Škoda 30.5 cm /45 K10

The Škoda 30.5 cm /45 and Škoda 30.5 cm /45 K10 were a family of related naval guns of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that were used aboard the last classes of pre-dreadnoughts and dreadnoughts of the Austro-Hungarian Navy during the World War I. Guns salvaged from these ships after World War I were later used by the Royal Italian Army as coastal artillery during World War II.^[2]

Škoda 30.5 cm /45 K10
Stern triple gun turrets aboard the SMS Tegetthoff
Type	Naval gun Coastal artillery
Place of origin	Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service	1910–1945
Used by	Austria-Hungary Kingdom of Italy
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designer	Škoda
Designed	1908
Manufacturer	Škoda
Produced	1908
No. built	65
Variants	Škoda 30.5 cm
Specifications
Mass	54.25 t (60 short tons)
Length	13.7 m (45 ft)
Barrel length	13 m (43 ft)
Shell	Separate loading cased charge and projectile
Shell weight	450 kg (990 lb)
Caliber	30.5 cm (12.0 in) 45 caliber
Elevation	-4° to +20°
Traverse	-140° to +140°
Rate of fire	3 rpm
Muzzle velocity	800 m/s (2,600 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	22 km (14 mi) at +20°[1]

History

The 30.5 cm /45 was developed and built by Škoda at the Plzeň works beginning in 1908 as the primary armament for the last class of pre-dreadnought battleships produced for the Austro-Hungarian Navy known as the Radetzky-class. The three Radetzky-class ships were armed with one twin gun turret fore and aft. The later Škoda 30.5 cm /45 K10 were the primary armament for the last class of four dreadnought battleships produced for the Austro-Hungarian Navy known as the Tegetthoff-class. The Tegetthoff-class having two superfiring triple gun turrets fore and aft.^[3] After World War I the SMS Tegetthoff, SMS Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand, SMS Radetzky and SMS Zrinyi were ceded to Italy as war reparations. The four ships being scrapped in Italy between 1920 and 1926. The guns salvaged by the Italians were known as Cannon 305/42.^[4]

Construction

A total of sixty-five guns were built by Škoda. The first thirteen were for the Radetzky-class, while the last fifty-two guns were for the Tegetthoff-class. Only the Tegetthoff-class carried the K10 guns. The K10 differing from the earlier guns by having a 5 cm (2 in) longer firing chamber to accommodate a larger propellant charge. Otherwise weights, dimensions and ballistic performance for the two series of guns were very similar. Both guns used Krupp horizontal sliding breech blocks with separate loading metallic cased charges and projectiles.^[5] Unlike other large naval guns of the time which used separate loading bagged charges and ammunition, the 30.5 cm /45 used separate loading ammunition with charges inside of a brass cartridge case to provide obturation.^{[citation needed]}

Ammunition

Ammunition was of separate loading type with a cartridge case which weighed 69.6 kg (153 lb) and a bagged charge which weighed 138–140 kg (304–309 lb).

Austro-Hungarian Ammunition:

• Armor Piercing - Length=104 cm (3 ft 5 in), Weight=450 kg (990 lb)
• Common Pointed- Length=122 cm (4 ft), Weight=450 kg (990 lb)

Italian-Ammunition:

• Armor Piercing - Length=unknown, Weight=452 kg (996 lb)^[6]

Coastal Artillery

Remains of a 305/42 gun emplacement.

In the years following World War I a number of different destinations for the 305/42 guns were suggested. These included Trapani, Pantelleria, Tobruk, Ischia, Ponza, Leros and Capri. At the outbreak of World War II, only three guns on single mounts slated for Tobruk, were instead used to arm Battery Cattaneo near Taranto. These fortifications were still incomplete at the time of the Italian armistice in 1943. Another two guns were considered for the monitors GM191 and GM192.^[7]

305 mm /46 Model 1909 guns from the scrapped Dante Alighieri and the salvaged Leonardo da Vinci were also under consideration, but the 305/42 was considered to be less costly to build installations for. However a limited ammunition supply militated against widespread use of the 305/42.^[8]