Tanks in the Italian Army
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Overview
Italy first built a
A native Italian design was the
The Carro Armato (armored vehicle) was the Italian Army's designation for tanks from 1938 onwards. This would be followed by a letter and a series of numbers. The letter would be either L, M or P meaning light, medium, and heavy tank respectively. The official Italian military tank classification differed from contemporary classifications in other countries. The numbers would follow the pattern of X/Y where X would be the weight in tonnes and Y the year of adoption (i.e. the L6/40 weighs 6 tonnes and was adopted in the year 1940).
Development
The Fiat 3000 was the first tank to be produced in series in Italy. It was to be the standard tank of the emerging Italian armored units after World War I. The 3000 was based on the French Renault FT. The design was accepted with deliveries to begin in May 1919, but the end of the war caused the original order to be cancelled and only 100 were delivered. The first Fiat 3000s entered service in 1921 and were officially designated as the carro d'assalto Fiat 3000, Mod. 21. ("Fiat 3000 assault tank, Model 21"). Tests of the Model 21 revealed that the armament, consisting of two 6.5 mm machine guns, was inadequate, and adoption of a 37 mm gun as main armament was urged.
The up-gunned version of the Fiat 3000, armed with a 37/40 gun, was tested in 1929 and was officially adopted in 1930 with the designation of carro d'assalto Fiat 3000, Mod. 30. The Model 30, in addition to its improved armament, also differed from the Model 21 in that it had a more powerful engine, improved suspension, different engine compartment silhouette, and the external stores were stowed differently. Some Model 30s were also produced with two 6.5 mm machine guns as main armament, as on the Model 21, in lieu of the 37 mm gun. A limited number of Model 21 vehicles were exported to Albania, Latvia and Abyssinia (Ethiopia) prior to 1930.
The L3/35 was developed from the Carden Loyd Mark VI tankette, four of which were imported from Britain in 1929. The first vehicle developed by the Italians from the Carden Lloyd tankette was designated CV-29; "CV" being an abbreviation of Carro Veloce (Italian: "fast tank") and "29" as the year of adoption. Only twenty-one CV-29s were built.
In 1933, a new design was built jointly by the Fiat Company of Turin and the Ansaldo Company of Genoa. This vehicle was introduced as the Fiat-Ansaldo CV-33 light tank and was only armed with two machine guns and was in wide use at the beginning of the war in Africa. About 300 CV-33s were built.
In 1935, a slightly improved model of the CV-33 was introduced and designated CV-35. The primary differences were that the armour was bolted rather than riveted and the single 6.5 mm machine gun was replaced with twin 8 mm machine guns. Many older CV-33s were retrofitted to meet the specifications of the CV-35. In 1938, the vehicles were redesignated L3/33 ("L" for Leggero or 'light') and the L3/35.
In 1938, a further development of the L3 design was designated L3/38. The L3/38 had
The designations of these tanks were changed prior to the outbreak of World War II, in accordance with the identification system that was adopted throughout the war by the Italians. The Model 21 was redesignated the L.5/21, and the Model 30 was redesignated the L.5/30 becoming the L5/21 and L5/30 light tank respectively.
The L6/40
The M11/39 medium tank was first produced prior to World War II. The need for a medium infantry tank led FIAT to design a brand new hull in 1938. Army specifications included a 37mm gun, two machine-guns and a good armor. The M11/39 had strong influences from the British Vickers Matilda I and Cruiser I. There was no turret design strong enough to support the designed M40 37mm gun, and the latter had to be fitted in the hull; the light turret was equipped with a twin Breda 8mm. For the first time, this was a three-man crew design. The armour was 30mm thick, and the engine was a 105 bhp V6 diesel, sufficient to a 32 km/h max speed and 200 km range. It was an 11-ton model, hence its denomination. The M11/39, which saw service in Africa and Italy (1939-1944), was developed as a "breakthrough tank" (Carro di Rottura). The design of the M11/39 was influenced by the British
The Carro Armato
The M14/41 was a four-person medium tank that served from 1941 and was first employed in the North African Campaign. The M14/41 was a slightly improved version of the M13/40 with a more powerful diesel engine. It was produced in limited numbers as it was considered already obsolete by the time of its introduction. The M14/41 used the same chassis as the M13/40 but with a redesigned hull with better armor, and was manufactured in 1941 and 1942. Nearly 800 were produced by the time production ended.
The M15/42 was a medium tank whose production began on 1 January 1943. 90 had been built before the
By 1942 the Italian army tried to develop a true "cruiser tank". This could only be achieved with a Christie style suspensions system. This led to the M16/43, better known as the Carro Celere Sahariano, which bears some resemblance to the British Crusader. It had a low profile, long hull, and the same armament as the M15/42, and a powerful FIAT SPA (275 hp). It was capable of a sustained speed of 71 km/h (44 mph) but came too late. Production was cancelled when the Axis forces were driven out of Tunisia.
The first real tank to be able to take on the allies modern tanks was the
The mechanical systems were a development of the "M" series, in particular the
The armour was still
There was a P26/43 being developed with a 420 hp engine called the 'P43 bis', with a gun was the same as the P.26, the 75/34 mm cannon, but never got past the first models.
The Semovente line of self-propelled gun was developed with the Semovente da 47/32 using a 47 mm gun and a Semovente da 75/18 with a 75 mm Obice da 75/18 modello 34 mountain gun on the chassis of older tanks such as the M13/40 and M14/41 chassis from 1941 to 1943, later using the M15/42 chassis. The Semovente da 75/18 was one of the first of the self-propelled tanks and was used in North Africa in many actions and in later in Italy.
World War I
During World War I, Italy did not field armoured units for the most part until near the end of the war, due to a lack of tanks. Over 100 of the FT-17 tanks and 20 of the Schneider CA tanks were sent by France to Italy in 1918. The only other solution at the time was to begin production of original designs.
The order to design and produce the first Italian tanks was accepted by the
After the war the Fiat 2000 was displayed as one of the weapons used 'to defeat the enemy' and the two prototypes completed were sent to Libya to fight guerrilla forces, together with other tanks bought from France, in a special unit, the Tank battery (1° Batteria autonoma carri d'assalto).
In
The Fiat 3000, whose design was based on that of the French Renault FT-17, was the first tank to be produced in series in Italy. It was to be the standard tank of the emerging Italian armored units in World War 1. Although 1400 units were ordered, with deliveries to begin in May 1919, the end of the war caused the original order to be cancelled, only 100 were delivered. The first Fiat 3000s entered service in 1921 and were officially designated as the carro d'assalto Fiat 3000, Mod. 21.
Interwar period
After World War I, Italy began to develop its own tanks from imported ones and of its own designs. So the Italian army was mainly equipped with
The Carro Armato
The M13/40 had a similar chassis like the M11/39 but a redesigned hull of riveted construction varying in thickness. The driver was seated at the front of the hull on the left with the machine-gunner to his right; the latter operated the twin Modello 38 8-mm (0.315-in) machine-guns and the two-man turret with the 47-mm 32-calibre gun was in the center of the hull, with the commander/gunner and the loader operating it. A Modello 38 8-mm (0.315-in) machine-gun was mounted co-axial with the main armament and a similar weapon was mounted on the turret roof for anti-aircraft defense.
The Carro Armato M14/41 was essentially the M13/40 fitted with a more powerful diesel engine which was equipped with air filters designed to cope with the harsh conditions of the desert. Production amounted to 1,103 of these vehicles, which had a similar specification to the M13/40 except for an increase in speed to 33 km/h (20 mph) and in weight to 14.5 tonnes.
The M14/41 was a slightly improved version of the earlier Fiat M13/40 with a more powerful diesel engine. It was produced in limited numbers as it was considered already obsolete by the time of its introduction. The M14/41 used the same chassis as the M13/40 but with a redesigned hull with better armor. The M14/41 was manufactured in 1941 and 1942. Nearly 800 were produced by the time production ended.
A heavier design, the
The combat history of the L3s
The L3s were not a factor in the brief war between Hungary and Slovakia, which fielded some of them.
World War II
The
In addition to seeing action in the
A further development of the
On paper, the
When
The Fiat-Ansaldo
The
In April 1941, at the time of the arrival of the
The
The next tank in the series was the
The next in the series was the
The Carro Armato M16/43 was cancelled before the single prototype was completed after Axis were expelled from North Africa so never was used in the war.
In September 1943,
There were at least two planned variants of the P40. One was named P43, a tank with a weight over 30 tonnes, which would have had about 100mm of frontal armour and a main armament of either a longer-barrelled 75 mm gun or the same 90 mm piece mounted on the
Cold War
The kingdom was replaced by a
Two of the three brigades were
In June 1957, West Germany and France signed an agreement to develop a common tank, designated in German Europa-Panzer. Three German (Arbeitsgruppe A, B and C) and one French design team would be included in a competition, with each team producing two prototypes each. In September, 1958 Italy joined the development program. In 1963 France and Germany had decided to each build their own tank; Germany continued with the Leopard, while France built the similar AMX-30. The Leopard 1 main battle tank was produced in West Germany and came out in 1965 and quickly became a standard of European forces, entering service with the Italian Army in 1971. Since 1990, the Leopard 1 were gradually relegated to secondary roles: Italy had 720 Leopard 1 (600 A2s, 120 A5s) that were retired by the end of 2008 (replaced by Ariete main battle tank); the AEVs, ARVs and ABLVs remain in service and 120 Leopard were kept in reserve.
In 1977, design work was started by OTO Melara on the
Current
The Ariete is the current main battle tank of the Italian Army, developed by a consortium formed by Iveco-Fiat and OTO Melara (also known as CIO, Consorzio Iveco OTO Melara). The chassis and engine were produced by Iveco, while the turret and fire-control system were produced by Oto Melara. The vehicle carries the latest optical and digital-imaging and fire-control systems, enabling it to fight day and night and to fire on the move. The first deliveries were in 1995, and the last occurred 8 years later in August 2002.
In 2013 the Army began a major reform. The three corps level commands
Also in 2013 the Artillery Command and Engineer Command merged to create the Operational Support Command, while the Logistic Projection Command was disbanded and its units transferred to the brigades. As part of the reform the Army created the new Army Special Forces Command (COMFOSE) in Pisa, which took command of all Special Operations Forces of the Army.
Furthermore, the Operational Terrestrial Forces Command (COMFOTER) in Verona will disband by 2015 and the three divisions come under the newly raised Army Operational Center (Centro Operativo dell’Esercito or COE) in Rome.
At the end of the reform the armor in the Army will consist be in the following:
- 2x heavy brigades (Ariete, Garibaldi) armed with Centauro tank destroyers, Ariete tanks, Dardo infantry fighting vehicles and PzH2000 self propelled artillery;
- 2x medium brigades (Aosta, Pinerolo) armed with Centauros, Freccia infantry fighting vehicles;
- 4x light brigades (Puma armoured personnel carriers and FH70towed artillery;
Name | Origin | Type | Number | Photo | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Italian armoured vehicles | ||||||
Ariete | Italy | Main battle tank | 200 | 160 in service, 40 in reserve/schools | ||
Centauro | Italy | Tank destroyer | 400 | 300 in service (to be reduced to 136), 100 in reserve. | ||
Centauro II
|
Italy | Tank destroyer | 150 | In production | ||
Dardo | Italy | Infantry fighting vehicle | 200 | |||
Freccia | Italy | Infantry fighting vehicle | 250 | + other 381 exemplars to be financed | ||
M113/M113A1/M106 | United States | Armoured personnel carrier | 3,000+ |
| ||
Bandvagn 206S | Sweden | Armoured personnel carrier | 189 | |||
Puma 6x6
|
Italy | Armoured personnel carrier | 250 | |||
Puma 4x4
|
Italy | Armoured reconnaissance vehicle | 310 | |||
VAB NBC | France | Armoured reconnaissance-patrol vehicle | 15 |
Overview per tank
(Only tanks and tankettes that were built in significant numbers are listed.)
The Italian designation system for tanks consisted of a letter (L, M or P; designating light, medium and heavy tanks respectively) followed by two numbers: one giving the approximate weight in tons, the other giving the year it was accepted for service. Thus "M11/39" means the 11 ton medium tank of 1939. The Italian definitions of light, medium and heavy tank differ from other nations at the time. For instance the Italian "medium" tanks are often described as "light" in other sources.
Tankettes
Light tanks
- L6/40
- L5/21
- L5/30 (L5/21 variant)
Medium tanks
- M11/39
- M13/40
- M14/41
- M15/42
- Fiat M16/43
Heavy tanks
- P40
- P43 tank
Main Battle Tanks
- C1 ArieteMain Battle tank
- OF-40 Main Battle Tank
Self-propelled guns
- Semovente 47/32
- Semovente 75/18
- Semovente 75/34
- Semovente 90/53
- Semovente 105/25
- Semovente 149/40(one prototype only)
See also
- History of the tank
- List of interwar armoured fighting vehicles
- Tanks in World War II
- Comparison of early World War II tanks
- Tank classification
- List of military vehicles
References
- ^ "Italy's P26/40 Heavy Tanks". Wwiivehicles.com. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
- ^ Garland & Smith U.S. Army in World War II - Mediterranean Theater of Operations - Sicily and the Surrender of Italy pp.147-162
- ISBN 1-86126-646-4., pp.9-29
- ^ Pignato 2004, Italian Armored Vehicles of World War Two, Squadron Signal Publications, p. 35
- ^ "Chapter 9". NATO the first five years 1949-1954. NATO. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ "Oto Melara OF-40". MilitaryFactory.com.
- ^ "Esercito Italiano- DIVISIONE FRIULI". Archived from the original on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2013-07-28.