10.5 cm SK L/40 naval gun

10.5 cm SK L/40
A gun salvaged from the light cruiser Königsberg and mounted on the gunboat SS Graf von Götzen on Lake Tanganyika
Type	Naval gun
Place of origin	German Empire
Service history
In service	1900—1945
Used by	German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designed	about 1898–1900
Specifications
Weight	1,555 kilograms (3,428 lb)
Length	4.475 meters (14 ft 8.2 in)
Shell	Fixed
Shell weight	16–17.4 kilograms (35–38 lb)
Caliber	105 millimeters (4.1 in)
Breech	horizontal sliding-block
Muzzle velocity	690 m/s (2,300 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	12,200 metres (13,300 yd)

The 10.5 cm SK L/40 (SK - Schnelladekanone (quick-loading cannon) L - Länge (with a 40-caliber long barrel) was a German naval gun that was used in World War I and World War II.

Description

The 10.5 cm SK L/40 gun weighed 1,555 kilograms (3,428 lb), had an overall length of 4.475 m (14 ft 8.2 in). It used a horizontal sliding-block breech design.

Surviving examples

Gun from SMS Königsberg which served ashore in the East Africa Campaign in World War I, outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa

From SMS Königsberg (1905):

• Nr. 369L is on display at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa
• A second is on display at Fort Jesus, Mombasa, Kenya
• A third is located on a traffic island in Jinja, Uganda

From SMS Emden (1908):

• A gun is on display at Hyde Park, Sydney, Australia
• A second is located at the Royal Australian Navy Heritage Centre in HMAS Kuttabul, the main naval base in Sydney
• A third is on display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra

From the Hilfskreuzer (Auxiliary Cruiser) SS Prinz Eitel Friedrich (1904):

• A gun is on display at Memorial Park, Cambridge, NY USA [1]

See also

• List of naval guns

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

• British BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VIII - firing slightly lighter shell

External links

• SK L/40 at Navweaps.com