Description

Anti-aircraft weapon used to replace old 8.8 cm Flak 45 guns on the "K" class light cruisers. Later used on other German light cruisers and apparently exported to Spain. Although a less powerful gun than the 8.8 cm SK C/31, it had nearly equivalent performance and a much longer barrel life.

Construction was loose-barrel with a vertical sliding breech-block.

Gun Characteristics

Designation 8.8 cm/76 (3.46") SK C/32
Ship Class Used On Germany: Königsberg, Leipzieg, Nürnberg and "M" Classes

Spain: Navarra

Date Of Design 1932
Date In Service 1934
Gun Weight 8,025 lbs. (3,640 kg) (including breech mechanism)
Gun Length oa 263.4 in. (6.690 m)
Bore Length 249.6 in (6.341 m)
Rifling Length 226.2 in. (5.746 m)
Grooves (28) 0.047 in deep x 0.252 in (1.2 mm x 6.4 mm)
Lands 0.137 in (3.47 mm)
Twist Increasing RH 1 in 60 to 1 in 35
Chamber Volume 224.0 in3 (3.67 dm3)
Rate Of Fire 15 - 20 rounds per minute

Ammunition

Type Fixed
Weight of Complete Round AP 39: N/A
HE L/4,5: 33.4 lbs. (15.2 kg)
HE Incendiary L/4,5: N/A
ILLUM L/4,4: N/A
Projectile Types and Weights 1 AP 39: 22.5 lbs. (10.2 kg)
HE L/4,5: 19.8 lbs. (9.0 kg)
HE Incendiary L/4,5: 20.9 lbs. (9.5 kg)
ILLUM L/4,4: 20.7 lbs. (9.4 kg)
Bursting Charge 2 AP 39: 0.14 lbs. (0.064 kg) H 10 Hexanite (?)
HE L/4,5: 1.54 lbs. (0.698 kg)
HE Incendiary L/4,5: 1.23 lbs. (0.560) TNT + Incendiary
Projectile Length 15.6 in (39.7 cm)
Propellant Charge 6.46 lbs. (2.93 kg) RPC/38 (4.5/1.5)
Cartridge: 13.2 lbs. (6.0 kg)
Muzzle Velocity HE: 3,117 fps (950 mps)
ILLUM: 2,133 fps (650 mps)
Working Pressure 20.0 tons/in2 (3,150 kg/cm2)
Approximate Barrel Life 3,200 rounds
Ammunition stowage per gun 400 rounds 3
  • ^
    Actual designations
    AP 39 8,8 cm Pzgr. 39
    HE L/4,5 8,8 cm Spgr. L/4,4
    HE Incendiary L/4,5 8,8 cm Spgr. L/4,5 Br
    Illum L/4,4 8,8 cm Lg L/4,4
  • ^Burster weights (reiner Sprengstoff) from M.Dv. Nr. 198.
  • ^Outfit for light cruisers consisted of nose-fuzed HE with and without tracer and illumination rounds.

Range

Range with 19.8 lbs. (9.0 kg) Shell
Elevation Distance
45 degrees 18,810 yards (17,200 m)
AA Ceiling @ 80 degrees 40,680 feet (12,400 m)

Mount / Turret Data

Designation Twin Mounts
   Königsberg (3), Leipzieg (3), Nürnberg (3): Dop. L. C/32
   "M" class (2): Dop. L. C/37
Weight Dop. L. C/32: 52,139 lbs. (23,650 kg)
Dop. L. C/37: N/A
Elevation -10 / +80 degrees
Elevation Rate 10 degrees per second
Train 360 degrees 1a
Train Rate 8-10 degrees per second
Gun recoil N/A
  • ^These mountings could make one complete revolution in either direction from the mid (fore and aft) position for a total of 720 degrees of train. Firing arc was about -150 / +150 degrees.

Sources

"Naval Weapons of World War Two" by John Campbell
"German Warships 1815-1945" by Erich Gröner
"German Cruisers of World War Two" by M.J. Whitley
---
"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

Page History

11 February 2007 - Benchmark
22 May 2012 - Updated to latest template
25 August 2024 - Converted to HTML 5 format and added ammunition information