The 8.8 cm SK C/32[Note 1] was a German naval gun that was used in World War II.
| 8.8 cm SK C/32 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Naval gun Anti-aircraft gun |
| Place of origin | Germany |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1933—45 |
| Used by |  Nazi Germany Spain |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1932–34 |
| Variants | SKC/32in |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 3,640 kilograms (8,020 lb) |
| Length | 6.69 meters (21 ft 11 in) |
| Barrel length | 6.341 meters (20 ft 9.6 in) (bore length) |
| Shell | Fixed |
| Shell weight | 9–9.4 kilograms (20–21 lb) |
| Caliber | 88 millimeters (3.5 in) |
| Breech | vertical sliding-block |
| Elevation | -10° to +80° |
| Traverse | 360° |
| Rate of fire | 15-20 RPM |
| Muzzle velocity | 950 m/s (3,100 ft/s) |
| Maximum firing range | Horizontal: 17,200 metres (18,800 yd) at 45° Vertical: 12,400 metres (40,700 ft) at 80°[1] |
Description
editThe 8.8 cm SK C/32 was a gun of modest performance with a shorter chamber which fired a shorter shell. The SK C/32 had a loose one-part barrel with vertical sliding-block breech design. It was designed to replace the older 8.8 cm SK L/45 naval guns on German light cruisers. The SK C/32in variant of the gun had a loose two-part barrel with vertical sliding-block and was carried on a modified twin 10.5 cm Dopp L C/37 mounting and was intended for the unbuilt M-class cruiser.[2]
All three of the Königsberg-class cruisers and the light cruiser Leipzig had their single mount 8.8 cm SK L/45 replaced with the 8.8 cm SK C/32 mounted in C/32 twin mounts (German: Doppel Lafette or abbreviated Dopp. L). The light cruiser Nürnberg and the heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer were equipped with this gun when being built.[3] It was also original equipment on the Spanish cruiser Navarra.[2]
Ammunition
editFixed type ammunition with and without tracer, which weighed 15.2 kilograms (34 lb) and was 93.2 centimetres (36.7 in) long. Ammunition Types Available:
- High Explosive (HE) - 9 kg (20 lb)
- Illumination (ILLUM) - 9.4 kg (21 lb)
See also
editFootnotes
edit- ^ SK - Schnelladekanone (quick loading cannon); C - Construktionsjahr (year of design)
References
edit- Campbell, John (2002). Naval Weapons of World War Two. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
- Stehr, Werner F.G.; Breyer, Siegfried (1999). Leichte und mitlere Artillerie auf deutschen Kriegsschiffen. Marine-Arsenal (in German). Vol. Sonderheft band 18. Wölfersheim-Berstadt: Podzun Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0664-6.
Further reading
edit- 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.
- Hogg, Ian V. (1997). German Artillery of World War Two (2nd corrected ed.). Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 1-85367-480-X.
- Rolf, Rudi (1998). Der Atlantikwall: Bauten der deutschen Küstenbefestigungen 1940-1945. Osnabrück: Biblio. ISBN 3-7648-2469-7.
- Rolf, Rudi (2004). A Dictionary on Modern Fortification: An Illustrated Lexicon on European Fortification in the Period 1800-1945. Middleburg, Netherlands: PRAK.
External links
edit
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- ^ Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.251.
- ^ a b Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.251.
- ^ Stehr & Breyer 1999, pp. 19.