German
15 cm/40 (5.9") SK L/40
Updated 27 August 2006
These guns were used as secondary armament on many pre-dreadnoughts and large cruisers of the late 1890s and early 1900s.  Exported to Austria-Hungary where it was used on a few ships.

During the Second World War, this gun equipped a few transports and supply ships and was used in some coastal artillery batteries.  Many of the latter were supplied with a new, more streamlined shell.

  All German 15 cm guns had an actual bore diameter of 14.91 cm (5.87 in).
WNGER_59-45_skc16.jpg

SMS Scharnhorst
The 15 cm (5.9") guns are in the hull casemates
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Gun Characteristics
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Designation 15 cm/40 (5.9") SK L/40
Ship Class Used On Kaiser Friedrich III, Wittelsbach, Victoria Louise, Fürst Bismarck, Prinz Heinrich, Prinz Adalbert, Roon and Scharnhorst (1907) classes
Date Of Design about 1896
Date In Service 1898
Gun Weight about 10,000 lbs. (5,000 kg)
Gun Length oa about 236 in (6.000 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 4 - 5 rounds per minute
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Ammunition
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Type Separate
Projectile Types and Weights 1898:  N/A

World War II:  88.2 lbs. (40 kg)
Bursting Charge N/A
Projectile Length N/A
Propellant Charge N/A
Muzzle Velocity 1898:  N/A

World War II:  2,625 fps (800 mps)
Working Pressure N/A
Approximate Barrel Life N/A
Ammunition stowage per gun Kaiser Friedrich III:  120 rounds
Wittelsbach:  140 rounds
Victoria Louise, Fürst Bismarck and Prinz Heinrich:  120 rounds
Prinz Adalbert:  150 rounds
Roon:  160 rounds
Scharnhorst:  170 rounds
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Range
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Elevation With 99.8 lbs. (45.3 kg) HE Shell
Range @ 20 degrees
(1898)		 14,990 yards (13,700 m)
Range @ 20 degrees
(World War II shell)		 15,640 yards (14,300 m)
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Mount / Turret Data
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Designation Single pedestal mounts in casements

Kaiser Friedrich III (18), Wittelsbach (18), Victoria Louise (8), Fürst Bismarck (12), Prinz Heinrich (10), Prinz Adalbert (10), Roon (10) and Scharnhorst (6):  MPL type
Weight  about 37,480 lbs. (17,000 kg)
Elevation MPL:  about  -7 / +20 degrees
Elevation Rate Manual operation, only
Train about +150 / -150 degrees
Train Rate Manual operation, only
Gun recoil N/A
Note:  The elevations shown above are "as designed."  After the Battle of Jutland (Skagerrak), many mountings were modified to increase their maximum elevations to +27 degrees.
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Data from
"Naval Weapons of World War Two" by John Campbell
"German Warships 1815-1945" by Erich Gröner