Oto Melara 76 mm
| OTO Melara 76 mm | |
|---|---|
The OTO Melara 76mm Super Rapid as mounted in a stealth cupola (to reduce Radar cross-section) onboard the Norwegian frigate Fridtjof Nansen.
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| Type | Naval gun |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1964 – present |
| Used by | See users |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Oto Melara |
| Designed | Compact: 1963 Super Rapid: 1985 Strales: 2004 |
| Manufacturer | Otobreda: 1963–2001 Oto Melara (subsidiary of Finmeccanica): 2001–2015 Leonardo-Finmeccanica: since 2016 Leonardo: since 2017 |
| Produced | Compact: 1964 Super Rapid: 1988 Strales: 2008 |
| Variants | See variants |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | Empty: 7.5 tonnes (17,000 lb) |
| Barrel length | 62 caliber: 4,724.4 mm (186.00 in) |
| Crew | remote controlled |
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| Shell | 76×636mmR cartridge weight 12.5 kilograms (28 lb) shell weight 6.3 kilograms (14 lb) propellant weight 2.35 kilograms (5.2 lb) |
| Caliber | 76.2 mm (3.00 in) |
| Elevation | -15°/+85° speed: 35°/s (acceleration: 72°/s²) |
| Traverse | 360° speed: 60°/s (acceleration: 72°/s²) |
| Rate of fire |
Compact: 85 rounds/min Super Rapid: 120 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 915 m/s (3,000 ft/s) |
| Maximum firing range |
HE-PFF 16,000 m |
| Feed system |
Magazine capacity: 80 ready rounds on Compact gun mount |
HE-PFF 16,000 m
SAPOMER 20,000 m
76 Vulcano 40,000 m
The OTO Melara 76 mm gun is a naval artillery piece built and designed by the Italian defence company Oto Melara. It is based on the Oto Melara 76/62C and evolved toward 76/62 SR and 76/62 Strales. The Oto Melara 76 mm Compatto cannon system is compact enough to be installed on relatively small warships, such as corvettes, avisos (a vessel somewhere in size between a corvette and a patrol boat), and patrol boats. The gun's high rate of fire and availability of specialised ammunition make it well-suited to varied roles such as short-range anti-missile point defence, anti-aircraft, anti-surface, and ground support. Specialised ammunition includes armour-piercing, incendiary, directed fragmentation effects, and a guided round marketed as capable of destroying manoeuvring anti-ship missiles. A stealth cupola is now offered.
The OTO Melara 76 mm has been widely exported, currently in use internationally by 60 navies. It has recently been favoured over the French 100mm naval gun for the joint French/Italian Horizon-class frigate project and FREMM frigate.
On 27 September 2006 Iran announced it has started mass production of a marine artillery gun, named the Fajr-27, which is a reverse-engineered Oto Melara 76 mm gun.
Developed in the early 1980s (and sometimes called the "Super Rapido"), this variant is the up-to-date development of rapid fire Italian 76 mm naval cannons, capable of firing an increased 120 rounds per minute. The Super Rapid's higher rate of fire was achieved by designing a faster feed system.
These new improvements led to the Italian Navy preferring the Super Rapido with Strales System and DART ammunition to the Fast Forty 40 mm CIWS, in the anti-missile defence role, being capable of countering several subsonic missiles from 6,000 to 1,000 meters away. DART 76m had a longer range than other CIWS, but the Italian navy wanted an even longer range weapon.
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Wikipedia