Italy 135 mm/45 (5.3") Model 1938

Italy
135 mm/45 (5.3") Models 1937 and 1938
Updated 26 May 2012

Used on the battleships Andrea Doria and Dulio as a secondary weapon and on the "Capitani Romani" class light cruisers as the main weapon. It had been intended to mount these weapons in the "Commandanti Medaglie d'Oro" and Etna classes in a new AA mounting but these ships were not completed.

These weapons were designed to give about the same range as the 12 cm/50 (4.7") guns but with a lower muzzle velocity and with less dispersion. In fact, partly due to the wider barrel spacing used on the mountings, these guns had only a quarter of the dispersion of the 12 cm guns.

Construction was loose barrel, jacket and breech ring construction with a horizontal sliding breech-block.

Components of these guns were reused during the postwar era when the light cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi was rearmed with 135 mm/45 guns during her conversion to a missile cruiser.

Fast Light Cruiser Attilio Regolo in May 1942

Triple 135 mm/45 (5.3") mountings on Andrea Doria
Note that the guns were individually sleeved and the spent case discharge port under each barrel
Photograph copyrighted by Elio Andò

Giuseppe Garibaldi (center) after being rearmed with 135 mm/45 guns. Other ships are Andrea Doria (right) and Caio Duilio.
Marina Militare Photograph

Gun Characteristics .

Designation	135 mm/45 (5.3") Model 1938
Ship Class Used On	Andrea Doria and "Capitani Romani" classes Giuseppe Garibaldi as rebuilt
Manufacturer	Ansaldo and OTO
Date of Design	1938
Date In Service	1940
Gun Weight	14,401 lbs. (6,532 kg)
Gun Length oa	N/A
Bore Length	239.2 in (6.075 m)
Rifling Length	202.4 in (5.142 m)
Grooves	about 36
Lands	N/A
Twist	N/A
Chamber Volume	about 976 in³ (16.0 dm³)
Rate Of Fire	6 - 7 rounds per minute

Ammunition .

Type	Separate
Projectile Types and Weights	APC - 72.1 lbs. (32.7 kg) HE - 72.1 lbs. (32.7 kg) Others: N/A
Bursting Charge	N/A
Projectile Length	N/A
Propellant Charge	19.6 lbs. (8.88 kg)
Muzzle Velocity	2,707 fps (825 mps)
Working Pressure	20.0 tons/in² (3,150 kg/cm²)
Approximate Barrel Life	N/A
Ammunition stowage per gun	Andrea Doria: N/A Capitani Romani: 320 rounds + 260 Illum
Note: On Capitani Romani class, the outfit was 440 AP, 756 HE and 84 AA together with 1,280 VR flashless cartridges (VR = "Vampa Ridotta"). There were also 260 star shells, half of which were supplied with VR cartridges.

Range .

Elevation	With 72.1 lbs. (32.7 kg) AP shell
Range @ 45 degrees	21,435 yards (19,600 m)

Mount / Turret Data .

Designation	Two-gun Turrets "Capitani Romani" (4): Model 1938 Giuseppe Garibaldi as rebuilt (2): N/A (Model 1957?) Three-gun Turrets Andrea Doria (4): Model 1937
Weight	Model 1938: 41.3 tons (42 mt) Model 1937: 103.3 tons (105 mt) Model 1957: N/A
Elevation (see Note 4)	Models 1937 and 1938: -5 / +45 degrees
Elevation Rate	N/A
Train	about +120 / -120 degrees
Train Rate	Model 1938: N/A Model 1937: 10 degrees per second
Gun recoil	21.7 in (55 cm)
Loading Angle	Any (see Note 2)
Notes: 1) A twin AA version for the Etna class cruisers and for the rebuild of the damaged battleship Conte Di Cavour were only in the planning stages by the time of the Italian Armistice. 2) Rammers were recoil operated, but this was apparently too weak to load shells at elevations beyond 30 degrees. For higher elevations, shells were hand loaded. Cartridges were always loaded by hand. Empty shell cases were transported mechanically to ports in the turret face under each gun barrel. 3) Guns were individually sleeved in both the twin and the triple mountings. 4) Model 1938 twin mount elevation may have been to -7 degrees. Gun axes were about 55 in (140 cm) apart in the twin mountings and 29 in (74 cm) apart in the triple mountings.

Data from
"Capitani Romani" articles by Elio Andò in "Warship Volume II"
"Naval Weapons of World War Two" by John Campbell
"Italian Warships of World War II" by Aldo Fraccaroli
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Page History

29 December 2007 - Benchmark
26 May 2012 - Updated to latest template