L6/40 tank
Carro Armato L6/40 | |
---|---|
Breda 35 with 296 rounds | |
Secondary armament | 8 mm Breda 38 machine gun with 1,560 rounds |
Engine | SPA 180 4,053 cc four-cylinder 70 hp (52 kW) |
Suspension | Bogie |
Operational range | 200 km (120 mi) |
Maximum speed | 42 km/h (26 mph) road |
The L6/40 was a
The official Italian designation was
Design and development
The L6/40 was a conventional light tank design of riveted construction.
A further development of the
Variants
The L6 Lf (Lancia fiamme) flame tank variant was developed in which the main gun was replaced by a flamethrower with 200 litres of fuel. A command-tank variant carried extra radio gear and had an open-topped turret.[4][2]
The most successful of the L6 variants was the
A final version late in the war was an ammunition carrier armed only with a single 8 mm Breda machine gun. It was used alongside the
Combat use
L6/40 light tanks were used by the Italians in the
The L6/40 was the main tank employed by the Italian forces fighting on the
Although a good light tank for its size and an improvement over the tankettes that were common within the Italian army, it was already obsolete by the time of its introduction.[4] The low silhouette of the vehicle (somewhat taller than the average man) made it useful for reconnaissance, and its armament was effective against any light vehicles it might encounter. However, due to a lack of a suitable medium tank, it was often employed in a combat role for which it was unsuited.
The L6 was also used by the German Army.[5] In 1943, 26 Italian L6s were captured and used by the Hrvatsko domobranstvo of the Independent State of Croatia.[6] The L6/40 was used postwar by the Polizia di Stato until it was phased out during the early 1950s.[7]
Surviving examples
Three L6/40s survive: one is kept in Legnano near the "Cadorna" barracks, one is in the inventory of the Kubinka Tank Museum, and another is preserved in the Arms Museum in the castle of Gjirokastër in Albania.[8][9]
The hull of an L/40 used in Operation Rösselsprung, is displayed as a war memorial in Drvar Bosnia Herzegovina.[citation needed]
Extended specification
- Water fording: 0.8 m (2 ft 8 in)
- Gradient: 60%
- Vertical obstacle: 0.7 m (2 ft 4 in)
- Trench: 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
- Elevation and Traverse: -12° to +20° through 360° of rotation
Photo Gallery
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Fiat-Ansaldo L6/40 in 1940
-
An L6/40 with German markings passes German infantrymen inoccupied Albania, September 1943.
-
L6/40 ammunition carrier.
See also
- List of armoured fighting vehicles of World War II
- Type 95 Ha-Go
- 7TP
- Stridsvagn L-60
References
- ^ Cappellano, Filippo; Battistelli, Pier Paolo. Italian Medium Tanks (New Vanguard) (p. 67). Bloomsbury Publishing.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "FIAT-Ansaldo Carro Armato L6/40". www.tanks-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f "Carro Armato L6/40". www.militaryfactory.com. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4358-3595-5.
- ISBN 1-84509-012-8.
- ISSN 1765-0828.
- ISBN 0760318719, p.94
- ^ "Carro Armato L6/40 Light Tank". Preserved Tanks .com. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
- ^ "CENSIMENTO DEI VEICOLI CORAZZATI STORICI IN ITALIA". Ferrea Mole (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2015.
- Bishop, Chris (ed.) 1998, The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, Barnes & Noble, New York. ISBN 0-7607-1022-8.
External links
- L6/40 Light Tanks at wwiivehicles.com
- L6/40 at onwar.com