8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun

The 8.8 cm SK C/35 was a German naval gun used in World War II.

Description
The 8.8 cm SK C/35 gun weighed 776 kg and had an overall length of 3.985 m with a vertical sliding-block breech. The gun fired a 9.5 kg projectile 88 mm in diameter, and the barrel is sometimes described as 45 caliber. A 2.82 kg propellent charge produced muzzle velocity of 700 m/s with nose-fuzed high explosive and high explosive incendiary projectiles (with or without tracer). Useful life expectancy was 12,000 effective full charges (EFC) per barrel.

Ammunition
Ammunition was of a fixed type with a Complete Round Weight of 15 kg and a projectile length of around 355 mm. The gun was able to fire: The High Explosive (HE) round has a muzzle velocity of 700 m/s.
 * Armor Piercing (AP) - 10.2 kg
 * High Explosive (HE) - 9 kg
 * Illumination (ILLUM) - 9.4 kg

Naval guns
This was the standard deck gun mounted forward of the conning tower in Type VII boats, although a few substituted a high-angle 8.8 cm SK C/30 naval gun for anti-aircraft defense. The SK C/35 was designed for the prototype VIIA boats of 1935 with a nominal ammunition allowance of 220 rounds. During the early war years, these guns were used to encourage surrender of independently routed merchant ships or to sink ships damaged by torpedoes. Some of these guns were later removed from U-boats for mounting aboard minesweepers and submarine chasers after unshielded deck guns proved impractical in action against Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships and escorted trade convoys.