15 cm K (E)

Infobox Weapon
name=15 cm Kanone (E)


caption=
origin=Germany
type=railroad gun
is_ranged=
is_bladed=
is_explosive=yes
is_artillery=yes
is_vehicle=
is_UK=
service=
used_by=flag|Nazi Germany
wars=World War II
designer=Krupp
design_date=1937
manufacturer=Krupp
production_date=1937
number=4
variants=
weight=74,000 kg
length=20.1 m
part_length=L/40
width=
height=
crew=
cartridge=separate-loading, cased charge
caliber=149.3 mm
action=
rate=
velocity=600-805 m/s
range=
max_range=22,500 m
feed=
sights=
breech=vertical sliding block
recoil=
carriage=
elevation=10° - 45°
traverse=360°
blade_type=
hilt_type=
sheath_type=
head_type=
haft_type=
diameter=
filling=
filling_weight=
detonation=
yield=
armour=
primary_armament=
secondary_armament=
engine=
engine_power=
pw_ratio=
suspension=
vehicle_range=
speed=The 15 cm Kanone in Eisenbahnlafette (15 cm K (E)) was a German railroad gun used in the Second World War.

Design

This weapon was the first modern railroad gun to enter service with the Heer. The gun was mounted on a simple pivot mount on a ballrace on a well-base flatcar with four outriggers. In action the outriggers and their jacks would be dropped to stabilize the gun and absorb the firing recoil. In addition jacks locked the spring suspension, bore on the surface of the rails and screw clamps gripped the rails for more stability. The elderly 15 cm Schiffskanone L/40 was used because it was available in some numbers.

Ammunition

The standard high explosive shell was the 15 cm K Gr 18, a convert|43|kg|lb nose-fuzed round containing convert|5.68|kg|lb of TNT. An anti-concrete shell was also available, the 15 cm Gr 19 Be. It was a base-fuzed convert|43.5|kg|lb shell with a TNT filler of convert|4.8|kg|lb, with a rounded sheet-steel ballistic cap. A base propellant charge was combined with three increments to form three standard loadings, Kleine Ladung with a muzzle velocity of 600 m/sec, Mittelere Ladung with a muzzle velocity of 725 m/sec and Grosse Ladung with a muzzle velocity of 805 m/sec.

Deployment

They spent the war assigned to Artillerie-Batterie 655 (E) in Belgium along the Channel coast.

Notes

Sources are contradictory on the gun used and numbers produced of this weapon. The most recent source, François, has been generally been followed, not least because he cites serial numbers. Do not confuse this gun with those of Marine-Artillerie-Batterie Gneisenau that used a slightly more modern 15 cm SKL/45 gun with a gunshield.

References

* Englemann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. "Deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliderung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz". Limburg/Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke, 1974

* François, Guy. "Eisenbahnartillerie: Histoire de l'artillerie lourd sur voie ferrée allemande des origines à 1945". Paris: Editions Histoire et Fortifications, 2006

* Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. "Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945". New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3

* Hogg, Ian V. "German Artillery of World War Two". 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997 ISBN 1-85367-480-X

* Kosar, Franz. "Eisenbahngeschütz der Welt". Stuttgart: Motorbook, 1999 ISBN 3-613-01976-0