3.7 cm SK C/30 | |
---|---|
![]() 3.7 cm SK C/30 on a Dopp L C/30 stabilized mount | |
Type | Anti-aircraft cannon |
Place of origin | Nazi Germany |
Service history | |
In service | 1935–1966 |
Used by | Nazi Germany Spain |
Wars | Second World War |
Production history | |
Designer | Rheinmetall |
Designed | 1930–1935 |
Manufacturer | Rheinmetall |
Produced | 1935–1943 |
Variants | 3.7 cm SK C/30U |
Specifications | |
Mass | 243 kilograms (536 lb) |
Length | 3.074 metres (10 ft 1 in) |
Barrel length | 2.962 metres (9 ft 9 in) L/83 |
Shell | fixed, cased charge |
Shell weight | 0.68 kilograms (1 lb 8 oz) |
Caliber | 37 x 380 mm R |
Action | single-shot |
Breech | semi-automatic, vertical sliding-block |
Elevation | depends on the mount |
Traverse | 360° |
Rate of fire | 30 rpm (practical) |
Muzzle velocity | 1,000 m/s (3,300 ft/s) |
Effective firing range | 2,000 m (6,600 ft) (effective ceiling) |
Maximum firing range | 8,500 m (9,300 yd) at 37.5° |
The 3.7 cm SK C/30[Note 1] was the German Kriegsmarine's primary 3.7 cm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft gun during the Second World War. It was superseded by the fully automatic 3.7 cm FlaK 43 late in the war.
Description
[edit]The C/30 was a semi-automatic anti-aircraft gun (ie; after firing each round, the breech opened and the spent cartridge casing was automatically expelled, ready for the next round to be loaded), and it was hand-loaded one round at a time. This mechanism gave the weapon an effective, sustained, firing rate of 30 rounds per minute. Whilst not uncompetitive with contemporary and earlier designs of semi-automatic light gun, it was far inferior to the 120 rpm cyclic firing rate of its (slightly later-designed) wartime contemporary, the fully automatic Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. The C/30's muzzle velocity was, on the other hand, about 12-15% higher than the Bofors; this slightly eased the aiming. The SK C/30U gun was modified for use by submarines. All mountings were suitable for use against both air and soft surface targets.[1]
Ship classes that carried the 3.7 cm SK C/30 include:
- Admiral Hipper-class cruisers
- Bismarck-class battleships
- Chamois-class minesweeping sloops
- Deutschland-class battleships
- Deutschland-class cruisers
- Elbing-class torpedo boats
- F-class escort ships
- German Type IXA submarines
- German Type XIV submarines
- Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers
- Königsberg-class cruisers
- Leipzig-class cruisers
- M-class minesweepers
- PA-class patrol ships
- R boats
- Sperrbrecher
- Scharnhorst-class battleships
- Type 1934A-class destroyers
- Type 1936-class destroyers
- Type 1936A-class destroyers
- Type 1936B destroyers
- Type 35 torpedo boats
- Type 37 torpedo boats
Mountings
[edit]![](Https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101II-MW-3930-23A%2C_U-Boot_U-103_in_See.jpg/220px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_101II-MW-3930-23A%2C_U-Boot_U-103_in_See.jpg)
The Doppellafette C/30 (Dopp L C/30) was a twin mount with each gun in a separate cradle. It had a six-man crew on the mount itself plus additional ammunition handlers. The mounting was manually traversed and elevated and was gyro-stabilized up to a limit of 19.5° degrees to counteract the roll and pitch of the ship. Most German ships, fleet torpedo boat or larger, carried at least one Dopp L C/30 mounting. The Einheitslafette C/34 (Einh L C/34, universal mounting model 34) was a single gun mounted on a pedestal with a two-man crew. Some mounts were fitted with a 8-millimetre (0.31 in) gun shield. It was used on the smaller Kriegsmarine ships like the Schnellboot. A number were used on land to supplement the anti-aircraft defenses of ports. The Ubts L C/39 submarine mount used the SK C/30U gun. It was a simple pedestal mount with a two-man crew, one of whom trained the gun with the shoulder stirrup; the other used gears to elevate the gun.[2]
Mounting | weight | elevation |
---|---|---|
Dopp L C/30 | 3,670 kg (8,090 lb) | -9° to +85° |
Einh L C/34 | 1,860–2,020 kg (4,100–4,450 lb) | -10° to +80° |
Ubts L C/39 | 1,450 kg (3,200 lb) | -10° to +90° |
Ammunition
[edit]The SK C/30 used two types of tracer rounds. The 3.7 cm Br Sprgr Patr 40 L/4.1 Lh 37M was a high-explosive round with an incendiary filling while the 3.7 cm Sprgr Patr 40 L/4.1 Lh 37 lacked the incendiary fill, but was otherwise identical. Tracers were available in red, yellow or white and were marked on the shell by a painted band of the appropriate color. A complete round weighed 1.78 kilograms (3.9 lb).[3]
Comparison of anti-aircraft guns
[edit]Country | Gun Model | RPM | Projectile Weight | Weight of fire |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
3.7 cm SK C/30 | 30 | .74 kg (1.6 lb)[4] | 22.2 kg (49 lb) |
![]() |
Canon de 37 mm Modèle 1925 | 15–21 | .72 kg (1.6 lb)[5] | 10.8–15.12 kg (23.8–33.3 lb) |
![]() |
Cannone-Mitragliera da 37/54 (Breda) | 60–120 | .82 kg (1.8 lb)[6] | 49.2–98.4 kg (108–217 lb) |
![]() |
37 mm Gun M1 | 120 | .87 kg (1.9 lb) | 104.4 kg (230 lb) |
![]() |
3.7 cm Flak 18/36/37/43 | 150 | .64 kg (1.4 lb)[7] | 96 kg (212 lb) |
![]() |
37 mm automatic air defense gun M1939 (61-K) | 80[8] | .73 kg (1.6 lb)[9] | 58.4 kg (129 lb) |
![]() |
QF 2-pounder naval gun | 115 | .91 kg (2.0 lb)[10] | 104.6 kg (231 lb) |
![]() |
Bofors 40 mm gun | 120 | .9 kg (2.0 lb)[11] | 108 kg (238 lb) |
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ SK - Schnelladekanone (quick loading cannon); C - Construktionsjahr (year of design)
Citations
[edit]- ^ Campbell, p. 256
- ^ "German 3.7 cm/L83 (1.5") SK C/30 3.7 cm/L83 (1.5") SK C/30U". 23 March 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- ^ Hogg, p. 223
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony. "Germany 3.7 cm/83 SK C/30 - NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony. "France 37 mm/50 (1.46") Model 1925 and CAIL Model 1933 - NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony. "Italy 37 mm/54 (1.5") Models 1932, 1938 and 1939 - NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony. "Germany 3.7 cm/57 (1.5") Flak M43 - NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ Foss, Christopher (1977). Jane's pocket book of towed artillery. New York: Collier. p. 229. ISBN 0020806000. OCLC 911907988.
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony. "Russia / USSR 37 mm/67 (1.5") 70-K - NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony. "United Kingdom / Britain 2-pdr QF Mark VIII - NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony. "USA Bofors 40 mm/60 Model 1936 - NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
References
[edit]- Campbell, John (2002). Naval Weapons of World War Two. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
- Gander, Terry; Chamberlain, Peter (1979). 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. ISBN 0-385-15090-3.
- Hogg, Ian V. (1997). German Artillery of World War Two (2nd corrected ed.). Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 1-85367-480-X.
- Stehr, Werner (1999). Leichte und mittlere Artillerie auf deutschen Kriegsschiffen [Light and Medium Artillery on German Warships] (in German). Wölfersheim-Berstadt: Podzun-Pallas-Verlag. pp. 8–11. ISBN 3790906646.
External links
[edit]
Well, that’s interesting to know that Psilotum nudum are known as whisk ferns. Psilotum nudum is the commoner species of the two. While the P. flaccidum is a rare species and is found in the tropical islands. Both the species are usually epiphytic in habit and grow upon tree ferns. These species may also be terrestrial and grow in humus or in the crevices of the rocks.
View the detailed Guide of Psilotum nudum: Detailed Study Of Psilotum Nudum (Whisk Fern), Classification, Anatomy, Reproduction