Description

A series of weapons with similar performance that were used as anti-torpedo boat guns on pre-dreadnoughts, main guns on torpedo boats and destroyers and later developed into Germany's first AAA gun. The Flak L/45 was also used to replace some of the 8.8 cm/35 anti-torpedo boat guns on older warships.

During the 1920s these guns were used as an interim measure on the Panzerschiffe Deutschland and on light cruisers until the new 8.8 cm/76 SK C/32 gun was available, with most ships being refitted by 1939.

During the 1930s surviving guns were modified to take the same ammunition as was used in the 8.8 cm/45 (3.4") SK C/30 and then had the same performance as did that gun.

A number of these guns were sold to Spain during the Spanish Civil War and were used as mobile artillery and in coastal defense batteries.

Gun Characteristics

Designation 8.8 cm/45 (3.46") SK L/45
8.8 cm/45 (3.46") Tbts L/45
8.8 cm/45 (3.46") Flak L/45
Ship Class Used On World War I: Most Capital Ships, Torpedo Boats and Destroyers
1920s: Emden, Königsberg and Deutschland classes
Date Of Design 1905
Date In Service 1906
Gun Weight 5,512 lbs. (2,500 kg)
Gun Length oa about 157.5 in (4.000 m)
Bore length N/A
Rifling Length N/A
Grooves N/A
Lands N/A
Twist N/A
Chamber Volume N/A
Rate Of Fire 15 rounds per minute

Ammunition

Type Fixed
Complete Round Weight 33 lbs. (15 kg)
Projectile Types and Weights 1 2 World War I
   AA L/3,9: 21.2 lbs. (9.63 kg)
   SAP L/3,8: 22.05 lbs. (10.0 kg) 3
   HE L/3,6: 22.05 lbs. (10.0 kg)

World War II
   AP 39: 22.5 lbs. (10.2 kg)
   HE L/4,5, noze fuze: 19.8 lbs. (9.0 kg)
   HE L/4,5, incendiary: 20.9 lbs. (9.5 kg)
   Illum L/4,4: 20.7 lbs. (9,4 kg)

Bursting Charge World War I 4
   AA L/3,9: 1.03 lbs. (0.465 kg) TNT 5
   SAP L/3,8: 1.27 lbs. (0.578 kg) TNT
   HE L/3,6: 1.24 lbs. (0.562 kg) TNT

World War II 6
   AP 39: 0.14 lbs. (0.064 kg) TNT or Hexanite (?)
   HE L/4,5 noze fuze: 1.54 lbs. (0.698 kg) TNT 7
   HE L/4,5 incendiary: 1.42 lbs. (0.646 kg) TNT/incendiary mix

Projectile Length about 14.0 in (385.5 mm)
Propellant Charge World War I
   6.6 lbs. (3.00 kg) RPC/12

World War II
   5.2 lbs. (2.35 kg) RPC/38
   6.22 lbs. (2.82 kg) RPC/38

Muzzle Velocity World War I
   Flak L/45: 2,920 fps (890 mps)
   Others: 2,133 fps (650 mps)

World War II
   2,590 fps (790 mps)

Working Pressure 17.5 tons/in2 (2,750 kg/cm2)
Approximate Barrel Life 7,000 rounds
Ammunition stowage per gun World War I
   Nassau: 150 rounds
   Helgoland and Moltke: 200 rounds
   Kaiser and Seydlitz: 200-350 rounds
   König, Von der Tann, Derfflinger and Mackensen: 400 rounds
   Bücher (1914): 200 rounds
   Torpedo boats: 150 rounds
   Destroyers: 120 rounds

World War II
   Emden and Königsberg: 400 rounds
   Deutschland: N/A

  • ^There were many different kinds of ammunition for these weapons. The ones listed above are meant to be representative, but by no means is this a complete listing.
  • ^
    Actual German designations
    AA L/3,9 8,8 cm Spgr. L/3,9 Kz
    SAP L/3,8 8,8 cm L/3,8 Iz
    HE L/3,6 8,8 cm Spgr. L/3,6 Kz
    AP 39 8,8 cm Pzgr. 39
    HE L/4,5 8,8 cm Spgr. L/4,5
    Incendiary L/4,5 8,8 cm Spgr. L/4,5 Br
    Illumination L/4,4 8,8 cm Lg L/4,4
  • ^The SAP L/3,8 was an interesting design in that it had a large steel nose with the fuze behind it. See sketch below.
  • ^Burster weights (reiner Sprengstoff) for World War I projectiles from "Diagrams of Great War."
  • ^The AA L/3,9 fuze had both impact and time functions.
  • ^Burster weights (reiner Sprengstoff) for World War II projectiles from M.Dv. Nr. 198.
  • ^The HE L/4,5 fuze had both impact and time functions.

Range

World War I

Range with 19.8 lbs. (9.0 kg) HE
Elevation Distance
25 degrees 11,700 yards (10,694 m)
45 degrees 12,900 yards (11,790 m)

World War II

Range with 19.8 lbs. (9.0 kg) HE
Elevation Distance
43 degrees 15,420 yards (14,100 m)
AA Ceiling @ 70 degrees about 30,000 feet (9,150 m)

Mount / Turret Data

Designation 1a Casemate Single Mountings
   Nassau (16), Helgoland (14), Kaiser (8), König (6), Von der Tann (16), Moltke (12), Seydlitz (12), Derfflinger (4) and Blücher (16): MPL C/01-06

Flak Single Mountings
   1914 - 1918
     Mackensen (8), Ersatz Yorck (8), Brummer (2), Königsberg (2), Cöln (3, FK 1 (2) and FK 2 (2): MPL C/13

   1925 - 1945
     Deutschland (3), Emden (1925) (2), Königsberg: MPL C/13

Torpedo Boat Single Mounting
   Destroyers
     B97 (4): Tbts LC/13

   Torpedo Boats
     S153 (2), S155 (2), G170 (3), S146 (3), T139 (3) and V25 (3): Tbts LC/13

Weight N/A
Elevation MPLC/01-06: -10 / +25 degrees
MPLC/13: -10 / +70 degrees
Tbts LC/13: -10 / +25 degrees
Elevation Rate Manual operation, only
Train N/A
Train Rate Manual operation, only
Gun recoil 9.4 in (24 cm)
  • ^Quantities and types shown above are "as built." Many ships had 8.8 cm/45 anti-ship guns removed during World War I in order to fit 8.8 cm/45 FLAK guns. Many older torpedo boats traded their low-powered 8.8 cm/30 and 8.8 cm/35 guns for the more powerful 8.8 cm/45 guns. Larger torpedo boats were rearmed with the even more powerful 10.5 cm/45 Tbts guns.

Additional Pictures

Sources

"German Warships 1815-1945" by Erich Gröner
"German Capital Ships of World War Two" and "German Destroyers of World War Two (2nd Edition)" both by M.J. Whitley
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"Diagrams of Great War - German Naval Guns; Shells & Explosives; Fuses & Exploders" by The Royal Laboratory Woolwich 1921-22
"Übersicht über die für die Marinegeschütze und deren Abk K zu verwendende Munition und ihre Einzelteile einschließlich Salut- und Manöverladungen" M.Dv. Nr. 198 by Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine
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Special help from Peter Lienau and Javier Villarroya del Real

Page History

30 January 2008 - Benchmark
16 April 2009 - Corrected dates
09 August 2009 - Corrected picture link
06 February 2021 - Converted to HTML 5, added photographs of Spanish guns
24 August 2024 - Added burster information and sketches of Spgr. L/3,6, Spgr. L/3,8 and Spgr. L/3,9