15 cm TbtsK C/36 naval gun

15 cm TbtsK C/36
Forward 15 cm TbtsK C/36 naval guns placed on a Drh L C/38 twin mount, on Z39 in 1945, in US service as DD-939.
Type	Naval gun
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1942–1945
Used by	Nazi Germany
Wars	Second World War
Production history
Designer	Rheinmetall
Designed	1936
Manufacturer	Rheinmetall
Specifications
Mass	7,200–8,564 kilograms (15,873–18,880 lb)
Length	7.165 meters (23.51 ft)
Barrel length	6.815 meters (22.36 ft) (bore)
Shell	separate-loading, cased charge
Shell weight	45.3 kilograms (100 lb)
Caliber	15 cm (5.9 in) (nominal) 14.91 centimeters (5.87 in) actual
Breech	horizontal sliding-block
Elevation	C/36 single mount: -10° to +30° C/38 Twin mount: -10° to +65°
Traverse	Varied based on type and location of mount.
Rate of fire	8 rpm (maximum)
Muzzle velocity	835 meters per second (2,740 ft/s)
Effective firing range	23.55 kilometres (14.63 mi) at 47°
Maximum firing range	21,950 meters (24,000 yd) at 30°

The 15 cm TbtsK C/36 was a German medium-caliber naval gun deployed on Type 1936A (Mob) destroyers during the Second World War. It was designed because the Oberkommando der Marine (German Naval High Command) thought that the 12.7 cm (5.0 in) guns of the Type 1936 and 1936A destroyers would potentially be inferior to those of possible enemies. The guns caused serious issues when actually placed upon the ships as they added significant weight high up on the ships. To deal with this increase in weight, the destroyers had one gun removed, sometimes with a twin gun being used in order to keep five guns.