38 cm Siegfried K (E)

The 38 cm Siegfried K (E) (K - Kanone (cannon), E - in Eisenbahnlafette (on railroad mounting)) was a German World War II railway gun based on the 38 cm SK C/34 naval gun that served as the main armament of the Bismarck-class battleships. Only four were produced.

38 cm Siegfried K (E)
A Siegfried K (E) destroyed by American aircraft in the Rhône Valley, 1944
TypeRailway gun
Place of originNazi Germany
Service history
In service1941 - 1945
Used byNazi Germany
WarsWorld War II
Production history
DesignerKrupp
Designed1939 - 1941
ManufacturerKrupp
No. built4
Specifications
Mass286 tonnes (281 long tons; 315 short tons)
Length31.32 metres (102 ft 9 in)
Barrel length18.405 metres (60 ft 5 in) L/48.4
Shellseparate-loading, cased charge
Calibre380 millimetres (14.96 in)
Breechhorizontal sliding-block
Recoilhydro-pneumatic
Carriage2 x 8-axle bogies
Elevation0° to 52.3°
Traversenone (on mount)
360° (on turntable)
Muzzle velocity820–1,050 m/s (2,700–3,400 ft/s)
Maximum firing range55,700 metres (60,900 yd)

Design

Like the 38 cm SK C/34 naval guns deployed as coastal defense, the 38 cm Siegfried K guns were modified with a larger chamber to handle the increased amount of propellant used for the special long-range Siegfried shells.[1][2]

The gun had no ability to traverse on its mount, relying instead on moving along a curving section of track or on a Vögele turntable to aim. The turntable (Drehscheibe) consisted of a circular track with a pivot mount in the center for a platform on which the railroad gun itself was secured. A ramp was used to raise the railway gun to the level of the platform. The platform had rollers at each end which rested on the circular rail for 360° traverse. It had a capacity of 300 tonnes (300 long tons; 330 short tons), enough for most of the railroad guns in the German inventory. The gun could only be loaded at 0° elevation and so had to be re-aimed for each shot.[3]

Ammunition

It used the standard German naval system of ammunition where the base charge was held in a metallic cartridge case and supplemented by another charge in a silk bag which was rammed first. Four types of shells were used by the 38 cm Siegfried K (E), including the special long-range Siegfried shell (Siegfried—Granate) developed by the army. Almost 40 per-cent lighter, it could be fired with a reduced charge at 920 metres per second (3,000 ft/s) to 40,000 metres (44,000 yd). With a full charge it reached 1,050 metres per second (3,400 ft/s) and could travel 55,700 metres (60,900 yd)–equivalent to over 34.5 miles.[4]

Shell name Weight Filling Weight Muzzle velocity Range
nose-fused HE shell with ballistic cap (Sprenggranate L/4.6 m KZ m Hb) 800 kg (1,800 lb) Unknown 820 m/s (2,700 ft/s) 42,000 m (46,000 yd)
base-fused HE shell with ballistic cap (Sprenggranate L/4.4 m BdZ m Hb)) 800 kg (1,800 lb) Unknown 820 m/s (2,700 ft/s) 42,000 m (46,000 yd)
base-fused AP shell with ballistic cap (Panzer- Sprenggranate L/4.4 m BdZ m Hb)) 800 kg (1,800 lb) Unknown 820 m/s (2,700 ft/s) 42,000 m (46,000 yd)
nose- and base-fused HE shell with ballistic cap (Si-Gr L/4.5 Bdz u. Kz (m.Hb)) (light load) 495 kg (1,091 lb) 69 kg (152 lb) TNT 920 m/s (3,000 ft/s) 40,000 m (44,000 yd)
nose- and base-fused HE shell with ballistic cap (Si-Gr L/4.5 Bdz u. Kz (m.Hb)) (full load) 495 kg (1,091 lb) 69 kg (152 lb) TNT 1,050 m/s (3,400 ft/s) 55,700 m (60,900 yd)

Notes
  1. 38 cm (14.96 in) SK C/34, NavWeaps Chamber volume increased from 19,467 to 22,072 in3 (319.01 to 361.70 dm3), rifling length reduced correspondingly from 629.2 to 620 in (15.98 to 15.75 m)
  2. Campbell, p. 229
  3. François, p. 75
  4. Hogg, pp. 242-3

References
  • Campbell, John. Naval Weapons of World War Two. London: Conway Maritime Press, 2002 ISBN 0-87021-459-4
  • François, Guy. Eisenbahnartillerie: Histoire de l'artillerie lourd sur voie ferrée allemande des origines à 1945. Paris: Editions Histoire et Fortifications, 2006
  • 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
  • Kosar, Franz. Eisenbahngeschütz der Welt. Stuttgart: Motorbook, 1999 ISBN 3-613-01976-0
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