- Yes
- No
The “Lampo” class motor gun boats were a project entirely elaborated by the Navy, a project which envisaged a version of the motor gun boat with armament convertible equipped with a mixed engine (Diesel and gas turbine) on May 4, 1958 the first motor gun with these characteristics was set up with the identifier M.C. 491.The M.C. 491, launched in Taranto on 22 November 1960 and completed in April 1963, was tested for a long time, in order to detect any changes to be made to the subsequent units of the series and to establish their effective performance and methods of use. The second unit with the identifier M.C. 492 entered service on July 16, 1965, September 1 of the same year the M.C. 491 and 492 assumed the names of Lampo and Baleno respectively, keeping the old numbering only as a NATO optical badge (P 491 and P 492). The engine apparatus (CODAG - Combined Diesel and Gas) made it possible to obtain a considerable starting speed through the combination of the two apparatuses. The convertibility armament made it possible to use these units as motor guns, motor torpedo boats or fast minelayers according to the particular needs of the operating theatre. A second motor-gun version, articulated on two 40/70 mm Breda-Bofors and a 105mm illuminating rocket launcher, had been envisaged in the project, but did not find practical implementation.The considerable volume of fire of the three 40/70 mm Breda-Bofors (270 rounds per minute per cannon) and the good platform stability, also obtained from the relatively high displacement of the units in this version, allowed to effectively beat fast naval targets such as motor torpedo boats or motor gun boats; at the same time, the excellent performance of weapons and of equipment for the conduct of shooting allowed, together with the good maneuverability qualities of the high-speed units, to effectively counter the action of low-flying fighter-bombers. Lampo and Baleno remained in service until 1983, then being decommissioned in 1985.
Specifications:
Crew: Officers, Second Chiefs, Sergeants and Seamen: 36 men
Hull: metallic and normal hull
Displacement:
Gunboat version: 197 tons
Torpedo boat version: 192 tons
Fast minelayer version: 197,3 tons
Dimensions:
Length: 43 m
Width: 6,3 m
Full Load Draft: 2,5 m
Performance:
Engine System:
2 FIAT diesel engines and 1 Metrovick gas turbine in CODAG configuration
3 Variable pitch propellers
Power: 7200hp diesel engines + 4000hp gas turbine
Speed: 39 knots (72.228 km/h)
Fuel: 30 tons
Autonomy: 380 miles at 36 knots, 920 miles at 20 knots
Armament:
Gunboat version: 3 x single 40/70 mm Breda-Bofors guns
Torpedo boat version: 1 x 40/70 mm Breda-Bofors gun, 2 x 533 mm torpedo tubes, 2 x 450 mm torpedo tubes
Fast minelayer version: 1 x 40/70 mm Breda-Bofors gun, 14 deep mines
Electronic equipments:
1 x AN/SP-21 navigation and surface discovery radar
Photos:
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