Used on Panzerschiffes when commissioned, but replaced with 10.5 cm (4.1") SK C/33 before the start of World War II. This weapon had a very high muzzle velocity and thus a short barrel life.
A loose-barrel type with a vertical sliding semi-automatic breech-block that fired fixed ammunition.
Designation | 8.8 cm/78 (3.46") SK C/31 |
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Ship Class Used On | Lützow (ex-Deutschland) Class |
Date Of Design | 1931 |
Date In Service | 1933 |
Gun Weight | 9,380 lbs. (4,255 kg) |
Gun Length oa | 270.5 in. (6.870 m) |
Bore Length | 249.6 in (6.341 m) |
Rifling Length | 213.4 in. (5.422 m) |
Number Of Grooves | (28) 0.047 in deep x 0.235 in (1.2 mm x 5.97 mm) |
Lands | 0.154 in (3.9 mm) |
Twist | Increasing RH 1 in 55 to 1 in 35 |
Chamber Volume | 391 in3 (6.4 dm3) |
Rate Of Fire | 15 - 20 rounds per minute |
Type | Fixed |
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Weight of Complete Round | HE: 40.8 lbs. (18.5 kg) ILLUM: N/A |
Projectile Types and Weights | HE: 19.8 lbs. (9.0 kg) ILLUM: 20.7 lbs. (9.4 kg) |
Bursting Charge | N/A |
Projectile Length | N/A Complete Round 48.3 in (1.228 m) |
Propellant Charge | 9.99 lbs. (4.53 kg) RPC/32 (5.5/2) |
Muzzle Velocity | HE: 3,117 fps (950 mps) ILLUM: 2,133 fps (650 mps) |
Working Pressure | 19.7 tons/in2 (3,100 kg/cm2) |
Approximate Barrel Life | about 1,500 rounds |
Ammunition stowage per gun | 500 rounds 1 |
- ^Outfit for Panzerschiffes was nose-fuzed HE with and without tracer and illumination rounds.
Elevation | Distance |
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45 degrees | 19,470 yards (17,800 m) |
AA Ceiling @ 80 degrees | 43,640 feet (13,300 m) |
Designation |
|
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Weight | 60,185 lbs. (27,300 kg) |
Elevation | -10 / +80 degrees |
Elevation Rate | 10 degrees per second |
Train | 360 degrees |
Train Rate | 10 degrees per second |
Gun recoil | N/A |
his mounting was triaxially stabilized which could compensate for pitch and yaw up to 17 degrees in each direction.
Data from:
- "Naval Weapons of World War Two" by John Campbell
- "German Warships 1815-1945" by Erich Gröner
- "German Cruisers of World War Two" by M.J. Whitley
- 10 May 2006
- Benchmark
- 05 June 2011
- Added triaxial mounting note