Description

Originally designed in 1910 by Skoda and used on Austria-Hungarian destroyers and scout cruisers. Many ships carrying these guns were ceded to the Italians at the end of World War I. The Italians were quite impressed with the design and virtually copied it, one of the few changes being a loose liner. Considered by the Italians to be a good AAA weapon.

In 1930 the Soviet Navy purchased 10 twin mounts from Italy which were installed on the light cruisers Chervona Ukraina and Krasny Kavkaz. These were known in Russia as "Minizini" after the mount's designer, Commander Minisini.

Many sources state that these guns or a close variation with a 4" (10.2 cm) bore rather than a 100 mm (3.9") bore were used on the Argentine cruisers of the Veinticinco de Mayo class. However, recent research has found that they were a unique design built by Odero-Terni based upon the 102 mm/45 Schneider-Armstrong guns.

Nomenclature note: The lengths of these guns were almost identical, the differences as noted in their designations was strictly the result of the way each nation measured barrel length. See "Definitions and Information about Naval Guns" for further information.

Gun Characteristics

Designation Austria-Hungary: 10 cm/50 (3.9") K10 and K11
Italy: 100 mm/47 (3.9") Models 1924, 1927 and 1928
Russia: 100 mm/50 (3.9") "Minizini" 1
Ship Class Used On Austria-Hungary: Helgoland, Saida and Tatra classes
Italy: Cesare, Trento, Zara and all Condotteri classes, San Giorgio as rearmed
Russia: Chervona Ukraina and Krasny Kavkaz
Date of Design Skoda: 1910
OTO: 1924, 1927 and 1928
Date In Service Austria-Hungary: 1912
Italy: 1919 (war prizes), 1930 (OTO production)
Russia: 1930
Gun Weight Austria-Hungary: 4,453 lbs. (2,020 kg)
Italian: 4,800 lbs. (2,177 kg)
Russian version: 4,894 lbs. (2,220 kg)
Gun Length oa Austria-Hungary: N/A
Italian: 196.3 in (4.985 m)
Russian: 196.85 in (5.000 m)
Bore Length Austria-Hungary: N/A
Italian: 185.0 in (4.700 m)
Russian: 184.8 in (4.694 m)
Rifling Length Russian: 148.9 in (3.782 m)
Others: N/A
Grooves 26
Lands N/A
Twist N/A
Chamber Volume 473.5 in3 (7,760 cm3)
Rate Of Fire Austria-Hungary and Italy: 8 - 10 rounds per minute
Russia: 12 rounds per minute
  • ^Although the numbers given above for the Russian version of this weapon are slightly different, I would tend to believe that both these and the Italian guns would be identical or nearly so.

Ammunition

Type Fixed
Complete Round Weight Austria-Hungary
   HE 57.7 lbs. (26.2 kg)

Italian
   HE: 57.3 lbs. (26.0 kg)

Russian
   AA mod 1928: 54.23 lbs. (24.6 kg)
   HE mod 1915: 62.17 lbs. (28.2 kg)
   HE mod 1928: 62.17 lbs. (28.2 kg)

Projectile Types and Weights Austria-Hungary
   HE 30.3 lbs. (13.75 kg)

Italian
   HE: 30.4 lbs. (13.8 kg)

Russian
   AA mod 1928: 30.53 lbs. (13.85 kg)
   HE mod 1915: 34.83 lbs. (15.8 kg)
   HE mod 1928: 34.83 lbs. (15.8 kg)

Bursting Charge Austria-Hungary
   N/A

Italian
   N/A

Russian
   AA mod 1928: 2.95 lbs. (1.34 kg)
   HE mod 1915: 4.34 lbs. (1.97 kg)
   HE mod 1928: 2.73 lbs. (1.24 kg)

Projectile Length Austria-Hungary
   N/A

Italian
   N/A - Complete Round 47.2 in (1.2 m)

Russian
   AA mod 1928: 4.98 calibers
   HE mod 1915: 5.05 calibers
   HE mod 1928: 5.22 calibers

Propellant Charge Austria-Hungary
   14.6 lbs. (6.6 kg) RP

Italian
   11.0 lbs. (5.0 kg)

Russian
   11.0 lbs. (5.0 kg)
   11.0 - 10.6 lbs. (5.0 - 4.8 kg)
   Russian Cartridge (empty): 16.96 lbs. (7.57 kg)

Muzzle Velocity Austria-Hungary
   2,887 fps (880 mps)

Italian
   2,790 fps (850 mps)

Russian
   AA mod 1928: 2,887 fps (880 mps)
   HE mod 1915: 2,625 fps (800 mps)
   HE mod 1928: 2,625 fps (800 mps)

Working Pressure Russian: 17.8 tons/in2 (2,800 kg/cm2)
Approximate Barrel Life Russian: 500 rounds
Ammunition stowage per gun Italian da Barbiano class
   Peace: 400 rounds
   War: 600 rounds

Others: N/A

Range

Range with 30.3 lbs. (13.75 kg) Austria-Hungary HE shell
Elevation Distance
14 degrees About 12,030 yards (11,000 m)
Range with 30.4 lbs (13.8 kg) Italian HE shell
Elevation Distance
45 degrees 16,670 yards (15,240 m)
AA Ceiling About 33,000 feet (10,000 m)
Maximum ranges of Russian shells
Shell Distance
34.83 lbs. (15.8 kg) HE mod 1915 20,280 yards (18,546 m)
34.83 lbs. (15.8 kg) HE mod 1928 21,400 yards (19570 m)

Mount/Turret Data

Designation Austria-Hungary - Single Mounts: Helgoland (9), Saida (9) and Tatra (2)
Italy - Twin Mounts 1a: Cesare (4), Trento (8), Zara (8), da Barbiano (3), Cardorna (3), Montecuccoli (3), Aosta (3), Garibaldi (4) and San Giorgio (5)
Soviet Union - "Minizini" Twin Mounts: Chervona Ukraina (3) and Krasny Kavkaz (2) 2a
Weight Single Mounts: 7.1 tons (7.24 mt)
Twin Mounts: 14.8 tons (15.0 mt)
Elevation Austria-Hungary: -4 / +18 degrees
Italian: -5 / +85 degrees
Russian: -5 / +78 degrees
Elevation Rate Russian: 7 degrees per second
Others: N/A
Train 360 degrees
Train Rate Russian: 13 degrees per second
Others: N/A
Gun recoil Russian: 22.84 - 23.62 in (58 - 60 cm)
Others: N/A
Loading Angle Any 3a
  • ^Italian heavy cruisers had their two after mountings removed in 1937 and replaced by twin 37 mm/54 mountings.
  • ^After Chervona Ukrania was sunk in November 1941, two of her 100 mm (3.9") mounts were fitted to Krasnyi Kavkaz during a refit in the autumn of 1942.
  • ^These mounts could be loaded at any angle by having the cradle trunnions automatically change position such that the breech remained at about the same height regardless of the elevation. Although a technical marvel, this slowed the overall elevation speed and made it difficult for the gun to follow a fast-moving aircraft. As a result, these weapons were generally limited to firing barrage patterns.

Additional Pictures

Sources

"Naval Weapons of World War Two" by John Campbell
"Italian Warships of World War II" by Aldo Fraccaroli
"Anatomy of the Ship: The Cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni" by Franco Gay and Valerio Gay
"The Battle of Otranto Straits: Controlling the Gateway to the Adriatic in WWI" by Paul G. Halpern
"Sovetskie Boevye Korabli 1941-45: IV Vooruzhnie" (Soviet Warships 1941-45: Volume IV Armament) by A.V. Platonov
"Entsiklopedia Otechestvennoi Artillerii" (Encyclopedia of Fatherland (Russian) Artillery) by A.V. Shirokorad
"Cruisers of World War Two" by M.J. Whitley
---
"Flot vo Slavu Rossii" (Fleet in Honor of Russia) CD
K.u.k. Kriegsmarine (Hrsg.), Exerzierreglement für die Bedienung des 10 cm G. L/50; Pola 1915
---
Tony DiGiulian's personal files
---
Special help from Vladimir Yakubov, Erwin F. Sieche and Georg v. Rauch

Page History

21 September 2008 - Benchmark
23 September 2012 - Added pictures of museum guns
10 January 2015 - Improved description of trunnion elevation system
09 December 2022 - Converted to HTML 5 format, moved the Veinticinco de Mayo guns