21 cm Kanone 39
| 21 cm Kanone 39 | |
|---|---|
| Type | heavy gun |
| Place of origin |  Czechoslovakia |
| Service history | |
| Used by |  Nazi Germany Turkey |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Skoda |
| Manufacturer | Skoda |
| Produced | 1939—44 |
| No. built | 60 |
| Variants | K39/40, K39/41 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 39,800 kilograms (87,700 lb) |
| Barrel length | 9.53 metres (31.3 ft) |
| Caliber | 210 millimetres (8.3 in) |
| Carriage | box |
| Elevation | -4° to +46° |
| Traverse | 360° |
| Rate of fire | 3 rounds in 2 minutes |
| Muzzle velocity | 800–860 m/s (2,600–2,800 ft/s) (K39—K39/40) |
| Maximum firing range | 33 kilometres (36,000 yd) |
The 21 cm Kanone 39 (21 cm K 39) was a Czech heavy gun used by the Germans in the Second World War.
Design & History
It was designed by Skoda as a dual-purpose heavy field and coast defense gun in the late Thirties for Turkey. Only two had been delivered before the rest were appropriated by the Heer upon the Occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. It was mounted a firing platform capable of 360° traverse.
For transport it broke down into three loads. The Germans added a muzzle brake to the K39/40 and K39/41 versions to control recoil.
Notes
References
- Englemann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. Deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliderung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz. Limburg/Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke, 1974
- 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
- Weapon Production Totals on Sinews of War