Otobreda 127/54 Compact

The Otobreda 127mm/54 Compact (127/54C) gun is a dual purpose naval artillery piece built by the Italian company Oto Melara. It uses the 127mm round which is also used in the 5 inch/ 54 gun, albeit that this gun calibre is measured in United States customary units rather than metric. The gun uses an automatic loading system where 66 127mm rounds of various kinds can be stored ready-to-fire in three loader drums (each holding 22 rounds). The barrel is water-cooled. Currently the gun is still in use by navies around the world but it is slowly being replaced by the Otobreda 127/64 for new vessels, such as the German Navy's F125-class frigate and Italian Navy's FREMM.

Otobreda 127mm/54C
Otobreda 127mm/54C on Venezuelan frigate Mariscal Sucre (F-21)
Type	Naval gun
Place of origin	Italy
Service history
Used by	See users
Production history
Designer	Oto Melara
Variants	Otobreda 127/64
Specifications
Barrel length	270 in (6.9 m)
Crew	remote controlled
Shell	127x835mmR shell weight: 29 to 31 kg (64 to 68 lb)
Caliber	127 mm (5.0 in)
Elevation	−15°/+83°
Traverse	360° speed: 40°/s
Rate of fire	40 rounds/min
Effective firing range	±30 km (100 km with guided VULCANO ammunition)
Feed system	Magazine capacity: 66 ready rounds

Vulcano munition

On 3 April 2003 the Italian Ministry of Defence signed a memorandum of understanding with the Dutch Ministry of Defence to establish the need for long range munition and to develop this munition, which was named Vulcano, together for the Otobreda 127mm naval gun.^[1]

OTO Melara 127/64

Main article: Otobreda 127/64

A replacement of the 127/54 compact, Oto Melara started the design in 1992, and completed it in 2003.^[2] The new lightweight gun, weighing 17 tons without magazine or ammunition handling, has a rate of fire of 35 rpm, and can fire the long range guided Vulcano ammunition.

Operators

Operators of the Oto Melara 127 Naval Gun in blue

The Otobreda 127/54 Compact is used in the following countries and ship classes:

Current operators

 Argentina

• Almirante Brown-class destroyer

 Canada

• Iroquois-class destroyer (before TRUMP modifications, retired 2017)

 Italy

• Audace-class destroyer (retired)
• Durand de la Penne-class destroyer
• Maestrale-class frigate
• Lupo-class frigate

 Japan

• Kongō-class destroyer
• Takanami-class destroyer

 Netherlands

• De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate^[3]

 Nigeria

• MEKO 360 frigate (Aradu)

 Peru

• Lupo-class frigate

 South Korea

• Gwanggaeto the Great-class destroyer

 Venezuela

• Lupo-class frigate

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

• 4.5 inch Mark 8 naval gun: contemporary standard naval gun for British ships
• 5"/54 caliber Mark 45 gun: contemporary standard naval gun for US ships
• AK-130: contemporary 130 mm twin standard naval gun mounting for Russian ships
• H/PJ-38 130mm naval gun : contemporary 130 mm standard naval gun mounting for Chinese ships
• French 100 mm naval gun: contemporary standard naval gun for French ships