76mm / L62 Allargato The 76mm / L62 " Allargato " is a single barrel , medium caliber , dual purpose automatic naval cannon designed and produced in the 1960s by the Italian defence firm of OTO - Melara as the cannon armament for all medium and large class warships built for the Italian Navy in that decade . Currently , the gun remains in service with Italy ' s Cassiopea class patrol vessel s but has otherwise been largely replaced by the Otobreda 76 mm series of cannons . History . After World War Two , when Italy joined NATO , it received a large part of its weapons from the United States in the form of direct military assistance . This included the transfer of surplus United States Navy ( USN ) warships from that war also . In the mid - 1950s the Italian Navy began planning and funding a program of modernization , in which many of those outdated World War Two warships would be replaced with newer and more modern warships built in Italy . In addition the armament would be updated . At that time Italian warships were equipped for the most part with US built naval cannons , with the USN 5 - inch ( 127mm ) gun and the Bofors 40mm / L60 being the most numerous . In the opinion of the Italian Navy in the 1950s , the 5 - inch was seen as too heavy for many warships while the 40mm / L60 was deemed too light for use as the main weapon on its smaller corvettes that were being planned under the modernization plan . As a result the Italian Navy contracted the Italian firm of OTO - Melara to design and manufacture a medium caliber naval cannon with both an anti - surface and anti - aircraft ability . Stemming from Italian Navy ' s studies and experiences using the USN 3 - inch ( 76 . 2mm ) gun , it was decided to be the best compromise for a dual purpose cannon . The design of this new cannon contracted by OTO - Melara would be the primary armament on smaller warships , like corvettes , and the secondary armament on larger class warship , e . g . frigates , destroyers and primary cannon armament of the new helicopter cruisers planned . The first type developed was a twin barrel mount , the 76mm / L62 SMP3 " Sovrapposto " which had the unusual arrangement of having two barrels one above the other instead of side by side as with most naval cannon turrets . There were high hopes for the " Sovrapposto " turret but in service use on the Centauro class and other warships , its performance proved to be unsatisfactory , and in 1958 OTO Melara began work on a single barrel version . Development began in 1958 , with the first cannon delivered in 1961 for testing and production soon followed . In 1962 the first 76 / 62 MMI " Allargato " was delivered to the Italian Navy for mounting on the " Carlo Bergamini " class frigates . In the five following years , OTO - Melara produced a total of 84 exclusively for the Italian Navy . All Italian warships that had the twin " Sovrapposto " turret , that were to remain in service had them replaced with the single barrel " Allargato " turret . And while OTO - Melara attempted to marketed their new naval cannon for export , there were no orders . , the gun remained in use only on board the Cassiopea class patrol vessel s . Description . The " Allargato " has a single barrel which is water - sprayed cooled . The cannon and its loading tray is covered in a water tight turret cover that is also protection against small shell splinters . Also in the turret there is a station for one - man who is need to direct the cannon from data provided by the ships fire control system . All other actions when the cannon is fired are automatic . The cannon is slewed by hydraulic - electrical system , with a manual backup . Ammunition is stored in a magazine below the turret from which rounds are fed to the loading tray and then rammed in the breech and fired . Spent shell casing are automatically ejected outside the turret after being fired . Total weight of the turret and magazine is 12 tons . The rate of fire can be adjusted between 10 to 60 rounds per minute . Replacement . In the late 1960s , the " Allargato " was replaced in production by the highly successful OTO - Melara 76mm " Compact " . Due to its higher weight the " Allargato " is now considered outdated and has largely been withdrawn from most active service vessels , being replaced by either the 76mm / L62 " Compact " or the Breda 40mm / L70 " Compact " .