Cannone da 75/46 C.A. modello 34

Cannone da 75/46
300px Cannone da 75/46 at Mount Circeo, 1943.
Type	Anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin	Italy
Service history
Used by	Italy Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designed	1934
Specifications
Weight	Travelling: 4,405 kg (9,711 lb) Combat: 3,300 kg (7,300 lb)
Barrel length	L/46
Shell weight	6.5 kg (14 lb 5 oz) (HE)
Caliber	75 millimetres (3.0 in)
Elevation	–2° to +90°
Traverse	360°
Muzzle velocity	750 m/s (2,500 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	13,000 metres (43,000 ft) 8,500 metres (27,900 ft) Max ceiling

The Cannone da 75/46 C.A. modello 34 was an Italian anti-aircraft gun used during World War II. The designation means it had a caliber of 75 mm, the barrel was 46 caliber-lengths long and it was accepted in service in 1934.

History

Showing the influence of contemporary Vickers designs, it was a sound and orthodox design; however, its production was first late in starting and slow in being carried out (by 1942, of the 240 ordered only 226 had been delivered). This meant that older and obsolete AA guns had to be kept in service even though their efficacy was minimal, and also that its production was parallel to the newer and more performant Cannone da 90/53.

Assigned both to field units and to battieres protecting the Italian territory, it was also used on the Eastern front and in the Tunisian Campaign as an anti-tank gun (in which capacity it was also fitted to the Semovente da 75/46 self-propelled gun). Its performance was considered good in both roles, especially in the latter, with its AP shell that could pierce 90 millimetres (3.5 in) of armor at 500 metres (550 yd)), but it was never available in numbers.

After the Italian Armistice, the Wehrmacht captured some of these guns, and employed them with the designation 7.5 cm Flak 264/3(i).

See also

• Italian Army equipment in World War II
• Cannone da 90/53 - another contemporary Italian anti-aircraft gun

References

• Artillery by Chris Chant, published by Amber Books, ISBN 1-84509-248-1
• The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, Barnes and Noble Ltd. (1998), ISBN 0-7607-1022-8