20.3 cm SK C/34 naval gun

The 20.3 cm SK C/34 was the main battery gun used on all German World War II heavy cruisers.

Description
These built-up guns consisted of a rifled tube encased within an inner and outer jacket with a horizontal sliding breech block. The breech was sealed with an 18 kg (40 lb) brass case containing 30 kg (66 lb) of smokeless powder with a 160 gram (5.6 oz) gunpowder igniter. A cloth bag containing an additional 21 kg (40 lb) of smokeless powder and 380 grams (13 oz) of gunpowder was loaded between the projectile and the brass case. Each gun could fire approximately five rounds per minute. Useful life expectancy was 510 effective full charges (EFC) per barrel.

Naval service
GERMAN CRUISER Admiral Hipper, GERMAN CRUISER Blücher, and GERMAN CRUISER Prinz Eugen each mounted eight of these guns in 248-tonne Drh LC/34 twin turrets with a maximum elevation of 37 degrees.

Coast defence guns
The four turrets intended for the incomplete cruiser GERMAN CRUISER Seydlitz were installed as coastal artillery in France. The turrets A (Anton) and D (Dora) at Battery Karola on the Ile de Re (4./Marine Artillerie Abteilung 282). And the turrets B (Bruno) and C (Cäsar) at Battery Seydlitz on the Ile de Croix (5./Marine Artillerie Abteilung 264).

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

 * 203mm/50 Modèle 1924 gun French equivalent
 * 203 mm /53 Italian naval gun Italian equivalent
 * 20 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval gun Japanese equivalent
 * BL 8 inch Mk VIII naval gun UK equivalent
 * 8"/55 caliber gun US equivalent