17 cm SK L/40 gun
The 17 cm SK L/40 was a Kaiserliche Marine naval gun that was used on two classes of German pre-dreadnought battleships the and the as their secondary battery. Later they were adapted for land service during World War I and World War II.
Description
The 17 cm SK L/40 gun although designated as, its actual caliber was. It used the Krupp horizontal sliding-block, or "wedge", as it is sometimes referred to, in a breech loading design, rather than the interrupted screw commonly used in the heavy guns of other nations. This required that the propellant charge be loaded in a metal,, case which provides obturation, i.e. seals the breech to prevent escape of the expanding propellant gas.Naval Use
The Braunschweig-class secondary battery consisted of fourteen 17 cm SK L/40 quick-firing guns, four of which were mounted in single turrets amidships, with the remaining ten in casemates around the superstructure. These guns had a total of 1,820 shells, for 130 rounds per gun and a rate of fire of approximately 6 per minute. To transit the Kiel Canal, the three central casemated guns had to be withdrawn into their housings, as they were unable to train fully flush with the sides of the ships. With the guns fully emplaced, the ships would have been too wide to fit in the canal.The Deutschland-class secondary battery consisted of fourteen 17 cm SK L/40 quick-firing guns mounted in casemates amidships. Five were emplaced in the top deck and two one deck higher in the superstructure on either side. These guns had a total of 1,820 shells, for 130 rounds per gun and a rate of fire of approximately 6 per minute. The guns had an arc of train of 160°.