28 cm Haubitze L/12

28 cm Haubitze L/12
Type Coastal Artillery
Heavy Siege Howitzer
Place of origin Germany
Service history
In service 1890–45
Used by  German Empire
 Nazi Germany
Wars World War I
World War II
Production history
Designer Krupp
Manufacturer Krupp
Specifications
Weight 50.3 tonnes (49.5 long tons; 55.4 short tons)
Barrel length 3.39 m (11.1 ft) L/12[1]
Shell Separate loading bagged charge and projectile
Shell weight 215–345 kg (474–761 lb)
Caliber 283 mm (11.1 in)
Breech Horizontal sliding-block
Recoil Hydro-gravity
Elevation 0° to +70°
Traverse 360°[1]
Rate of fire 1 round per 4 minutes
Muzzle velocity 379–425 m/s (1,240–1,390 ft/s)
Effective firing range 9.9 km (6.2 mi)
Maximum firing range 10.4 km (6.5 mi)[1]

The 28 cm Haubitze L/12 was a German coastal defense and siege howitzer. Developed by Krupp before World War I that saw service in both World War I and World War II.

Description

The 28 cm Haubitze L/12 in Mittelpivotlafette C/92 was a design of the late 19th century initially intended for coastal defense. The theory of operation was a low-velocity howitzer firing a large shell at a high-angle was more likely to destroy an enemy ship by penetrating its thin deck armor than a high-velocity low-angle gun attempting to penetrate its thicker belt armor. The downside was that high-angle fire was harder to aim correctly so more howitzers would be needed to defend an area from attack. However, if the area was constrained by geography like a port at the mouth of a river the navigation channels could be measured ahead of time and firing ranges calculated. A complicating factor was as naval artillery progressed their size and range soon eclipsed its range.[2]

In the coastal defense role it was mounted on a large geared circular base that was set in concrete. There was also a 60 mm (2.4 in) thick armored dome to protect the gun crew. Recoil forces were absorbed by a combination of the gun cradle moving up an inclined plane and two hydro-pneumatic or hydro-spring recuperator cylinders, one on each side of the carriage. It fired a 215–345 kg (474–761 lb) high-explosive shell to a range of 10.4 km (6.5 mi) and was capable of penetrating 100 mm (3.9 in) of deck armor at an angle of 63° at 9.9 km (6.2 mi). The guns had an early form of the Krupp sliding block breech and used separate loading bagged charge and projectiles.[1]

In the siege howitzer role it could be broken down into four loads, the barrel, cradle, turntable and firing platform, each carried by a three-axle trailer. It was mounted on a turntable which was fixed to a wooden firing platform and required three to four days to emplace for firing. An ammunition crane was fixed to the carriage for ease of loading.[3]

Combat history

World War I

During the First World War there was a four gun battery at the Bismark fortress that participated in the defense of the German colony of Tsingtao during Siege of Tsingtao in 1914.[4] A four gun battery was also moved from the German port of Wilhelmshaven to Blankenberge in Belgium to defend against an allied seaborne invasion.[1]

World War II

Supposedly it saw action in the assault on Sevastopol in 1942 under the command of 11th Army of Army Group South, but this has not been confirmed.[3]

Weapons of similar era and performance

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Fleisher, Wolfgang. German artillery : 1914-1918. Barnsley. p. 118. ISBN 9781473823983. OCLC 893163385.
  2. ↑ Hogg, Ian (2000). Twentieth-century artillery. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. p. 88. ISBN 0760719942. OCLC 44779672.
  3. 1 2 Gander and Chamberlain, p. 208
  4. ↑ "German Colonial Uniforms". s400910952.websitehome.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-09-23.

References

  • Engelmann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. Deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliederung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz. Limburg/Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke, 1974
  • 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 ISBN 0-385-15090-3
  • Hogg, Ian V. German Artillery of World War Two. 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997 ISBN 1-85367-480-X
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