17 cm SK L/40 gun
The 17 cm SK L/40 was a Kaiserliche Marine naval gun that was used on two classes of German pre-dreadnought battleships the Braunschweig class and the Deutschland class as their secondary battery. Later they were adapted for land service during World War I and World War II.
17 cm SK L/40 gun
From a Krupp arms catalog from 1892 · http: katalog.istanbul.edu.tr/client/en_US/defaulteng/search/results?qf=ITYPE%09Material+Type%091%3AFOTOGRAF%09Foto%C4%9Fraf qf=SUBJECT%09Subject%09Askeri+silahlar+-+Almanya+-+Kataloglar+-+Osmanl% · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Field
- naval artillery and rifled breech loader.
- Region
- German Empire.
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Documentary summary
The 17 cm SK L/40 was a Kaiserliche Marine naval gun that was used on two classes of German pre-dreadnought battleships the Braunschweig class and the Deutschland class as their secondary battery. Later they were adapted for land service during World War I and World War II.
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original value insufficient · checked 25 September 2026
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wikidata · Q4553557 · wikipedia · 17 cm SK L/40 gun
In this article
Naval Use
World War I Field Gun
World War I Field Gun
When the pre-dreadnoughts began to be relegated to training duties in 1916. The guns were adapted for land use by mounting it on an improvised carriage, but this proved to be extremely heavy, often too heavy to be moved by horse, even after being broken down into three loads. The solution was to mount the guns, still on their carriages, on rail cars to increase their strategic mobility.
World War I Railway Gun
World War I Railway Gun
A number of guns were used as railway guns during World War I.
World War II Railway Gun
World War II Railway Gun
Six guns were used as railway guns from 1938 onwards. They spent the war assigned to Artillerie-Batteries 717 and 718 (E) along the Channel coast.
Description
The 17 cm SK L/40 gun although designated as 17 centimeters (6.7 in), its actual caliber was 17.26 centimeters (6.80 in). It used the Krupp horizontal sliding-block, or "wedge", as it is sometimes referred to, in a breech loading design, rather than the interrupted screw commonly used in the heavy guns of other nations. This required that the propellant charge be loaded in a metal, (usually brass), case which provides obturation, i.e. seals the breech to prevent escape of the expanding propellant gas.
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q4553557: 17 cm SK L/40 gun
Unverified · Wikidata
reference work
- “17 cm SK L/40 gun”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.SK - Schnelladekanone (quick loading cannon); L - Länge in Kaliber (length in caliber)
- 2.Germany 17 cm/40 (6.75") SK L/40. Navweaps.com.
- 3.Landships. German 17cm Schnelladekanone i.R. L/40 "Samuel".
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authority record
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Militaria
6,095 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- 17 cm mittlerer MinenwerferTerminology
- 17 cm SK L/40 i.R.L. auf EisenbahnwagenTerminology
- 17 mm caliberTerminology
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