German
38 cm/45 (14.96") SK L/45
Updated 26 August 2011
The most powerful German naval gun of World War I.  Used on the Bayern class battleships, which were completed too late to participate in the Battle of Jutland (Skagerrak) and saw little action during the rest of the war.

Those guns planned for the uncompleted battleships Sachsen and Württemberg were instead used on the Western Front where they were known as "Max" or "Lange Max" (Long Max).  Coast Defense Battery Deutschland was equipped with four of these guns and Battery Pommern had one more.  The Pommern battery, located at Leugenboom in Belgium, is perhaps best known for firing about 500 rounds between June 1917 and October 1918 at ranges of up to about 48,000 yards (44,000 m) including many at Allied positions in and around Dunkirk (Dunkerque).

The naval mountings for these guns used electric pumps to drive hydraulic elevation gear while the training was all electric.  These guns also had hydraulically worked shell hoists, rammers and breeches.

Constructed from shrunk on tubes and hoops and used a Krupp horizontal sliding wedge breech block.
WNGER_15-45_skc13_Bayern_profile_pic.jpg

SMS Bayern in 1916
This is an interesting photograph as it shows how the normal wave/hull interaction can expose the armored belt under the waterline even in mild seas
Click on this picture for a larger image
Photograph copyrighted by HDW
.
Click here for additional Pictures
.
.
Gun Characteristics
.
Designation 38 cm/45 (14.96") SK L/45
Ship Class Used On Ersatz Yorck and Bayern Classes
Date Of Design 1913
Date In Service 1916
Gun Weight
(see Note)		 about 176,370 lbs. (80,000 kg)
Gun Length oa 673 in (17.100 m)
Bore Length 634.3 in (16.112 m)
Rifling Length 544 in (13.816 m)
Grooves (100) 0.118 in deep x 0.236 in (3 mm x 6 mm)
Lands 0.236 in (6 mm)
Twist Uniform RH 1 in 10
Chamber Volume 16,482 in3 (270 dm3)
Rate Of Fire
(see Note 2)		 2.5 rounds per minute
Notes:

1) For an interesting comparison of British and German guns as seen by British ordnance personnel, see the extract from "Progress in Gunnery Material, 1921" ADM 186/251 on the British 15"/42 (38.1 cm) Mark I datapage.

2) Post-war loading tests by the British on Baden found that it took only 23 seconds from the time the guns fired until they were ready to fire again, compared to 36 seconds for the 15 inch (38.1 cm) guns on Queen Elizabeth.

3) Gun at Battery Pommern battery was Krupp No. 15 L.  The four guns at Battery Deutschland were Krupp No. 9 L, No. 35 L, No. 36 L and No. 41 L.
.
Ammunition
.
Type Cartridge - Bag
Projectile Types and Weights APC L/3,1 - 1,653 lbs. (750 kg)
HE L/4,1 base fuze - 1,653 lbs. (750 kg)
Special Coastal Projectile - 881 lbs. (400 kg)
Bursting Charge APC L/3,1 - about 55 lbs. (25 kg)
HE L/4,1 - about 110 lbs. (50 kg)
Special Coastal Projectile - N/A
Projectile Length
(see Note 3)		 APC L/3,1 - about 46.5 in (118 cm)
HE L/4,1 - about 61.5 in (156 cm)
Special Coastal Projectile - about 75 in (190.5 cm)
Propellant Charge
(see Note 1)		 610.7 lbs. (277 kg) RPC/12
Brass case for main charge:  140 lbs. (63.5 kg)
Muzzle Velocity APC L/3,1 - 2,625 fps (800 mps)
HE L/4,1 - 2,625 fps (800 mps)
Special Coastal Projectile - 3,412 fps (1,040 mps)
Working Pressure 20.0 tons/in2 (3,150 kg/cm2)
Approximate Barrel Life 300 rounds
Ammunition stowage per gun 90 rounds
Notes:

1) From ADM 186/251, it would appear that the main charge was about 360 lbs. (163 kg), which would imply that the fore charge was about 250 lbs. (114 kg).

2) The Coastal Artillery Projectile used a long, streamlined nose for maximum range.

3) The length of the Special Coastal Projectile was estimated by measuring the relative sizes of 30.5 cm and 38 cm projectiles as shown in photographs.

4) Actual Naval Projectile designations were as follows:
   APC L/3,1- Psgr. L/3,1 (mhb)
   HE L/4,1 base fuze - Spr.gr. L/4,1 Bdz (mhb)

5) In "The German Defenses on the Coast of Belgium" the author notes another HE shell of 754 lbs. (342 kg) with a range of 52,000 yards (48,000 m).
.
Range
.
Elevation With 1,653 lbs. (750 kg) AP Shell
Range @ 16 Degrees 22,310 yards (20,400 m)
Range @ 20 degrees 25,370 yards (23,200 m)
Range @ 45 degrees
Coastal Artillery		 42,000 yards (38,400 m)
With Coastal Artillery Streamlined Shell 52,000 yards (47,550 m)
.
Armor Penetration with 1,653 lbs. (750 kg) AP Shell
.
Range
Side Armor
Deck Armor
10,936 yards (10,000 m)
15.35 in (390 mm)
---
13,670 yards (12,500 m)
13.78 in (350 mm)
---
21,872 yards (20,000 m)
10.43 in (265 mm)
---
27,340 yards (25,000 m)
  8.66 in (220 mm)
---
Notes:

1) The above information is from "German Capital Ships of World War Two" and is derived from trials conducted in 1938 when these guns were compared against the 38 cm guns intended for the Bismarck class battleships.

2) There is evidence to suggest that these guns achieved penetrations of 13.23 in (336 mm) at 21,872 yards (20,000 m) against World War I-era armor.
.
Mount / Turret Data
.
Designation Two-gun Turrets
   Baden (4) and Ersatz Yorck (4):  DRH LC/1913
Weight This data is only for Bayern, other ships may be different.
   A:  853.7 tons (867,440 kg)
   B:  856.1 tons (869,880 kg)
   C:  853.3 tons (866,950 kg)
   D:  836.8 tons (850,240 kg)
Elevation Baden (as completed):  -8 / +16.0 degrees
Bayern (as completed and possibly also Baden later in the war):  -5 / +20.0 degrees

Battery Deutschland reportedly had three BSG mountings capable of +45 degrees and one BSG mounting capable of +55 degrees
Elevation Rate 5 degrees per second
Train About +150 / -150 degrees
Train Rate 3 degrees per second
Gun recoil N/A
Loading Angle N/A
Notes:

1) Each gun had a combined shell and charge cage that ran on rails behind the breeches.  These could be used for either gun.

2) Typical of German designs, these turrets ran on ball races containing 144 steel ball bearings of about 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) in diameter.

3) Projectile hoists ran directly from the handling room to the gunhouse.

4) ADM 186/251 notes that the shell grabs and the foot grip plating used in the shell rooms were both very efficient and should be copied in future British designs.  However, it also notes that the Auxiliary Loading Chamber was "both a poor and an elaborate arrangement."  The Auxiliary Loading Chamber allowed an "alternate supply of six projectiles per gun to be sent to the gun-house by means of an electrically driven hoist.  There is no ready means of replenishing the secondary loading compartment from the shell room."
.
Data from
"Big Gun Monitors:  The History of the Design, Construction and Operation of the Royal Navy's Monitors" by Ian Buxton
"Jutland:  An Analysis of the Fighting" by John Campbell
"Battleship Design and Development 1905-1945" by Norman Friedman
"German Warships 1815-1945" by Erich Gröner
"The Big Gun:  Battleship Main Armament 1860-1945" by Peter Hodges
"The German Defenses on the Coast of Belgium" by Lt. Col. H.W. Miller USA in "The Journal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers" Vol. 42, No. 6, June 1920
"The Baden Trials" article by William Schleihauf in "Warship 2007"
"Die Geschichte der deutschen Schiffsartillerie" by Paul Schmalenbach
"German Warships of World War I" by John C. Taylor
"German Capital Ships of World War Two" by M.J. Whitley
---
ADM 186/251 (an incomplete copy is at HMS Hood Association Website)
---
Special Help from Peter Lienau
Off-site Resources

Images of the Great War
Data for use on Land Mountings (in French): Les Canons de l'Apocalypse
HMS Hood Association Website


Page History

12 October 2007 - Benchmark
26 August 2011 - Added projectile information