Carro Armato L6/40

Carro Armato L6/40 History

The Carro Armato L6/40 series was built by the Italian Fiat-Ansaldo Group between 1939 and 1944, with a final production of 283 units. The Italian and German armies used this light tank in their various campaigns, mainly in the early stages of the second mid-term.

For its purpose, the L6/40 series is an adequate tank, capable of scouting key areas ahead of the main force and, if necessary, engaging enemy lightly armored vehicles with its primary weapons. Eventually, however, medium and heavy tanks became popular among the Allies, rendering the L6/40 and its related types obsolete as frontline "direct attack" vehicles.

Regardless, the L6/40s were repeatedly forced into direct combat by their overseers despite overwhelming superiority.

After World War I, light tanks were all the rage among discerning, budget-conscious military customers around the world. For this reason, Fiat-Ansaldo started to develop a new light tank for export based on its successful Carro Armato L3 "Tankette". The L3 was developed in the early 1930s - itself heavily influenced by the successful British Caden Lloyd Mark VI tank - and mass production began in 1935 and ran until 1938 with up to 2,500 examples delivered car.

The type entered service almost immediately and served in various conflicts throughout Europe, including the Spanish Civil War - which proved to be an active proving ground for the Axis powers before WWII in 1944, when it became clear that the Tankette would be inferior to almost every other. Tanks were surpassed at this point in the war - basically marking the end of the entire tank era.

Several prototypes soon emerged. One early form had a 37mm main gun mounted on the broadside and the main turret was armed with 2 x 8mm Breda machine guns. Another form is to mount a 37mm main gun and an 8mm coaxial machine gun in a turret arrangement. Another design ditched the cannon armament entirely and installed a 2 x 8mm machine gun on the turret.

By 1939, the design was completed with a 20mm Breda Type 35 series main gun and a coaxially mounted 8mm Breda Type 38 series machine gun - both mounted in movable turrets. The tank will be driven by two people, consisting of a driver and a commander.

Unfortunately for the commander, he also had to act as a gunner (of both guns) and a loader.

Essentially, the L6/40 is a very traditional light tank system in every way. With its "light" armor classification, the L6 design ensures three main qualities - good speed, light armor protection, and limited armament.

Speed ??(an inherent derivative of solid power units and light armor protection) is critical to the operation of this tank in a reconnaissance role or in breaking through to digging enemy personnel, as it is essential to gain advantage on the flanks. Its weapons are also capable of handling lightly armored vehicles, and high-explosive shells can be used to route concentrated enemy forces. Weighing 7.5 tons, the L6/40 was powered by a 70 hp Fiat SPA 180 series 4-cylinder engine, usually mounted in the rear of the fuselage. Top road speed is around 26 mph, while range is limited to 120 miles.The hull structure was riveted armor plates, although riveting quickly fell out of favor in most armor designs.

Armament is centred on a 20mm main gun, while infantry defenses are provided by an 8mm machine gun with 296 and 1,560 rounds respectively. The main gun was mounted on a manually powered 360-degree turret to the left of the centerline, while the machine gun was mounted coaxially with the main gun.

The main guns controlled elevation angles of +20 to -12 degrees to allow for some flexibility in attack. The track system consists of four two-way wheels on one side of the fuselage, with the drive sprocket at the front and the track idler at the rear. The idler is set extra low and basically acts as a fifth road wheel. The three sprockets guide the subdivided portion of the chain to move along the upper side of the fuselage. The hull structure has slightly sloping surfaces, while the turret has more sloping angles - although neither design is truly "ballistic friendly".

The crew entered and exited the tank through a hatch on the top of the turret or a hatch on the right side of the hull. Overall, the size of the L6/40 keeps it generally understated and presents a tough target to engage effectively at any range of accuracy.

The L6/40 quickly experienced combat action during the Balkan campaign that began in October 1940. In this battle, the combined forces of Germany, Italy, Albania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania invaded the sovereign states of Greece and Yugoslavia. The Axis powers finally defeated the combined Allied forces including Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Greece and Yugoslavia in June 1941. When Germany officially invaded the Soviet Union through Operation Barbarossa, Italian L6/40s were also involved and played a role in the subsequent offensive that nearly destroyed the Soviet Union.

However, by this time the L6/40 series were obsolete, although they were still in service as front-line combat systems. L6/40 then became part of Axis contingents deployed across North Africa to stop the Allied advance.

Eventually, the Axis powers in this part of the world were thwarted and driven out of North Africa entirelyand the noose began to tighten. The final battle with the L6/40 light tanks took place during the last days of Italy's participation in World War II as an Axis power. These were manifested in defensive battles at strategic positions in Sicily and the Italian mainland.

Ultimately, the Italian Axis Powers were forced to surrender in September 1943, and soon joined the Allies in their advance towards Berlin.

Variants of the L6/40 basic light tank family include command vehicles, flame launchers, ammunition carriers and self-propelled assault guns. The command vehicle is equipped with an extended communications suite and open-air turret, giving field commanders an unobstructed view of the action ahead.

An 8mm machine gun is used for defense, but these machine guns are disguised as larger 20mm armed main battle tanks, making it impossible for enemy tanker crews to directly identify these valuable communications relay stations on the battlefield. The flamethrower version replaces the cannon weapon in the turret with a liquid fuel flamethrower.

A tracked ammunition vehicle is used to feed the self-propelled gun with projectiles and is defended by an 8mm machine gun. Perhaps the most notable development of the L6/40 is the Semovente 47/32 SPG.

The Semovente 47/32 removed the original L6/40 turret and replaced it with a solid armored superstructure that housed the heavier and more powerful 47mm caliber field gun. By the end of the war, production of this type had reached about 300 units.

Surprisingly, the nimble little L6/40 series survived Italy's involvement in WWII and throughout the war. It was deployed in a limited security role in outdated war-torn Italy under the control of militia forces.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

296 x 20mm bullet

1,560 x 8mm ammo

Changes