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Naval gun From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Škoda 24 cm L/40 K97 was an Austro-Hungarian naval gun developed in the years before World War I that armed a class of pre-dreadnought battleships and armored cruisers of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. The actual bore diameter was 23.8 cm (9.4 in), but the classification system for artillery rounded up to the next highest centimeter.
Škoda 24 cm L/40 K97 | |
---|---|
Type | Naval gun |
Place of origin | German Empire |
Service history | |
In service | 1904–1918 |
Used by | Austria-Hungary |
Wars | World War I |
Production history | |
Designer | Krupp |
Designed | 1897 |
Manufacturer | Škoda |
Produced | 1904 |
Variants | Škoda 24 cm L/40 K/01 |
Specifications | |
Mass | K97: 28.3 t (31.2 short tons) K/01: 28.6 t (31.5 short tons) |
Length | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
Barrel length | 8.8 m (28 ft 10 in) |
Shell | Separate loading cased charges and projectiles |
Shell weight | 229 kg (505 lb) |
Caliber | 24 cm (9.4 in) 40 caliber |
Breech | Horizontal sliding-wedge |
Recoil | Hydro-pneumatic |
Elevation | -4° to +20° |
Traverse | -130° to +130° |
Rate of fire | K97: 2 rpm K/01: 2.5 rpm |
Muzzle velocity | K97: 705 m/s (2,310 ft/s) K/01: 725 m/s (2,380 ft/s) |
Maximum firing range | 12 km (7.5 mi) at +16.25°[1] |
The origins of the Škoda 24 cm L/40 K97 lay in an earlier gun designed and built by the Krupp company in Germany. In 1894 Krupp designed the 24 cm SK L/40 and started production in 1898 for the Imperial German Navy's pre-dreadnought battleships and armored cruisers. Krupp produced a variant of the 24 cm SK L/40 for the Austro-Hungarian Navy called the 24 cm L/40 K94 which armed their armored cruiser SMS Kaiser Karl VI, the pre-dreadnought Habsburg-class battleships and the Monarch-class coastal defense ships. In 1897 Škoda bought a production license from Krupp and began production in 1904 at the Pilsen works of the Škoda 24 cm L/40 K97 and later the Škoda designed 24 cm L/40 K/01.[2] Both Germany and Austria-Hungary developed their own ammunition with differing weights and lengths, however their ballistic performance was similar.
The 24 cm SK L/40 was the first large caliber German naval gun to use a Krupp horizontal sliding-wedge breech block and separate loading metallic cased propellant charges and projectiles.[2] Unlike other large naval guns of the time which used separate loading bagged charges and projectiles, this gun used charges inside of a brass cartridge case to provide obturation. It is believed that the K94 and the K97 were both constructed of A tube, three layers of reinforcing hoops and a jacket.[3]
The Škoda 24 cm L/40 K97 was the primary armament of the Erzherzog Karl-class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. The Krupp built K94 guns of the unique armored cruiser SMS Kaiser Karl VI were later replaced with Škoda built K97 guns during a refit in 1916. While the Škoda designed 24 cm L/40 K/01 armed the unique armored cruiser SMS Sankt Georg.[2]
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