15 cm SK L/45


The 15 cm SK L/45 was a German naval gun used in World War I and World War II.

Naval service

The 15 cm SK L/45 was a widely used naval gun on many classes of World War I dreadnoughts and cruisers in both casemates and turrets. It was constructed of an A tube and two layers of hoops with a Krupp horizontal sliding-wedge breech block. During World War I a few pre-war cruisers that were armed with 10.5 cm guns were rearmed with these weapons. In World War II the 15 cm SK L/45 was widely used as coastal artillery and as primary armament on German auxiliary cruisers.
Ship classes that carried the 15 cm SK L/45 include:
Type of mountDesignationWeightElevationRange Ship classes
Single pedestal mounts in casematesMPL C/06−7° to +20° at 20°,, and es,,,
Single pedestal mounts in casematesMPL C/06.11−10° to +19° at +19,,,
Single pedestal mounts in casematesMPL C/13−8.5° to +19 at +19,,
Single pedestal mounts in casematesMPL C/13 mod−8.5° to +22 at +22Wartime modification to MPL C/13
Single pedestal mounts in open half-shieldsMPL C/14−10° to +22° at +22,
Single pedestal mounts in open half-shieldsMPL C/16−10° to +27° at +27,
Single pedestal mounts in open half-shieldsMPL C/16 mod−10° to +30 at +30wartime modification to MPL C/16

Ammunition

Ammunition was of separate loading quick fire type. The projectiles were long with a single bagged charge which weighed.
The gun was able to fire:

Coast defense gun

The same gun was used for coast defense duties in concrete emplacements after World War I. One example was 3./Marine-Artillerie Abteilung 604 in Jersey. They show it using shells with a range of

Railroad gun

It was also used as a railroad gun during World War I.

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era