I have been to ... the La Spezia Naval Museum: The Artillery Hall (1) - The low-angle guns

One part of the museum that I had previously visited was the Artillery Hall.

This contains examples of many of the smaller (i.e. less than 6-inch calibre) weapons carried by Italian warships. The first part of this photo-report will cover the low-angle guns in the collection.

Cannone USN da 76/50 (1942)

This was a United States Navy weapon supplied to the Italian Navy after the Second World War. They were fitted as the armament of three Cannon-class destroyer escorts (Andromeda (F592), ex-USS Weston (DE-184); Aldebaran (F590) ex-USS Thornhill (DE-195); and Altair (F591) ex-USS Gandy (DE-764)) that were transferred to the Italian Navy in 1951.

Cannone Tipo Maxim-Nordenfelt 57/43 (1900)

This gun was supplied by the British Maxim-Nordenfelt Company and was better know as the 6-pounder QF Gun. It was used aboard all types of ship from torpedo boats to battleships.

Cannone da 76/40 (1897 - 1912)

This was an Italian-built version of the Vickers Armstrong 12-pounder 12cwt QF Gun. It was manufactured by Ansaldo and like the Cannone Tipo Maxim-Nordenfelt 57/43 it was used aboard all types of ships.

Cannone OTO 100/37 (1937)

This gun was a development of the Škoda 10cm K10 (see below) and was built by OTO. It was used to arm a wide range of smaller ships, including the Gabbiano-class corvettes.

Cannone da 120/40 (1893)

This was the British Elswick-designed 4.7-inch Mark I or III QF Gun, and during the Second World War it was used as star-shell guns aboard the Littorio-class battleships.

Cannone Canadese da 4-inch

This appears to be a Canadian-manufactured, British-designed 4-inch Mk V QF Gun of the type fitted to the Algerine-class minesweepers, one of which (the Alabarda (F560) ex-HMS Larne (J 274)) was transferred to the Italian Navy in 1946.

Cannone Ansaldo da 102/35 (1914)

This was an Italian-built version of a British-designed 4-inch QF Gun. It was used to arm many of the destroyers and submarines built for the Royal Italian Navy during and immediately after the First World War.

Cannone Ansaldo da 102/45 (1917)

This is was an Italian-built version of the British-designed 4-inch Mk V QF Gun and was used to arm many of the destroyers built for the Royal Italian Navy during the inter-war period.

Cannone Škodawerke da 100/47 (1910)

This was the Škoda 10cm K10 Gun, captured examples of which were introduced into Italian service after the First World War. It was copied, and later versions were produced as the Cannone OTO 100/37 (see above).