24 cm SK L/30 "Theodor Otto"

Infobox Weapon
name=24 cm SK L/30 "Theodor Otto"


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=
variants=
weight=convert|120000|kg|lb
length=
part_length=
width=
height=
crew=
cartridge=separate-loading, case charge
caliber=convert|238|mm|in
action=
rate=
velocity=640 m/s
range=
max_range=convert|18900|m|yd
feed=
sights=
breech=horizontal sliding-wedge
recoil=
carriage=
elevation=+0° to 45°
traverse=4°
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 24 cm SK L/30 "Theodor Otto" in Eisenbahn-Bettungs-Schießgerüst (24 cm Schnellfeuerkanone (Fast-firing cannon)) with a 30 caliber barrel on railroad-platform-firing-framework) 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 in fixed emplacements as well as rail cars. The Eisenbahn-Bettungslafette (Railroad-Bedding mount) was a sort of combination of the two methods. The various 24 cm guns used a portable iron Bettungslafette that had a central pivot mount and an outer rail that gave 360° traverse. It was assembled with the aid of a derrick or crane and railroad tracks were laid slightly past the Bettungslafette to accommodate the front bogies of the gun. The gun was moved over the Bettungslafette and then lowered into position while the carriage was lifted from the railcars.

These particular guns were of the type fitted to the obsolete armored ship SMS Oldenburg which had been disarmed when it was converted to a target ship about 1912. Most all of the naval guns received nicknames and were generally crewed by sailors. Sources disagree on the meaning of the SK abbreviation in its name. Alternative meanings are Schnelladungskanone (Fast-loading cannon) or Schiffskanone (Ship's gun).

It fired naval ammunition including HE shells weighing between convert|140|kg|lb and convert|151|kg|lb.

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

External Sites

* [http://www.landships.freeservers.com/new_pages/5star_kurze-bruno_kit.htm German railroad guns on Landships]