Škoda 10 cm K10
A twin "Minizini" mount aboard theSoviet cruiser Krasnyi Kavkaz
Type	Naval gun Dual-purpose gun Coastal artillery Anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin	Austria-Hungary
Service history
Used by	Austria-Hungary Italy France Spain Sweden Soviet Union
Wars	World War I Spanish Civil War World War II
Production history
Designer	Skoda
Designed	1907
Manufacturer	Skoda
Produced	1910
Variants	Škoda 10 cm K07 Škoda 10 cm K11 OTO 100/47
Specifications
Mass	2,020 kilograms (4,450 lb)
Barrel length	4.985 meters (16.35 ft) 50 caliber
Shell	Fixed QF 100 x 892R[1]
Shell weight	13.75 kilograms (30.3 lb)
Caliber	100 millimeters (3.9 in)[2]
Breech	Horizontalsliding breech block
Elevation	Austria-Hungary: -4° to +18° Italian: -5° to +85° Russian: -5° to +78°
Traverse	360°[3]
Rate of fire	8-10 rpm[2]
Muzzle velocity	880 meters per second (2,900 ft/s)[2]
Maximum firing range	Austria-Hungary: 11 km (6.8 mi) at +14° Italian: 15.2 km (9.4 mi) at 45° AA Ceiling: 10 km (33,000 ft) at 80°[2]

TheŠkoda 10 cm K10 was a 100 mm (3.9-inch)naval gun of theAustro-Hungarian Navy used as tertiary armament onsemi-dreadnought battleships and as primary armament onscout cruisers anddestroyers duringWorld War I. After World War I, variants of the Škoda 10 cm K10 were widely produced in Italy as the 100/47^{[note 1]} series of guns, which served in a number of roles, on a wide variety of ships, with a number of navies.

The origins of the Škoda 10 cm K10 began with the earlier K07 developed in 1907 at theŠkoda Works inPlzeň. When the gun was put into production in 1910 it was renamed the Škoda 10 cm K10 and entered service aboard theRadetzky-class battleships in 20 single mountcasemates amidships. The K11 model soon followed the K10 into service aboard the cruiserSMS Admiral Spaun, theNovara-class cruisers and theTátra-class destroyers of the Austro-Hungarian Navy inlow-angle, singlegun turrets. The main difference between the various models was their mounts, traverse and elevation.^[4] After World War ISMS Radetzky,SMS Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand andSMS Zrínyi were ceded to Italy and scrapped between 1920 and 1926. SMSAdmiral Spaun was ceded to the British and sold to an Italian company for scrapping in 1922. TheNovara andTatar classes proved ideal for service in the Adriatic during the First World War and the surviving units were ceded as war reparations to Italy and France.SMS Helgoland (renamedBrindisi) andSMS Saida (renamedVenezia) served in theItalian Navy until scrapped in 1937, whileSMS Novara (renamedThionville) served in theFrench Navy until scrapped in 1942. Three of theTátra-class destroyers,Triglav II,Lika II, andUzsok, were ceded to Italy as theFasana class andDukla was ceded to France. These ships were little used and re-rated as torpedo boats in 1929, with the last ships being scrapped in 1936. In 1937 the salvaged 10 cm K10's were landed and assigned tocoastal artillery. At the outbreak of World War II, 41 guns were still in service.^[5]

The Škoda 10 cm K10 was built with an A tube, jacket and a breech ring screwed to both the A tube and jacket. It had a horizontalsliding breech block and fired fixed (one part) ammunition.

The Italian Navy were impressed with the Škoda 10 cm K10s and in 1924 a copy of the gun was ordered from the Italian firmOTO Melara which spawned a large family of 100/47 cannons that were widely used.^[3] A number of different models were produced on different mountings for a variety of ship types.

• OTO Mod. 1924, Mod. 1927 and Mod. 1928 100/47 - These guns were virtual reproductions of the Škoda 10 cm K10, but with loose liners. The gun was built with A tube, jacket and loose liner with a breech ring that screwed to both the A tube and jacket. The breech block was a horizontal sliding type and it fired fixed ammunition. These AA guns were mounted in nearly all heavy and light cruisers of the Italian Navy during World War II. The most widely used model was the OTO Mod. 1928 gun in twin-gun Mod. 1928 mounts. These shielded twin mounts had both guns in a common cradle that allowed -5° to 85° elevation. The mounts had adjustable trunnions which were automatically raised by electric power as the guns elevated. They had mechanized spring and rope rammers. The speed of movement for the mount was found to be too slow to follow fast moving aerial targets, particularly if the ship was rolling and was more suited to barrage fire. This mounting was designed byComandante Minisini of the Regia Marina and were often referred to asMinisinis. The Soviet Union bought 10 of the Mod. 1928 mounts for theirAdmiral Nakhimov-class cruisers and their crews referred to them asMinizinis.^[2]
• OTO Mod. 1931, Mod. 1935 and Mod. 1937 100/47 - These guns had the same construction details as the Mod. 1928. These guns were in single, usually shielded, hand-worked, Mod. 1931 or Mod. 1937 mounts. These dual-purpose mounts were common on Italian torpedo-boats of World War II. The Mod. 1931 mounts had an elevation of -6° to +45°, which was later increased to -9° / +60° for the Mod. 1937 mounts. These simpler hand-worked mounts were considered adequate for their role.^[2]
• OTO Mod. 1931, Mod. 1935 and Mod. 1938 100/47 for Submarines - Same construction details as the earlier Mod. 1928, except the barrel was shortened to 4.94 m (16 ft 2 in). These guns were used in single, hand-worked, unshielded, pedestal-mounts. These guns were mounted on the majority of Italian submarines, except for theMicca andCalvi classes.^[2]

Ammunition was ofFixed QF type. The cartridge case was 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) long and with a 6.6 kg (15 lb) propellant charge weighed 26 kg (57 lb).

The gun was able to fire:

• High Explosive - 13.75 kg (30.3 lb)

• Campbell, John (1985).Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
• Fraccaroli, Aldo (1970).Italian Warships of World War I. London, UK: Ian Allan.ISBN 978-0-7110-0105-3.
• Friedman, Norman (2011).Naval Weapons of World War One. Seaforth Publishing.ISBN 978-1848321007.

• http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNIT_39-47_m1924.php
• http://xoomer.virgilio.it/ramius/Militaria/artiglierie_2gm.html
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb_j3vQgK68

• Škoda naval guns
• Naval guns of Austria-Hungary
• Naval guns of Italy
• World War II artillery of Italy
• World War I naval weapons
• World War II naval weapons
• 100 mm artillery

• CS1 Italian-language sources (it)
• Use dmy dates from June 2017
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata