Krupp 105mm long gun L/47

 

 

 

 

 

Bulgarian designation :

105-мм скорострелно оръдие Д-47

German designation :

10,5-cm S.K. L/45 der Marine in Räderlafetten

Calibre :

105mm L/47

Weight of the barrel :

876 kg

Weight in action :

4755 kg

Barrel length :

5 m

Length of the bore :

4.865 m

Cartridge

size :

15 x 656 x 129 R

length :

544 m

weight :

4.4 kg

charge :

full charge : 3.6 kg Röhrenpulver 97

normal charge : 2.775 kg Röhrenpulver 97

reduced charge : 1.3 kg Röhrenpulver 97

            Shells weight

 

10.5-cm Sp. Gr. L/3.6 :

17.4 kg – charge : 747 g Fp. 02 or 940 g Fp. 60/40

10-cm Gr. 06 :

18.2 kg – charge : 630 g of Granatfüllung 88

10-cm Haubengranate 16 :

16 kg – charge : 1.45 kg Fp. 02

Muzzle velocity :

730 m/s (full charge)

580 m/s (normal charge)

314 m/s (reduced charge)

Max. range :

normal :

13000 m (full charge)

10800 m (normal charge)

7000 m (reduced charge)

mit Haube :

15000 m (full charge)

12800 m (normal charge)

9000 m (reduced charge)

Elevation :

+ 38° / 0°

Remarks :

Quick firing fortress gun, whose identification is not easy. Nevertheless in Germany the length of the naval guns in calibres was indicated according with the bore length (Seelenlange), and not with the length of the whole barrel (Röhrlänge), I think it can be identify with the 105mm L/45 Naval fast loading gun on wheeled carriage. It was originally employed as main armament of the “Kolberg”, “Magdeburg”, “Karlsruhe” and “Graudenz” classes of light cruisers, which were re-armed with 15 cm gun between 1915 and 1917. Therefore the Navy released 32 barrels to the Army, where they were punt onto a makeshift wheeled carriage. Since the short naval recoil mechanism did not absorb entirely all the recoil force, the guns were equipped with wooden wedges placed behind the wheels.

The Bulgarian Army used at least ten of these guns during World War I, assigned to the 10th battery of the 3rd Heavy Artillery Regiment, and the 4th and 7th batteries of the 5th Heavy Artillery Regiment in December 1917. The ballistic data recorded here came mainly from the history of Vidinski fortress battalion, and were slightly different from what indicate the Western sources. In particular it asserts that this was a not QF gun that fired also a H.E. shell, a shrapnel, both weighting 18 kg, and a shell with windshield (Haubengranate). According with the other sources this gun fired the same shell of the German 10cm K14.