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The 8.8 cm SK C/31[Note 1] was a German naval gun that was used in World War II.

8.8 cm SK C/31
Type	Naval gun Anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin	Germany
Service history
In service	1933—45
Used by	Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designed	1931–33
Specifications
Mass	about 4,255 kilograms (9,381 lb)
Length	about 6.87 meters (22 ft 6 in)
Barrel length	6.341 meters (20 ft 9.6 in) (bore length)
Shell	Fixed
Shell weight	9–9.4 kilograms (20–21 lb)
Caliber	88 millimeters (3.5 in)
Breech	vertical sliding-block
Elevation	-10° to +80°[1]
Traverse	360°
Muzzle velocity	1,060 m/s (3,500 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	Horizontal: 17,800 metres (19,500 yd) at 45° Vertical: 13,300 metres (43,600 ft) at +80°[2]

Description

The 8.8 cm SK C/31 gun weighed 4,255 kilograms (9,381 lb), had an overall length of 6.87 meters (22 ft 6 in) and its bore length was 6.341 meters (20 ft 9.6 in). It used a vertical sliding-block breech design. The gun was normally mounted on the twin Dopp LC/31, the mount plus guns weighed 27,300 kilograms (27.3 t). The Dopp LC/31 mount was later modified to carry the 10.5 cm SK C/33 naval gun. Useful life expectancy was fairly short 1,500 effective full charges (EFC) per barrel.[3] The 8.8 cm SK C/31 was briefly deployed on the Cruiser Lutzow. Lutzow's anti-aircraft battery originally consisted of three 8.8 cm SK L/45 naval guns, though in 1935 these were replaced with six 8.8 cm SK C/31 guns and in 1940, the 8.8 cm guns were removed, and six 10.5 cm L/65 guns were fitted.[4]

Ammunition

Fixed type ammunition with and without tracer, which weighed 18.5 kg (41 lb), with a projectile length of 1,227.5 mm (48.33 in) was fired. Ammunition Types Available:

• High Explosive (HE) - 9 kg (20 lb)
• Illumination (ILLUM) - 9.4 kg (21 lb)

See also

• List of naval guns

Footnotes

Notes

Citations

References

• Campbell, John (2002). Naval Weapons of World War Two. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
• Gander, Terry; Chamberlain, Peter (1979). 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. ISBN 0-385-15090-3.
• Hogg, Ian V. (1997). German Artillery of World War Two (2nd corrected ed.). Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 1-85367-480-X.
• Rolf, Rudi (1998). Der Atlantikwall: Bauten der deutschen Küstenbefestigungen 1940-1945. Osnabrück: Biblio. ISBN 3-7648-2469-7.
• Rolf, Rudi (2004). A Dictionary on Modern Fortification: An Illustrated Lexicon on European Fortification in the Period 1800-1945. Middleburg, Netherlands: PRAK.
• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.

External links

• SK C/31 at Navweaps.com

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