Difference between revisions of "203 mm/53 Ansaldo mod.1927 (203 mm)"

From War Thunder Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
(History: added history and link to earlier 8-inch gun in the Italian tech tree.)
(History: 2nd paragraph lacks relevance to the history of the gun itself, it may be more suited to Zara (Family))
Line 32: Line 32:
  
 
== History ==
 
== History ==
The best cruiser guns available to the ''Regio Marina'' (Royal Italian Navy) during World War II, the 203 mm/53 Ansaldo mod. 1927 was the main armament for the [[Zara (Family)|''Zara''<nowiki />-class]] heavy cruisers. Built under the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, these 8-inch guns in addition to being calibers longer than the preceding [[203 mm/50 Ansaldo mod.1924 (203 mm)|203 mm/50 Ansaldo mod.1924]] guns used on the [[RN Trento|''Trento''<nowiki />-class]], the guns fired more powerful 276-pound shells, could reload at the maximum 45-degree angle of elevation (the mod. 1924 guns could only load at 15 degrees or less) and a removable liner instead of a fixed one. The 276-pound shells had a muzzle velocity of 3,080 feet per second and a range of 34,400 yards. These guns were some of the best 8-inch cannons in the world at the time. The only weapons of the same caliber to beat them out in range were the German [[20.3 cm/60 SK C/34 (203 mm)|20.3 cm/60 SK C/34]] and the bursting shells had some of the best hitting power in the class. However, these guns were not perfect. The high operating pressure meant the liners quickly wore out though this did mean the guns were designed with removable liners and the dispersion problem, while not as bad as on the earlier Ansaldo mod. 1924 guns, were still present due to the same issues of shell tolerance and cradle mounting. As a result, the Ansaldo mod. 1927 guns were similarly downgraded to shells that had a reduced muzzle velocity of 3,000 feet per second, but the performance was still better than the mod. 1924s. A variant of this design is called the Ansaldo mod. 1929 was also built with a thinner faceplate liner to reduce and was mounted on the one-off heavy cruiser ''RN Bolzano''
+
<!-- ''Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>.'' -->
 
+
The best cruiser guns available to the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Italian Navy) during World War II, the 203 mm/53 Ansaldo mod. 1927 was the main armament for the [[Zara (Family)|''Zara''-class]] heavy cruisers. Built under the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, these 8-inch guns, in addition to being 3 calibres longer than the preceding [[203 mm/50 Ansaldo mod.1924 (203 mm)|203 mm/50 Ansaldo mod.1924]] guns used on the [[RN Trento|''Trento'']]-class, fired more powerful 276-pound shells, could reload at the maximum 45-degree angle of elevation (the mod. 1924 guns could only load at 15 degrees or less) and had a removable liner instead of a fixed one. The 276-pound shells had a muzzle velocity of 3,080 feet per second and a range of 34,400 yards. These guns were some of the best 8-inch cannons in the world at the time. The only weapons of the same calibre to beat them out in range were the German [[20.3 cm/60 SK C/34 (203 mm)|20.3 cm/60 SK C/34]] and the bursting shells had some of the best hitting power in the class. However, these guns were not perfect. The high operating pressure meant the liners quickly wore out though this did mean the guns were designed with removable liners and the dispersion problems, while not as bad as on the earlier Ansaldo mod. 1924 guns, were still present due to the same issues of shell tolerance and cradle mounting. As a result, the Ansaldo mod. 1927 guns were similarly downgraded to shells that had a reduced muzzle velocity of 3,000 feet per second, but the performance was still better than the mod. 1924s. A variant of this design called the Ansaldo mod. 1929 was also built with a thinner faceplate liner to reduce and was mounted on the one-off heavy cruiser RN ''Bolzano''.
The service of the ''Zara''<nowiki />-class was fiery but mostly short during World War II. After [[RN Zara|''RN Zara'']], ''RN Gorizia'', and [[RN Pola|''RN Pola'']] supported the Italian invasion of Albania in 1939, they were deployed during the war mostly as convoy raiders. During the Battle of Calabria in July 1940, the four ships of the class managed to drive off a British fleet including the battleship ''HMS Warspite'' and escaped without damage. They similarly escaped without damage when the British Fleet Air Arm attack Italian ships in port during the Battle of Taranto in November of the same year. However, in a stroke of bad luck, three of the four ships were lost during the Battle of Cape Matapan. After ''Pola'' herself was immobilized by an attack from a [[Swordfish Mk I|Swordfish]] torpedo bomber, both ''Zara'' and ''RN Fiume''  remained behind to provide cover, and all three were sunk during a close-range night engagement. Italian losses from these three cruisers total 2,193. The sole surviving ship, ''RN Gorizia'', served in further convoy escort missions along with both Battles of Sirte before it was damaged in an attack by American [[B-24/PB4Y (Family)|B-24 Liberator]] on April 10th, 1943 while docked at La Maddalena though it survived. She was sent to La Spezia for repairs and was seized by the Germans after the Italian Armistice in September. ''RN Gorizia'' was later torpedoed by Italian frogmen to prevent it from being used as a blockship.  
 
  
 
== Media ==
 
== Media ==
Line 40: Line 39:
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
 +
<!-- ''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''
 +
* ''reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;''
 +
* ''references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.'' -->
  
 
* [[203 mm/50 Ansaldo mod.1924 (203 mm)]] - Earlier Italian 203 mm gun.
 
* [[203 mm/50 Ansaldo mod.1924 (203 mm)]] - Earlier Italian 203 mm gun.

Revision as of 18:01, 18 October 2022

Description

Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

General info

Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.

Available ammunition

Describe the shells that are available for the weapon and their features and purpose. If it concerns autocannons or machine guns, write about different ammo belts and what is inside (which types of shells).

Comparison with analogues

Give a comparative description of cannons/machine guns that have firepower equal to this weapon.

Usage in battles

Describe the cannon/machine gun in the game - its distinctive features, tactics of usage against notable opponents. Please don't write a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought.

Pros and cons

Summarise and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.

Pros:

Cons:

History

The best cruiser guns available to the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) during World War II, the 203 mm/53 Ansaldo mod. 1927 was the main armament for the Zara-class heavy cruisers. Built under the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, these 8-inch guns, in addition to being 3 calibres longer than the preceding 203 mm/50 Ansaldo mod.1924 guns used on the Trento-class, fired more powerful 276-pound shells, could reload at the maximum 45-degree angle of elevation (the mod. 1924 guns could only load at 15 degrees or less) and had a removable liner instead of a fixed one. The 276-pound shells had a muzzle velocity of 3,080 feet per second and a range of 34,400 yards. These guns were some of the best 8-inch cannons in the world at the time. The only weapons of the same calibre to beat them out in range were the German 20.3 cm/60 SK C/34 and the bursting shells had some of the best hitting power in the class. However, these guns were not perfect. The high operating pressure meant the liners quickly wore out though this did mean the guns were designed with removable liners and the dispersion problems, while not as bad as on the earlier Ansaldo mod. 1924 guns, were still present due to the same issues of shell tolerance and cradle mounting. As a result, the Ansaldo mod. 1927 guns were similarly downgraded to shells that had a reduced muzzle velocity of 3,000 feet per second, but the performance was still better than the mod. 1924s. A variant of this design called the Ansaldo mod. 1929 was also built with a thinner faceplate liner to reduce and was mounted on the one-off heavy cruiser RN Bolzano.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

  • topic on the official game forum;
  • encyclopedia page on the weapon;
  • other literature.


Italy naval cannons
20 mm  20 mm/65 Breda · 20 mm/70 Oerlikon 3S · 20 mm/70 Scotti-Isotta Fraschini mod.1939
37 mm  37 mm/54 Breda Mod.32 · 37 mm/54 Breda Mod.38 · 37 mm/54 Breda Mod.39
40 mm  40 mm/39 Vickers-Terni mod.1915/1917 · 40 mm/39 Vickers-Terni mod.1915/1917, Modif.1930 · 40 mm/70 Breda-Bofors type 107
65 mm  65 mm/64 Ansaldo-Terni Mod.1939
76 mm  76 mm/40 Armstrong mod.1897/1910 · 76 mm/40 Armstrong mod.1897/1912 · 76 mm/40 Ansaldo mod.1917 · 76 mm/45 Schneider mod.1911 · 76 mm/50 Vickers mod.1909 · 76 mm/62 OTO-Melara Compact · 76-mm/62 SMP 3
90 mm  90 mm/50 Ansaldo model 1939
100 mm  100 mm/47 O.T.O. Mod. 1928 · 100 mm/47 O.T.O. Mod. 1937
120 mm  120 mm/45 Canet-Schneider-Armstrong mod.1918-19 · 120 mm/50 Armstrong model 1909 · 120 mm/45 O.T.O. Mod. 1926 · 120 mm/50 Ansaldo mod.1926 · 120 mm/50 O.T.O. Mod.1936
135 mm  135 mm/45 O.T.O. Mod. 1937
152 mm  152 mm/45 Schneider mod.1911 · 152/53 mm Ansaldo mod.1926 · 152/53 mm O.T.O. Mod.1929
203 mm  203 mm/50 Ansaldo mod.1924 · 203 mm/53 Ansaldo mod.1927
305 mm  305 mm/46 Armstrong model 1909 · 305 mm/46 Vickers model 1909
320 mm  320 mm/44 OTO model 1934 · 320 mm/44 Ansaldo model 1936
  Foreign:
20 mm  2 cm/65 Flakvierling 38 (Germany) · 20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mk.II (USA)
40 mm  Bofors L/60 Mark 1 (USA) · Bofors L/60 Mark 3 (USA)
76 mm  76 mm/50 Mk.33 (USA)
127 mm  127 mm/38 Mk.12 (USA)