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. | |
| Type | Naval gun |
| Place of origin |  German Empire |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1906—1920? |
| Used by | German Empire |
| Wars | World War I |
| Production history | |
| Designed | around 1905[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 386 kg (851 lb)[2] |
| Barrel length | 2.87 m (9 ft 5 in) L/55[2] |
| Shell | Fixed QF 52 x 463 R[3] |
| Shell weight | 1.75 kg (3 lb 14 oz)[2] |
| Caliber | 5.2 cm (2 in) |
| Action | Semi-automatic |
| Breech | Horizontal sliding wedge |
| Recoil | Hydro-pneumatic |
| Carriage | Central pivot |
| Elevation | -5° to +20°[1] |
| Traverse | 360° |
| Rate of fire | 10 rpm[1] |
| Muzzle velocity | 850 m/s (2,800 ft/s) |
| Effective firing range | 7.1 km (4.4 mi) at +20°[1] |
Design and description
editThe 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
editThis 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:
- SMS V106 torpedo boat (ex-Dutch)
- A-class torpedo boat (coastal)
- S90-class torpedo boat (ocean-going)
- Dresden-class cruiser
- Kolberg-class cruiser
- Königsberg-class cruiser
- Pillau-class cruiser
- Wiesbaden-class cruiser
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
editReferences
edit- ^ SK - Schnelladekanone (quick loading cannon); L - Länge (length); /55 - with a 55-caliber-long barrel
- ^ a b c Friedman, N. (2011). Naval weapons of World War One. p. 147
- ^ "48-57 MM CALIBRE CARTRIDGES". www.quarryhs.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
Bibliography
edit- Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1848321007.
External links
edit- 5.2 cm/55 (2.05") SK L/55 - History and specifications, at Naval Weapons of the World website (NavWeaps.com) (accessed 2016-08-27)