Adolf Gun

The 40.6 cm Schiffskanone C/34, sometimes known as the Adolfkanone (Adolf gun), was a German naval gun, designed in 1934 by Krupp and originally intended for the H Class battleships.

Description

Intended to be mounted in battleship turrets, the guns were produced in left and right-handed pairs. These pairs were split for individual mounting in the coastal defence role. The gun's barrel was approximately 20 meters long (sources state between 20,300 mm and 21,130 mm). In a coastal defence emplacement the gun could be elevated to 52 degrees, giving it a range of 56 km with the special long range shell. In terms of construction the 40.6 cm guns were identical to the 38 cm SK C/34 - only the calibre of the barrel was different. The rate of fire for the weapon was around 2 rounds per minute.

Original naval specifications

* Date of design- 1934
* Entered service - 1942 (as coastal defense guns)
* Bore - 16 inches (406 mm)
* Length - 69.3 ft (21 m)
* Weight - 176.25 tons
* Rate of fire - 2 rounds per minute
* Shell weight - 2,271 lbs. (1,030 kg)
* Propellant weight - 2 part charge 128 and 134 kg
* Range - 39,800 yards (36,400 m) at 30 degrees
* Muzzle Velocity - Standard Charge: 2,657 fps (810 mps)
* Mountings
**2 gun turret Drh LC/34 (1,475 Metric tons)

Coastal Defense

Since the intended 56,000 ton H Class battleships were never completed, the guns that had been designed for them were used as coastal defense artillery during the Second World War. Ten of the guns were produced; seven were sited in Norway, and the other three were used in Poland near Danzig. Soon after their first training shots, the Polish guns were moved to France and sited near Sangatte.

Gun sites in Poland

The first three guns were situated in Hel Peninsula, Poland as Battery Schleswig-Holstein during 1940 to protect the Bay of Danzig. All three guns were fired during May and June 1941 [http://hela.com.pl/adolfy.htm] and that were transported to France for use as Battery Lindemann soon after. From this new location near Sangatte in France they were used to fire at Dover. There is now a Museum of Coastal Defence located in the remains of the battery in Hel. [http://www.helmuzeum.pl/index.php?go=eng]

Gun sites in Norway

The seven guns in Norway were split into two batteries:
* Battery Dietl with three guns on the island of Engeløya, Steigen.
* The Adolf gun Battery, Four guns mounted at Trondenes near Harstad.

After the end of the war the Trondenes guns were taken over by the Norwegian Army, along with 1,227 shells. The battery was last fired in 1957 and formally decommissioned in 1961. The three Engeløya guns were sold for scrap in 1968 but the four guns at Trondenes were spared and one is open as a museum. [http://hela.com.pl/galerie/trondenes/trondenes-no.htm]

Gun sites in France

The Schleswig Holstein Battery from Hel, in France recalled as Battery Lindemann saw considerable service, with the three guns emplaced singly in turrets, protected by massive concrete encasements in places four meters thick. The guns fired 2,226 shells at Dover between 1940 and 1944. The guns were not put out of action by bombing despite being hit many times, due to the thick concrete. Only the Bruno turret was damaged on 3 September 1944, when a shell from a British Railway Gun hit its elevating gear shortly before the battery was captured.

Naval Projectiles

* L/4.4 m Bd Z Hb (AP) - 1,030 kg. (25 kg. bursting charge)
* L/4.8 m KZ m Hb (HE) - 1,030 kg. (80 kg. bursting charge)
* L/4.6 m Bd Z Hb (SAP) - 1,030 kg. (45 kg. bursting charge)

Coastal Artillery Projectiles

* L/4.2 m KZ m Hb (Adoph) (HE)- 600 kg. (50 kg. bursting charge)
* L/4.1 m KZ m Hb (HE) - 610 kg. (50 kg. bursting charge)

References

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External links

* [http://www.adolfkanonen.com Adolfkanonen.com]
* [http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNGER_16-52_skc34.htm Navy Weapons.com]
* [http://hela.com.pl/galerie/trondenes/trondenes-no.htm Hela.com Trondenes Battery]
* [http://hela.com.pl/adolfy.htm Schleswig-Holstein battery in Hela (in Polish)]
* [http://hela.com.pl/schleswig/schleswig.htm Hela.com gallery]
* [http://www.helmuzeum.pl Museum of Coastal Defence in Schleswig-Holstein battery in Hela]
* [http://victorian.fortunecity.com/lexington/12/fortresses/troms/trondenes/trondenes.htm MKB Trondenes]