page_title: Todt Battery
section_title: 380-mm cannons
hierarchical_section_title: Todt Battery / Description / 380-mm cannons
caption_attribution_description: English: Kristiansand kanonmuseum - whole cannon view from the right side
context_page_description: The Todt Battery, also known as Batterie Todt, was a battery of coastal artillery built by the Nazi Germany in World War II, located in the hamlet of Haringzelles, Audinghen, near Cape Gris-Nez, Pas de Calais, France.
  The battery consisted of four Krupp 380-millimetre guns with a range up to 55.7 kilometres, capable of reaching the British coast, each protected by a bunker of reinforced concrete. Originally to be called Siegfried Battery, it was renamed in honor of the German engineer Fritz Todt, creator of the Todt Organisation. It was later integrated into the Atlantic Wall.
  The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division attacked the Cape gris-Nez batteries on 29 September 1944 and the positions secured by the afternoon of the same day. The Todt battery fired for the last time on 29 September 1944 and was taken hours later by the North Nova Scotia Highlanders that landed in Normandy, as part of the 9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, after an intense aerial bombardment, as part of Operation Undergo.
context_section_description: The 38 cm SK C/34 naval gun was developed by Germany mid to late 1930s to arm the Bismarck-class battleship. Bismarck's and Tirpitz's main battery consisted of eight 38 cm SK C/34 guns in four twin turrets. As with other German large-caliber naval rifles, these guns were designed by Krupp and featured sliding-wedge breechblocks, which required brass cartridge cases for the propellant charges. Under optimal conditions, the rate of fire was one shot every 18 seconds, or three per minute. Under battle conditions, Bismarck averaged roughly one round per minute in her battle with HMS Hood and Prince of Wales.
  The Kriegsmarine also planned to use these naval guns as the armament of the three planned battleships, with a displacement of 35,400 tons, which were tentatively named "O", "P" and "Q". The ships' main armament batteries were to have consisted of six 38 cm SK C/34 guns mounted in three twin turrets. By 1940, project drawings for the three battle-cruisers were complete. They were reviewed by both Hitler and Admiral Raeder, both of whom approved. However, outside "initial procurement of materials and the issuance of some procurement orders", the ships' keels were never laid. In large part, this was due to severe material shortages, especially of high-grade steel, since there were more pressing needs for these materials for the war effort. Besides, the dockyard personnel necessary for the ships' construction were by now occupied with more pressing work, primarily on new U-boats.
  Spare guns were used as coastal artillery in Denmark, Norway and France. The coastal defense version of the SK C/34 was modified with a larger chamber for coast defense duties to handle the increased amount of propellant used for the special long-range Siegfried shells. Gander and Chamberlain quote a weight of only 105.3 t (103.6 long tons; 116.1 short tons) for these guns, presumably accounting for the extra volume of the enlarged chamber. An armored single mount, the Bettungsschiessgerüst (Firing platform) C/39 was used by these guns. It had a maximum elevation of 60° and could traverse up to 360°, depending on the emplacement. The C/39 mount had two compartments; the upper housed the guns and their loading equipment, while the lower contained the ammunition hoists, their motors, and the elevation and traverse motors. The mount was fully powered and had an underground magazine. C/39 mounts were also installed at the Hanstholm fortress in Denmark, and the Vara fortress in Kristiansand, Norway. Plans were made to install two of these mounts at Cap de la Hague and two at Paimpol in France, modifying guns originally intended for an abortive refit of Gneisenau, but were not executed for unknown reasons. Work on putting two more mounts at Oxsby in Denmark was well advanced but incomplete by the end of the war. Some modified SK C/34 guns also saw service as 38 cm Siegfried K (E) railway guns, one of these being captured by American forces during the Rhône Valley campaign in 1944. Like the 38 cm SK C/34 naval guns deployed as coastal defense, the 38 cm Siegfried K guns were modified with a larger chamber to handle the increased amount of propellant used for the special long-range Siegfried shells. The gun could not traverse on its mount, relying instead on moving along a curving section of track or on a Vögele turntable to aim.
  The battery Todt was equipped with four 38 cm SK C/34 naval guns and their corresponding C/39 Firing platform. With a range up to 55.7 km (34.6 miles), the guns were capable of reaching Dover and the British coast located less than 30 km from Cap Griz-Nez. Normally these were placed in open concrete barbettes, relying on their armor for protection, but Hitler thought that there was not enough protection for Todt Battery and ordered a concrete casemate 3.5 m (11 feet) thick built over and around the mounts. This had the unfortunate effect of limiting their traverse to 120°.
  The guns of the Todt Battery weighed 105.3 tons and had a total length of 19.63 m (64.4 feet). The 15.75 m-long (51.7-foot) barrel was progressively rifled with
caption: The Batterie Vara (MAB 6./502 Vara, Norway) was also equipped with the same armored single mount, C/39 Firing platform that was used at the Todt Battery
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