Naval mounts
Generally speaking the Italian small calibre AA armament
(from MG's to 40mm guns) had one BIG draw-back: they had NO recoil brakes. The
recoil force had to be 100% absorbed by the mount and consequently by the deck
of the ship/boat that had to be strong (i.e.: heavy) enough to bear those
forces. That's why it is difficult to find Italian motor boats loaded with the
same number x calibre guns/MG's of the Germans and of the Allies. The same
happened on other kind of ships: in order to bear a consistent amount of AA
weapons, the ships had to be strong enough, which means heavy, to bear them
while firing. This was one of the major limitation in our navy (especially for smaller
units), and one of the reasons for the adoption of the Oerlikon 20mm gun: it
was possible to mount it "as is": you just practically bolted it
where you wanted it, because its recoil absorbing system allowed this without
first preparing the vessel. Scottis and Bredas 20mm, on the other hand, before
being mounted required that the hull be prepared and reinforced before
installing the guns.
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