Description

This was a Škoda gun used as secondary weapons on the last Austria-Hungary pre-dreadnoughts, the Radetzky class. Unusual in that there was apparently no date used in the official designation.

This weapon has been criticized on the basis that the shell splashes were nearly the same as those from the 30.5 cm (12") main guns thus making it hard to spot correctly. However, they did perform good work during the shore bombardment missions during World War I.

Actual bore diameter of all guns was 23.8 cm (9.37").

Gun Characteristics

Designation 24 cm (9.4") L/45
Ship Class Used On Radetzky class
Date Of Design 1907
Date In Service 1909
Gun Weight 26.5 tons (26.9 mt) w/o breech
Breech 1,766 lbs. (801 kg)
Gun Length oa 425.2 in (10.800 m)
Bore Length N/A
Rifling Length 323.1 in (8.207 m)
Grooves (72) 0.094 in D x 0.272 in W (2.375 mm D x 6.9 mm W)
Lands 0.138 in (3.5 mm)
Twist RH increasing 0 to 1 in 25
Chamber Volume N/A
Rate Of Fire 2.5 rounds per minute

Ammunition

Type Separate
Projectile Types and Weights APC M08 L/3.5 1: 474.0 lbs. (215 kg)
Common L/4.1: 468.9 lbs. (215 kg)
Bursting Charge APC M08 L/3.5: 5.3 lbs. (2.4 kg)
Common L/4.1: 38.4 lbs. (17.4 kg)
Projectile Length APC M08 L/3.5: about 33.0 in (84 cm)
Common L/4.1: about 38.7 in (98.4 cm)
Propellant Charge 154.3 lbs. (70.0 kg) 21/580 M97a RP
Cartridge Case Type, Size and Empty Weight 2 Brass, N/A, 228.4 lbs. (103.6 kg)
Muzzle Velocity 2,625 fps (800 mps)
Working Pressure N/A
Approximate Barrel Life N/A
Ammunition stowage per gun 100 rounds 3
  • ^The 24 cm APC M08 (Model 1908) was a new design used exclusively on the Raderzky class. This had both a ballistic and an AP cap and was produced under licenses purchased from the British firm Firth and Sons, Limited. This new 24 cm M08 was more expensive than the older 24 cm/40 APC L/3.5 (512 vs. 471 Kronen). The Navy continued purchasing the older APC L/3.5 and Common L/4.4 shells and used them to supply the L/40 guns until the end of the war.
  • ^Propellant was in two silk bags inside the casing, each bag holding 77.1 lbs. (35.0 kg) of propellant.
  • ^Outfit per gun was 20 APC and 80 Common.

Range

Elevation Range
3.91 degrees 6,560 yards (6000 m)
8.83 degrees 10,940 yards (10,000 m)
12.18 degrees 13,120 yards (12,000 m)
20 degrees N/A

Range table went only to 12.18 degrees. It should be understood that the maximum range of these guns could not be used at the time of their construction.

Armor Penetration

Penetration of Vertical Krupp Cemented Plate with APC M08
Range Thickness
6,560 yards (6,000 m) 6.7 in (17 cm)
10,940 yards (10,000 m) 4.2 in (10.7 cm)
13,120 yards (12,000 m) 3.6 in (9.2 cm)

Data from "Naval Weapons of World War One."

Mount/Turret Data

Designation Two-gun Turret: Radetzky (4)
Weight 235 tons (239 mt)
Elevation -4 / +20 degrees
Elevation Rate Coarse Setting: 6 degrees per second
Fine Setting: 1 degree per minute
Train +130 / -130 degrees
Train Rate Coarse Setting: 6 degrees per second
Fine Setting: 0.2 degrees per second
Gun recoil N/A
Loading Angle +2.5 degrees

Turrets were electrically powered.

Additional Pictures

Sources

"Naval Weapons of World War One" by Norman Friedman
"Austro-Hungarian Battleships 1914-18" by Ryan Noppen
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Special help from Mihály Krámli

Page History

12 October 2013 - New datapage
19 March 2019 - Converted to HTML 5 format, added photograph of Radetzky turret
23 July 2020 - Added APC and propellant information
28 June 2023 - Added photograph of Zündergranate (SAPC) projectile