| 15 cm Kanone 16 | |
| Origin: | German Empire |
| Type: | Heavy field gun |
| Is Artillery: | yes |
| Service: | 1917–45 |
| Used By: | German Empire Belgium Nazi Germany |
| Wars: | World War I World War II |
| Designer: | Krupp |
| Design Date: | 1917 |
| Manufacturer: | Krupp |
| Production Date: | 1917–18 |
| Variants: | 15 cm K 16 im Mrs. Laf. |
| Weight: | 10870kg (23,960lb) |
| Length: | 6.81m (22.34feet) |
| Part Length: | 6.41m (21.03feet) L/43[1] |
| Cartridge: | separate-loading, cased charge |
| Cartridge Weight: | 51.4kg (113.3lb) (HE) |
| Caliber: | 149.3mm |
| Rate: | 3 rpm |
| Velocity: | 757m/s |
| Max Range: | 22000m (72,000feet) |
| Breech: | horizontal sliding-block |
| Carriage: | box trail |
| Elevation: | -3° to +43° |
| Traverse: | 8° |
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 the 15 cm K 429(b). It generally served on coast-defense duties during World War II.
The K 16 was a thoroughly conventional design for its day with a box trail, steel wheels for motor transport and a curved gunshield. The axle was suspended on a traverse leaf spring. For transport the barrel was generally detached from the recoil system and moved on its own trailer. In 1941 a small number of K 16 barrels were placed on 21 cm Mrs 18 carriages to become the 15 cm K 16 in Mrs Laf.
It fired 2 types of high-explosive shells, which differed only in which fuzes they could accept. It used a three part charge in its cartridge case. Charge 1 yielded a muzzle velocity of 555m/s. Charge 2 replaced Charge 1 in the cartridge case and propelled the shell with a velocity of 696m/s. Charge 3 was added to Charge 2 and raised the muzzle velocity to 757m/s.[2]