15 cm Schiffskanone C/28 in Mörserlafette

15 cm Schiffskanone C/28 in Mörserlafette
Type Heavy gun
Place of origin Nazi Germany
Service history
Used by  Nazi Germany
Wars World War II
Production history
Designer Rheinmetall
Manufacturer Rheinmetall
Produced 1941
Number built 8
Specifications
Weight 16,870 kilograms (37,190 lb)
Barrel length 8.195 metres (322.6 in) L/55
Shell separate-loading, cased charge
Caliber 149.1 millimetres (5.87 in)
Breech horizontal sliding block
Recoil dual-recoil hydropneumatic
Carriage box trail
Elevation 0° to +50°
Traverse 16° on carriage
360° on platform
Rate of fire 2 rpm
Muzzle velocity 890 metres per second (2,900 ft/s)
Maximum firing range 23,700 metres (25,900 yd)

The 15 cm Schiffskanone C/28 in Mörserlafette (SK C/28 in Mrs Laf) was a German heavy gun used in the Second World War. Production of carriages for the 21 cm Mörser 18 and the 17 cm Kanone 18 in Mörserlafette exceeded available barrels in 1941 and eight naval 15 cm SK C/28 coast defense gun barrels were adapted for use on the carriages. They were converted to Heer-standard percussion firing. See the articles of those guns for details on the design of the carriage. For Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the Soviet Union), it equipped Artillerie-Abteilung 625.[1] Most guns were replaced by 17 cm barrels as they became available. However for Case Blue (the German summer offensive in southern Russia), one battery of Artillery Battalion (Artillerie-Abteilung) 767 was still equipped with them.[2] That same battery retained them through the beginning of the Battle of Kursk in July 1943.[3]

Ammunition

The 15 cm SK C/28 in Mrs Laf could not be converted to use the Heer's standard 15 cm ammunition and had to use naval ammunition. These included the 15 cm Sprgr L/4.6 KZ m. Hb., the 15cm Sprgr L/4.5 BdZ m. Hb. and the 15 cm Pzgr L/3.8 m. Hb. The former was a nose-fuzed 45.5 kilograms (100 lb) HE shell with a ballistic cap. The second was a base-fuzed 44.8 kilograms (99 lb) HE shell, also with a ballistic cap. The last-named was a standard 45.3 kilograms (100 lb) armor-piercing shell. Only one 14.1 kilograms (31 lb) bag of propellant was used in a separate-loading cartridge case.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Niehorster, Leo W. G. German World War II Organizational Series, Vol. 3/II: Mechanized GHQ units and Waffen-SS Formations (22nd June 1941), 1992, p. 22
  2. ↑ Niehorster, Leo W. G. German World War II Organizational Series, Vol. 4/II: Mechanized GHQ units and Waffen-SS Formations (28th June 1942), 2004, p. 20
  3. ↑ Niehorster, Leo W. G. German World War II Organizational Series, Vol. 5/II: Mechanized GHQ units and Waffen-SS Formations (4 July 1943), 2005, p. 41
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