Germany
28 cm/35 (11") MRK L/35
Updated 21 November 2011
Used on pre-dreadnoughts of the Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm class.  The mixture of both L/35 and L/40 guns on these ships shows how centralized fire control was not yet available for these ships, even though they had a "uniform" main battery.

Guns were built from hoops and had a horizontal wedge breech mechanism.

These mountings used hydraulic power with steam pumps as prime movers.  The breech mechanisms were hand-worked as was the ramming.

When these battleships were disarmed, four 28 cm/35 guns were to have been used to protect the Dardanelles, but these fortifications were not completed at the time of the Armistice.

All German 28 cm guns had an actual bore diameter of 28.3 cm (11.1").
WNGER_11-40_skc90_Kurfurst_Friedrich_Wilhelm_pic.jpg

Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm at Helgoland, Germany
28 cm/35 guns are in amidships mounting
Bow and stern mountings carried 28 cm/40 guns
Detroit Publishing Company Collection Photograph
Library of Congress Photograph ID LC-DIG-ppmsca-00589
WNGER_11-35_skc92_turret_pic.jpg

Sketch of 28 cm/35 
Note that the guns could only be loaded when the gunhouse was trained to 0 degrees
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Gun Characteristics
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Designation 28 cm/35 (11") SK L/35
Ship Class Used On Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm class
Date Of Design 1890
Date In Service 1893
Gun Weight 96,790 lbs. (43,900 kg) including BM
Gun Length oa 386 in (9.800 m)
Bore Length 349 in (8.876 m)
Rifling Length N/A
Grooves N/A
Lands N/A
Twist N/A
Chamber Volume 8,723 in3 (142.9 dm3)
Rate Of Fire about 0.5 rounds per minute
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Ammunition
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Type Bag
Projectile Types and Weights AP L/2,6 - 529 lbs. (240 kg)
HE L/2,8 base fuze - 529 lbs. (240 kg)
Bursting Charge N/A
Projectile Length AP L/2,6 - 29.0 in (73.6 cm)
HE L/2,8 base fuze - 32.3 in (82.1 cm)
Propellant Charge
(see Note 3)		 124.8 lbs. (56.6 kg) RP C/12
Muzzle Velocity 2,247 fps (685 mps)
Working Pressure N/A
Approximate Barrel Life N/A
Ammunition stowage per gun 60 rounds
Notes:

1) The AP L/2,6 was about 2crh.

2) Actual Projectile designations were as follows:

   AP L/2,6 - Psgr. L/2,6
   HE L/2,8 base fuze - Spr.gr. L/2,8 Bdz

3) As originally introduced, these guns used brown powder.
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Range
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Elevation With 529 lbs. (240 kg) Shell (type not known)
Range @ 25 degrees
(Max elevation of turret)		 15,800 yards (14,400 m)
Note:  "Die Geschichte der deutschen Schiffsartillerie" says that the effective range of this gun when introduced was 12,030 yards (11,000 m).
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Armor Penetration with 529 lbs. (240 kg) AP L2,6 Shell
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Range
Side Armor
Deck Armor
13,120 yards (12,000 m)
6.3 in (160 mm)
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Note:  Data from "Die Geschichte der deutschen Schiffsartillerie."
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Mount / Turret Data
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Designation Two-gun turrets
   Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm (1):  Drh.L. C/92
Weight  N/A
Elevation Drh.L. C/92:  -5 / +25 degrees
Elevation Rate N/A
Train about +150 / -150 degrees
Train Rate N/A
Gun recoil N/A
Loading Angle N/A
Note:  This mounting was used amidships.  Bow and stern guns were 28 cm/40 SK L/40.  Guns may have been required to train to 0 degrees in order to load.
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Data from
"Naval Weapons of World War One" by Norman Friedman
"Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships:  1906-1922" by Randal Gray and Robert Gardiner (Editor)
"German Warships 1815-1945" by Erich Gröner
"The Big Gun:  Battleship Main Armament 1860-1945" by Peter Hodges
"Die deutsche Flotte, Zweibrücken 1901" by  Ernst Graf Reventlow
"Die Geschichte der deutschen Schiffsartillerie" by Paul Schmalenbach
"German Warships of World War I" by John C. Taylor
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Special help from Rainer Troendle
Page History

05 February 2011 - New datapage
21 November 2012 - Added turret sketch and gun details