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38 cm Siegfried K (E)

Field	Value
name	38 cm Siegfried K (E)
image	38cmSiegfried.jpg
image_size	300
caption	A Siegfried K (E) destroyed by American aircraft in the Rhône Valley, 1944
origin	Nazi Germany
type	Railway gun
is_explosive	yes
is_artillery	yes
is_UK	no
service	1941–1945
used_by	Nazi Germany
wars	World War II
designer	Krupp
design_date	1939 - 1941
manufacturer	Krupp
number	4
weight	286 t
length	31.32 m
part_length	18.405 m L/48.4
cartridge	separate-loading, cased charge
caliber	380 mm
velocity	820 -
max_range	55700 m
breech	horizontal sliding-block
recoil	hydro-pneumatic
carriage	2 x 8-axle bogies
elevation	0° to 52.3°
traverse	none (on mount)
360° (on turntable)

360° (on turntable)

The 38 cm Siegfried K (E) was a German World War II railway gun based on the 38 cm SK C/34 naval gun that served as the main armament of the s. Only four were produced. K stands for Kanone (cannon), E for Eisenbahnlafette (on railroad mounting).

Design

Like the 38 cm SK C/34 naval guns deployed as coastal defense, the 38 cm Siegfried K guns were modified with a larger chamber to handle the increased amount of propellant used for the special long-range Siegfried shells.

The gun had no ability to traverse on its mount, relying instead on moving along a curving section of track or on a Vögele turntable to aim. The turntable (Drehscheibe) consisted of a circular track with a pivot mount in the center for a platform on which the railroad gun itself was secured. A ramp was used to raise the railway gun to the level of the platform. The platform had rollers at each end which rested on the circular rail for 360° traverse. It had a capacity of 300 t, enough for most of the railroad guns in the German inventory. The gun could only be loaded at 0° elevation and so had to be re-aimed for each shot.

Ammunition

The gun used the standard German naval system of ammunition where the base charge was held in a metallic cartridge case and supplemented by another charge in a silk bag which was rammed first.

Four types of shells were used by the 38 cm Siegfried K (E), including the special long-range Siegfried shell (Siegfried—Granate) developed by the army. Almost 40 per-cent lighter, it could be fired with a reduced charge at 920 m/s to 40000 m. With a full charge it reached 1050 m/s and could travel 55700 m–equivalent to over 34.5 miles.

Shell name	Weight	Filling Weight	Muzzle velocity	Range
nose-fused HE shell with ballistic cap (Sprenggranate L/4.6 m KZ m Hb)	800 kg	Unknown	820 m/s	42,000 m
base-fused HE shell with ballistic cap (Sprenggranate L/4.4 m BdZ m Hb))	800 kg	Unknown	820 m/s	42,000 m
base-fused AP shell with ballistic cap (Panzer- Sprenggranate L/4.4 m BdZ m Hb))	800 kg	Unknown	820 m/s	42,000 m
nose- and base-fused HE shell with ballistic cap (Si-Gr L/4.5 Bdz u. Kz (m.Hb)) (light load)	495 kg	69 kg TNT	{{convert	920	m/s	ft/s	abbr=on}}
nose- and base-fused HE shell with ballistic cap (Si-Gr L/4.5 Bdz u. Kz (m.Hb)) (full load)	495 kg	69 kg TNT	{{convert	1050	m/s	ft/s	abbr=on}}

Notes

References

Campbell, John. Naval Weapons of World War Two. London: Conway Maritime Press, 2002
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
Hogg, Ian V. German Artillery of World War Two. 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997
Kosar, Franz. Eisenbahngeschütz der Welt. Stuttgart: Motorbook, 1999

References

{{convert. 38. cm. in. 2. 19,467. to. 22,072. in3. dm3. 629.2. to. 620. in. m
Campbell, p. 229
François, p. 75
Hogg, pp. 242-3

Info: Wikipedia Source

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