15 cm SK L/45

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:

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• {{sclass|Bremen|cruiser|4}}
• {{sclass|Brummer|cruiser|4}}
• {{sclass|Graudenz|cruiser|4}}
• {{sclass|Kolberg|cruiser|4}}
• {{sclass|Magdeburg|cruiser|4}}
• {{sclass|Pillau|cruiser|4}}

}}

Ammunition was of separate loading quick fire type. The projectiles were {{convert|61|cm|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} long with a single bagged charge which weighed {{convert|13-14|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.

The gun was able to fire:

• Armor piercing {{convert|45.3|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
• High explosive base fuzed {{convert|45.3|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
• High explosive nose fuzed {{convert|45.3|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
• Common shell {{convert|45.3|kg|lb|abbr=on}}

File:15 cm SK L45 coastal artillery gun at Nordarnøy, Norway - 1.jpg, Gildeskål Municipality, Norway]]

File:15 cm SK L45 coastal artillery gun at Nordarnøy, Norway - 2.jpg

The same gun was used for coast defense duties in concrete emplacements after World War I. One example was 3./Marine-Artillerie Abteilung 604 ("3rd Battery of Naval Artillery Battalion 604") in Jersey.Gander and Chamberlain, p. 266 They show it using {{convert|44|kg|lb}} shells with a range of {{convert|18000|m|yd}}

{{main|15 cm SK "Nathan"}}

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

• BL 6 inch Mk XII naval gun British equivalent

{{Reflist|group=Note}}

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• {{cite book|last=Gander|first=Terry|author2=Chamberlain, Peter|title=Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939–1945|publisher=Doubleday|location=New York|year=1979|isbn=0-385-15090-3}}
• {{cite book|title=Naval Weapons of World War Two |author=Campbell, John |publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1985|isbn=0-87021-459-4}}
• {{cite book|title=Naval Weapons of World War One|last=Friedman|first=Norman|publisher=Seaforth|year=2011|isbn=978-1-84832-100-7|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK}}
• {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1985|isbn=0-85177-245-5|location=Annapolis, Maryland|editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNGER_59-45_skc16.htm the 15cm SK L/45 on NavWeaps]

{{WWIGermanNavalWeapons}}

{{WWIIGermanGuns}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:15 cm 4th cat SK L/45}}

Category:Naval guns of Germany

Category:Krupp naval guns

Category:World War I naval weapons

Category:World War II naval weapons

Category:150 mm artillery

Category:Coastal artillery