1/350 H Class 40.6cm (16") SK C/34 Guns Blast Bags

1/350 Scale H Class 40.6 cm/52 (16") SK C/34 Guns x4 with Blast Bags. These are highly detailed and are based on the Bismarck 38cm (14.96") SK C/34 Guns using Turret armour angles and known data on these proposed weapons. See My Shop for other scales and for separately printed Barrels versions.

Contains:

• 4x Highly detailed turrets, Anton, Bruno, Caesar and Dora Turrets
• Anton, Bruno/Caesar Turrets and Dora Turrets are unique: Anton and Dora (Higher Side Safety Rail), Bruno and Caesar (Lower Side Safety Rail). Underside hatches on Anton and Dora are located towards the rear of the Turret whilst Bruno and Caesar are located close to the Barbette Ring.
• Rangefinder Hoods are printed separately to minimise wax contact with Turret
• Rivet detail, Periscope and Open Sighting Hatches
• Correct Stanchion placement (based on 38cm (14.96") SK C/34 Guns) on Turret Roofs (in lowered position) different location on Bruno and Caesar Turrets.
• Accurate underside detail including shell ejection ports and hatches.
• Digitally sculpted Blast Bags and Barrels set at an angle of 0º

Historical Data:
These guns were intended for the "H" class battleships which were laid down in 1939 but never completed. This weapon was a good design, but it could be said that it had an excessively high muzzle velocity, hence giving it minimal deck penetration even at long ranges.

Accounts differ as to the actual number of guns completed, but there appears to have been twelve. There were three versions of this weapon; the original prototype for proof and experimental testing; three guns built to the naval pattern and intended for the "H" battleships; and eight finished to a modified design for coastal artillery use and also known as Adolph. The coast artillery version had a similar construction to the naval version but with a larger chamber. The naval guns were completed as one left hand and two right hand. Only one of these had power ramming.

The eight coastal artillery guns were sent to Norway to be employed to protect Narvik and Tromsø, with one gun being lost in transit. Of the remaining seven guns, three were emplaced as Battery Dietl on the island of Engeløya and the other four were mounted as Battery Trondenes near Harstad. At the end of the war, the guns were taken over by the Norwegian Army along with 1,227 shells. A German gun crew trained the Norwegians in their use and the guns were actively used for about a decade. The three guns at Battery Dietl were decommissioned in the early 1950s and then scrapped in 1956. The battery at Trondenes was last fired in 1957 and formally taken out of commission in 1961. The guns then sat idle and were placed on sale for scrapping in 1968, but they still remain in place and one of them is currently open as a museum at Trondenes Fort.

The three naval guns were placed on railway mounts and two of these were to be sent to the Hel Peninsula in Poland, but eventually all three were made part of Battery Lindemann. This was located near Sangatte in France where they often fired across the Channel at Dover.

As this gun had a rather thick barrel for its size, during the redesigns of the "H" class battleships during 1941 and 1942 (H-41 and H-42) it was proposed to bore them out and convert them into 42 cm/48 (16.54") weapons. One of the reasons behind this conversion was that this change would give these ships a larger caliber weapon than those planned for any known Allied battleship. None of the guns already built were ever converted and no new guns were started. The SK C/40 model year for this version is my estimate.

Constructed of a loose barrel, which was universally interchangeable between production guns, a loose liner which only fitted a particular gun, B tube, a jacket over the rear end of B tube, a breech end-piece thrust over the jacket and kept in place by a threaded ring, a breech block supporting piece inserted in the breech end-piece and secured by a threaded ring. A retaining ring with two fittings for transmitting rotation forces was screwed onto the rear of the barrel. Used a horizontal sliding breech block, similar to other large-caliber German naval guns.

The data that follows is specifically for the 40.6 cm (16") Naval version except where noted. Actual bore diameter of all versions was 40.64 cm (16.0").

Cleaning Information
Some part cleanup will be necessary. The 3D printing process uses a waxy substance to support certain part features during the printing process. Although the parts are cleaned by Shapeways, some waxy residue may remain.  It can be safely removed with water and a mild aqueous detergent like "Simple Green" using an old, soft toothbrush, Q-tips or pipe cleaners. During the printing process, liquid resin is cured by ultraviolet light.  Microscopic bits of resin may remain uncured.

Let your parts sit in direct sunlight for a few hours to fully cure the resin.  

Water-based acrylic paints meant for plastics is strongly recommended.
Other paints, especially enamels, may not cure on Frosted Detail 3D-printed plastics.

Use dedicated model sprue cutters to remove parts to minimise the risk of damage to parts.
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