Škoda 24 cm L/40 K97

The origins of the Škoda 24 cm L/40 K97 lay in an earlier gun designed and built by the Krupp company in Germany. In 1894 Krupp designed the 24 cm SK L/40 and started production in 1898 for the Imperial German Navy's pre-dreadnought battleships and armored cruisers. Krupp produced a variant of the 24 cm SK L/40 for the Austro-Hungarian Navy called the 24 cm L/40 K94 which armed their armored cruiser SMS Kaiser Karl VI, the pre-dreadnought Habsburg-class battleships and the Monarch-class coastal defense ships. In 1897 Škoda bought a production license from Krupp and began production in 1904 at the Pilsen works of the Škoda 24 cm L/40 K97 and later the Škoda designed 24 cm L/40 K/01.[2] Both Germany and Austria-Hungary developed their own ammunition with differing weights and lengths, however their ballistic performance was similar.

The 24 cm SK L/40 was the first large caliber German naval gun to use a Krupp horizontal sliding-wedge breech block and separate loading metallic cased propellant charges and projectiles.[2] Unlike other large naval guns of the time which used separate loading bagged charges and projectiles, this gun used charges inside of a brass cartridge case to provide obturation. It is believed that the K94 and the K97 were both constructed of A tube, three layers of reinforcing hoops and a jacket.[3]

The Škoda 24 cm L/40 K97 was the primary armament of the Erzherzog Karl-class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. The Krupp built K94 guns of the unique armored cruiser SMS Kaiser Karl VI were later replaced with Škoda built K97 guns during a refit in 1916. While the Škoda designed 24 cm L/40 K/01 armed the unique armored cruiser SMS Sankt Georg.[2]

Ship details:

• Erzherzog Karl-class - The three ships of this class had a primary armament of four guns, which were mounted in two twin gun turrets, one fore and one aft of the central superstructure.[4]
• SMS Kaiser Karl VI - This ship had a primary armament of two K94 guns later replaced with K97 guns, which were mounted in two single gun turrets, one fore and one aft of the central superstructure.[5]
• SMS Sankt Georg - This ship had a primary armament of two Škoda designed 24 cm L/40 K/01 guns, which were mounted in two single gun turrets, one fore and one aft of the central superstructure.[6]

• Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.

• http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNGER_945-40_skc94.php
• http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNAust_945-40_K94.php
• http://www.navypedia.org/ships/austrohungary/ah_bb_erzherzzog_karl.htm
• http://www.navypedia.org/ships/austrohungary/ah_cr_kaiser_karl_vi.htm
• http://www.navypedia.org/ships/austrohungary/ah_cr_sankt_georg.htm