20.3 cm SK C/34 naval gun

The 20.3 cm SK C/34[Note 1] was the main battery gun used on the German Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruisers.

20.3 cm SK C/34 naval gun
Aft turrets of Prinz Eugen, Kiel, 1941
TypeNaval gun
Coastal defence
Place of originGermany
Service history
In service1939 – 1945[1]
Used byKriegsmarine
WarsSecond World War
Specifications
Mass20.7 tonnes[2]
Length12.15 m (39.9 ft)
(60 calibres)[2]
Shell122 kilograms (269 lb)[2]
Caliber20.3-centimetre (8 in)[2]
Elevation-10° to +37°
Rate of fire4 – 5 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity925 m/s (3,030 ft/s)[2]
Maximum firing range33.5 km (20.8 mi)[2]

Description

These built-up guns consisted of a rifled tube encased within an inner and outer jacket with a horizontal sliding breech block. The breech was sealed with an 18 kg (40 lb) brass case containing 30 kg (66 lb) of smokeless powder with a 160 gram (5.6 oz) gunpowder igniter. A cloth bag containing an additional 21 kg (40 lb) of smokeless powder and 380 grams (13 oz) of gunpowder was loaded between the projectile and the brass case. Each gun could fire approximately five rounds per minute. Useful life expectancy was 510 effective full charges (EFC) per barrel.[2]

Admiral Hipper, Blücher, and Prinz Eugen each mounted eight of these guns in 248-tonne Drh LC/34 twin turrets with a maximum elevation of 37 degrees.[2]

Coast defence guns

The four turrets intended for the incomplete cruiser Seydlitz were installed as coastal artillery in France. The turrets A (Anton) and D (Dora) at Battery Karola on the Ile de Re (4./Marine Artillerie Abteilung 282). And the turrets B (Bruno) and C (Cäsar) at Battery Seydlitz on the Ile de Croix (5./Marine Artillerie Abteilung 264).

Railway guns

Eight barrels from the incomplete cruiser were given to the army and followed rebuild to 20.3 cm K (E) railway guns.

Shell trajectory
Range[2] Elevation Time of flight Descent Impact velocity
5 km (3 miles) 1° 54′ 6 sec 2° 6′ 744 m/s (2440 ft/s)
10 km (6 miles) 4° 24′ 14 sec 6° 6′ 587 m/s (1930 ft/s)
15 km (9 miles) 8° 6′ 23 sec 12° 48′ 463 m/s (1520 ft/s)
20 km (12 miles) 13° 18′ 36 sec 23° 36′ 382 m/s (1250 ft/s)
25 km (15 miles) 20° 18′ 51 sec 36° 48′ 353 m/s (1160 ft/s)
30 km (18 miles) 29° 6′ 69 sec 48° 48′ 363 m/s (1190 ft/s)
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See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

Footnotes
Notes
  1. SK – Schnelladekanone (quick loading cannon); C – Construktionsjahr (year of design)
Citations
  1. Whitley 1995 p.57
  2. Campbell 1985 pp.235–237

References
  • Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
  • Whitley, M.J. (1995). Cruisers of World War Two. Brockhampton Press. ISBN 1-86019-874-0.
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