page_title: Littorio-class battleship
section_title: Armament
hierarchical_section_title: Littorio-class battleship / Design / Armament
caption_attribution_description: English: The forward triple 50-caliber gun turrets of the Italian dreadnought battleship Roma
context_page_description: The Littorio class, also known as the Vittorio Veneto class, was a class of battleship of the Regia Marina, the Italian navy. The class was composed of four ships—Littorio, Vittorio Veneto, Roma, and Impero—but only the first three ships of the class were completed. Built between 1934 and 1942, they were the most modern battleships used by Italy during World War II. They were developed in response to the French Dunkerque-class battleships, and were armed with 381-millimeter guns and had a top speed of 30 knots. The class's design was considered by the Spanish Navy, but the outbreak of World War II interrupted construction plans.
  The first two ships, Littorio and Vittorio Veneto, were operational by the early months of Italy's participation in World War II. They formed the backbone of the Italian fleet, and conducted several sorties into the Mediterranean to intercept British convoys, though without any notable success.
context_section_description: The ships' main battery consisted of nine 381 mm L/50 Ansaldo 1934 guns in three triple turrets, two in a superfiring pair forward and one aft. These long-barrel, high-velocity guns were chosen to compensate for the smaller 381 mm shell as compared to the 406 mm gun originally desired. The 381 mm guns had a maximum elevation of 35 degrees, which allowed them to engage targets out to 42,260 m (46,220 yd). The guns fired a 885 kg (1,951 lb) armor-piercing (AP) shell at a muzzle velocity of 870 meters per second (2,854 ft/s). However, this was reduced to 850 m/s (2,789 ft/s) in order to reduce dispersion and increase barrel service life. The 824.3 kg (1,817 lb) semi-armor piercing shells formed the secondary ammunition of the 381mm/50, which had a 29.51 kg (65.1 lb) bursting charge. Although high explosive shells weighing 774 kg (1,706 lb) were developed for the 381 mm guns, they never saw service on the Littorio-class. Shell rooms were located below the propellant magazines beneath the gun house in the turret structure. The guns' rate of fire was one shot every 45 seconds. Their ammunition load was 495 AP shells and 171 SAP shells, with 4,320 propellant charges (666 rounds total, or 74 rounds per gun split 55 AP & 19 SAP).
  The ships' secondary battery consisted of twelve 152 mm (6.0 in) L/55 Ansaldo Model 1934 guns in four triple turrets. Two were placed abreast the No. 2 main battery turret and two on either side of the rear turret. These guns fired a 50 kg (110 lb) AP shell at a muzzle velocity of 910 m/s (2,986 ft/s). They could elevate to 45 degrees, permitting a maximum range of 25,740 m (28,150 yd). They had a rate of fire of slightly better than four rounds a minute. Four 120 mm (4.7 in) L/40 guns were mounted on each ship in order to fire illumination rounds. Able to elevate to 32 degrees, they fired a 29.3 kg (65 lb) semi-fixed round out to an effective range of 5,000 m (16,400 ft). The ships' anti-aircraft armament was composed of a powerful battery of twelve 90 mm (3.5 in) L/50 guns closely arranged amidships, twenty 37 mm (1.5 in) L/54 guns, and sixteen 20 mm (0.79 in) L/65 guns. The 90 mm guns provided long-range anti-aircraft protection, and were mounted in quadriaxially stabilized single turrets. They had a rate of fire of 12 rounds per minute and had a ceiling of approximately 10,800 m (35,400 ft). The 37 mm and 20 mm guns were designed for close-range defense and had effective ranges of 4,000 m (13,100 ft) and 2,500 m (8,200 ft), respectively.
caption: Roma's forward triple 15-inch (381 mm) 50-caliber gun turrets.
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