| 24cm SK L/40 Eisenbahngeschütze (Railway Gun) Cartridge Casing |
24cm SK L/40 Theodor Karl Eisenbahngeschütze (Railway Gun) cartridge casing.
The first E-guns (E = Eisenbahngeschütze) were used in action in 1916 as a potent and very mobile resource with the primary targets being: enemy long-range guns, railway yards, depots, road junctions, airfields, and troop concentrations.
To illustrate the size, the casing is photographed with an superb original example of the 1918 four-color camouflage on a Model 1916 Stahlhelm.
24cm SK L/40 Cartridge Casing Data:
- Height - 1032mm (40.62 inches)
- Actual Calibre - 245 mm (9.64 inches)
- Base Diameter - 274mm (10.78 inches)
- Weight - 23.5 kg (51.8 lbs.)
- Manufacturer - Patronenfabrik Karlsruhe
- Date - August 1918
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| The base of the 24cm SK L/40 cartridge casing shown with the same Model 1916 Stahlhelm to illustrate the size. |
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| The first cartridge cases used for the 24cm Kanone were of Kaiserliche-Marine origin fotr battleships and are stamped with a "M" over a crown with the month of production in Roman numerals. Army 24cm SK L/40 cartridge casings are marked with the month (January etc). The absence of a Marine Crown M acceptance stamp combined with the late war date indicates that this cartridge casing never made it to Marine inventory and was used by the Fußartillerie (Foot Artillery) on the Western Front. |
 | A close up of the headstamp and primer. Manufacturer marked: PATRONENFABRIK (cartridge factory) KARLSRUHE and the dates of " AUG 1918" with the standard twin flaming bombs for this manufacturer.
"Sp255" is the inspection quality-control code for Patronenfabrik Karlsruhe.
Note that the primer has been struck, so this 24cm SK L/40 cartridge casing was fired.
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| 24cm SK L/40 Eisenbahngeschütze Theodor Karl |
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Soon after static warfare developed in the West, the Germans realized that they badly needed heavier calibre cannons with further range. Spare 24cm SK L/40 cannons from the obsolete Kaiser Friedrich III, Wittelsbach, Fürst Bismarck and Prinz Heinrich Class Battleships were released to the Army to meet this demand. As these ships became obsolete during the course of the war, the ship mounted cannons were dismounted for use on the Western front and mounted onto Krupp designed railway carriages. The 24cm Theodor Karl was designed so that it could be mounted on the large rotating plate mounted to the bottom of the carriage and be employed with the front and rear railway trucks (wheels) removed. This resulted in a cannon that traversed well, but was not capable of being quickly moved. Firing from a railway track, however, resulted in little or no traverse as the cannon had to be placed on a part of railway track with a curve that also pointed in he direction of the enemy, or building special extra railway curves for their use.
24cm SK L/40 Eisenbahngeschütze Theodor Karl Cannon Data:
- Weight (cannon only) - 25.64 metric tons (28.26 tons)
- Range - 19.08 km (11.85 miles)
- Manufacturer - Krupp
- Barrel Length - 9.55 meters (31 ft 4 in)
- Projectile - 148.5 kg (327.4 lbs) High Explosive
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| In 1917 the cannons were placed on a turntable to enable a 360° traverse and keep the wheels mounted which allowed them to be moved quickly. This photo from Das Ehrenbuch der Deutschen Schweren Artillerie (The honour book of the German Heavy Artillery) shows a 24cm Theodor Karl on a camouflaged firing turntable. |
| The Fußartillerie (Foot Artillery) crew of a 24cm SK L/40 Theodor Karl Eisenbahngeschütze proudly pose with (on, all over) their cannon.
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Photo above and below courtesy Robert Hinesley | |
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| The magic moment... FEUER! |
 | A soldier and an NCO pose on a railway car with two 148.5 kg (327.4 lbs) high-explosive projectiles and a cartridge casing for the 24cm Eisenbahngeschütze.
Note the brass cap over the end of the cartridge casing.
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| This photograph shows nicely the late-war camouflage paint which consisted of hand applied brush strokes in an attempt to break up the outline from aerial observation. |
According to Das Ehrenbuch der Deutschen Schweren Artillerie (The honour book of the German Heavy Artillery) the following Fußartillerie (Foot Artillery) independent batteries manned 24cm Railway cannons:
- 408
- 1000
- 1003
- 1004
- 1007
- 1008 (Bayerisches)
- 1009 (Bayerisches)
- 1012
- 1016
- 1017
- 1019
- 1021
- 1024
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