This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2014) |
76mm/L62 Allargato | |
---|---|
Type | Naval gun |
Place of origin | Italy |
Service history | |
In service | 1962–present |
Used by | Italian Navy |
Wars | Cold War |
Production history | |
Designer | Oto Melara |
Designed | 1958 |
Manufacturer | OTO Melara |
Produced | 1962 - 1967/69 |
No. built | 84 |
Variants | Otobreda 76 mm |
Specifications | |
Mass | 12 tonnes (26,000 lb) |
Barrel length | 62 caliber: 4,724.4 mm (186.00 in) |
Crew | 1 |
Shell | Complete round: 76×636mmR |
Caliber | 76.2 mm (3.00 in) |
Barrels | 1 |
Action | automatic |
Elevation | -15°/+85° speed: 40°/sec |
Traverse | 360° speed: 70°/sec |
Rate of fire | 55/60 rpm |
Muzzle velocity | 900 m/s (3,000 ft/s) |
Maximum firing range | HE round fired at 45°: 16,000 m (17,000 yd) |
Feed system | Magazine |
The 76mm/L62 Allargato is a single barrel, medium caliber, dual purpose automatic naval cannon designed and produced in the 1960s by the Italian defence firm of OTO-Melara as the cannon armament for all medium and large warships built for the Italian Navy in that decade. Currently, the gun remains in service with Italy's Cassiopea-class patrol vessels but has otherwise been largely replaced by the Otobreda 76 mm series of cannons.
After World War Two, when Italy joined NATO, it received a large part of its weapons from the United States in the form of direct military assistance. This included the transfer of surplus United States Navy (USN) warships from that war also. In the mid-1950s the Italian Navy began planning and funding a program of modernization, in which many of those outdated World War Two warships would be replaced with newer and more modern warships built in Italy. In addition the armament would be updated. At that time Italian warships were equipped for the most part with US-built naval cannons, with the USN 5-inch (127 mm) gun and the Bofors 40 mm/L60 being the most numerous. In the opinion of the Italian Navy in the 1950s, the 5-inch was seen as too heavy for many warships while the 40mm/L60 was deemed too light for use as the main weapon on its smaller corvettes that were being planned under the modernization plan.
As a result, the Italian Navy contracted the Italian firm of OTO-Melara to design and manufacture a medium caliber naval cannon with both an anti-surface and anti-aircraft ability. Stemming from Italian Navy's studies and experiences using the USN 3-inch (76.2 mm) gun, it was decided to be the best compromise for a dual purpose cannon. The design of this new cannon contracted by OTO-Melara would be the primary armament on smaller warships, like corvettes, and the secondary armament on larger class warship, e.g. frigates, destroyers and primary cannon armament of the new helicopter cruisers planned. [1]
The first type developed was a twin barrel mount, the 76mm/L62 SMP3 Sovrapposto which had the unusual arrangement of having two barrels one above the other instead of side by side as with most naval cannon turrets. There were high hopes for the Sovrapposto turret but in service use on the Centauro class and other warships, its performance proved to be unsatisfactory, and in 1958 OTO Melara began work on a single-barrel version.
Development began in 1958, with the first cannon delivered in 1961 for testing and production soon followed. In 1962 the first 76/62 MMI Allargato was delivered to the Italian Navy for mounting on the Carlo Bergamini-class frigates. In the five following years, OTO-Melara produced a total of 84 exclusively for the Italian Navy. All Italian warships that had the twin Sovrapposto turret, that were to remain in service had them replaced with the single barrel Allargato turret. And while OTO-Melara attempted to marketed their new naval cannon for export, there were no orders.
As of 2011 [update] , the gun remained in use only on board the Cassiopea-classpatrol vessels.
The Allargato has a single barrel which is water-sprayed cooled. The cannon and its loading tray is covered in a water tight turret cover that is also protection against small shell splinters. Also in the turret there is a station for one man who is needed to direct the cannon from data provided by the ships fire control system. All other actions when the cannon is fired are automatic.
The cannon is slewed by hydraulic-electrical system, with a manual backup. Ammunition is stored in a magazine below the turret from which rounds are fed to the loading tray and then rammed in the breech and fired. Spent shell casing are automatically ejected outside the turret after being fired. Total weight of the turret and magazine is 12 tons. The rate of fire can be adjusted between 10 and 60 rounds per minute. [2] [3]
In the late 1960s, the Allargato was replaced in production by the highly successful OTO-Melara 76mm Compact. Due to its higher weight the Allargato is now considered outdated and has largely been withdrawn from most active service vessels, being replaced by either the 76mm/L62 Compact or the Breda 40mm/L70 Compact. [2] [4]
Modern French 100 mm naval guns are multipurpose artillery pieces, capable of a high rate of fire. Most modern French warships are/were equipped with one of its versions.
Libyan Navy is the branch of the Libyan military responsible for naval warfare. Established in November 1962, Libyan Navy has been headed by Admiral Mansour Bader, Chief of Staff of the Libyan Naval Force. Before the Libyan Civil War it was a fairly typical small navy with a few missile frigates, corvettes and patrol boats to defend the coastline, but with a very limited self-defence capability. The Navy has always been the smallest of Libya's services and has always been dependent on foreign sources for equipment, spare parts, and training. Most of the Gaddafi era fleet was destroyed in 2011. Since the start of the ongoing internal conflict, the Libyan Navy is aligned with the Government of National Accord (GNA), led by the Presidential Council in Tripoli, apart from coastal patrol vessels under the control of the Libyan National Army.
OTO Melara was a subsidiary of the Italian company Finmeccanica, today Leonardo, active in the defence sector, with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. The Mod 56 pack howitzer, in service throughout the world, and the 76mm naval gun, adopted by 53 navies and installed on over 1,000 naval vessels, are among OTO Melara's best known weapons since World War II.
The OTO Melara 76 mm gun is a naval gun built and designed by the Italian defence company Oto Melara. It is based on the Oto Melara 76/62C and evolved toward 76/62 SR and 76/62 Strales.
DARDO is a close-in weapon system (CIWS) built by the Italian companies Breda and Oto Melara. It is composed of two Breda-built Bofors 40 mm firing high explosive (HE) shells, a fire-control radar (RTN-10X) and a fire-control system. It is the last of a long series of Italian anti-aircraft weapons derived from the Swedish Bofors 40 mm autocannons.
The 4.5 inch Mark 8 is a British naval gun system which currently equips the Royal Navy's destroyers and frigates, and some British destroyers and frigates sold to other countries.
The Otobreda 127mm/54 Compact (127/54C) gun is a dual purpose naval artillery piece built by the Italian company Oto Melara. It uses the 127mm round which is also used in the 5 inch/ 54 gun, albeit that this gun calibre is measured in United States customary units rather than metric. The gun uses an automatic loading system where 66 127mm rounds of various kinds can be stored ready-to-fire in three loader drums. The barrel is water-cooled. Currently the gun is still in use by navies around the world but it is slowly being replaced by the Otobreda 127/64 for new vessels, such as the German Navy's F125-class frigate and Italian Navy's FREMM.
The Donghae-class PCC is the low-end complement of the high-low mix domestic naval construction plan of the Republic of Korea Navy under the 1st Yulgok Project (1974-1986) for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. The ship is designed for patrolling maritime border, including the Northern Limit Line, protecting the littoral zone, and combating the North Korean vessels.
The Cassiopea class is a heavy series of four patrol boats of the Italian Navy. They were built in the late 1980s on civilian standards. They are designed for patrol in safe areas.
The BRP Emilio Jacinto (PS-35) is the lead ship of the Jacinto-class corvettes currently assigned to the Offshore Combat Force of the Philippine Fleet. She is one of few ships in the Philippine Navy equipped with modern systems after the completion of combat, navigation and weapon systems upgrade of her class in August 2019. She was originally called HMS Peacock (P239) during her service with the Royal Navy.
The BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS-36) is the second ship of the Jacinto-class corvettes currently assigned to the Offshore Combat Force of the Philippine Fleet. She is one of few ships in the Philippine Navy equipped with modern systems after the completion of combat, navigation and weapon systems upgrade of her class in August 2019. She is named after Apolinario Mabini, a hero of the Philippine revolution and a former prime minister. She was originally called HMS Plover (P240) during her service with the Royal Navy.
The Oto Melara 127/64 Lightweight (LW) naval gun mount is a rapid-fire gun mount suitable for installation on large and medium size ships. It also has a version for coastal defense, intended for surface fire and naval gunfire support as main role and anti-aircraft fire as secondary role. The compactness of the gun feeding system makes possible the installation on narrow section crafts.
The Oerlikon KBA is a 25 mm (25×137mm) autocannon, developed as a close range multipurpose weapon in the mid-1970s for the mechanized battlefield, originally made by Oerlikon-Bührle. It is a positively locked, gas-operated cannon with a rotating bolt head and a dual-belt selective feed system taking a 25 mm cartridge. The nominal rate of fire in burst mode is 600 rounds per minute but it can be adjusted electronically and reduced from single shot to selectable range between 175 to 300 rounds per minute.
The Albatros class was a class of eight corvettes designed and built in Italy in the 1950s. Paid for by US funds, they were operated by Italy, Denmark, Indonesia and the Netherlands. The last ships of the class were retired from service in Italy in 1991.
The Hitrole is a remote weapons station manufactured by Italian arms company Oto Melara . The "role" portion of the name is short for "Remotely Operated, Light Electrical".
The Škoda 10 cm K10 was a 100 mm (3.9-inch) naval gun of the Austro-Hungarian Navy used as tertiary armament on semi-dreadnought battleships and as primary armament on scout cruisers and destroyers during World War I. After World War I, variants of the Škoda 10 cm K10 were widely produced in Italy as the 100/47 series of guns, which served in a number of roles, on a wide variety of ships, with a number of navies.
The 152 mm /55 Model 1934–1936 were built for the Italian Navy in the years before World War II. These guns were used on the Duca degli Abruzzi-class Light cruisers, which were the final series of the Condottieri-class cruisers as their primary armament and as secondary armament on the Littorio-class battleships.
The Centauro class consisted of four frigates built for the Italian Navy during the 1950s. They entered service in 1957, with the last one being stricken in 1985.
Centauro was the lead ship of the her class of four frigates built for the Italian Navy in the 1950s.