Description

Following the Jutland (Skagerrak) battle, one of the responses of the Kaiserliche Marine was to investigate building heavier battleships armed with the largest caliber guns possible. A 42 caliber gun was selected and a preliminary design was produced in late 1916 with a final design being approved on 11 September 1918. This was too late and no guns were started before the Armistice two months later. The data below is thus very limited and includes estimates by reputable historians.

Gun Characteristics

Designation 42 cm (16.53") SK L/45
Ship Class Used On N/A (usually known as "L 20 α [alpha]")
Date Of Design 1918
Date In Service Not in service
Gun Weight 113 tons (115 mt)
Gun Length oa about 744 in (18.900 m)
Bore Length N/A
Rifling Length N/A
Grooves N/A
Lands N/A
Twist N/A
Chamber Volume N/A
Rate Of Fire about 2 rounds per minute
  • According to Austro-Hungarian records, the 42 cm L/45 project barrel weight was 115 metric tons and its price at 948,000 Marks - in 1917 one US dollar = 5.77 Marks, so this gun barrel would have cost about $164,000.

Ammunition

Type Cartridge - Bag
Projectile Types and Weights 1a APC: about 2,200 to 2,290 lbs. (1,000 to 1,038 kg)
HE base-fuze: about 2,200 to 2,290 lbs. (1,000 to 1,038 kg)
Bursting Charge 2a APC: about 75 lbs. (34 kg) TNT
HE base-fuze: about 198 lbs. (90 kg) TNT
Projectile Length N/A
Propellant Charge N/A
Muzzle Velocity about 2,625 fps (800 mps)
Working Pressure N/A
Approximate Barrel Life N/A
Ammunition stowage per gun about 90 rounds
  • ^
    Shell weights are estimates by John Campbell and Kent Crawford as given in "Naval Weapons of World War One."
  • ^
    Burster weights are my estimates based upon other large-caliber German shells of the World War era.

Range

Range with AP 1b
Elevation Distance
30 degrees about 36,000 yards (33,000 m)
  • ^
    Range and elevation are estimates by John Campbell and Kent Crawford as given in "Naval Weapons of World War One."

Mount/Turret Data

Designation Two-gun Turrets
   L 20 α (4): N/A
Weight N/A
Elevation -5 / +30.0 degrees
Elevation Rate N/A
Train about +150 / -150 degrees
Train Rate N/A
Loading Angle N/A
Gun recoil N/A

Sources

"Naval Weapons of World War One" by Norman Friedman
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Special help from Mihály Krámli and Gábor Kiss.

Page History

21 March 2025 - New datapage
12 May 2025 - Added cost of gun barrel.