The 40.6 cm SK C/34,SK - ''Schnelladekanone'' (quick loading cannon); ''C - Construktionsjahr'' (year of design) sometimes known as the Adolfkanone (Adolf gun), was a German

naval gun Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firing weapons and excludes ...

, designed in 1934 by

Krupp The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krupp ...

and originally intended for the early H-class battleships.

Description

Intended to be mounted in battleship

turrets Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * M ...

, the guns were produced in left and right-handed pairs. These pairs were split for individual mounting in the coastal defence role. The gun's barrel was approximately long. In a coastal defence emplacement the gun could be elevated to 52 degrees, giving it a range of with the special long range shell called the Adolf-shell. It used the standard German naval system of ammunition where the base charge was held in a metallic cartridge case and supplemented by another charge in a silk bag. In terms of construction the guns were identical to the 38 cm SK C/34 - only the calibre of the barrel was different. The rate of fire for the weapon was around 2 rounds per minute as coastal artillery.

Original naval specifications

* Date of design - 1934 * Entered service - 1940 (as coastal defense guns) * Bore - * Length of barrel with rear piece - * Weight of barrel - 158 metric tons (158,664 kg) * Rate of fire - 2 rounds per minute * Shell weight - standard explosive and armour-piercing shell German type L/4.8 and L/4.4 * Adolf shell (long range shell) German type L/4.2 * Propellant weight - 2 part charge total weight 302 kg for ordinary shell and 312 kg for long range shell * Maximum range - Standard shell 42,800 m (42.8 km); long-range shell 56,000 m (56 km) * Muzzle Velocity - Standard shell ; long-range shell * Mountings - 2 gun turret Drh LC/34 (1,475 metric tons)

Coastal defense

Since the intended 56,000-ton H-class battleships “H” and “J” were never completed, the guns that had been designed for them were used as coastal defense artillery during 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 opposi ...

. At least twelve guns were produced; seven were sited in Norway, and three were used in Poland near Danzig. Soon after their first training shots, the Polish guns were moved to France and sited near Sangatte and renamed battery Lindemann in honour of the fallen captain of the battleship ''Kapitän zur See''

Ernst Lindemann Otto Ernst Lindemann (28 March 1894 – 27 May 1941) was a German ''Kapitän zur See'' ( naval captain). He was the only commander of the battleship during its eight months of service in World War II. Lindemann joined the German Imperial Navy ...

. One of the remaining guns was used to replace the worn-out gun #2 at Batterie Lindemann, while serial #11 has not been accounted for yet (it may have also been used as replacement at Batterie Lindemann).

Gun sites in Poland

The first three guns were situated at the Hel Fortified Area, Poland as Battery Schleswig-Holstein (German unit MKB 2 / MAA 119) during 1940 to protect the

Bay of Danzig A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

. All three guns were fired during May and June 1941 and shortly after the guns were dismounted and transported to France for use as Battery Lindemann. From this new location near Sangatte in France, they were used to fire at

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

, in the county of Kent in England and shipping in the English Channel. There is a Museum of Coastal Defence located in the remains of the battery in Hel.

Gun sites in Norway

The seven guns that reached their destinations in Norway were split into two batteries: * Battery Dietl with three guns on the island of Engeløya, Steigen. German unit MKB 4 / MAA 516 * Battery Theo with four guns mounted at

Trondenes Fort Trondenes Fort is a fort situated on the Trondenes peninsula in the municipality of Harstad in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located about north of the town of Harstad. The fort has been the main base for the Norwegian Coastal Ranger ...

near

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogalan ...

. German unit MKB 5 / MAA 511 After the end of the war the Trondenes guns were taken over by the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...

, along with 1,227 shells. The battery was last fired in 1957 and formally decommissioned in 1964. The three Engeløya guns were sold for scrap in 1956 but the four guns at Trondenes were spared and one is open as a museum. In the summer there are normally three or four guided tours per day.Adolfkanonene på Trondenes - 40,6cm SK C/34
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Gun sites in France

The three guns from Hel, re-sited in France and renamed Batterie Lindemann (German unit MKB 6 / MAA 244), saw considerable service. The three guns were emplaced singly in turrets, protected by massive

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

encasements in places four metres thick. The battery fired 2,226 shells at Dover between 1940 and 1944. The guns were not put out of action by bombing despite being hit many times, thanks to the thick concrete. Only Bruno turret was damaged, on 3 September 1944, when a shell from a British

railway gun A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval artillery, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best-known are ...

hit its elevating gear; the battery was captured shortly afterwards.

Naval projectiles

* L/4.4 m Bd Z Hb (AP) - 1,030 kg. (25 kg. bursting charge) Armour-piercing shell, rear fuse * L/4.8 m KZ m Hb (HE) - 1,030 kg. (80 kg. bursting charge) High-explosive shell, front fuse * L/4.6 m Bd Z Hb (SAP)- 1,030 kg. (45 kg. bursting charge) High-explosive shell, rear fuse

Coastal artillery projectiles

* L/4.2 m KZ m Hb (Adolf) (HE)- 600 kg. 50 kg. bursting charge. Both front and rear fuse * L/4.1 m KZ m Hb (HE) - 610 kg. 50 kg. bursting charge.

Footnotes

;Notes ;Citations

External links

Adolfkanonen.com

Museum of Coastal Defence in Schleswig-Holstein battery in Hela

{{DEFAULTSORT:40.6 cm SK C 34 gun Naval guns of Germany World War II artillery of Germany Military history of Norway during World War II World War II military equipment of Norway Military installations in Troms og Finnmark Coastal artillery 400 mm artillery History of Troms og Finnmark Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1940