The
20.3 cm SK C/34 naval gun was the main battery gun used on all
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
heavy cruiserThe heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
s.
Description
These
built-up gunThe term built-up gun describes a construction technique for artillery barrels. An inner tube of metal which stretches most within its elastic limit enlarges under the pressure of confined powder gases to transmit stress to outer cylinders under tension...
s 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 powderSmokeless powder is the name given to a number of propellants used in firearms and artillery which produce negligible smoke when fired, unlike the older gunpowder which they replaced...
with a 160 gram (5.6 oz)
gunpowderGunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
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.
Naval service
Admiral HipperAdmiral Hipper, the first of five ships of her class, was the lead ship of the Admiral Hipper–class of heavy cruisers which served with the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1935 and launched February 1937; Admiral Hipper...
,
BlücherBlücher was the second of five heavy cruisers of the German Kriegsmarine, built after the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Treaty of Versailles. Named for Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, the victor of the Battle of Waterloo, the ship was laid down in August 1936 and launched in...
, and
Prinz EugenPrinz Eugen was an Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruiser, the third member of the class of five vessels. She served with the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The ship was laid down in April 1936 and launched August 1938; Prinz Eugen entered service after the outbreak of war, in August 1940...
each mounted eight of these guns in 248-tonne Drh LC/34 twin turrets with a maximum elevation of 37 degrees.
Coast defence guns
The four turrets intended for the incomplete cruiser
SeydlitzSeydlitz was a heavy cruiser of the German Kriegsmarine, fourth in the , but was never completed. The ship was laid down in December 1936 and launched in January 1939, but the outbreak of World War II interrupted her completion at approximately 95 percent...
were installed as
coastal artilleryCoastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
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).
Shell trajectory
| Range |
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) |
See also
- 203mm/50 Modèle 1924 gun
The 203mm/50 Modèle 1924 was a medium naval gun of the French Navy.The type was used on the Duquesne and Suffren classes of heavy cruisers as main battery, mounted in four twin turrets weighing 180 tonnes each...
French equivalent
- 203 mm /53 Italian naval gun
The 203 mm/53 Ansaldo was the main battery gun of Italy's most modern Washington Naval Treaty heavy cruisers. This treaty allowed ships of not more than 10,000 tons standard displacement, and with guns no larger than 8 inches , to be excluded from total tonnage limitations on a nation's capital...
Italian equivalent
- 20 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval gun
Third year type 20 cm/50 caliber guns formed the main battery of Japan's World War II heavy cruisers. These guns were also mounted on two early aircraft carriers...
Japanese equivalent
- BL 8 inch Mk VIII naval gun
The 50 calibre BL 8 inch gun Mark VIII was the main battery gun used on the Royal Navy's County-class heavy cruisers, in compliance with the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. This treaty allowed ships of not more than 10,000 tons standard displacement and with guns no larger than 8 inches to be...
UK equivalent
- 8"/55 caliber gun
The 8"/55 caliber gun formed the main battery of United States Navy heavy cruisers and two early aircraft carriers...
US equivalent
External links