15 cm Schnelladekanone C/28 in Mörserlafette

German heavy gun used in the Second World War September 2015 15 cm SchiffsKanone C/28 in Mörserlafette Nazi Germany Heavy gun yes Nazi Germany World War II Rheinmetall Rheinmetall 1941 8 16870 kg lb 8.195 m in L/55 separate-loading, cased charge 149.1 mm in 2 rpm 890 m/s ft/s 23.7 km mi horizontal sliding block dual-recoil hydropneumatic box trail 0° to +50° 16° on carriage 360° on platform 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.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 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.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 That same battery retained them through the beginning of the Battle of Kursk in July 1943.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 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 kg lb HE shell with a ballistic cap. The second was a base-fuzed 44.8 kg lb HE shell, also with a ballistic cap. The last-named was a standard 45.3 kg lb armor-piercing shell. Only one 14.1 kg 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 0-385-15090-3 Hogg, Ian V. German Artillery of World War Two. 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997 1-85367-480-X Notes Category:World War II artillery of Germany Category:150 mm artillery Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1941