1/700 Imperial German Navy 30.5 cm/50 (12”) SK L/50 Drh LC/1911 x5 (König Class)
1/700 Imperial German Navy 30.5 cm/50 (12”) SK L/50 Drh LC/1912 x5 (König Class). Highly detailed parts modelled from plans and many photographs as reference. Suitable for all ships in this class: SMS König, SMS Grosser Kurfürst, SMS Markgraf & SMS Kronprinz. Ideal replacements for the inaccurate versions in the Flyhawk kit.
- Contains x5 Turrets, Turrets are labelled on base for placement (Note E denotes midships Turret)
- Details include: Rivets, Hex Bolts, Armour Panel Lines, Sighting Ports, Rangefinders and Crew Access Ladders
- Barrels are printed separately and can be elevated as desired.
HISTORICAL DATA
These guns were fitted to many battleships and battlecruisers completed just before and after the start of World War I. When compared to contemporary British guns in terms of penetrating power, they were superior to the 12”/45 (30.5 cm) and 12”/50 (30.5 cm) guns, and only slightly less powerful than the 13.5” (34.3 cm) guns. They were, of course, completely outclassed by the 15”/42 (38.1 cm) guns used on the Queen Elizabeth class.
The battlecruisers Derfflinger and Lützow used these weapons at the Battle of Jutland (Skagerrak) to sink the British battlecruisers HMS Queen Mary and HMS Invincible.
The World War I Coastal Defense Battery Kaiser Wilhelm II located near Knocke in Belgium was equipped with four of these guns.
The mountings for these guns used electric pumps to drive hydraulic elevation gear while the training was all electric. These guns also had hydraulically worked rammers and breeches, the first fitted to German large-caliber guns. These changes increased the rate of fire, with most ships having a ROF of 20 seconds while the Kaiser class were reported to have had an overall ammunition supply speed of three rounds in 48 seconds, including all transfers.
In World War II these guns were used only as coastal artillery. They were then supplied with a more streamlined shell and used a larger propellant charge, giving them increased range. The best known battery was the six-gun Friedrich August at Wangerooge. Later, three of these guns on BSG mountings were moved to near Wimille on the Channel Coast.
Constructed from shrunk on tubes and hoops and used the Krupp horizontal sliding wedge breech block.
Actual bore diameter was 30.50 cm (12.008”)'
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