38 cm SK L/45 "Max"

38 cm SK L/45 "Max"
"Max" mounted on its combined railroad and firing platform
Type	Naval gun Railroad gun
Place of origin	German Empire
Service history
In service	1915–18
Used by	German Empire
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designer	Krupp
Designed	1912–14
Manufacturer	Krupp
Produced	1914–18
No. built	8
Variants	B, E, E.u.B.
Specifications
Mass	267.9 tonnes (263.7 long tons; 295.3 short tons)
Length	31.61 metres (103 ft 8 in)
Barrel length	16.13 metres (52 ft 11 in) L/45
Shell	separate-loading, cased charge
Calibre	38 centimetres (15 in)
Breech	horizontal sliding-block
Recoil	hydro-pneumatic
Carriage	2 × 5-axle and 2 × 4-axle bogies
Elevation	+0° to +18.5° (+55° if emplaced)
Traverse	2° (up to 360° if emplaced)
Muzzle velocity	800 to 1,040 m/s (2,600 to 3,400 ft/s)
Effective firing range	22,200 metres (24,300 yd) (from rails)
Maximum firing range	47,500 metres (51,900 yd) (if emplaced)

The 38 cm SK L/45 "Max", also called Langer Max (literal translation "Long Max") was a German long-range, heavy siege and coast-defense gun used during World War I.^{[A 1]} Originally a naval gun, it was also adapted for land service when it became clear that some of the ships for which it was intended would be delayed and that it would be very useful on the Western Front.

The first guns saw service in fixed positions (for example at Verdun in February 1916), but the lengthy preparation time required for the concrete emplacements was a serious problem and a railroad mount was designed to increase the gun's mobility. The latter variants participated in the 1918 German spring offensives and the Second Battle of the Marne.

One gun, Batterie Pommern, was captured in Koekelare (16 October 1918) by the Belgians at the end of the war and the seven surviving guns were destroyed in 1921 and 1922.
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