21 cm SK L/40

21 cm SK L/40
A twin turret aboard SMS Scharnhorst
TypeNaval gun
Railway gun
Coastal artillery
Place of originGerman Empire
Service history
In service1898-1945
Used by German Empire
 Nazi Germany
WarsBoxer Rebellion
Venezuelan Crisis
World War I
World War II
Production history
DesignerKrupp
Designed1897-1904
ManufacturerKrupp
Produced1898
VariantsC/97
C/01
C/04
Specifications
MassC/97: 16,500 kg (36,400 lb)
C/01: 20,020 kg (44,140 lb)
C/04: 18,900 kg (41,700 lb)
Length8.4 m (27 ft 7 in)
Barrel length7.8 m (25 ft 7 in)

Shell weight108–113.5 kg (238–250 lb)
Caliber210 mm (8.3 in) 40 caliber
BreechCylindro-prismatic breech block
ElevationSee Table
Traverse-150 to +150 °
Rate of fire4-5 rpm
Muzzle velocity780 m/s (2,600 ft/s)
Maximum firing range12.4 km (7.7 mi) at +16°
16.3 km (10.1 mi) at +30°

The 21 cm Schnelladekanone Länge 40, abbreviated as 21 cm SK L / 40, was a German naval gun developed in the years before World War I that armed a number of the Imperial German Navy's protected and armored cruisers. Later spare guns were adapted to railway guns during World War I and later employed as coastal artillery during World War II.[1]

  1. ^ DiGiulian, Tony. "Germany 21 cm/40 (8.27") SK L/40 - NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 2017-03-07.