38 cm Siegfried K (E)

The 38 cm Siegfried K (E) was a German World War II railway gun based on the 38 cm SK C/34 naval gun that served as the main armament of the Bismarck-class battleships.

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.

[1][2] The gun had no ability to traverse on its mount, relying instead on moving along a curving section of track or on a Vögele turntable to aim.

The turntable (Drehscheibe) consisted of a circular track with a pivot mount in the center for a platform on which the railroad gun itself was secured.

The platform had rollers at each end which rested on the circular rail for 360° traverse.