''Menon'' was an

anti-submarine mortar Anti-submarine mortars are artillery pieces deployed on ships for the purpose of sinking submarines by a direct hit with a small explosive charge. They are often larger versions of the mortar used by infantry and fire a projectile in relatively ...

used by the Italian Navy during the Cold War. Introduced in 1956, it was used on the and s and s until their retirement in the 1980s.

Description

The Menon system fired a projectile weighing to a maximum range of . It fired 21

rounds Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the numbe ...

in 70 seconds that covered an area of about .Friedman, p. 434 The initial version consisted of a three-barrel mortar in a rotating, enclosed mounting that was usually positioned forward of the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

, but aft of the gun mounts.Archer, p. 230 This was replaced by the K 113 weapon with a single barrel in the same type of mounting, albeit with a fixed

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

of 45°. By varying the gas vent valves in the three powder

chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations *Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics *Debate chamber, the space or room that houses deliber ...

s, the weapon had a range between . The K 113 fired a seven-round pattern, loaded automatically from a seven-round cylinder. Short-barreled models were also used, although details are lacking.

Cites

Bibliography

* *{{cite book , last1=Friedman , first1=Norman , title=The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapons Systems , date=1989 , publisher=Naval Institute Press , location=Annapolis, Maryland , isbn=0-87021-793-3, author-link=Norman Friedman 305 mm artillery Anti-submarine mortars Explosive weapons Naval weapons of the Cold War Naval weapons of Italy Military equipment introduced in the 1950s