15 cm Schnelladekanone C/28 in Mörserlafette

15 cm SchiffsKanone C/28 in Mörserlafette
15 cm SchiffsKanone C/28 in Mörserlafette
Type	Heavy gun
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
Used by	Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Rheinmetall
Manufacturer	Rheinmetall
Produced	1941
No. built	8
Specifications
Mass	16,870 kilograms (37,190 lb)
Barrel length	8.195 metres (322.6 in) L/55
Shell	separate-loading, cased charge
Caliber	149.1 millimetres (5.87 in)
Breech	horizontal sliding block
Recoil	dual-recoil hydropneumatic
Carriage	box trail
Elevation	0° to +50°
Traverse	16° on carriage ; 360° on platform
Rate of fire	2 rpm
Muzzle velocity	890 metres per second (2,900 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	23,700 metres (25,900 yd)

The 15 cm SchiffsKanone C/28 in Mörserlafette (SK C/28 in Mrs Laf) was a German heavy gun used in the Second World War.

Development

Production of carriages for the 21 cm Mörser 18 and the 17 cm Kanone 18 in Mörserlafette exceeded available barrels in 1941 and eight naval 15 cm SK C/28 coast defense gun barrels were adapted for use on the carriages. They were converted to Heer-standard percussion firing (see the articles of those guns for details on the design of the carriage).

Operational use

For Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the Soviet Union), it equipped Artillerie-Abteilung 625.^[1] Most guns were replaced by 17 cm barrels as they became available. However, for Case Blue (the German summer offensive in southern Russia), one battery of Artillery Battalion (Artillerie-Abteilung) 767 was still equipped with them.^[2] That same battery retained them through the beginning of the Battle of Kursk in July 1943.^[3]

Ammunition

The 15 cm SK C/28 in Mrs Laf could not be converted to use the Heer's standard 15 cm ammunition and had to use naval ammunition. These included the 15 cm Sprgr L/4.6 KZ m. Hb., the 15cm Sprgr L/4.5 BdZ m. Hb. and the 15 cm Pzgr L/3.8 m. Hb. The former was a nose-fuzed 45.5 kilograms (100 lb) HE shell with a ballistic cap. The second was a base-fuzed 44.8 kilograms (99 lb) HE shell, also with a ballistic cap. The last-named was a standard 45.3 kilograms (100 lb) armor-piercing shell. Only one 14.1 kilograms (31 lb) bag of propellant was used in a separate-loading cartridge case.

References

Engelmann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. Deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliederung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz. Limburg/Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke, 1974
Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. 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, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3
Hogg, Ian V. German Artillery of World War Two. 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997 ISBN 1-85367-480-X

Notes

^ Niehorster, Leo W. G. German World War II Organizational Series, Vol. 3/II: Mechanized GHQ units and Waffen-SS Formations (22nd June 1941), 1992, p. 22
^ Niehorster, Leo W. G. German World War II Organizational Series, Vol. 4/II: Mechanized GHQ units and Waffen-SS Formations (28th June 1942), 2004, p. 20
^ Niehorster, Leo W. G. German World War II Organizational Series, Vol. 5/II: Mechanized GHQ units and Waffen-SS Formations (4 July 1943), 2005, p. 41

[1] Niehorster, Leo W. G. German World War II Organizational Series, Vol. 3/II: Mechanized GHQ units and Waffen-SS Formations (22nd June 1941), 1992, p. 22

[2] Niehorster, Leo W. G. German World War II Organizational Series, Vol. 4/II: Mechanized GHQ units and Waffen-SS Formations (28th June 1942), 2004, p. 20

[3] Niehorster, Leo W. G. German World War II Organizational Series, Vol. 5/II: Mechanized GHQ units and Waffen-SS Formations (4 July 1943), 2005, p. 41

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