17 cm K (E) explained

17 cm Kanone (E)
Origin:Germany
Type:Railway Gun
Is Explosive:yes
Is Artillery:yes
Used By:Nazi Germany
Wars:World War II
Designer:Krupp
Design Date:1937–38
Manufacturer:Krupp
Production Date:1938
Number:6
Weight:80000kg (180,000lb)
Part Length:L/40
Cartridge:separate-loading, cased charge
Caliber:172.6mm
Velocity:875m/s
Range:13350m (43,800feet)
Max Range:27200m (89,200feet)
Breech:horizontal sliding-block
Elevation:10°–45°
Traverse:360°
Filling Weight:6.4kg (14.1lb) of TNT

The 17 cm Kanone in Eisenbahnlafette (17 cm K (E)) was a German railroad gun used in the Second World War.

Design & History

This weapon was designed with the intent of replacing the 15 cm K (E) mounted on the same carriage, although only 6 were built before it was realized that both guns were too small to justify railroad mounts. The gun was mounted on a simple pivot mount on a ballrace on a well-base flatcar with four outriggers. In action the outriggers and their jacks would be dropped to stabilize the gun and absorb the firing recoil. In addition jacks locked the spring suspension, bore on the surface of the rails and screw clamps gripped the rails for more stability. The elderly 17 cm Schnelladekanone L/40 was used because it was available in some numbers, having been designed as the casemate gun for the predreadnought battleships. It fired a 17 cm Sprgr L/4.7 KZ mit Hb shell weighing 62.8kg (138.5lb). This was a standard HE shell with a nose fuze beneath a ballistic cap.

They spent the war assigned to Artillerie-Batteries 717 and 718 (E) along the Channel coast.

References