38 cm SK C / 34 naval gun The 38 cm SK C / 34 naval gun was developed by Germany mid to late 1930s . It armed the s and was planned as the armament of the s and the re - armed s . Six twin - gun mountings were also sold to the Soviet Union and it was planned to use them on the s , however they were never delivered . Spare guns were used as coastal artillery in Denmark , Norway and France . One gun is currently on display at Møvig Fortress outside Kristiansand . Ammunition . It used the standard German naval system of ammunition where the base charge was held in a metallic cartridge case and supplemented by another charge in a silk bag . Both cartridges were rammed together . Propellant charge . Main charge : 38 cm HuelsKart34 - GefLdG - RPC 38 ( 16 / 7 ) Fore charge : 38 cm VorKart34 - GefLdG - RPC 38 ( 16 / 7 ) Shell . Four types of shells were used by the " 38 cm SK C / 34 " although the " Siegfried - Granate " could only be used by the coast defense versions . This latter shell could be fired with a reduced charge at to . Naval gun . The data given is according Krupp datasheet 38 cm S . K . C / 34 e WA52 - 453 ( e ) . This gun was mounted in pairs in the " Drh . L . C / 34e " turret which allowed elevation from - 5° 30 ' to + 30° . Each gun had an individual cradle , spaced apart , but they were normally coupled together . In general the turret was hydraulically powered , but the training gear , auxiliary elevation , auxiliary hoists and some loading gear was electrically powered . The turrets weighed to , rested on ball bearings on a diameter track , could elevate 6° per second and traverse 5 . 4° per second . The guns were loaded at + 2 . 5° and used a telescoping chain - operated rammer . According to German manuals the required permanent capacity for the loading equipment for ammunition was 2 . 5 shells per minute . During testing period at the Baltic Sea the AVKS Report states an output of the ammunition delivery system up to 3 . 125 shells per minute . Under battle conditions " Bismarck " averaged roughly one round per minute in her battle with and . Numbers . Sixteen guns were used for the and and six were ordered for the when it was to be re - armed in 1942 . Six were intended for each of the s , but it is uncertain how many of these last were actually delivered . Six mountings with twelve guns were sold to the Soviet Union who planned to use them on two s , but these were never delivered . Surplus guns were used as coast defense guns . Coast defense gun . These guns were 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 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 . Normally these were placed in open concrete barbette s , relying on their armor , but Hitler thought that not enough protection for the guns ( " Battery Todt " ) emplaced on Cap - Gris - Nez in the Pas de Calais near Wimereux and ordered a concrete casemate thick built over and around the mounts . This had the unfortunate effect of limiting their traverse to 120° . Other C / 39 mounts were installed at the Hanstholm fortress in Denmark , and the Vara fortress in Kristiansand , Norway . Four " Drh LC / 34 " turrets , three of which were originally intended to re - arm the " Gneisenau " and one completed to the Soviet order , modified for land service , were planned to be emplaced at Paimpol , Brittany and on the Cap de la Hague on the Cotentin Peninsula , but construction never actually began . Construction for two of those turrets was well underway at Oxby , Denmark when the war ended . Railroad gun . Some guns also saw service as 38 cm Siegfried K ( E ) railroad gun s , one of these being captured by American forces during the Rhône Valley campaign in 1944 .