15 cm Schiffskanone C/28 in Mörserlafette

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]

15 cm Schiffskanone C/28 in Mörserlafette
TypeHeavy gun
Place of originNazi Germany
Service history
Used by Nazi Germany
WarsWorld War II
Production history
DesignerRheinmetall
ManufacturerRheinmetall
Produced1941
No. built8
Specifications
Mass16,870 kilograms (37,190 lb)
Barrel length8.195 metres (322.6 in) L/55
Shellseparate-loading, cased charge
Caliber149.1 millimetres (5.87 in)
Breechhorizontal sliding block
Recoildual-recoil hydropneumatic
Carriagebox trail
Elevation0° to +50°
Traverse16° on carriage
360° on platform
Rate of fire2 rpm
Muzzle velocity890 metres per second (2,900 ft/s)
Maximum firing range23,700 metres (25,900 yd)

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

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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