15 cm Kanone 18

15 cm Kanone 18
15 cm Kanone 18 at Belgrade Military Museum, Serbia
Type	Heavy gun
Place of origin	Germany
Service history
Used by	Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Rheinmetall
Designed	1933–38
Manufacturer	Rheinmetall
Produced	1938–43
No. built	101
Specifications
Mass	Combat: 12,460 kg (27,469 lbs) Travel: 18,600 kg (41,006 lbs)
Length	8.6 m (28 ft 3 in)
Barrel length	8.195 m (26 ft 11 in) L/55
Caliber	149.1 mm (5.87 in)
Breech	horizontal block
Carriage	box trail
Elevation	-2°to +43°
Traverse	10° on wheels 360° on platform
Muzzle velocity	865 m/s (2,838 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	24,500 m (26,793 yds)

The 15 cm Kanone 18 (15 cm K 18) was a German heavy gun used in the Second World War.

Design and history

In 1933 Rheinmetall began development of a new artillery piece to fulfil a German Army requirement for a replacement of the aged 15 cm Kanone 16, with the first production units received in 1938. There was not much of an improvement over the older gun as it weighed two tons more than the K 16, but only had 2,290 metres (2,500 yd) more range. The army was happy with the range, but not with the carriage. There was a special transport carriage for just the gun when traveling long distances. Putting it on its turntable took even more time to assemble.

Around a hundred were built between 1939 and 1943. It was not popular in service as it was regarded as too much gun for too little shell. This caused its production to be terminated in August 1943. Many were used in coastal installations.

• 
  K 18 firing in Russia

See also

• 152 mm gun M1935 (Br-2) - Soviet World War II equivalent
• 155 mm Long Tom - American World War II equivalent

References

• Engelmann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. Deutsche Artillerie 1934–1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliederung, 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

External links

Media related to 15 cm Kanone 18 at Wikimedia Commons