15 cm SK "Nathan"

Infobox Weapon
name=15 cm SK L/45 "Nathan"


caption=
origin=Germany
type=railroad gun
is_ranged=
is_bladed=
is_explosive=yes
is_artillery=yes
is_vehicle=
is_UK=
service=1916-1918
used_by=flag|German Empire
wars=World War I
designer=Krupp
design_date=
manufacturer=Krupp
production_date=
number=21+
variants=
weight=convert|55500|kg|lb
length=
part_length=
width=
height=
crew=
cartridge=separate-loading, case charge
caliber=convert|149.1|mm|in
action=
rate=
velocity=840 m/s
range=
max_range=convert|22675|m|yd
feed=
sights=
breech=horizontal sliding-wedge
recoil=
carriage=
elevation=+0° to 45°
traverse=50° or 180° with side restraints
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 SK L/45 "Nathan" or, more formally, the 15 cm SK L/45 in Mittelpivot-Lafette (15 cm Schiffskanone (Ship's gun)) 45 caliber on a central-pivot mount) was a German railroad gun used in World War I.

Design & History

The Germans were desperate for long-range artillery in the early part of World War I and resorted to mounting naval guns on wheeled carriages as well as rail cars. The wheeled carriages were less than successful due to their great weight, but the rail-mounted guns rather more so. All of the naval guns received nicknames and were crewed by sailors. The 15 cm guns were called "Nathan", "Nathan Ernst" and "Nathan Emil" although the reason for three different names isn't known for certain. Quite probably they were used to differentiate between models of the 15 cm gun as both the C/13 and the C/16 guns are known to have been used. The latter guns were originally intended for the canceled Köln class light cruisers then under construction while the former were spare guns for dreadnoughts and older light cruisers. Sources disagree on the meaning of the SK abbreviation in its name. Alternative meanings are Schnelladungskanone (Fast-loading cannon) or Schnellfeuerkanone (Fast-firing cannon).

At any rate the 15cm guns were mounted in a well-base flatcar with two four-wheel bogies. No outriggers were fitted so the recoil energy from shots fired perpendicular to the railroad track could rock the flatcar significantly even with the railcar chained to the ground. They were fitted with front and side gunshields, although, oddly enough, no overhead armor was fitted. They first saw service in 1918 and appear to have been mainly used for coastal defense duties.

It fired naval Spgr. L/5 (Haube) HE shells weighing convert|44|kg|lb with convert|5|kg|lb of explosive filler.

The same gun was used for coast defense duties in concrete emplacements after World War I as the 15 cm Schiffskanone L/45.

References

* François, Guy. "Eisenbahnartillerie: Histoire de l'artillerie lourd sur voie ferrée allemande des origines à 1945". Paris: Editions Histoire et Fortifications, 2006
* Jäger, Herbert. "German Artillery of World War One". Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood Press, 2001 ISBN 1-86126-403-8
* Kosar, Franz. "Eisenbahngeschütz der Welt". Stuttgart: Motorbook, 1999 ISBN 3-613-01976-0