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Tuesday 23 October 2018

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).

4 comments:

  1. Lots of guns!
    Boys with toys ;)
    What is not to like :)

    Speaking of likes I have just finished playing the WWII scenario from The Portable Wargame. Great fun. We walked the sample game through (that worked really well and helped us 'pick the rules back up again quick-time' - we'd both read it previously but not recently). After the run through we played it 'our way' - good fun and thought provoking.

    We used the instant death card variant - will replay with step loss when I get the chance

    Will post to my blog when I get chance to sit down in front of the computer. It helped some old and new toys of mine fulfil their wargaming destiny :)

    Thanks
    I'll be able to move onto the other books son, but first a small matter of replaying the Colonial scenario too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Geordie an Exiled FoG,

      It is a great museum ... and well worth a visit if you are ever in that part of Italy.

      I’m glad that you enjoyed the PW WW2 scenario, and I look forward to reading your battle report.

      The ‘sudden death’ variant makes for a quick game, whilst the gradual reduction of units by combat tends to produce a slightly longer but less predictable one.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. PS That should have read "one Step Loss" and death plus random card driven sequence of play variant as per example in the book :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Geordie an Exiled FoG,

      I look forward to getting your feedback on both once you have tried them.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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