Cannon 102/45
# Cannon 102/45

The Cannon 102/45 was a naval gun of the Italian Navy in World War II, which was later modified for shore based anti-aircraft and coastal artillery roles.

## History

During World War I the United Kingdom delivered a QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun, serial No.974 to Italy to act as a template for licensed production by the Ansaldo Company. The Mark V was constructed of a tapered inner A tube, A tube, taper wound wire, full-length jacket and breech ring. It had either a horizontal or vertical sliding breech block, with semi-automatic action and used fixed quick-fire ammunition. There were three models produced: Schneider-Armstrong Model 1917, Schneider-Armstrong Model 1919, and Schneider-Canet Model 1917; each with differing mounts and elevations. Overall the 102/45 was considered a successful design and it was widely used on destroyers of the Italian Navy before and during World War II. The exception being the Schneider-Armstrong Model 1919 which was an unsatisfactory twin mount with both guns sharing a common cradle. The Model 1919 was later replaced by single mounts during the war. The 102/45 was in the process of being replaced by the Cannon 120/45 and 120/50 when World War II began. Starting in 1937 guns that were removed from ships were mounted on new dual-purpose shore mounts and used as anti-aircraft guns and coastal artillery until retired in 1945.

## Interesting facts

* The reported muzzle velocities for the Schneider-Armstrong 850 m/s (2,800 ft/s) and Schneider-Canet 888 m/s (2,910 ft/s) are slightly different.
* The muzzle velocities of the 102/45 are higher than the Mk V 719 m/s (2,360 ft/s) implying greater working pressure. What effect this had on barrel life and accuracy is unknown.
* The rates of fire for the 102/45 (7 rpm) and Mk V (8-10 rpm) are different.

## Types

| Mounts | Model | Weight | Elevation | Naval Classes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Single Open Mount | Schneider-Armstrong Model 1917 | 4,600 kg | -5°/+35° | Generali-class, Palestro-class, La Masa class, Giuseppe Sirtori |
| Single Open Mount | Schneider-Canet Model 1917 | | -5°/+30° | Mirabello-class, Alessandro Poerio class |
| Twin Mount | Schneider-Armstrong Model 1919 | 10,000 kg | -5°/+35° | Curtatone-class |
| Single Mount Dual-purpose | Model 1936 | | -5°/+85° | Anti-aircraft and Coastal artillery |
