5.2 cm SK L/55 naval gun

The 5.28 cm SK L/55[Note 1] was a German naval gun that was used before and during World War I on a variety of mounts, in torpedo boats and cruisers.

5.2 cm SK L/55 gun
Krupp gun in Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum, Puckapunyal, Victoria, Australia.
TypeNaval gun
Place of origin German Empire
Service history
In service1906—1920?
Used byGerman Empire
WarsWorld War I
Production history
Designedaround 1905[1]
Specifications
Mass386 kg (851 lb)[2]
Barrel length2.87 m (9 ft 5 in) L/55[2]
ShellFixed QF 52 x 463 R[3]
Shell weight1.75 kg (3 lb 14 oz)[2]
Caliber5.2 cm (2 in)
ActionSemi-automatic
BreechHorizontal sliding wedge
RecoilHydro-pneumatic
CarriageCentral pivot
Elevation-5° to +20°[1]
Traverse360°
Rate of fire10 rpm[1]
Muzzle velocity850 m/s (2,800 ft/s)
Effective firing range7.1 km (4.4 mi) at +20°[1]

Design and description

The 5.2 cm SK L/55 gun was designed around 1905, and used fixed ammunition. It had an overall length of about 2.86 m (9 ft 5 in).[1] The gun was of built-up steel construction with a central rifled tube, reinforcing hoops from the trunnions to the breech. The gun used a semi-automatic Krupp horizontal sliding-block breech and used fixed quick fire ammunition.

Service

This gun was installed in several torpedo boats and cruisers of the Imperial German Navy, as well as in some torpedo boats ordered by the Royal Netherlands Navy, among them:

During World War I it was sometimes replaced with larger guns (as the 8.8 cm L/30, 8.8 cm L/35 or 8.8 cm L/45), while in turn replaced the less powerful 5 cm SK L/40 gun in some older torpedo boats.[1]

See also

References
  1. SK - Schnelladekanone (quick loading cannon); L - Länge (length); /55 - with a 55-caliber-long barrel
  1. "5.2 cm/55 (2.05") SK L/55". Navweaps.com. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  2. Friedman, N. (2011). Naval weapons of World War One. p. 147
  3. "48-57 MM CALIBRE CARTRIDGES". www.quarryhs.co.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2018.

Bibliography

Further reading

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