10.5 cm FlaK 38

A Flak 38 105 mm anti-aircraft gun at a Military museum in Belgrade
Type	Anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1937-1945
Used by	Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Rheinmetall
Designed	1933
Manufacturer	Rheinmetall
Produced	1936-1945
Number built	Approx 2,000[citation needed]
Specifications (Flak 39)
Weight	10,224 kg (22,540 lbs)
Length	6.648 m (21 ft 10 in)
Barrel length	5.547 m (18 ft 2 in)
Shell	105 × 769 mm. R
Caliber	105 mm (4.13 in)
Barrels	One, 36 grooves with right-hand increasing twist from 1/48 to 1/36
Breech	Horizontal semi-automatic sliding block
Recoil	Hydropneumatic
Elevation	-3 to +85
Traverse	360
Muzzle velocity	881 m/s (2,890 ft/s)
Effective range	17,600 m (19,247 yds) ground target 9,450 m (31,003 ft) effective ceiling
Maximum range	11,400 m (37,401 ft) maximum ceiling

The 10.5 cm SK C/33 was a German anti-aircraft gun used during World War II by the Kriegsmarine on a number of their larger capital ships. It was later adapted for Luftwaffe as a competitor to the famed 8.8 cm FlaK 18 as the 10.5 cm FlaK 38. In this role it proved to be too heavy for field use while having roughly similar performance as the 88mm, so was used primarily in static mounts. An improved version replacing the electrical gunlaying with a mechanical system was also introduced as the 10.5 cm FlaK 39.

Gallery

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  Two views of a Flak 38 105 mm anti-aircraft gun.

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  A Flak 38 105 mm anti-aircraft gun at a Military museum in Belgrade.

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  Nymphe (German Anti-Aircraft Ship, 1940. Formerly Norwegian Tordenskjold) Anchored in a Norwegian harbor during World War II. Note her 105 mm anti-aircraft guns with camouflaged barrels, and crewmen standing in formation on deck.

References

• 10.5 cm Flak 38, 39: Multi-Purpose Gun
• German 10.5 cm/65 (4.1") SK C/33
• Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. 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, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3
• Hogg, Ian V. German Artillery of World War Two. 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997 ISBN 1-85367-480-X