15 cm MRK L/35

15 cm MRK L/35 15 cm Kanone L35 C80 in Mittl-Pivot-Schiffs-Lafette 1890 91124---0016.jpg 300px A 15 cm MRK L/35 C/80 in 1890 German Empire yes yes yes Austro-Hungarian Navy Dutch Navy Imperial Chinese Navy Krupp 1880 Krupp 1882 ? 4,470 kgVergleichende 1887 684 5,220 mmVergleichende 1887 684 149.1 mmVergleichende 1887 684 C/80: 620 m/s (L/2.8 steel grenade) 550 m/s (L/3.5 steel grenade) C/87: 650 m/s (L/2.8 steel grenade) 580 m/s (L/3.5 steel grenade) 757 m/s (L/2.8 w.smokel. gp.) The 15 cm Mantel Ring Kanone L/35, known as 15 cm Kanone L/35 was a 15 cm 35 caliber long Krupp Mantel Ring Kanone (MRK). It was very similar to the related 15 cm MRK L/25 and 15 cm MRK L/30, and the somewhat later 15 cm MRK L/40. Like these, it was a rifled breech loader built-up gun with a Krupp cylindroprismatic sliding breech. Development Towards long guns and long projectiles 15 cm MRK L/30 The 15 cm Mantel Ring Kanone L/35 came about when Krupp wanted to profit from a slower burning type of gunpowder invented in the early 1870s, the so-called prismatic gunpowder P.P. C/75. After first lengthening some heavier pieces to a length of 25 calibers (L/25). Krupp started to lengthen the 15 cm RK L/26. In November 1879, it tested a 15 cm MRK L/28, which used a charge of 15 kg of P.P. C/75 and also had earlier innovations like copper driving bands and parallel grooves.Sc 1880 695 A next innovation were very long projectiles of 3.5 and 4 calibers length, instead of about L/2.8. At longer ranges, these were less vulnerable to drag than shorter higher caliber projectiles of the same weight. However, to remain stable in flight, these longer projectiles required an increase twist rate.Sc 1880 697 Krupp then designed the so-called Construction C/80. This was an overall specification for the characteristics of guns of 15 cm caliber and higher and with lengths from L/25 to L/35.Sc 1880 700 The next gun that was tested was the prototype gun 15 cm (6 inch) MRK L/30, which had the odd caliber of 6 British inches. In July 1880 this was tested and achieved excellent results.Sc 1880 701 The 15 cm MRK L/35 is tested thumb|15 cm MRK L/35 C/80 in Meppen in 1882 In March 1882, the first 15 cm Mantel Ring Kanone L/35 was tested in Meppen alongside the new 30.5 cm MRK L/35.Schwarz 1882 389 In retrospect, this test seems to have been connected to the launch of the first Dingyuan-class ironclad in December 1881, see below. During the test, the 15 cm L/35 stood on an old coastal carriage that weighed 5,368 kg and provided a firing height of 2.18 m. The carriage allowed elevation to 30 degrees and declination to 6 degrees. The armor-piercing grenades were L/3.35 and L/4 and weighed 51 kg. The charge was 17 kg of single channel prismatic gunpowder of 1.75 density, P.P. C/75.Schwarz 1882 389 The caliber of this 15 cm Mantel Ring Kanone L/35 was 149.1 mm. The barrel was 5,220 mm long, length of bore 4,800 mm. It had 36 parallel grooves of 1.5 mm deep and 9 mm wide. The progressive twist rate was 25 calibers. The barrel weighed 4,750 kg including the breech block.Schwarz 1882 391 The results of the tests were very good. At the muzzle, velocity was 538 m/s. At 2,000 m, it was 409 and 417 m/s. The main difference to the C/80 plan were the heavier projectiles; 51 kg instead of 38.5 kg. This lowered initial velocity from 605 to 538 m/s, but increased the punch of the gun.Schwarz 1882 393 To put these results into perspective, a comparison was made between the old 15 cm Ring Kanonen and the new long Mantel Ring Kanonen. E.g. the projectile of the 15 cm L/35 had a total vis viva of 752 meter ton while that of the RK L/25 had 440. As one of the most important characteristics of a naval gun is weight, this had to be corrected for the weight of the gun. Per 1,000 kg of barrel weight, the difference was 159 vs 110. It meant that the L/35 was about 70% more powerful than the L/26, and that corrected for its higher weight, this was still almost 50% more.Schwarz 1882 395 The C/87 model Later the C/87 model was developed. During a test it shot long projectiles that weighed 51 kg. With a charge of 19 kg, these attained a speed of 581 m/s at the muzzle. With a charge of 19.5 kg, this was 581 m/s.Vergleichende 1887 684 Characteristics Versions There were at least two production versions of the 15 cm MRK L/35. The first production version was the C/80, which stands for de Construction 1880, i.e. the 1880 design. Later the C/87 followed.Almanach 1892 60 The barrel The 15 cm MRK L/35 had a caliber of 14.91 cm. The barrel was 5,220 mm long with a length of bore of 4,800 mm. It weighed 4,470 kg.Vergleichende 1887 684 It seems that the C/87 weighed 4,800 kg. Almanach 1892 64 The early version of the gun had 36 grooves of 1.5 mm deep and 9.5 mm wide. The final twist rate was 372.8 cm or L/25.Centro 1885 339 The length of the gunpowder part of the chamber was 862 mm with a diameter of 175 mm. It measured 20.59 dm3.Vergleichende 1887 684 The carriage The carriage with a front or centre pivot weighed 5,000 kg.Almanach 1892 60 The pivot carriages for the C/87 weighed the same.Almanach 1892 64 Projectiles The C/80 model shot long grenades of 51 kg. The steel grenade was 3.5 calibers (L/3.5) long, the cast iron grenade was L/4, and the cast steel one was L/4.5. It could also shoot the older short projectiles of L/2.8 length. The steel grenade weighed 39 kg, the cast iron grenade weighed 31.5 kg, and the shrapnel shot weighed 39 kg.Almanach 1892 60 With 17 kg of gunpowder, the old L/2.8 steel grenade attained a velocity of 620 m/s at the muzzle. The new, heavier L/3.5 steel grenade attained velocity of 550 m/s. The effective punch of the new grenade was only a bit higher at the muzzle. Almanach 1892 62 The difference in effectiveness increased with the distance. The C/87 model also shot short and long projectiles. The difference was a charge of 19 kg. With this charge, the old L/2.8 steel grenade attained a velocity of 650 m/s at the muzzle. The heavy L/3.5 steel grenade attained velocity of 580 m/s.Almanach 1892 60 In an 1890 test, 12 kg of a new kind of smokeless powder was used. This resulted in a remarkable increase in the velocity of the short projectile from 650 m/s to 757 m/s.Schott 1891 337, 338 Use Austro-Hungarian Navy thumb|The Austro-Hungarian Navy had the C/86 model The Austro-Hungarian Navy had the C/80 model and the C/86 model.Almanach 1892 51 Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie 2 had two 30.5 cm MRK L/35 and also six 15 cm MRK L/35.Baedeker 1889 296 Chinese Navy The two Dingyuan ironclad 1s were launched for the Chinese navy in Stettin in 1881 and 1882. The two 15 cm guns that each of these ships mounted were noted to be L/35 long. Therefore, it can only have been the 15 cm MRK L/35. Therefore, the Chinese Navy adopted the gun before the German navy did. Chinese cruiser Zhiyuan 2 of the Zhiyuan cruiser 4 - This protected cruiser had one shielded 15 cm SK L/35 gun per side, amidships as its secondary armament.flixco Chih Yuen The Chinese cruisers Chinese cruiser Jingyuan 1887 2 and Chinese cruiser Laiyuan 2 both had two 21 cm L/35 and two 15 cm MRK L/35.Vulcan 1886 276 Spanish Navy thumb|Gun from Spanish cruiser Castilla, sunk at the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898. Near Highland Park, Rochester, NY. The Spanish cruiser Castilla was re-armed with four 15 cm MRK L/35 in or before 1885.Centro 1885 339 Dutch Navy The Dutch Navy used the 15 cm MRK L/35 as 15 cm A No. 2. Its 15 cm SK L/35 was known as 15 cm No. 1, so without the 'A'.Mouton 1895 Bijlage This seems very strange, but the logic is comparable to the German navy using 'Kanone' for 'Mantel Ring Kanone'.Mouton 1895 Bijlage B The Dutch used the 15 cm A No. 2. on board the small protected cruiser Sumatra. This ship belonged to the Indische Militaire Marine.Zeemacht 1900 94 Judging by the higher number of grooves, The Dutch 15 cm MRK L/35 was a later model of the gun.Mouton 1895 Bijlage A Japan Naniwa cruiser 4 - The two ships of this class of protected cruisers had three 15 cm MRK L/35 guns per side, amidships as their secondary armament.Barnes Laird-Clowes 1895 255 German Navy The 15 cm MRK L/30 was taken into use by the German Navy before the 15 cm MRK L/35.Galster 1885 204 That is, if the German Navy used the L/35. Further development After creating the 15 cm MRK L/35, it seemed logical to design even longer versions of the same gun. Krupp did just that by designing the 15 cm MRK L/40 C/87 and C/89.Almanach 1892 64 However, just as these guns were designed, technical innovations led to the Quick-firing gun. Therefore, the 15 cm SK L/35 became the real successor of the 15 cm MRK L/35. Notes 2 References 1892 Almanach für die K. und K. Kriegsmarine II. Theil Artillerie der verschiedenen Flotten Redaction der Mittheilungen aus dem Gebiete des Seewesens, Pola https://books.google.com/books?id=xA5KrIcBDQYC 33-78 Almanach 1892 Baedeker Diedrich 1889 Alfred Krupp und die Entwickelung der Gussstahlfabrik zu Essen G.D. Baedeker, Essen https://books.google.com/books?id=clOhVpcWMVIC Barnes F.K. 1892 Brassey's Naval Annual Tables and plans of British and foreign armoured and unarmooured ships J. Griffin & Co, Portsmouth https://books.google.com/books?id=z6AjAQAAIAAJ 153-289 Barnes F.K. Laird-Clowes W. 1895 Brassey's Naval Annual Tables and plans of British and foreign armoured and unarmooured ships J. Griffin & Co, Portsmouth https://books.google.com/books?id=mZJIAQAAMAAJ 1885 Boletín del Centro Naval III Cronica General, Artillado del crucero espanol Castilla Centro Naval 332–343 https://books.google.com/books?id=p5kPAQAAIAAJ Centro 1885 http://navalhistory.flixco.info/H/232419x53056/8330/a0.htm CHN Chih Yuen navalhistory.flixco.info flixco Chih Yuen Galster Karl 1885 Mitteilungen über Gegenstände des Artillerie- und Geniewesens Nach: Die Schiffs- und Küstengeschütze der deutschen Marine R. von Waldheim, Wien Notizen: 202–204 https://books.google.com/books?id=VxC1IpAU2CoC Galster Karl 1886 Mitteilungen über Gegenstände des Artillerie- und Geniewesens Nach: Die Schiffs- und Küstengeschütze der deutschen Marine R. von Waldheim, Wien Notizen: 11–18 https://books.google.com/books?id=M8ysUav4O2AC Mouton 1895 Bepalingen betreffende de Artillerie der Koninklijke Nederlandsche Marine Koninklijke Nederlndsche Marine https://books.google.com/books?id=fJw59ROAWZsC Sc 1880 Mittheilungen aus dem Gebiete des Seewesens Die Neuere Schiffs- und Küstengeschütze der Krupp'schen Gussstahlfabrik K.K. Hydrographischen Amte, Marine-Bibliothek, Pola 693–706 https://books.google.com/books?id=Y_A5AQAAMAAJ Schwarz Jos. 1882 Mittheilungen aus dem Gebiete des Seewesens Schiessversuche der Fr. Krupp'schen Gusstahlfabrik im März 1882 K.K. Hydrographischen Amte, Marine-Bibliothek, Pola 389–397 https://books.google.com/books?id=fkYrAwK2egcC Schott 1891 Jahrbücher für die deutsche Armee und Marine Umschau auf militärtechnischem Gebiet A. Bath, Berlin 335–351 https://books.google.com/books?id=ZNAVAAAAYAAJ 1886 Stahl und Eisen 4 Die neuen für die chinesische Marine beim Vulcan bestellten Panzercorvetten Vereins deutscher Eisen- und Stahlindustrieller und der Vereins deutscher Eisenhüttenleute 219–280 https://books.google.com/books?id=U8dn_xjEkXwC Vulcan 1886 https://books.google.com/books?id=UE41AQAAMAAJ Allgemeine Militär-zeitung Vergleichende Zahlenangabe der Krupp'schen, Französischen und Englischen neuen Geschütze 28 October 1887 Vergleichende 1887 1900 Jaarboek van de Koninklijke Nederlandsche Zeemacht Algemeen Overzicht der Scheepen en Vaartuigen van Oorlog Vereins deutscher Eisen- und Stahlindustrieller und der Vereins deutscher Eisenhüttenleute 69–105 https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKB16:003565001:00094 Zeemacht 1900 Category:Naval guns of Germany Category:World War I naval weapons Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1880s Category:Krupp naval guns