FileFront Forums - M13/40 ..

Quote:

Originally Posted by torenico (Post 4347669)

All the Italian tanks were Fiats, (Dunno about the Semovente...)

Well, actually they were usually designed by Ansaldo and built by FIAT (because Ansaldo lacked the necessary industrial capacity to series-build them). The semoventi were built upon existing tank chassis in the same factories which built the tanks, so they had the same Ansaldo development - FIAT manufacturing.

In Italy the tanks are usually just called by their designation (so just "M13/40" or "L6/40") or rarely "Ansaldo-FIAT", but for some reason they're usually called "Fiat" in English literature (don't ask me why, no one calls a Panther a "MAN Panther" for example). The L6/40 is the only one that might deserve to be called "Ansaldo L6/40" because at first it was privately developed by Ansaldo for export, while all other tanks and assault guns were commissioned by the army.

Quote:

Originally Posted by torenico (Post 4347669)

Ah, Carro = Car , Armato = Armado = Armoured.

Its a Armoured Car. A Strange Mix of Armoured Car and Tank.

Er... no. ;) It means
Carro = literally "wagon" (but in military terms it means "tank" - or "chariot" if you're talking about 1000 B.C. or so)
Armato = something like "equipped with weapons" (an adjective... like "armoured" means "equipped with armour")

Armoured car on the other hand is "autoblinda" (shortened to A.B., like in AB 40, AB 41, etc.) which just means "armored (= -blinda) car (= auto[mobile]-).

Quote:

Originally Posted by torenico (Post 4347669)

Did the Italians get any Medium Tank?

In the late 30s Italy reorganized their tank designations in 3 groups:
L- series: (L for "leggero"="light") L3/33 and its large number of variants and related designs; and the L6/40
M- series: (M for "medio"="medium") M11/39; M13/40 (and its upgrades M14/41 and M15/42)
P- series: (P for "pesante"="heavy") P26/40

The first number (before the "/") represents the approximate weight (in tons) of the empty tank - so for example the L6/40 weighted somewhat more than 6 tons, the M13/40 somewhat more than 13 tons, etc. This first number was removed in 1942 or 1943, so for example the "L6/40" was renamed "L40", etc. The "P26/40" was delivered after this change so its more properly known as "P40".
The italian "classes" (light/medium/heavy) were defined in the 1930s by actual weight alone (not operational use), so these designations quickly became obsolete.
International weight "classes" on the other hand are assigned more for the tanks' operational use than sheer weight; for example, the Stuart and the Pz.II are both considered light tanks, but the Stuart weighted about 15 tons, approximately twice the Pz.II's weight (7 tons).

So, yes, Italy had "medium tanks", but most of them weighted less of the most common allied light tank (the Stuart). Anyway, they were actually used as medium tanks (i.e., for engaging any sort of targets, including enemy tanks). The heaviest tanks used by Italian forces IIRC were Panzer III (22 tons) and P40 (26 tons), both used by RSI (the Axis government after 1943). Keep in mind that a Sherman weighted about 30 tons...

BTW, the second number is the year the design was approved. So for example, the L3/33 is a 1933 design, the M11/39 is a 1939 design, etc. Most of the time, anyway a year or more passed before the first tanks were delivered, so for example the P40, while approved in 1940, was only delivered in 1943.

Quote:

Originally Posted by torenico (Post 4347669)

and the Standard Tank when Italy change side, was the Sherman?

Italy did not receive any Shermans until 1947. For the most part, Italian co-belligerent (allied) forces kept using old equipment (they received allied-style uniforms and some planes, though). Allied Italian forces were only deployed in some parts of Jugoslavia and Greece as garrison troops anyway, so they had no need for new tanks.