Lancia Ansaldo IZ / IZM

History

The First World War (1914-1918) saw the first large-scale use of armored vehicles in warfare. The vehicle provided protection for a small occupant and provided overwhelming strength to conventional infantry in direct firefights.

Only changes in the terrain of war limited the tactical use of armored vehicles, as the conflict descended into a state of "trench warfare". Armored vehiclesheavy, large, and bulky beastsdo poorly on soft, uneven ground and have proven to be cannon fodder for enemy artillery and machine guns.

In the case of Italy, they produced the Lancia 1Z and the related Lancia 1ZM during the war - both made by Ansaldo. First seen in combat in 1916, the 1Z model shares the same form and function as many armored vehicle products of the warbuilt on a proven commercial truck chassis and armed with a machine gun.

Lancia-built trucks form the backbone of the 1Z, which is why the vehicle bears the manufacturer's name.

Externally, the car had the general shape of a standard truck at the time - the engine was in the front compartment, and the driver followed. The armored superstructure is installed at the rear of the vehicle. The first production 1Z vehicles had a flat-topped cylindrical turret on the superstructure. A total of three machine guns were installed, and the armor protection of the six crew members reached 9 mm.

The 3.7-ton vehicle is powered by a petrol engine that produces up to 49 hp. The road speed reaches 60 km/h and the range is up to 300 km. The total output is ten cars built to this standard.

The original 1Z car performed well in its many years of combat service, leading to the emergence of another form - the 1ZM. The 1ZM made minor changes to the basic design, namely the absence of the roof-mounted turret and accompanying machine gun accessories. The side of the hull (near the midship) was also fitted with a spare tire, and the armor design of the front was slightly changed.

1ZM ordered a production batch of 110 cars in 1917, all of which were in stock by the end of 1918 - leading to the car being sometimes referred to as the "Type 1918". In any case, World War I ended with an armistice in November of the same year.

The terrain of the Italian front limited the combat capabilities of the 1Z/1ZM series, so there is little documented combat history during this period. The vehicles were used for training by Italian and American armies during the war years, and it appears that some may have fallen under German and Austro-Hungarian control.

After the war, Italian troops shipped some of the cars overseas to strengthen their colonial possessions, and these cars were used in a security role against potentially troubled locals. The Albanian state operates a small number of cars for the safety of the local government.

On the eve of World War II (1939-1945), the Italians displayed several examples of their Lancia vehicles during the invasion of Ethiopia (Second Italian-Ethiopian War - 1935-1936) and the Spanish Civil War War (1936-1939). By this point, the design was largely outdated for front-line combat, but could still be successful against smaller enemies.

When World War II was in full swing following the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, Lancia vehicles were still in limited service. These are mostly limited to African campaigns, where operators include Italy, Afghanistan, Hungary and Germany.

In the inventory of the Bundeswehr, the vehicles were renamed "Panzerspahwagen 1ZM(i)".

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

Not available.

Changes