Italian 120 millimetre naval guns were standard main armament on Italian destroyers and were widely used on various other ships and coastal artillery. The 50-calibre guns used a charge of 9.7 kilograms (21 lb) of smokeless powder to push a 23.49-kilogram (51.8 lb) projectile to a velocity of 950 metres per second (3,100 ft/s). Velocity was later reduced to 920 metres per second (3,000 ft/s), which gave a maximum range of 19.6 kilometres (12.2 mi) at 45° elevation or 18.2 kilometres (11.3 mi) at 35° elevation. Variants of similar designs were built by Ansaldo, OTO, Vickers, Schneider, Canet and Armstrong. Older and shorter-barreled guns have different ballistics as noted below.[1]
- ^ Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 335–338. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.