft suggested the highest penetration performance at all distances. Here, however, the required additional weight of around 128 t per tower with a tower weight of around 1180 t compared to the L / 52 turned out to be a problem.

As a result, Friedrich Krupp AG Essen received the development order for a new rapid-loading cannon (SK) in 38 cm L / 52 caliber with a tower weight of 1052 t.

Technical specifications

Technical data of the 38 cm SK C / 34:

Ballistic data (for C / 34 e)

Projectile weight: 800 kg (= 14.6 d³)
Muzzle velocity: 820 m / s
Propellant charge: 210 kg separate (main cartridge 108 kg, pre-cartridge 102 kg) for powder type C / 32
Charge density:
Lifetime tube (for 10% V ₀ loss): 242 shots
Bullet path in the tube: 16,175 mm
Running time in the pipe: 33.3 ms
Rate of fire: ~ 2 rounds / minute
- Firing sequence in loading position 2.0 °: 24 s
- Shot rate at 15 ° elevation: 30 s
- Firing rate at 30 ° barrel elevation: 35 s
Firing range at 30 ° elevation: 35.6 km for an air weight of 1.245 kg / m³
Maximum pressure (15 ° C): 3200 kg / cm²
Maximum pressure (35 ° C): 3520 kg / cm²
mean pressure: 1675 kg / cm²
critical pressure: 3700 kg / cm²
Efficiency: 0.877

ammunition

Tank explosive shell with base fuse and ballistic hood - phi L / 4.4 m BDZ (. M hood) to 800 kg
High explosive grenade with bottom fuse and ballistic hood - Spgr L / 4.6 m Bdz (with hood) up to 800 kg
HE grenade with head detonator and ballistic hood - Spgr L / 4.6 KZ (with hood) to 800 kg
Siegfried grenade with head detonator and bottom detonator and ballistic hood - Sigr L / 4.5 BdZ & KZ (with hood) at 495 kg

Use as a coastal and railway gun

In addition to the Bismarck and Tirpitz 38 cm SK C / 34 as armament for was Schlachtkreuzer the O-class planned. The planned conversion of the Gneisenau in 1942 should also take place on this gun. Other guns had been sold to the Soviet Union , but there was never any delivery. With the final decommissioning of the Gneisenau after the failed Rainbow company in 1942 and the abandonment of the O-Class, the original purpose of the guns already produced ceased to exist. Some of them were then installed as coastal guns in the so-called Atlantic Wall , for example in the Todt battery on the Pas de Calais , in the Hanstholm fortress in Denmark and in Kristiansand, Norway . Further copies were used as a railway gun ( 38 cm Siegfried cannon ).

literature

Mike J. Whitley: German Capital Ships of World War Two. Arms & Armor Press, London 1989, ISBN 0-85368-970-9 .

Web links

Commons : 38 cm SK C / 34 - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ = Marine Weapons Office MW Geh.-Kdos. No 14.175 / 35, Berlin, May 13, 1935
↑ Krupp data sheets 38 cm SK C / 34 or C / 34 (e) WA52-444 and WA52-453 (e).
↑ instruction boards for gun knowledge. Volume I Sea destination. compiled by the 1st Department of Ship Artillery School in 1942
↑ M.Dv. No. 185.2 Dimensions, weights and space requirements of ammunition and their packing containers
↑ Note for OB. d. M .; Oversized caliber for new warships November 6, 1942 B.Nr. 7763-42 gKdos
↑ USNTMIE Technical Report No. 393-45 Service Major Caliber Projectiles of the German Navy. September 1945.
↑ Final report No. 182 German coast artillery equipment employed in the defense of the west coast of Denmark. HM Stationary Office, London.

[Entwürfe-1] = Marine Weapons Office MW Geh.-Kdos. No 14.175 / 35, Berlin, May 13, 1935

[SK38e-2] Krupp data sheets 38 cm SK C / 34 or C / 34 (e) WA52-444 and WA52-453 (e).

[UTGseeziel-3] instruction boards for gun knowledge. Volume I Sea destination. compiled by the 1st Department of Ship Artillery School in 1942

[185,2-4] M.Dv. No. 185.2 Dimensions, weights and space requirements of ammunition and their packing containers

[Vermerk_Ari_1942-5] Note for OB. d. M .; Oversized caliber for new warships November 6, 1942 B.Nr. 7763-42 gKdos

[393-45-6] USNTMIE Technical Report No. 393-45 Service Major Caliber Projectiles of the German Navy. September 1945.

[Coast_artillery-7] Final report No. 182 German coast artillery equipment employed in the defense of the west coast of Denmark. HM Stationary Office, London.