The 8.8 cm SK L/45 (SK - Schnelladekanone (quick loading cannon) L - Länge (with a 45-caliber barrel)) was a German naval gun that was used in World War I and World War II on a variety of mounts.
Description
The 8.8 cm SK L/45 gun weighed and had an overall length of about . It used a vertical sliding-block, or "wedge", as it is sometimes referred to, breech design.
History
During World War I, the SK L/45 was used as anti-torpedo boat guns on all Imperial German Navy dreadnoughts and as main guns on torpedo boats and destroyers. The SK L/45 was also used to replace some of the 8.8 cm SK L/35 anti-torpedo boat guns on pre-dreadnought battleships. During the 1920s SK L/45 guns were temporarily fitted to the Deutschland-class cruisers and on Königsberg-class cruisers until the new 8.8 cm SK C/32 naval gun was available, with most ships being refitted by 1939. During the 1930s surviving SK L/45 guns were modified to use the same ammunition as the 8.8 cm SK C/30 naval gun and had similar performance.
Ammunition
Fixed type ammunition with and without tracer, which weighed , with a projectile length of was fired. Ammunition Types Available: Armor Piercing (AP) - High Explosive (HE) - High Explosive Incendiary (HEI) - Illumination (ILLUM) -