The 15 cm Kanone 18 (15 cm K 18) was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
heavy gun used in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Design and history
In 1933
Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. Its shares are traded on the Frankfurt stock exchange.
History
Rheinmetall was founded in 1889. Banker and investor Lorenz Zuckermandel
L ...
began development of a new artillery piece to fulfill a German Army requirement for a replacement of the aged
15 cm Kanone 16
The 15 cm Kanone 16 (15 cm K 16) was a heavy field gun used by Germany in World War I and World War II. Guns turned over to Belgium as reparations after World War I were taken into Wehrmacht service after the conquest of Belgium as ...
, with the first production units received in 1938. There was not much of an improvement over the older gun as it weighed two tons more than the K 16, but only had more range. The army was happy with the range, but not with the carriage. There was a special transport carriage for just the gun when traveling long distances. Putting it on its turntable took even more time to assemble. The rate of fire was at best two rounds per minute.
[Bishop, Chris. The encyclopedia of weapons of world War II. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2002, p.133]
Around a hundred were built between 1939 and 1943. It was not popular in service as it was regarded as too much gun for too little shell. This caused its production to be terminated in August 1943. Many were used in coastal installations.
See also
*
152 mm gun M1935 (Br-2)
Fifteen or 15 may refer to:
*15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16
*one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015
Music
*Fifteen (band), a punk rock band
Albums
* ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005
* ''15'' (Ani Lorak album) ...
– Soviet World War II equivalent
*
155 mm Long Tom
The 155 mm gun M1 was a 155 millimeter caliber field gun developed and used by the United States military. Nicknamed "Long Tom" (an appellation with a long and storied history in U.S. field and naval artillery), it was produced in M1 and M2 ...
– American World War II equivalent
Notes
References
* Engelmann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. ''Deutsche Artillerie 1934–1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliederung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz''. Limburg/Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke, 1974
* Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. ''Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939–1945''. New York: Doubleday, 1979
* Hogg, Ian V. ''German Artillery of World War Two''. 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997
External links
World War II artillery of Germany
150 mm artillery
Rheinmetall
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1940
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