German
10.5 cm/40 (4.1") SK L/40
Updated 24 November 2007
Used on cruisers and gunboats of the early 1900s.  Some of these guns still served during World War II in coastal batteries and on small combatants.  Used a horizontally sliding breech mechanism.
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Light Cruiser Undine
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10.5 cm/40 SK L/40 on Minesuchboot during World War I
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10.5 cm/40 SK L/40
The gun pictured above and below is now at Memorial Park in Cambridge, New York.  This gun was originally on either the gunboat Tiger or the gunboat Luchs.  After those ships were moved to Tsingtau, China, early in World War I, some of their guns were removed and then mounted on the Hilfskreuzer (Auxiliary Cruiser) Prinz Eitel Friedrich.  Following a successful war-cruise where she sank eleven enemy merchantmen, this ship entered Norfolk, Virginia, for repairs on 11 March 1915.  She was subsequently interned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, and then officially taken over when the USA entered the war in 1917.
Photograph copyrighted by Michael Costello
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10.5 cm/40 SK L/40 now at Memorial Park in Cambridge, New York
Photograph copyrighted by Michael Costello
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10.5 cm/40 SK L/40 gun from the famous German raider Seeadler
Bougainville Park, City of Papeete, Tahiti Island
Photograph copyrighted by Helga67
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Gun Characteristics
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Designation 10.5 cm (4.1") SK L/40
Ship Class Used On Grazelle, Bremen (1904), Königsberg (1907), Dresden and Tiger (Iltis) classes
Date Of Design about 1898
Date In Service 1900
Gun Weight 3,428 lbs. (1,555 kg)
Gun Length oa 176 in (4.475 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 15 rounds per minute
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Ammunition
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Type Fixed
Complete Round Weight AP - N/A
HE - N/A
Projectile Types and Weights AP - 35.3 lbs. (16.0 kg)
HE - 38.4 lbs. (17.4 kg)
Bursting Charge AP - N/A
HE - N/A
Projectile Length N/A
Propellant Charge World War I - 7.0 lbs. (3.18 kg) RPC/12
World War II - N/A
Muzzle Velocity 2,264 fps (690 mps)
Working Pressure N/A
Approximate Barrel Life N/A
Ammunition stowage per gun Early Gazelle class:  100 rounds
Later Gazelle class, Bremen, Königsberg and Dresden:  150 rounds
Tiger:  241 rounds
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Range
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Elevation With 38.4 lbs. (17.4 kg) HE Shell
Range @ 30 degrees 13,340 yards (12,200 m)
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Mount / Turret Data
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Designation Single Mounts
   Grazelle (10):  MPL C/97
   Bremen (10) and Tiger (2):  MPL C/00
   Königsberg (12) and Dresden (12):  MPL C/04
Weight  N/A
Elevation MPL C/97:  -10 / +10 (?) degrees
MPL C/00:  -10 / +30 degrees
MPL C/04:  -6 / +30 degrees
Elevation Rate Hand operated, only
Train 360 degrees
Train Rate Hand operated, only
Gun recoil 7.5 in (19 cm)
Notes:

1) During World War I many of the older ships were disarmed and their guns then used for coastal defense.  A few ships were rearmed with the more powerful 10.5 cm/45 gun during and after the war.

2) Hilfskreuzer Prinz Eitel Friedrich carried four of these guns.
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Data from
"Naval Weapons of World War Two" by John Campbell
"German Warships 1815-1945" by Erich Gröner
"Die Geschichte der deutschen Schiffsartillerie" by Paul Schmalenbach
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"Marine Rundschau, 1907," official statement of the RMA (Reichsmarineamt, Dept. W)
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Special help from Peter Lienau