Semovente M41M da 90/53 of the CLXIII Gruppo. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Kingdom of Italy (1941-1944)
Tank Destroyer – 30 Built
One of the last Semovente M41M da 90/53 produced, with the license plate Regio Esercito 5826, outside the Ansaldo-Fossati plant of Sestri Ponente, near Genoa. Behind the vehicle, on the left, was an Autoprotetto S.37. Source: Ansaldo
The Semovente M41M da 90/53 was an Italian tank destroyer developed by Ansaldo for the Italian Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army).
It was built on a Carro Armato M14/41 chassis modified to fit the powerful Cannone da 90/53 Modello 1939 (English: 90 mm L/53 Cannon Model 1939) anti-aircraft gun. It could fire deadly armor piercing and shaped charge rounds that could deal with even the most robustly armored Allied tanks.
Its low speed, light armor, and the very limited space on board, which was not enough to transport the full crew in the vehicle and only allowed for 8 90 mm rounds to be carried, were the Semovente M41M da 90/53’s main and critical drawbacks. The limited numbers produced, only 30 examples, never permitted a mass use of this complex tank destroyer.
Colorization by Johannes Dorn.
History of the Project
The Semovente M41M da 90/53 was developed, as many other Italian armored vehicles, on the suggestion of Colonel Sergio Berlese, an esteemed Italian designer, member of the Servizio Tecnico di Artiglieria (English: Artillery Technical Service).
Col. Berlese visited various German military vehicle production plants in 1940. At the production plant of Kiel, he was impressed by the German armed half-track based on a Sd.Kfz.8 chassis and returned to the Kingdom of Italy, suggesting to his commanders that similar vehicles should be produced in Italy. He easily managed to gain interest from the High Command of the Regio Esercito, and some generals showed some positive opinions towards the production of half-tracks in Italy.
In fact, some senior Italian officers had positive opinions on the production of half-tracks in Italy after seeing the German 8.8 cm FlaK 18 (Selbstfahrlafette) auf Schwere Zugkraftwagen 12t (Sd.Kfz.8) (English: 8.8 cm FlaK 18 [Self-Propelled Gun Carriage] on [Sd.Kfz.8] Heavy Traction Vehicle 12 tonnes) in action during the French campaign.
The German 8.8 cm FlaK 18 (Selbstfahrlafette) auf Schwere Zugkraftwagen 12t (Sd.Kfz.8), called ‘Bunkerflak’ by the Germans, for its main role of destroying enemy bunkers. Source: twitter.com @Tank_Archives
Col. Berlese planned to create an Italian armed half-track, even if, at that time, Italy did not produce half-tracks.
The Regio Esercito’s General Staff, enthusiastic about Col. Berlese’s ideas, ordered him to develop his design on the chassis of a fully tracked vehicle. This decision was made to speed up the project. If it was necessary to wait for the production of a half-track chassis to create a self-propelled gun on. However, it would have taken a great deal of time that the Regio Esercito simply did not have.
This led to two different design paths. Under the supervision of Col. Berlese, an artillery piece was mounted on a fully tracked chassis. This was the Semovente M40 da 75/18, one of the most successful vehicles of the Regio Esercito during the war and the only one of Col. Berlese’s designs actually built.
The other design path led the Italian Army High Command to put out some requests for the creation of half-tracks in 1941. The Regio Esercito envisioned that the half-track chassis would be used both for logistic roles and to mount guns on them, transforming them into autocannoni (English: Truck-Mounted Artillery Pieces).
Influenced by the German experience of the FlaK 8.8 cm guns mounted on flatbed half-tracks, on 12th January 1941, the Italian Regio Esercito‘s High Command requested Ansaldo-Fossati to create a 90 mm Cannone da 90/53 Modello 1939, with similar characteristics to the German gun, to be mounted on a truck chassis.
On 10th March 1941, the prototypes of the truck-mounted artillery vehicles, called in Italian autocannoni (autocannone singular), on Lancia 3Ro and Breda 52 heavy duty trucks were presented to the Regio Esercito.
An Autocannone da 90/53 su Lancia 3Ro. A total of 30 Lancia 3Ro heavy duty trucks were converted by Ansaldo-Fossati plant into these autocannoni before they were replaced by the sturdier Breda 52. Source: flickr.com @Panzer DB
It was immediately clear that these were just stopgaps before better designed vehicles were available, such as the Autocannone da 90/53 su Autocarro Semicingolato Breda 61, one of Col. Berlese’s half-track-mounted artillery projects, but these never went past the paper design stage.
The Autocannone da 90/53 su Autocarro Semicingolato Breda 61, Col. Berlese’s unrealized project. Source: Gli Autoveicoli dell’Esercito Italiano fino al 1943
On 29th December 1941, Ansaldo, which had produced the Autocannoni da 90/53 su Lancia 3Ro and Autocannoni da 90/53 su Breda 52, received the order to also develop a tracked vehicle equipped with the 90 mm dual use gun.
Even if the original Regio Esercito requirements for this vehicle were never met, it can be assumed that the Semovente M41M da 90/53 was produced to counter Soviet heavy tanks. This thesis is supported by many Italian writers. Evidence can be found in that the prototypes and preseries vehicles’ camouflage were gray-green, instead of the common desert khaki camouflage. Similarly, the first programmed deployment was on the Eastern Front.
History of the Prototype
Although the Regio Esercito’s official requirements date from late December 1941, there is photographic evidence from Ansaldo’s archives of a project of a 90 mm gun on a tracked chassis that began in autumn 1941, with the creation of a wooden mock-up in November 1941, with the unofficial designation of Cannone Anticarro (English: Anti-Tank Gun).
Two images of the Cannone Anticarro mock-up. Sources: Ansaldo
In January 1942, the pedestal for the 90 mm gun to be mounted on a tank was ready. After that, a new wooden mock-up of the vehicle was built on a Carro Armato M14/41 chassis. The tank’s hull was heavily modified, and the official designation changed from M41 (normal designations for M14/41 converted to semoventi) to M41M, in which the second M stood for Modificato (English: Modified). After the modification of the first M41 chassis, a dummy wooden barrel, trunnion, and a mock-up of the superstructure were presented to General Ugo Cavallero, Chief of Staff of the Regio Esercito, and former president of Ansaldo.
The already modified M41M hull with the superstructure mock-up and dummy gun. Sources: Ansaldo
The gun was placed on the rear of the vehicle on a trunion connected to a frontal shield. To free up space for the gun, the engine was placed in the vehicle’s center, with a driver and a commander in front of the engine compartment. As on the standard M14/41, the gearbox and brakes were placed in front of the driving position.
Chief of Staff of the Regio Esercito, Ugo Cavallero (at the front with mustache), examines the Semovente M41M da 90/53 prototype with a wooden superstructure and gun. Source: AnsaldoThe prototype of the Semovente M41M da 90/53 in the testing ground of the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in 1942. Behind the vehicle, Sestri-Ponente. Source: Ansaldo
The first prototype was ready in late February and tested on 5th March 1942.
It was immediately clear that the protection for the gun crew was not enough, and a new shield was developed. This new one protected the front, sides, and roof of the gun breech, increasing the crew’s protection and permitting the installation of the radio apparatus on the internal side of the armored plates.
On 6th April 1942, Agostino Rocca, Chief Executive Officer of Ansaldo, wrote to General Ugo Cavallero, explaining the situation of the new self-propelled gun.
In his letter, Rocca explained that the vehicle was better than what Ansaldo had anticipated thanks to the characteristics of the Cannone da 90/53 Modello 1939 and of the Carro Armato M14/41 chassis, which could be modified to fit together.
That same day, just a month after the tests of the first prototype and less than 5 months after the requirements for the development of the self-propelled gun, the first 6 examples were already assembled.
One of the first Semovente M41M da 90/53 assembled outside the Ansaldo-Fossati production line. In this image, the full traverse of the gun is shown. Source: Ansaldo
Design
Hull
The hull of the Semovente M41M da 90/53 was the same as on the Carro Armato M14/41 Iª Serie. At the front, the tank had a cast rounded transmission cover. The rounded plate had two hooks on the sides and a towing ring in the center. There were also two inspection hatches above the brakes to improve the flow of air around the transmission, especially to help cool the clutch on long drives. In combat, these hatches were to be closed. The two hatches could be opened or closed from inside the vehicle even while driving by means of a lever located on the right side of the chassis, operated by the commander.
Behind the gearbox was the driving compartment, with the driver sat on the left and the commander on the right. There were two rectangular hatches over their heads to enter and exit the vehicle. On the sides, there were two headlights for night driving.
The Semovente M41M da 90/53 with license plate Regio Esercito 5826. In this photo, the Ansaldo-Fossati plant is visible to the vehicle’s side. Behind the Semovente M41M da 90/53 is the same Autoprotetto S37 as in other photographs. Source: Ansaldo
The engine deck, behind the hatches for the crew, was the same as the original M14/41 but placed in the vehicle’s center. The chassis on the Semovente M41M da 90/53 was lengthened by some 17 cm compared to the M14/41 and the gun was placed on a trunnion on a small rear platform.
A Semovente M41M da 90/53 at the Ansaldo-Fossati. From this angle, the unmodified M14/41 engine deck is clearly visible. The white roundel on the superstructure’s roof was painted for aerial recognition. Source: Ansaldo
On the rear, under the gun’s pedestal, there were two rectangular doors where a total of 8 90 mm rounds were stored in two rows of two rounds per door.
Armor
The Semovente M41M da 90/53 chassis’ armor was the same as on the Carro Armato M14/41 it was based on. The two armored vehicles had 30 mm of armor on the rounded transmission cover plate. The upper armored plate that covered the transmission was 25 mm thick and angled at 80°. The driving compartment had a front plate 30 mm thick and angled at 0°. The sides of the hull and rear were 25 mm. The roof of the driving compartment was composed of 15 mm armored plates.
The engine compartment’s roof and inspection hatches were made of 10 mm armored plates angled at 74°. The brake inspection hatches were 25 mm thick. The floor of the vehicle was built out of 6 mm armored plates that were unable to protect the crew and engine compartments from mine explosions.
The armor was bolted to an internal frame, allowing for rapid construction of the vehicle as well as easier replacement of damaged armor plates than on models with welded or cast armor. The downside for this construction method was that it was not as light as a welded vehicle and that it generally made the armor less effective than it could have been.
Gun Shield
The gun gun shield was placed on the rear and was 30 mm thick on the front, angled at 29°. The middle ‘cheek’ plates were 15 mm thick angled at 18°, and the sides were 15 mm thick angled at 0°. The roof of the gun shield was 15 mm thick.
There were two rectangular holes on the roof of the gun shield for the panoramic hyposcopes for the gunner and loader.
On the chassis, a 6 mm thick plate was added to protect the lower part of the gun shield. The plate had two holes for the mufflers.
A Semovente M41M da 90/53 during training in Nettuno. Source: pinterest.com
On the left internal side of the gun shield, the radio apparatus and its batteries were placed. Between the armored plate and the breech, positioned in the middle, was the loader/radio operator’s seat, whilst, on the right side, was the gunner’s seat.
In front of the two gun crewmembers were the cranks for gun traverse and elevation. Due to the small space available, there was no electric engine to elevate and traverse the heavy gun, which had to be done manually.
Semovente M41M da 90/53 at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant, with the gunner and loader in their positions. Source: Ansaldo
Engine and Transmission
The engine was the same as on the Carro Armato M14/41, the FIAT-SPA 15T Modello 1941, 8-cylinder V-shaped, diesel engine, 11,980 cm³ producing 145 hp at 1,900 rpm.
The 5-speed gearbox had 4 forward and one reverse gears. In addition, thanks to the built-in reductor, another 4 forward and one reverse gears were available. However, to switch from the standard gears to the reduced-gears, the Semovente M41M da 90/53 needed to fully stop. Unfortunately, the exact model of the transmission is not mentioned in the sources, but it was a FIAT model, probably produced by Società Piemontese Automobili, its subsidiary. It was coupled with a FERCAT oil radiator and Modello 80 oil filters.
The Semovente M41M da 90/53’s battle ready weight was 15.7 tonnes, about 1.5 tonnes more than a combat ready Carro Armato M14/41 and about 800 kg less than Ansaldo’s original estimations. The maximum speed suggested for the vehicle, to avoid stress to the engine and suspension, was 25 km/h, even if the vehicle could reach a maximum speed on-road of 35 km/h.
Drawing of the left side of a FIAT-SPA 15T Modello 1941 engine. Source: Manuale di Uso e Manutenzione Carro Armato M14/41
Track and Suspension
The suspension of the Semovente M41M da 90/53 was of the semi-elliptical leaf spring type. This suspension type was obsolete and did not allow the vehicle to reach a high top speed. In addition, it was very vulnerable to enemy fire or mines.
On each side, there were four bogies with eight doubled rubber road wheels paired on two suspension units. Due the lengthened chassis, the rear bogie was positioned some centimeters further to the rear in order to better support the weight of the gun. The drive sprockets were at the front and the idlers, with modified track tension adjusters, were at the back. There were three rubber return rollers on each side.
The tank had 26 cm wide tracks. The small surface area of the tracks (about 20,000 cm²) caused a ground pressure of about 1.30 kg/cm², increasing the risk of the vehicle bogging down in mud, snow, or sand.
The two side mufflers were equipped with longer exhaust pipes due to the central engine compartment. The exhaust pipes were positioned to prevent exhaust gasses from getting in the way of the gunner and loader’s view.
Radio Equipment
The Semovente M41M da 90/53’s radio equipment was an Apparato Ricetrasmittente Radio Fonica 1 per Carro Armato or Apparato Ricevente RF1CA (English: Tank Phonic Radio Receiver Apparatus 1) produced by Magneti Marelli. These were a radiotelephone and radiotelegraph station box with a size of 35 x 20 x 24.6 cm and a weight of about 18 kg. It had 10 watts of power in both voice and telegraphy communications.
The Magneti Marrelli RF1CA. angetmi.it
The operating frequency range was between 27 and 33.4 MHz. It was powered by an AL-1 Dynamotor supplying 9-10 Watts, mounted on the hull’s right side. It had a range of 8 km in voice mode and 12 km in telegraph mode. These capabilities were reduced when the vehicles were on the move.
One of the Semovente M41M da 90/53s at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant. From this angle, the radio apparatus on the left wall of the gun shield and its radio antenna on top are clearly visible. Source: Ansaldo
The radio had two ranges, Vicino (Eng: Near), with a maximum range of 5 km, and Lontano (Eng: Afar), with a maximum theoretical range of 12 km. In reality, even with the Lontano range, in the voice mode, it had a range of 8 km.
The antenna on its 360° foldable support and, on the right, the hook to lower it. Source: Ansaldo
The radio antenna, mounted on the left side, did not have the same lowering system as the other semoventi due to the limited space. Instead, the Semovente M41M’s antenna had a 360° lowerable support. A hook on the right side permitted it to rest during long drives, in order to avoid it hitting electrical cables or interfering with driving in narrow areas.
Two Italian tank crewmembers next to a Semovente M41M da 90/53 in the Nettuno training center. The radio antenna is in its resting position. Source: pinterest.com
Armament
The Cannone da 90/53 Modello 1939 was an anti-aircraft 90 mm gun developed from the Cannone Ansaldo-OTO da 90/50 Modello 1939 gun, which had been developed for the anti-aircraft role on the warships of the Italian Regia Marina (English: Royal Navy).
An American GI inspects the damage on the barrel of a Cannone da 90/53 on a Semovente M41M da 90/53 abandoned and sabotaged by its crew in Sicily. Source: pinterest.com
Like the German 8.8 cm FlaK gun, the Italian gun was also used as an anti-tank gun in the first phases of the war, proving equally adequate in that role. About 500 guns were used in North Africa and on the Italian mainland, sometimes even as field artillery guns in indirect fire roles.
The Cannone da 90/53 Modello 1939 during testing at the Ansaldo shooting range, the same on which the Semovente M41M da 90/53 would be tested a few years after. Source: fondazioneansaldo.com
The development of this gun started in 1938, when the Regio Esercito made a request for an anti-aircraft gun that could hit enemy bombers flying at altitudes of over 10,000 m. During that period, Ansaldo was developing the Cannone Ansaldo-OTO da 90/50 (OTO stands for ‘Odero-Terni-Orlando’, an Italian shipyard that also produced artillery pieces for the Regia Marina) and decided to create a ground version of the same gun to speed up the development.
The Cannone da 90/53’s pedestal for the installation on the Semoventi. Source: Carro M – Carri Medi M11/39, M13/40, M14/41, M15/42, Semoventi ed Altri Derivati
The first 4 cannons were ready on 30th January 1940. In April that same year, they were tested at the Nettuno Shooting Area, where they proved essentially identical to the 90/50 gun tested some months before. The gun was immediately put in production by Ansaldo.
The gun weighed 8,950 kg for the Modello 1939 towed version (6,240 kg for the gun only, not including the field mount). It had an elevation of -2° to +85° and a traverse of 360°. The rate of fire was 19 rounds per minute, while the maximum firing range was 17,400 m against ground targets and 11,300 m against flying targets. On the Semovente M41M da 90/53 the elevation was from -5° to +19° while the traverse was 45° on both sides.
A travel lock for the gun barrel on which the gun was fixed during long drives was placed on the hull.
Ammunition
The Cannone da 90/53 Modello 1939 fired different types of 90 x 679 mmR rounds, the same as the naval version.
It had characteristics comparable to the German 8.8 cm FlaK anti-aircraft gun, both in the anti-aircraft and the anti-tank roles. Unfortunately for the Regio Esercito, the anti-tank rounds for the 90 mm gun were rarely delivered to the units equipped with 90 mm guns and their anti-tank capabilities were really limited.
An Italian tank crewmember showing a 90 mm High-Explosive round to the photographer. Behind him, a Carro Armato L6/40 Porta Munizioni and a Semovente M41M da 90/53. Probably at Nettuno training center. Source: pinterest.com @Lucky01
Ammunition for the Cannone da 90/53 Modello 1939
Name
Type
Mass (kg)
Quantity of TNT (g)
Muzzle velocity (m/s)
Fuze
Penetration of RHA at 90° (mm)
100 m
500 m
1000 m
Cartoccio Granata Esplosiva*
HE – AA
10.1
1,000
850
Modello 1936
//
//
//
Cartoccio Granata Esplosiva*
HE – AA
10.1
1,000
850
Modello 1936R
//
//
//
Cartoccio Granata Esplosiva*
HE – AA
10.1
1,000
850
Modello 1941
//
//
//
Cartoccio Granata Esplosiva*
HE – AA
10.1
1,000
850
IO40
//
//
//
Cartoccio Granata Esplosiva*
HE – AA
10.1
1,000
850
R40
//
//
//
Cartoccio Granata Perforante
APCBC
12.1
520
758
Modello 1909
130
121
110
Cartoccio Granata Perforante
APCBC
11.1
180
773
Modello 1909
156
146
123
Granata Effetto Pronto
HEAT
**
**
**
Internal Modello 1941
~ 110
~ 110
~ 110
Granata Effetto Pronto Speciale
HEAT
**
**
**
IPEM
~ 110
~ 110
~ 110
Notes
* The same round but with anti-aircraft or percussion fuze.
** Prototypes ready for testing only in mid-1943. According to some sources, they were similar to the German 88 mm HohlladungsGranate 1939 (Hl.Gr. 39)
On board the Semovente M41M da 90/53, only 8 rounds were stored in two small rectangular compartments under the gun’s trunnion. Another 26 rounds were stored on the accompanying Carri Armati L6/40 Trasporto Munizioni and another 40 in the Officine Viberti ammunition trailers, for total reserve for each semovente of 74 rounds.
The rear of a Semovente M41M da 90/53. Under the trunnion of the main gun, there were two rectangular compartments, in which a total of 8 rounds were stored. The compartments were closed by armored plates. Ansaldo-Fossati plant. Source: Ansaldo
Crew
The crew riding in the vehicle was composed of 2: driver on the left and the vehicle’s commander on the right. When the vehicle was in battery position, the two crewmembers left their stations by means of a hatch over their heads.
A Semovente M41M0 da 90/53 in Nettuno training center returns to the base after a shooting training exercise. The commander sat outside for better comfort. Source: pinterest.com
An additional 2 crewmembers were transported on board a small Carro Armato L6 Trasporto Munizioni (English: L6 Tank Ammunition Carrier). This was a specialized variant of the Carro Armato L6/40 armed with a single Breda Modello 1938 medium machine gun for air defense, a crew of two, and a total of 26 rounds on board and 40 more in an armored trailer for a Semovente M41M da 90/53.
When the Semovente M41M was in firing position, the crewmembers of the L6 left the vehicle and operated as gunner and loader of the Semovente M41M.
Photograph showing the crew of a Semovente M41 da 90/53 being reviewed by the King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III, during his visit to Sicily in January 1943. Source: svppbellum.blogspot.com
To speed up the reloading process, it is likely that other soldiers carried on other vehicles would take part.
Production and Deliveries
The first 6 Semoventi M41M da 90/53 were ready on 6th April 1942, together with 10 Carri Armati Comando M41 (English: Command Tank M41) and 7 Carri Armati L6 Trasporto Munizioni. The M41Ms and L6s were assembled and delivered to the units in the following months.
In his letter to Gen. Cavallero, Ansaldo-Fossati’s CEO, Rocca, mentioned that the conversion of the Carri Armati L6/40 that arrived from Turin and the production of the Semoventi was a priority for the company. Rocca also stated that delivery of the remaining 30 Semoventi M41M da 90/53, 30 Carri Armati L6 Trasporto Munizioni and 15 Carri Armati Comando M41 would be finalized by the end of the month with no breaks, neither holiday nor night.
Officine Viberti of Turin was also part of the production contract. The Turinese company produced the ammunition trailers for the Carri Armati L6 Trasporto Munizioni, in which 40 rounds were transported. Viberti would deliver all 30 trailers between 10th and 30th April 1942.
The first 6 Semoventi M41M da 90/53s, freshly produced, ready to be delivered to the Italian Army, outside the Ansaldo-Fossati production line. Sources: Ansaldo
Known License Plates
Regio Esercito 5805
Regio Esercito 5810
Regio Esercito 5812
Regio Esercito 5824
Regio Esercito 5825
Regio Esercito 5826
On 23th April 1942, Rocca wrote to General Piero Ago, Chief of the Comitato Superiore Tecnico Armi e Munizioni (English: Superior Technical Committee on Weapons and Munitions). In his new letter, Rocca said that on the afternoon of 22th April, an order to deliver 12 Semoventi M41M da 90/53 and 12 Carri Armati L6 Trasporto Munizioni arrived. With that, Ansaldo-Fossati had delivered a total of 24 Semoventi M41M da 90/53 and 19 Carri Armati L6 Trasporto Munizioni. Rocca also reminded the general that the Ansaldo plant of Sestri Ponente had in its depots 6 Carri Armati Comando M41 ready for delivery.
A Carro Armato Comando M41 of the CLXIII Gruppo da 90/53 abandoned in Sicily. 3 details are interesting in this image: the coat of arms of the CLXIII Gruppo da 90/53 painted on the side, the presence of 90 mm spent casings on the foreground and the armament of the Carro Armato Comando consisting of a couple of Breda Modello 1938 machine-guns. Source: instagram.com @Forza_Italiana
On 25th April 1942, in a document for the Italian High Command, Rocca stated that his plant had finished the production of the last 6 Semoventi M41M da 90/53, but due to delays from Magneti Marelli, the vehicles could not be equipped with radio apparatus for a few more days and that they would be ready for delivery on 28th April. On 26th April, the last 11 Carri Armati L6 Trasporto Munizioni and 9 Carri Armati Comando M41 were ready for delivery. Regarding the trailers produced by Officine Viberti, Rocca explained to the Italian High Command that Ansaldo had received only one of the 30 expected trailers, but that Viberti had claimed that all would be delivered by the end of the month.
One of the 30 Carri Armati L6/40 Trasporto Munizioni converted by the Ansaldo-Fossati plant towing a Viberti ammunition trailer. Source: AnsaldoThe Officine Viberti ammunition trailer. It had a total payload of 1,500 kg and a capacity for 40 rounds. Source: Officine Viberti
Service History
The 30 Semoventi M41M da 90/53, 30 Carri Armati L6 Trasporto Munizioni, and 15 Carri Armati Comando M41 were assigned to 3 Gruppi da 90/53 (English: 90/53 Groups). The staff of the gruppi was organized on 27th January 1942 by circular No. 0034100 of the Regio Esercito’s General Staff. Each gruppo was organized into two batteries and a reparto munizioni e viveri (English: Ammunition and Supply Unit).
Gruppo da 90/53 equipment
Group Command
Batteries
Ammunition and Supply Unit
Total
Officers
6
8
4
18
NCOs
4
14
6
24
Gunners and loaders
49
104
82
235
Vehicle drivers
12
24
32
68
Armored vehicle drivers
2
18
3
23
Staff cars
1
2
1
4
Carri Armati Comando M41
2
2
//
4
FIAT-SPA AS37 or SPA CL39
5
6
1
12
Heavy trucks
//
//
19
19
Light trucks
//
6
3
9
Carri Armati L6/40 Trasporto Munizioni
//
8
//
8
Semoventi M41M da 90/53
//
8
//
8
Mobile workshops
//
//
1
1
One-seat motorcycles
2
4
1
7
Two-seat motorcycles
3
4
//
7
Motor tricycles
1
2
1
4
Ammunition trailers
//
8
//
8
15 tonne trailers
//
//
12
12
Machine guns
//
//
3
3
Radio stations
8
16
7
31
Each group consisted of 8 officers, 24 non-commissioned officers, 235 artillerymen, 68 truck drivers, and 23 armored vehicle drivers. The vehicle fleet consisted of 4 automobiles, four Carri Armati Comando M41, 12 FIAT-SPA AS37s or SPA CL39s, 19 heavy trucks, 9 light trucks, 10 Semoventi M41M da 90/53, 1 mobile workshop, 14 motorbikes, 4 motor tricycles, 10 Viberti ammunition trailers, 12 tank trailers for tank transport, 3 machine guns, and 38 radios.
Each Gruppo da 90/53 had 2 batteries, each consisting of 5 Semoventi M41M da 90/53, 5 Carri Armati L6 Trasporto Munizioni, and one Carro Armato Comando M41.
A column of Semoventi M41M da 90/53, probably near Nettuno. Source: instagram via forza_italiana
On 27th April 1942, the three Gruppi da 90/53 were created. These were:
10° Raggruppamento Artiglieria Controcarro da 90/53 Semovente
Name
Soldiers from
English:
Location
Commander
Number of vehicles
CLXI Gruppo da 90/53
Deposito del 1° Reggimento d’Artiglieria di Corpo d’Armata
Depot of the 1st Army Corps’ Artillery Regiment
Casale Monferrato
Major Carlo Bosco
10 Semoventi M41M da 90/53
2 Carri Comando M41
CLXII Gruppo da 90/53
Deposito del 2° Reggimento d’Artiglieria di Corpo d’Armata
Depot of the 2nd Army Corps’ Artillery Regiment
Acqui
Lieutenant Colonel Costantino Rossi
10 Semoventi M41M da 90/53
2 Carri Comando M41
CLXIII Gruppo da 90/53
Deposito del 15° Reggimento d’Artiglieria di Corpo d’Armata
Depot of the 15th Army Corps’ Artillery Regiment
Pietra Ligure
Major Vittorio Cingolani
10 Semoventi M41M da 90/53
2 Carri Comando M41
The three Gruppi were initially assigned to the 8a Armata (English: 8th Army), also called ARMata Italiana in Russia or ARMIR (English: Italian Army in Russia) and were merged into the 10° Raggruppamento (English: 10th Grouping), later renamed 10° Raggruppamento Artiglieria Controcarro da 90/53 Semovente (English: 10th 90/53 Self-propelled Anti-Tank Artillery Grouping). The Raggruppamento was sent to Nettuno for training, which could only begin on 16th August 1942, due to logistical problems. This delay was also because the Regio Esercito was delayed in creating the employment rules for this unit. Only on 20th July 1942 did the Ispettorato dell’Arma di Artiglieria (English: Artillery Army Inspectorate) publish a circular (No. 16500 S) in which it explained the composition of each group and underlined the deployment rules. The Semoventi M41M da 90/53 would have to be deployed to stop enemy assaults and to counter enemy artillery with counter battery fire.
10° Raggruppamento Artiglieria Controcarro da 90/53 Semovente practicing in the Nettuno training area. Two Semoventi M41M da 90/53 and a Carro Armato L6/40 Trasporto Munizioni are visibile. Source: pinterest.com @Lucky01
In the first months of operation, the crews, supported by the workshops of the unit and those at the Nettuno training center, tried to modify the vehicles, reinforcing the barrel of the gun and repairing the vehicles that had problems with their engines or suspensions. In fact, the drivers were trained to drive Carri Armati M (English: Medium Tanks) or Semoventi M41 da 75/18, as they had similar characteristics and weights to the Semovente M41M da 90/53, and the crews needed to learn how to drive a vehicle that weighted 1.5 tonnes more than a standard M14/41.
The initial plans of the Regio Esercito were to send the Semoventi M41M da 90/53 to the Soviet Union to counter the heavily armored Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks. This, however, did not happen.
A Semovente M41M da 90/53 during firing training in Nettuno. Behind it, a squad of 4 soldiers reload the gun from a Carro Armato L6/40 Trasporto Munizioni. Source: pinterest.com
The Supecomando Africa Settentrionale Italiana (English: Italian North African High Command) asked for these vehicles to be put in service in the North African campaign on 26th June 1942. Gen. Ugo Cavallero rejected this idea, insisting on his idea to send the unit to the Soviet Union.
On 16th October 1942, the 10° Raggruppamento Artiglieria Controcarro da 90/53 Semovente received the order to deploy, but not to the Soviet Union. Instead, it was sent to Sicily, as the Regio Esercito’s High Command began preparations to defend Sicily from a potential Allied invasion following their victory in the Second Battle of El Alamein.
The 10° Raggruppamento Artiglieria Controcarro da 90/53 Semovente was assigned to the Comando Supremo Forze Armate Sicilia (English: Supreme Command of the Armed Forces in Sicily) of the 6a Armata (English: 6th Army) in Sicily.
The CLXI Gruppo da 90/53 and the CLXII Gruppo da 90/53, together with the 63a Officina Mobile Pesante (English: 63rd Mobile Heavy Workshop) left Nettuno immediately, while the CLXIII Gruppo da 90/53 left shortly afterwards. A total of 6 Semoventi M41M da 90/53 (2 for each group) were left in Nettuno, probably to train other crewmembers.
The CLXI Gruppo da 90/53 and the CLXII Gruppo da 90/53 probably waited somewhere in southern Italy for the arrival of the CLXIII Gruppo da 90/53. All the elements of the 10° Raggruppamento Artiglieria Controcarro da 90/53 Semovente reached the island on 15th, 17th, or 18th December (sources vary on the exact date).
A Semovente M41M da 90/53 and a Carro Armato L6/40 Trasporto Munizioni during what seems to be a parade in Sicily, before the Allied landing. Note the Breda Modello 1938 anti-aircraft machine gun on the L6, equipped with a shield to defend the crewmembers from an air attack. Source: pinterest.com
The 10° Raggruppamento Artiglieria Controcarro da 90/53 Semovente was immediately placed under the command of Colonel Ugo Bedogni, placing the headquarters in Canicattì. The CLXI Gruppo da 90/53 remained in Canicattì for a period and then moved to San Michele di Ganzaria. The CLXII Gruppo da 90/53 was sent to Borgesati and the CLXIII Gruppo da 90/53 to Paternò. The Raggruppamento was supposed to be used as an army reserve in case of an Allied landing on Sicily’s coasts.
10° Raggruppamento Artiglieria Controcarro da 90/53 Semovente in Sicily
Name
Place of deployment
Commander
Number of vehicles
10° Raggruppamento High Quarter
Canicattì
Colonel Ugo Bedogni
//
CLXI Gruppo da 90/53
Canicattì, then San Michele di Ganzaria
Major Carlo Bosco
8 Semoventi M41M da 90/53
2 Carri Comando M41
CLXII Gruppo da 90/53
Borgesati
Lieutenant Colonel Costantino Rossi
8 Semoventi M41M da 90/53
2 Carri Comando M41
CLXIII Gruppo da 90/53
Paternò
Major Vittorio Cingolani
8 Semoventi M41M da 90/53
2 Carri Comando M41
//
Nettuno
//
6 Semoventi M41M da 90/53</td>
Allied map showing the Axis’ positions before the Allied landing of 10th June 1943. In green, the Gruppi da 90/53’s positions, in yellow, the headquarter position in Canicattì. Source: i0.wp.com with author collage
Between late December 1942 and early July 1943, the Gruppi da 90/53 trained for their new roles.
A Semovente M41M da 90/53 belonging to the CLXIII Gruppo da 90/53 during live firing in Sicily, probably before the Allied landings in Sicily. Source: imgur.com
During Vittorio Emanuele III’s visit to Sicily between 28th December 1942 and 7th January 1943, the King reviewed the 10° Raggruppamento Artiglieria Controcarro da 90/53 Semovente and some photographs were taken during the ceremony. Thanks to these images, the US Secret Service had the possibility to analyze the vehicle better. The US Secret Services hypothesized that the gun was mounted on a Carro Armato M13/40 chassis, but with a more powerful engine and a total traverse of 40°. They also believed that the crew was of 6 and that the ammunition transported on board was very limited.
One of the images taken during the King’s visit and probably one of the ones analyzed by the US Secret Services. Source: Italian Tanks in Second World War
During the Allied invasion of Sicily, which began on 10th July 1943, the 10° Raggruppamento Artiglieria Controcarro da 90/53 Semovente was assigned to support the 207a Divisione Costiera (English: 207th Coastal Division) commanded by General Ottorino Schreiber (on 12th July 1943, the command passed to Brigadier General Augusto de Laurentiis).
On 10th July 1943, the CLXI Gruppo da 90/53, with all its 8 Semoventi M41M da 90/53, was sent to defend the Favarotta station, leaving its position in San Michele di Ganzaria. General Ottorino Schreiber requested 3 times to deploy the 10° Raggruppamento Artiglieria Controcarro da 90/53 Semovente to help his forces. Poor coordination between the Italian forces and a delay of radio communications allowed the US forces to occupy the station. As a result, the grouping was sent to defend Campobello di Licata along with the 177° Reggimento Bersaglieri (English: 177th Bersaglieri Regiment) and the 1a Compagnia Motomitraglieri (English:1st Motorbike Machine Gunner Company).
The next day, the CLXI Gruppo da 90/53 clashed with the 3rd Rangers Battalion and the 2nd US Infantry Division. The unit lost three Semoventi and had to retreat with the Bersaglieri to the San Silvestro area. Meanwhile, the CLXII Gruppo da 90/53, that had already moved to Gibellina, and the CLXIII Gruppo da 90/53 supported the CLXI Gruppo da 90/53 in a counterattack. The counterattack failed, but the Italians were able to stop the US forces, losing 3 Semoventi M41M da 90/53 of the CLXI Gruppo da 90/53 in the process, but knocking out or destroying 9 M4 Sherman medium tanks.
On 13th July 1943, the CLXII Gruppo da 90/53 and the CLXIII Gruppo da 90/53 were sent into combat into the Portella Recattivo area with all their staff. The engagement was a complete disaster, with 14 out of 16 Semoventi M41M da 90/53 lost to enemy fire or mechanical failure.
Other Semoventi M41M da 90/53 were destroyed on 16th July 1943 by an US attack and the remaining vehicles were placed in the Raggruppamento Tattico Schreiber (English: Schreiber Tactical Grouping) and were destroyed alongside the unit.
The Raggruppamento Tattico Schreiber was formed of the Gruppo Mobile A, Gruppo Mobile B and Gruppo Mobile C (English: Mobile Groups A, B and C) and 4 remaining Semoventi M41M da 90/53. The gruppi mobili consisted of the CII Compagnia Carri R35 (English: 102nd Renault R35 Tank Company) with Renault R35 French tanks (16 tanks per company), a mechanized infantry company, the 1a Compagnia Motomitragliatrici (English: 1st Motorcycle Machine Gun Company), the CXXXIII Battaglione Semoventi Controcarro (English: 133rd Anti-Tank Self-Propelled Gun Battalion) composed of 21 Semoventi L40 da 47/32, a motorized artillery battery, and the 2a Sezione (English: 2nd Section) of the 78a Batteria da 20/65 (English: 78th 20 mm L/65 Anti-Aircraft Cannon) of the 26ª Divisione di Fanteria ‘Assietta’ (English: 26th Infantry Division)
In 2022, on Facebook, a user under the name Claudio Evangelisti told the story of one of his paternal uncles, Dino Landini, who was a gunner on a Semovente M41M da 90/53. His and another semovente ambushed the US advancing forces in an unknown location for a whole day. They were hidden in a railway tunnel and, when a US column advanced on a nearby road, they left their shelter, opened fire against the first tank of the column, and returned to their hidden position where, covered by the tunnel, avoided the US ground attack planes called to defeat the threat.
Evangelisiti claimed that his uncle’s unit managed to knock out or destroy “a dozen of tanks” until the night, when the Italians ran out of ammunition and abandoned their vehicles in the railway tunnel and retreated. It is hard to establish the validity of this story. In fact, the two vehicles supposedly abandoned do not figure in the losses reported by the units.
7 Italian crewmembers (first on the left is Dino Landini) taking a souvenir photo probably after training, in Nettuno. Date unknown. Source: facebook.com @Claudio Evangelisti
In the book ‘Carro M – Carri Medi M11/39, M13/40, M14/41, M15/42, Semoventi ed Altri Derivati‘, Andrea Tallillo and Daniele Guglielmi claim that, on 19th July 1942, a battery of the CLXII Gruppo da 90/53 (probably having some of the 14 vehicles knocked out by the US some days earlier and which were repaired) was assigned to the 28a Divisione di Fanteria ‘Aosta’ (English: 28th Infantry Division) after reaching Nicosia.
Semovente da 90/53 of the CLXIII Gruppo da 90/53 abandoned by the Italians near Canicattì. Source: Sicily 1943
On 23rd July, the 4 Semoventi of the battery were assigned to the German 15. Panzer Division (English: 15th Tank Division). The 4 vehicles took part in the defense of Troina between 1st and 6th August. The Germans initially stopped an attack from the 39th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division and the 1st Infantry Division. After fierce fighting that cost 116 civilian lives and the total destruction of the city, on the night between 5th and 6th August 1943, the German and Italian forces retreated after having launched 25 counterattacks in 5 days. The remaining 3 Semoventi M41M da 90/53 fired their last rounds near Cesarò. Only 2 of them reached Messina on 18th August, where they were abandoned and not transported to Calabria, presumably for lack of time. There were no more uses of the Semovente M41M da 90/53 in Italian service after this.
The two Semoventi da 90/53 abandoned near Messina. Source: flickr.com @ PANZER DB
German Service
The six Semoventi remaining in Nettuno were captured by the Germans after the armistice between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allied forces on 8th September 1943. The Germans named the vehicles Beute Gepanzerte-Selbstfahrlafette 9,0 cm KwK L/53 801(i) (English: Captured Armored Self-Propelled Gun Carriage 9,0 cm L/53 coded 801 [Italian]) and assigned them to the Stabskompanie (English: Headquarters Company) of the Panzer-Regiment 26. (English: 26th Tank Regiment) of the 26. Panzer Division (English: 26th Tank Division). A single vehicle was deployed by the unit in the Chieti area. It is probable that the Germans were only able to reuse a single vehicle, due to wear and tear on the other vehicles or sabotage by the Italians before they were captured. There are some photos of a Semovente of the division in Rome, resting on a railway flatbed cart damaged by US bombing of the city in March 1944.
A US soldier near the damaged flatbed trailer loaded with the Beute Gepanzerte-Selbstfahrlafette 9,0 cm KwK L/53 801(i) of the Stabskompanie in Rome. Source: beutepanzer.ruA GI takes a souvenir photo near a Semovente M41M da 90/53 abandoned in Nettuno. Source: reddit.com u/sasha_man123
Camouflage
The Semoventi M41M da 90/53 were painted at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in Sestri-Ponente with the green-gray camouflage used in the early war to paint the first batch of Carri Armati M13/40. A 63 cm white roundel for aerial recognition, common to all Italian tanks, was painted on the gun shield’s roof.
A Semovente M41M da 90/53 with standard green-gray camouflage, probably at the Nettuno training center. Source: pinterest.com
Following their deployment in Sicily after early January 1943, the vehicles received a new camouflage scheme that partially covered the green-gray camouflage. Some Kaki Sahariano (English: Saharan Khaki) sand camouflage was painted in stripes on the vehicles.
The CLXI Gruppo da 90/53 adopted a four-leaf clover as its coat of arms. The CLXIII Gruppo da 90/53 adopted the white silhouette of a Semovente M41M da 90/53. In both gruppi, the coat of arms were painted on the gun shield’s sides. There is no evidence of a coat of arms on vehicles of the CLXII Gruppo da 90/53.
A Semovente M41M da 90/53 of the CLXI Gruppo da 90/53, abandoned somewhere in Sicily, being inspected by two GIs. On the side is the four-leaf clover. Source: reddit.comA Semovente M41M da 90/53 that belonged to the CLXIII Gruppo da 90/53, captured intact by the Allied troops and ready to be delivered to the Aberdeen Proving Ground. Source: pinterest.comColorization by Johannes Dorn
The 6 vehicles left in Nettuno received a small coat of arms, although its meaning is not really clear.
One of the 6 Semoventi da 90/53 abandoned in Nettuno. It maintained the monochrome green-gray camouflage. Note the coat of arms on the side. Source: pinterest.com
Surviving Vehicles
To this day, only a single vehicle has survived, the Semovente M41M da 90/53 shipped to the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, USA. The vehicle, with the license plate Regio Esercito 5825, was captured in Sicily and sent via merchant ship to the USA, where it was tested and then exhibited in the museum.
The Semovente M41M da 90/53 exhibited at the Aberdeen Proving Ground before restoration. Source: flikr.com @Chris Streckfus
The vehicle remained for many years outside, exposed to the elements without protection. In 2013, the vehicle was taken for a deep restoration. A new two-tone camouflage, which is significantly different from the original one, was painted. The original Semovente silhouette was repainted, in white, many years after its original 1943 drawing.
The vehicle after the restoration, with the new green-gray and sand camouflage. The coat of arms and original license plate were repainted. Source: pinterest.com
Considerations
Many sources and amateur Italian tank enthusiasts consider the Semovente M41M da 90/53 a badly designed self-propelled gun that, apart from the powerful main gun, had nothing going for it. The increased weight drastically lowered the efficiency of the engine and running gears, which forced the crews to increase the amount of maintenance done on the vehicles. Another important detail that is sometimes not considered is the inexperience of the crewmembers. The crews were taken from artillery regiments and had a basic training on artillery manning and truck driving and repairing. They received only limited tank training at the Nettuno training school before being transferred to Sicily.
Semovente M41M da 90/53 with license plate Regio Esercito 5824. Source: pinterest.com
If the vehicles had been sent to the Soviet Union, as originally intended, the results would not have been so different from those in the Sicilian campaign, where the majority of the Semoventi M41M da 90/53 were abandoned due to mechanical failures. Had the vehicles been sent to North Africa, as the Supecomando Africa Settentrionale Italiana had requested, they may have had more of a chance to be useful, thanks to the better experience of crews and mechanics in that theater.
Conclusion
The Semovente M41M da 90/53 was a medium tank destroyer produced by the Italian Regio Esercito to counter the well armored Soviet tanks, which it never fought. Its weight forced the crews to operate at really low speeds to avoid mechanical failures caused by the stress on the engine or suspensions.
Its main gun was powerful enough to permit the vehicle to deal with all the Allied armored vehicles of 1943. Nevertheless, as only 30 vehicles were ever produced, they were never employed effectively due to the desperate situation and disorganization of the Regio Esercito in Sicily. Many of these were abandoned due to mechanical failure while trying to reach their fighting positions or during the desperate retreats after failed counterattacks.
Semovente M41M da 90/53 of the CLXIII Gruppo da 90/53. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.Semovente M41M da 90/53 of the CLXI Gruppo da 90/53. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.Semovente M41M da 90/53 with standard green-gray camouflage. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.Beute Gepanzerte-Selbstfahrlafette 9,0 cm KwK L/53 801(i) of the Stabskompanie of the Panzer-Regiment 26. of the 26. Panzer Division. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Semovente M41M da 90/53 Specification
Size (L-W-H)
5.08 x 2.15 x 2.44 m
Weight, battle ready
15.7 tonnes
Crew
2 (driver, commander) + more on another vehicle
Engine
FIAT-SPA 15T Modello 1941 8-cylinder diesel engine, 145 hp
Semovente M40 75/18. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Kingdom of Italy (1941-1943)
Self-Propelled Howitzer – 61 Built (1 Prototype + 60 Production)
The Semovente M40 da 75/18 was the first Italian self-propelled howitzer, developed by the firm of Ansaldo on the chassis of the Italian Carro Armato M13/40 medium tank of the IIIª Serie.
It was initially developed as a support vehicle for the infantry assault units of the Italian Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army). Nonetheless, due to the obsolescence of the Italian medium tanks, such as the Carro Armato M13/40, from mid-1942 until the end of the North African Campaign, in May 1943, it was deployed by Italian armored units as a tank destroyer and medium tank. In this unorthodox role, it compared positively to the other Italian tracked vehicles.
One of the first Semovente M40 da 75/18 produced. Source: Nicola Pignato
The Italian Medium Tanks
When the Regno d’Italia (English: Kingdom of Italy) joined the Germans in the Second World War, on 10th June 1940, in terms of tanks, its army was poorly equipped with tanks. The most numerous portion of its armored force was made up of the CV3 series of light tanks and only a hundred of Carri Armati M11/39 medium tanks. Production of the Carri Armati M13/40 was only just winding up and did not start until the month after the Italian declaration of war.
The left side of the Carro Armato M11/39 at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant. Source: Ansaldo
The Carro Armato M11/39 was a tank developed to fight in the mountainous terrains of the northern Italian peninsula. It was armed with a Cannone Vickers-Terni da 37/40 (37 mm L/40) gun placed on the right side of the superstructure and a one-man turret armed with two medium machine guns on the left side of the tank.
The Carro Armato M13/40 was a good tank by the standards of the 1930s, but, already in 1941, it had old-fashioned features which would render it quickly obsolete. This new tank had the same chassis as the Carro Armato M11/39, with some modifications, such as a more powerful engine and a new transmission cover. Its superstructure was raised and two machine guns were mounted in a casemate on the right side of the superstructure. A new horseshoe-shaped two-man turret was placed on top, armed with a Cannone da 47/32 Modello 1935.
The Carro Armato M13/40 outside the Ansaldo-Fossati plant. Source: Ansaldo
The armor of the vehicle was light: 30 mm on the front of the hull, 42 mm on the front of the turret, and the sides were only 25 mm. As if that were not enough, the armor produced was of a poor quality, leaving it weaker than it should have been and with a tendency to spall.
There were faults with the guns too. The 37 mm and 47 mm guns had good anti-tank capabilities by 1930s standards, but, once more, by the 1940s, they were increasingly outdated and unable to keep pace with the growth and improvement in tank protection. On top of all of this, the optics were poor compared to contemporary British optics and their practical range was less than a kilometer.
History of the Project
The problems encountered with the Italian medium tanks in North Africa were only part of the motivations that led the Italian High Command to decide to adopt self-propelled howitzers.
The firm of Ansaldo claimed that, in the early stages of the Second World War, Italian war correspondents that followed the German Wehrmacht in France were impressed by the characteristics of the German Gepanzerten Selbstfahrlafette fur Sturmgeschütz 75 mm Kanone (English: Armored self-propelled gun carriage for assault gun 75 mm cannon) self-propelled assault guns, or more simply Sturmgeschütz III, based on the Panzerkampfwagen III chassis, the main German tank in that period.
Some Italian generals that had visited the European battlefields before the Italian declaration of war or that had been invited to witness German training had reported a positive impression of the German Sturmgeschütz III.
A Gepanzerten Selbstfahrlafette fur Sturmgeschütz 75 mm Kanone or, more simply, StuG III. Source: pinterest.com
Other sources claim that the development of a self-propelled howitzer on the chassis of the Carro Armato M13/40 equipped with a Obice da 75/18 was conceived by Colonel Sergio Berlese of the Servizio Tecnico di Artiglieria (English: Artillery Technical Service) in collaboration with the Servizio Tecnico Automobilistico (English: Automobile Technical Service).
Col. Berlese had visited a German factory in Kiel in 1940, where gun-armed half-tracks were assembled. According to the plans of Col. Berlese, the Kingdom of Italy would produce an armored and armed half-track. However, at that time, the Italian industry was not producing half-tracks of any kind.
Despite the lack of a suitable half-track, Col. Berlese did not quit and would continue to advocate for his idea, finally culminating in 1943 with a paper project called Autocannone da 90/53 su Autocarro Semicingolato Breda 61. In the absence of a suitable half-tracked platform and to put his idea into practice, a fully tracked chassis was needed instead. The choice fell on the best medium tank chassis in Italy at that time, the Carro Armato M13/40.
The first mention of the Semoventi was in January 1941, when the Regio Esercito’s High Command created three proposals for self-propelled guns and howitzers. One of these was the Pezzo Semovente da 75/18 (English: 75/18 Self-Propelled Artillery Piece) on the hull of the M13/40 medium tank. It would have armor of 40 to 50 mm on the front and 25 mm on the other sides.
Each reggimento d’artiglieria (English: artillery regiment) of each divisione corazzata (English: armored division) would have a group of these self-propelled howitzers.
An important note is that these vehicles were developed as long range self-propelled howitzers, similar to the US M7 Priest, the British Ordnance QF 25-pdr on a Valentine known as the ‘Bishop’, or the German Leichte Feldhaubitze 18/2 Auf Fahrgestell Panzer II Wespe. However, during their service history, the Italian vehicles were mainly used as short range support vehicles or as tank destroyers.
On 28th May 1941, General Mario Roatta, Chief of Staff of the Regio Esercito, wrote to the Ispettorato Superiore dei Servizi Tecnici (English: Higher Inspectorate of Technical Services) to develop new designs of such vehicles on tracked or half-tracked chassis to support the armored divisions.
At the same time, Gen. Roatta asked the Inspectorate to develop an adequate observation/command tank and an armored ammunition carrier that would follow the self-propelled howitzers.
On 3rd June 1941, the Ispettorato Superiore dei Servizi Tecnici replied to the General, assuring him that a self-propelled howitzer with the following characteristics was being studied:
Crew: 4
Main Gun: a Obice da 75/18 or a Cannone da 75/34
Ammunition: at least 50 rounds
Ground pressure: 0.60-0.65 kg/cm3
Power to weight ratio: at least 15 hp per tonne
Maximum velocity: about 60 km/h
Maximum height: 1.8 meters
The reply also mentioned that a trailer meant to be towed by the SPG on flat ground was also being designed, with a capacity for 50 to 70 rounds. It also mentioned that it was planned to move the powerpack to the front, mounting the main gun on a pedestal on the chassis’s rear.
The reply also specified that the Ispettorato dell’Arma dell’Artiglieria (English: Artillery Army Inspectorate) preferred the adoption of the Obice da 75/18 due to its specific support role (the Cannone da 75/34 was an anti-tank gun).
This solution was not adopted on the Semovente M40 da 75/18, but was later incorporated for the more powerful Semovente M41M da 90/53 tank destroyer with a Cannone da 90/53 Modello 1939 90 mm L.53 cannon.
The Ispettorato della Fanteria (English: Infantry Inspectorate), in a letter on 5th June 1941, wrote that they would avoid the production of a self-propelled howitzer on Carro Armato M13/40, because it was too expensive to produce. The Ispettorato della Fanteria suggested the production of a light self-propelled gun on the Carro Armato L6/40 chassis armed with a 47 mm gun for infantry support.
On 21st June 1941, the Chief of the Services Office of the General Staff of the Regio Esercito, General Aldo Rossi, wrote a document in which he listed the decisions made by the Army General Staff regarding the new self-propelled howitzers and guns.
The Regio Esercito awaited the new self-propelled gun armed with a Cannone da 75/34. They also wanted an observation tank and a command tank to accompany it. For the ammunition carriers, the army could rely on Carri Armati L3s or captured Renault UEs towing an ammunition trailer.
History of the Prototype
The project of the Semovente designed by Col. Berlese was developed at Ansaldo-Fossati. On 10th January 1941, Ansaldo produced a wooden model of the self-propelled howitzer. The Regio Esercito officials were clearly impressed with the design and promptly ordered 30 vehicles on 16th January 1941.
On 11th February 1941, the prototype, quickly assembled, was tested in Cornigliano, with great results. Production began shortly after, and the Regio Esercito increased the order of self-propelled howitzers on the Carro Armato M13/40 chassis, after a decrease to 15 vehicles had been requested for unknown reasons on 10th March 1941.
On 25th May 1941, the order was increased to 60 vehicles. On 5th December 1941, it was increased to 144 vehicles and, in the end, it was increased to 200 vehicles on 17th May 1942, when the M40 was no longer in production. In fact, after 60 vehicles were produced, Ansaldo changed the chassis of the medium tank from the M13/40 to the slightly more powerful Carro Armato M14/41.
1 Ansaldo claimed to have received the request of just 15 semoventi officially.
On an unknown data before May 1941, the Regio Esercito corrected the misunderstanding with Ansaldo and the original order for 30 vehicles was restored
The Semovente M40 da 75/18 prototype in green-gray livery. The production vehicles differed only by the presence of the radio apparatus and hyposcope, not yet installed on the prototype. Source: Semovente da 75/18
The prototype was then tested at Nettunia with members of the Servizio Tecnico Armi e Munizioni (English: Weapons and Munitions Technical Service), Ispettorato Superiore dei Servizi Tecnici, and Servizio Tecnico di Artiglieria in attendance. As General Umberto Farulli of the Servizio Tecnico di Artiglieria later wrote, the frontal armor on the prototype was not thick enough to withstand British 40 mm (2-pdr) armor piercing rounds.
For this reason, the vehicles in production were modified, slowing down the production rates. The frontal armor was substituted with new armor plates with higher percentages of nickel and chromium, which increased their strength.
The first vehicles were delivered to the Regio Esercito training schools in May 1941.
Production and Deliveries
In 1941, a total of 60 Semoventi M40 da 75/18 were produced. Many Italian companies participated in the production of the M40 da 75/18.
Companies that participated in the M13/40’s production
Name
Place
Production
Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino (FIAT)
Turin
Fuel injector pump
Società Piemontese Automobili (SPA)
Turin
Engines
Società Italiana Ernesto Breda per Costruzioni Meccaniche
Brescia
Machine guns
Magneti Marelli
Corbetta and Sestri Ponente
Engine starter, radio systems, and batteries
San Giorgio
Sestri Ponente
Optics devices
Società Italiana Acciaierie Cornigliano (SIAC)
Cornigliano
Armor plates
Alemanno
Turin
Pressure gauges and tools
Bosch
Air filters
SA ALIT
Turin
Oil Filters
FERCAT
Turin
Oil radiator
Pirelli & Company
Milan
Rubber parts of the return rollers and wheels
Ansaldo
Sestri Ponente
Guns and assembly
Duco
Milan
Paint
The acronym SIAC (Società Italiana Acciaierie di Cornigliano) is clearly visible on the idler of a Semovente M41 da 75/18. The big ‘S’ on the foreground stands for Sinistra (Left), denoting it was the left idler wheel support. Source: Museo della Melara via author
All the produced parts arrived at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in Sestri-Ponente, where they were assembled. Ansaldo produced the cannons, while Duco of Milan produced the paints with which the M40s were camouflaged in the Sestri Ponente plant.
Design
Armor
The armor of the Semovente M40 da 75/18 hull was the same as that of the Carro Armato M13/40. The two armored vehicles had 30 mm of armor on the transmission cover plate, which was rounded. The upper glacis plate was 25 mm thick and angled at 80°. The superstructure’s armor consisted of two 25 mm welded armored plates with a combined thickness of 50 mm angled at 5°. The angled plate that connected the upper glacis plate of the transmission cover and the front plate was 30 mm at 65°.
The sides were 25 mm for the hull and casemate, with the only difference that the casemate sides were angled at 8°. The rear of the casemate was protected by a 25 mm thick armored plate. The rear of the engine compartment was 27 mm thick and angled at 20°. The roof was composed of 15 mm armored plates, horizontal in the first section and then angled to 85°. On the sides of the roof, other 15 mm plates were angled at 65° on the right and 70° on the left side.
The engine compartment roof was composed of 10 mm armored plates angled at 74°. The inspection hatches of the engine compartment also had the same thickness. The brake inspection hatches were 25 mm thick, while the driver port on the front armored plate was 50 mm thick.
The armor was bolted to an internal frame, allowing for rapid construction of the vehicle, as well as easier replacement of damaged armor plates than on models with welded or cast armor. The price for this construction method was that it was not as light as a welded vehicle and that it generally made the armor less effective than it could have been.
In many cases, in order to increase protection, the crews added track links, rocks, and sandbags on the armor. Source: Carro M – Carri Medi M11/39, M13/40, M14/41, M15/42, Semoventi ed Altri Derivati
During a test done by British technicians of the School of Tank Technology at Chobham regarding the armor thickness and resistance on the Carro Armato M14/41 and Semovente M40 da 75/18, the most resistant armor plate was the rounded front plate that covered the transmission of the Semovente. It had a Brinel hardness of 270 BHN, while the M14/41 had 210 BHN on the turret frontal plate and 245 BHN on the rounded transmission cover plate. These Brinell results showed this Italian armor to be slightly ‘softer’ than US armor, which had a hardness of 280-320 BHN, and far softer than the 413-460 BHN encountered on Soviet steel.
The abbreviation BHN – Brinell Hardness Number (unit of measurement kg/mm²) is a figure used to determine the hardness of a material from a hardness test. The harder a steel is, then generally the better it will be at resisting shell impacts, but also more vulnerable to shattering.
Hull and Casemate
The hull was the same as that of the Carro Armato M13/40 IIIª Serie. At the front, the tank had a cast rounded transmission cover. The rounded plate had two hooks on the sides and a towing ring in the center. There were also two inspection hatches above the brakes to improve the flow of air around the transmission, especially to help cool the clutch on long drives. In combat, these hatches were meant to be closed. The two hatches could be opened or closed from the inside of the vehicle even while driving by means of a lever located on the right side of the chassis, operated by the gunner.
Front view of a Semovente M40 da 75/18, license plate Regio Esercito 4459, at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant. Source: Semovente da 75/18
On the frontal armored plate, there was a round hole for the main gun’ spherical support. On the left side, there was a slot for the driver, who also had a hyposcope placed above for use when the slot was closed. The hyposcope had a size of 19 x 36 and a vertical field of view of 30°, from +52° to +82°.
For night driving, there were two adjustable headlights on the sides of the superstructure.
On the roof, there were two big hatches, which opened backwards and permitted the crew to easily access or exit the vehicle and to load the ammunition.
There was a panoramic monocular periscope produced by San Giorgio placed on the left side of the hatch for the loader/radio operator on the roof. For the commander/gunner, there was a sight mounted on the right side of the gun. The roof had a small hatch that could be closed when the sight was not mounted.
Side view of a Semovente M40 da 75/18, license plate Regio Esercito 4459, at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant. Source: Semovente da 75/18
On the rear side of the superstructure, there were two pistol ports closed by revolving shutters from the inside and an air intake. The pistol ports were added after the negative experiences of Italian crew members during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War (1935-1936), where they could not defend themselves from Ethiopian warriors attacking the sides or rear. The air intake sucked air from the outside into the crew compartment and then into the engine compartment. This gave a sort of comfort to crews operating in North Africa, where, inside the tanks, the temperature could reach 60°C, but could create problems during winters in the Italian peninsula or Balkans.
Rear view of a Semovente M40 da 75/18, license plate Regio Esercito 4459, at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant. Source: Semovente da 75/18
On the mudguards, on each side behind the superstructure, were tool boxes and the mufflers behind. The engine deck had two large-size inspection hatches which could be opened at 45°. Between the two inspection hatches were the sapper tools, including a shovel, a pickaxe, and a crowbar.
The rear top of the vehicle had the horizontal radiator cooling grills and, in the center, the fuel cap. The rear had a towing ring in the center and two hooks on the sides, one spare wheel on the right, a jack on the left, a track removal system on the center, a license plate on the left side with a brake light.
For tooling, the crew could transport a shovel, a pickaxe, a crowbar, and a sledgehammer on the engine deck, between the two inspection hatches. A jack, a spare wheel, a track connecting tool, a tow rope, and a towing shackle were on the rear, plus two tool boxes on the sides, in front of the mufflers, used to store wrenches and small spare parts.
Suspension
The suspension of the Semovente M40 da 75/18 was of the laminated semi-elliptical leaf spring type. On each side, there were four bogies with eight doubled rubber-covered road wheels paired on two suspension units. This suspension type was obsolete and did not allow the vehicle to reach a high top speed. In addition, it was very vulnerable to enemy fire or mines.
The drive sprockets were at the front and the idlers, with modified track tension adjusters, were at the back, with three rubber return rollers on each side.
The tank had 26 cm wide tracks with 84 track links per side. The small surface area of the tracks (about 13,750 cm²) gave a ground pressure of about 0.95 kg/cm², increasing the risk that the vehicle would bog down in mud, snow, or sand.
Engine and Transmission
The Semovente M40 da 75/18 was powered by a V-shaped, 8-cylinder, liquid-cooled FIAT-SPA 8T diesel engine with a maximum power output of 125 hp at 1,800 rpm. It was mounted on the rear part of the vehicle, separated from the crew compartment by a bulkhead. The engine compartment had two large inspection hatches, through which it was easy to check and maintain the engine, something positively highlighted in British reports on the Italian tanks and self-propelled guns. The hatches had two butterfly screws on the lower side and were attached to pins on the upper side, opening upwards at 45° and blocked in an open position by a rod, like a car’s engine deck. Usually, in North Africa, during driving on asphalted roads where not much dust was raised, the crew kept the hatches open to ventilate the engine.
A scheme of the Semovente M40 da 75/18 showing the engine compartment, transmission shaft and gearbox. Source: pinterest.com
The associated 5-speed gearbox had 4 forward and one reverse gears. In addition, thanks to the built-in reducer, another 4 forward and a reverse gear were available. However, to switch between standard and reduced gears, the vehicle had to come to a stop. Unfortunately, the model of the transmission is not mentioned in any source, but it was a FIAT model, probably produced by Società Piemontese Automobili, its subsidiary. It was coupled with a FERCAT oil radiator and Modello 80 oil filters.
The engine was the same as the one on the Carro Armato M13/40, one of the tank’s major handicaps. It was not very powerful and also not very reliable. This engine was developed for vehicles weighing around 8 tonnes and had already created problems on the Carro Armato M11/39, a tank more than 2 tonnes lighter than the M13/40 and the M40 da 75/18.
In the first series of M13/40s, the lack of sand filters was a serious problem, resolved to some degree in the 3rd series (from which the M40 da 75/18 was derived) with the Bosch Fa 11 S1 anti-sand filters.
The engine of the Carro Armato M13/40 and Semovente M40 da 75/18: the FIAT-SPA 8T Diesel. Source: pinterest.com
The engine used three different types of oil, depending on the temperatures in which the vehicle operated. In Africa, where the outside temperature exceeded 30°, Ultra Denso (English: Ultra-Thick) oil was used. In Europe, where the temperature was between 10° and 30°, Denso (English: Thick) oil was used, while in winter, when the temperature fell below 10°, Semi Denso (English: Semi-Thick) oil was used.
Due to the poor Regio Esercito logistics, in some cases, the battalions had to use winter oil in North Africa, diminishing the effectiveness of oil lubrication.
In order to start the engine, there was a Magneti Marelli electric starter but also an inertial starter produced by Onagro. The lever for the inertia starter could be inserted outside the vehicle, on the rear, or from the inside of the fighting compartment. Two crew members had to turn the crank, reaching about 60 rotations per minute. At that point, the driver could turn the engine button on the dashboard until the first strokes of the engine.
In order to start running, the crew members needed to check the amount of coolant, engine oil, and transmission and gearbox oil. Then, they had to be sure that there were no leaks from the various tanks and that the brakes and suspension were working properly. The sag of the tracks had to be 2 to 3 cm between the upper rollers, so that, in case of mud or sand between the track and the wheels, the track would not break.
The driver, with the levers released, the transmission in neutral, the handbrake set, had to turn on the instrument panel, via his key, and the dynamo bulb would turn red. After having opened the fuel tap on the main tank and brought the fuel pump to full power (its controls were located on the rear bulkhead), it was necessary to press the button on the dashboard that allowed the heating of the glow plugs.
Once the glow plugs had become incandescent, it was necessary to press the button that controlled the engagement of the two starter motors. If everything was in order, the start would be immediate. When the engine reached 450 revolutions per minute and the oil pressure between 6 to 7.5 kg/cm², the vehicle could move.
The two large fans, powered by the engine, sucked air through the fighting compartment. This allowed for the ventilation of air for the crew but also the cooling of the braking system and transmission due to the air drawn through the opened brake inspection hatches.
In order to stop the tank, the engine was turned off by the driver pushing the button for the fuel injection pump (essentially stopping the flow of fuel to the engine), located on the bulkhead on the rear of the fighting compartment. The fuel injection pump was a FIAT 6.70 2D18.
Before getting out the tank, it was necessary for the crew to clean the exterior of the tracks and suspension from mud, snow, and debris, and the interior of the tank by opening, if necessary, the holes in the bottom of the hull. The crew also needed to open a small inspection hole on the sprocket wheels to lubricate them.
The fuel tank capacity was about 145 liters plus 35 liters of reserve, for a total of 180 liters in three tanks, two of about 60 liters each and the third of 35 liters. The range was 210 km on road or about 10 hours off-road. In North Africa, it was common for the crews to transport 20 liter cans everywhere there was space inside and outside the self-propelled gun in order to increase the range. A total of 6 or more 20 liters cans (180 liters) were commonly transported on the Semoventi M40 da 75/18.
The self-propelled gun could reach a maximum speed of 30 km/h on the road and about 15 km/h on rough terrain. With a turning radius of about 4.50 m, it could cross 2 m wide trenches, ford water 1 m deep, and climb steps 0.80 m high. The vehicle was also equipped with a hand brake that locked the sprockets.
The transmission of the Semovente M40 da 75/18 was as epicyclic, as was the clutch. It was mounted frontally, connected to the front sprocket wheels. It was removable, together with the brakes, after removing the armored plate that protected it.
The Carro Armato M13/40’s gearbox, the same as on the Semovente M40 da 75/18. Source: fondazioneansaldo.com
Main Armament
The main armament of the Semovente M40 da 75/18 was the Obice da 75/18 Modello 1934. It was a field howitzer developed after General Ettore Giuria created a call in 1929 for the replacement of outdated guns.
The Obice da 75/18 Modello 1934 on show for the Regio Esercito’s High Command. Source: italie1935-45.com
It had to be light to be quickly transported anywhere and had a caliber of 75 mm. This questionable decision was taken even if, during the First World War, the Regio Esercito had noted that a howitzer with a larger caliber was better to destroy enemy fortified positions. The reason why the Servizio Tecnico di Artiglieria chose the 75 mm caliber again was due to the presence of thousands of 75 mm rounds in the army depots and barracks.
The Obice da 75/18 Modello 1934 on the Semovente M40 da 75/18’s spherical support. Sources: fondazioneansaldo.com
In 1932, Ansaldo presented its project: the Obice da 75/17 with a single central trail, weighing 696 kg and capable of firing at a range of 9,300 m. It had 3° of traverse to either side and an elevation from -10° to +80°. The Obice da 75/18 Modello 1934 weighed 780 kg.
After lengthy trials, this design was abandoned in 1933 in favor of that of Lieutenant Colonel Berlese, at the time a member of the design bureau of the Direzione Superiore del Servizio Tecnico Armi e Munizioni (English: Higher Directorate of Weapons and Munitions Technical Service). This gun was accepted into service and was designated Obice da 75/18 Modello 1932.
The Obice da 75/18 Modello 1934 mounted on a Semovente, side and upper views. Sources: Semovente da 75/18Spherical support for the Obice da 75/18 Modello 1934, seen here after ballistic tests. Source: fondazioneansaldo.com
On the Semovente M40 da 75/18, the Obice da 75/18 Modello 1934 was mounted slightly on the right in order to give the driver more space. Its traverse was 20° to the left and 16° to the right. Elevation was from -12° to +22°.
It had modifications on the recoil mechanism to diminish the recoil inside the vehicle and the modified support came from the Cannone Schneider da 105/28 Modello 1916. The sight was a field one modified to be mounted inside the self-propelled gun and could be dismounted when not used.
The Semovente M40 da 75/18 sight and aiming reticule. Source: pinterest.com
Secondary Armament
The secondary armament consisted of a Fucile Mitragliatore Breda Modello 1930 (English: Breda Light Machine Gun Model 1930) that could be used on the anti aircraft support or with a bipod in order to defend the crew when operating outside the self-propelled gun.
The Fucile Mitragliatore Breda Modello 1930 with closed bipod. Source: italie1935-45.com
Even if, before the war, the Fascist propaganda considered it a well designed example of Italian technology, in reality, it proved to be a far from perfect weapon. It was chambered for the same 6.5 mm x 52 mm Mannlicher-Carcano cartridge used in Italian rifles. It was a light munition for a machine gun, but the Italian Army preferred this cartridge to ease its logistic lines.
Developed in 1929 from the Breda Modello 5GF light machine gun, it was adopted in 1930 after a series of modifications. It was fed by 20 round clips that were loaded in a swing chamber on the right side of the weapon.
After opening the swing chamber forward, the gunner had to load the clip with 20 rounds, remove the empty clip, close the swing chamber, reload the gun, and open fire. This was a time-consuming operation that decreased the rate of fire to 150 rounds per minute.
A Semovente M40 da 75/18 with a Fucile Mitragliatore Breda Modello 1930 mounted in the anti-aircraft position. Source: Archivio Centrale dello Stato
It proved an ineffective weapon for the infantry because of mechanical problems. In fact, it jammed often if not perfectly lubricated, a problem that was exacerbated in sandy North Africa.
As a secondary armament for a self-propelled gun, it proved even less effective. The short range and difficulty of reloading it made it even less effective with a further diminished rate of fire.
When not used, the Breda Modello 1930 was stored on the right side of the casemate, near a maintenance kit.
Ammunition
The Semovente M40 da 75/18 had two ammunition racks, for a total of 43 75 mm rounds in rows of 4 interspersed with rows of 3. The racks were opentable from the top, which slowed down the reloading operations.
Semovente M40 da 75/18 common ammunition
Name
Type
Weight (kg)
Muzzle Velocity (m/s)
Penetration (mm) at
100 m
500 m
1,000 m
Granata Dirompente Modello 1932
HE
6.35
450
//
//
//
Granata Perforante da 75 mm
APCBC
6.42
425
44
39
33
Granata Perforante Modello 1932
APCBC
6.26
476
50
44
38
Effetto Pronto
HEAT
4.50
//
100
100
100
Effetto Pronto Speciale
HEAT
5.20
400
120
120
120
Secondary ammunition also consisted of 600 machine gun rounds divided in 30 20-round clips. The clips were stored on the vehicle’s floor, near the gunner’s seat.
An abandoned Semovente M40 da 75/18 in the Egyptian desert. It was probably the British soldiers that had examined it who had positioned the rounds on the roof: high-explosive (left) and armor piercing (right). Source: pinterest.com
Interior
Starting from the front of the vehicle, there was the transmission connected to the braking system. On the left was the driver’s position, with the seat with a fold-down back for easy access. In front, it had the two steering tillers, an armored slot that could be closed with a lever, and a hyposcope for driving with the slot closed. On the left, he had the control panel from which the driver started the engine and, on the right, the gun breech.
The Semovente M40 da 75/18’s interior. On the left, the driver’s seat, in the middle, the gearbox and gun breech, and, on the right, the circular seat for the commander/gunner (behind the recoil rail). Source: fondazioneansaldo.com
Behind the driver, there was a box rack for the 75 mm gun ammunition. This also served as a seat for the loader. The loader had, on the left, the radio system and radio batteries and, above him, one of the two armored hatches. In case of an attack from the air, the loader would also have to use the anti-aircraft machine gun. On the right side of the fighting compartment was the gunner’s/commander’s seat without a backrest. In front of his seat, the gunner had the elevation and traverse handwheels. On his left was the gun breech.
Interestingly, the lever for opening the breech was placed on the upper side of the breech. This meant that, after firing, the gunner had to rotate his torso by about 90° (a very uncomfortable action in the narrow space) and open the breech. On his right was the support for the anti-aircraft gun (when not in use), a maintenance kit, and a fire extinguisher.
A blueprint of the interior space of the fighting compartment of the Semovente M40 da 75/18. On the right side was the Fucile Mitragliatore Breda Modello 1930, the two ammunition racks, the commander’s seat, and machine gun ammunition. On the left were the radio, the driver’s seat and dashboard, and the other ammunition rack. In the center was the transmission shaft. Source: warthunderforum.com
Behind the gunner/commander was the last ammunition rack. On the rear wall of the fighting compartment, there were four cumbersome filters for air, oil, and two for the fuel. The engine fan, an engine cooling water tank, the batteries for engine ignition were also there, and the transmission shaft ran through the entire fighting compartment, dividing it in half.
Radio Equipment
The radio equipment of the Semovente M40 da 75/18 was a Magneti Marelli Apparato Ricetrasmittente Radio Fonica 1 per Carro Armato or Apparato Ricevente RF1CA (English: Tank Audio Radio Receiver Apparatus 1). This was a radiotelephone and radiotelegraph station with power of 10 Watts in both voice and telegraphy with a size of 35 x 20 x 24.6 cm and a weight of about 18 kg. The decision to equip each Semovente with a radio apparatus was taken on 28th May 1941 by Gen. Mario Roatta.
Interior of an operational Semovente M41 da 75/18 exhibited at the Museo della Melara in La Spezia. On the right, the radio Apparato Ricevente RF1CA was the same as on the Semovente M40 da 75/18. Source: author
The operating frequency range was between 27 to 33.4 MHz. It was powered by an AL-1 Dynamotor supplying 9-10 Watts mounted on the hull’s right side. It had a range of 8 km in voice mode and 12 km in telegraphics mode. These two numbers reduced when tanks were on the move.
The radio had two ranges, Vicino (Eng: Near), with a maximum range of 5 km, and Lontano (Eng: Afar), with a maximum range of 12 km.
Crews were urged to use voice mode but with short messages and, if possible, in dialect. There are 20 regions in Italy, each with different dialects that in some cases vary significantly even within the same region. This was a great method because, even if enemy troops could listen to Italian communications, it was really difficult that one enemy soldier could understand all the different Italian dialects.
Crew
The crew was composed of three: the driver on the left, the commander/gunner on the right and, behind the driver, on the left, the loader/radio operator that also manned the anti-aircraft machine gun.
Due the small space inside the self-propelled gun, loading the gun was a laborious task. To make matters worse, the loader and the vehicle’s commander had to perform too many tasks. For example, the loader could not load the gun if using the radio, and to fire the anti-aircraft machine gun, he would have had to expose himself. Additional ammunition for the anti-aircraft machine gun would have to be passed to him by the gunner/commander, further slowing down the loading process and rendering it impossible for the vehicle to use the main gun at the same time.
Three crew members lined up in front of a Semovente M40 da 75/18. Source: pinterest.com
Organization and Deployment
On 24th May 1941, General Mario Roatta, the new Capo di Stato Maggiore (English: Chief of Staff) of the Regio Esercito, wrote a document in which he specified that the first 60 Semoventi M40 da 75/18 and 20 Carri Armati Comando M40 were enough to create the first 5 gruppi (English: groups).
He also explained that the Semoventi M40 da 75/18 had to be deployed in long-range support and not, as they were deployed in North Africa, for assault support, following the Italian infantry.
He also required that a new support vehicle had to be developed to follow the infantry in the assault. He suggested a fast vehicle based on a half-track or fully tracked chassis.
Each gruppo (English: group) was composed of 2 batteries with 4 Semoventi M40 da 75/18 and 2 Carri Armati Comando M40, for a total of 8 Semoventi 40 da 75/18 and 4 Carri Armati Comando M40, plus 2 more Semoventi M40 da 75/18 and 1 Carro Armato Comando M40 in reserve. Each gruppo consisted of a comando (English: Command), two batterie (English: batteries) with four Semoventi M40 da 75/18, and a reparto munizioni e viveri (English: Ammunition and Supplies Unit). Each battery was divided in two squadra (English: Squad) with 2 Semoventi M40 da 75/18 commanded by a Carro Armato Comando M40. The command section was composed of a staff car, 2 Carri Armati Comando M40, 2 SPA CL39 light lorries, 2 one-seat motorcycles, 3 two-seat motorcycles, and one motor tricycle.
For logistic and reconnaissance roles, each battery was equipped with a staff car, 7 SPA CL39 light lorries, 2 one-seat motorcycles, 2 two-seat motorcycles, one motor tricycle, and other 6 light trucks were deployed to transport various types of equipment and supplies.
The reparto munizioni e viveri (English: Supply and Ammunition Department) assigned to each group was equipped with 1 staff car, 20 light trucks, 1 one-seat motorcycle, 1 mobile workshop, and a water tanker truck.
Early type of Gruppo scheme. Source: Author’s own
From 2nd July to November 1942, the batteries were modified, adding 4 semoventi and bringing the total number of Semoventi M40 da 75/18 to 12. This came with the decrease of Carri Comando M40 to 4 in total, 2 for the command and 1 for each battery. The composition of these groups was 19 officers, 21 NCOs, 206 tank crew members and soldiers, 81 drivers and 20 tank drivers, 4 staff cars, 16 SPA CL39 light lorries, 31 light trucks (FIAT-SPA 38R or FIAT SPA AS37), 2 heavy trucks, 2 towing trucks, 1 mobile workshop, 2 prime movers, 7 one-seat motorcycles, 9 two-seat motorcycles, 3 motor tricycles, 3 medium machine guns, 4 radio stations, 2 trailers, 12 semoventi, and 4 command tanks.
From 1st October 1942, the groups were reorganized with 3 batteries with 6 Semoventi each, for a total of 18 semoventi and 9 command tanks. Only the DLIII Gruppo Semoventi M40 da 75/18 (English: 553rd M40 Self-Propelled Gun Group), the DLVII Gruppo Semoventi M40 da 75/18 (English: 557th M40 Self-Propelled Gun Group), and the DLIX Gruppo Semoventi M40 da 75/18 (English: 559th M40 Self-Propelled Gun Group) were created with the later organic formation of 3 batteries group.
Two army circulars summarize the deployment of the Semoventi M40 da 75/18 on the African front. One is Notizie Circa l’Impiego dei Carri e Autoblindo in A.S. [Africa Settentrionale] (English: News About the Use of Tanks and Armored Cars in North Africa) written by Colonel Mario Bizzi. The second is Nuovi Ordinamenti Organici per le Artiglierie delle Divisioni Corazzate in A.S. (English: New Organic Orders for the Artillery of Armored Divisions in North Africa) of 8th July 1942 from the Ordering Office of the General Staff of the Regio Esercito. These two texts stated that the Semoventi M40 da 75/18 had participated in action by flanking enemy tanks, where the enemy armor was lighter and this had surprised the British themselves. However, shortcomings were also listed, such as a limited range of the cannon, poor accuracy at long ranges, and a small field of fire. All this meant that the Semoventi M40 da 75/18 were used for tank support actions and not as self-propelled guns.
Operational Use
The first Semoventi M40 da 75/18 were allocated to IV Gruppo M40 da 75/18 and VI Gruppo M40 da 75/18 (English: 4th and 6th M40 Group), usually simply called IV and VI Gruppo by the sources. These 2 groups were assigned to the 133° Reggimento Artiglieria Corazzata ‘Littorio’ (English: 133rd Armored Artillery Regiment) of the 133a Divisione Corazzata ‘Littorio’ (English: 133th Armored Division).
The IV Gruppo, commanded by Major Pasqualini, and VI Gruppo, commanded by Captain Viglieri, were sent to the Nettunia training center, where the crews trained on the new vehicles and where Benito Mussolini inspected the Semoventi in September 1941. In early January 1942, the two groups were sent to North Africa, where they were then assigned to the 132° Reggimento Artiglieria Corazzata ‘Ariete’ (English: 132nd Armored Artillery Regiment) of the 132a Divisione Corazzata ‘Ariete’ (English: 132th Armored Division). The 2 groups reached the 132° Reggimento Artiglieria Corazzata ‘Ariete’ in El Agheila on 18th January 1942.
Semoventi M40 da 75/18 and Carri Armati Comando M40 of the IV Gruppo and VI Gruppo after their disembarking in Tripoli. They were about to reach the 132a Divisione Corazzata ‘Ariete’ in El Agheila. Source: Semovente da 75/18
After the victorious Axis offensives in North Africa in summer 1942, the Comando Supremo (English: Supreme Command) stated that the number of Semoventi M40 da 75/18 in the armored divisions was inadequate, and an increase of 60% was demanded, decreasing the number of now obsolete Carri Armati M14/41.
From August, the Ispettorato dell’Arma d’Artiglieria (English: Artillery Army Inspectorate) decided to create mixed battalions with M tanks and Semoventi M40 da 75/18.
In November 1942, the Second Battle of El Alamein was fought between the Axis and Commonwealth forces. The Italians deployed in that battle all the Semoventi M40 da 75/18 present in their batteries. The IV Gruppo and the VI Gruppo were now renamed DLI Gruppo and DLII Gruppo (English: 551st and 552nd Groups).
The new DLIII Gruppo (English: 553rd Group) was assigned to the 1a Divisione di Fanteria ‘Superga’ (English: 1st Infantry Division) but was lost at sea during transport. The DLIV and DLVI Gruppi (English: 554th and 556th Groups) in the 133a Divisione Corazzata ‘Littorio’ (English: 133rd Armored Division) were also lost during the Second Battle of El Alamein, apart from 2 reserve semoventi of the DLIV Gruppo that were sent to Yugoslavia before the departure of the group to the North African theater of operations.
An unknown number of Semoventi M40 and M41 da 75/18 of DLIV Gruppo and DLVI Gruppo fought admirably at the Second Battle of El Alamein. During the battle, they were all loaded with as many 75 mm rounds as possible stored everywhere in the fighting compartment. They fought near Quota 33 and Quota 34 (equivalent to US Hill), but only 2 Semoventi M40 da 75/18 survived.
Twelve Semoventi M40 da 75/18 of the DLI Gruppo and DLII Gruppo fought during the night between 4th and 5th November 1942 together with the entire 132a Divisione Corazzata ‘Ariete’, which had a total of 27 tanks. The Division had until then remained in the rear. It now covered the retreat of the entire Italian-German Army, not far from Bir El Abd, in an attempt to stem the Commonwealth armored brigades which were now on the attack. The ‘Ariete’s’ tanks claimed to have destroyed about 30 enemy tanks, including M4 Shermans, M3 Grants, and Crusaders.
The last radio message of the 132a Divisione Corazzata ‘Ariete’ was transmitted at 15:30 on November 5th by commander Francesco Arena:
“Carri nemici fatta irruzione sud Divisione Ariete. Con ciò Ariete accerchiata. Trovasi circa 5 chilometri nordovest Bir el Abd. Carri Ariete combattono”.
“Enemy tanks broke through south of the Ariete Division. Because of that Ariete is surrounded, located five kilometers north-west of Bir-el-Abd. Ariete tanks are still fighting”.
Some sources speak of 3 Semoventi M40 da 75/18 still in action on the Fuka Road on 6th November and of the last radio message claiming “3 self-propelled guns remain, we strike back”. However, most sources speak of the total destruction of the 132a Divisione Corazzata ‘Ariete’ in the night between 4th and 5th November. The 2 surviving self-propelled guns of DLVI Gruppo were lost during the defense of Ridotta Capuzzo fort on November 9th against Australian forces.
A map showing the position of the Italian units during the Second Battle of El Alamein. Source: AFV NEWS Volume 5 No. 6
The last Semoventi M40 da 75/18 unit was the DLVII Gruppo (English: 557th Group) that was formed with crew members of the 133a Divisione Corazzata ‘Littorio’. It arrived in Africa and was assigned to the 131a Divisione Corazzata ‘Centauro’ together with the DLVIII Gruppo (English: 558th Group) equipped with the more powerful Semoventi M41 da 75/18 on Carro Armato M14/41 chassis. These 2 groups were destroyed during the Tunisian campaign in April 1943.
After the end of the North African campaign, the Semovente M40 da 75/18 did not participate in any military operations.
Versions
Carro Armato Comando M40
The Carri Comando Per Semoventi M13/40 (English: Command Tanks for Self-Propelled Guns) or Carro Armato Comando M40 were Carri Armati M13/40 3a Serie without the turret. Instead of the turret ring, a 4-door hatch with an anti-aircraft support was mounted.
The two Breda medium machine guns in the hull were left for self-defense, while a Breda Modello 1930 light machine gun was stored inside for anti-aircraft duties. The crew consisted of four: driver, commander, machine gunner, and radio operator.
It was equipped with the Apparato Ricetrasmittente RF1CA and the Apparato Ricetrasmittente RF2CA from Magneti Marelli, mounted on the right side of the fighting compartment. Its stereoscopic rangefinder was placed inside the fighting compartment and mounted on the tank’s roof when used. The vehicle was produced exclusively to command the self-propelled gun units.
A Carri Comando Per Semoventi M13/40 at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in Sestri Ponente in December 1941. Source: fondazioneansaldo.comItalian tank crew members outside a Carro Comando M40, with the stereoscopic rangefinder mounted on its support on the vehicle’s roof. This vehicle belonged to the VI Gruppo of the 133ª Divisione Corazzata ‘Littorio’. Source: Pignato
Semovente M40 da 75/32
The Semovente M40 da 75/32 was an Italian prototype of self-propelled gun developed to equip the Italian units with a more powerful gun with better anti-tank characteristics than the shorter-barrel Obice da 75/18. The project was appreciated, but the Cannone a Lunga Gittata da 75/32 Modello 1937 (English: Long Range 75 mm L/32 Cannon Model 1937) was a field gun and did not have adequate characteristics to be installed on armored vehicles. It was substituted by the Cannone da 75/34 Modello S.F. (English: 75 mm L/34 Cannon Model Spherical) on the Semoventi M42M da 75/34, of which about 170 were produced.
The Semovente M40 da 75/32 an the Ansaldo-Fossati plant. Source: worldwarphoto.com
Differences Between Semoventi da 75/18 Models
The Semovente M40 da 75/18 was derived from the Carro Armato M13/40. The more powerful Semovente M41 da 75/18 model, derived from the Carro Armato M14/41, was externally identical to the previous model apart from new, longer mudguards that in the latter model, covered the entire length of the hull.
As the M14/41 medium tank, it had a FIAT-SPA 15T Modello 1941, 8-cylinder V-shaped, diesel engine, producing 145 hp at 1,900 rpm, increasing maximum speed to 33.3 km. The superstructure’s armor consisted of a single armored plate with a thickness of 50 mm instead of two 25 mm thick plates bolted together. The ammunition racks were the same as on the M40.
A Semovente M41 da 75/18 was abandoned by the Italian soldiers in North Africa. Source: pinterest.com
The original 6.5 mm Fucile Mitragliatore Breda Modello 1930 was replaced in the Semoventi M41 series by a more powerful 8 x 59 mm Mitragliatrice Media Breda Modello 1938 with a total of 864 rounds (36 magazines) in 2 wooden racks, one with 16 magazines on the left side and one with 20 on the right side, above the radio inverter.
On 8th May 1943, the Semovente M42 da 75/18, derived from the Carro Armato M15/42 hull, was delivered to units. A new base for the Italian self-propelled guns, it weighed 13.25 tonnes with improved protection of 35 mm of armor on the hull and sides and 20 mm on the rear.
The Semovente M42 da 75/18 was a little longer (5.06 m compared to the 4.92 m of the Semovente M40 and M41) because the new engine compartment needed to accommodate the new more powerful petrol engine, the modified FIAT-SPA 15TB (‘B’ stands for Benzina – Petrol) Modello 1942 with 190 hp and its accompanying fuel tanks with a increased capacity of 307 liters (including 40 liters of the reserve). It also had improved fire fighting equipment due to the increased flammability of the petrol fuel. It had a consumption of 1.5 l/km, the maximum road speed was 38.4 km/h and the range was decreased to 150 km.
The number of rounds carried was 44 in the usual 3 racks and 1,104 rounds (46 magazines) for the Mitragliatrice Media Breda Modello 1938 machine gun. The antenna support was modified and three 20 liter can supports were added on each side plus two on the rear side of the casemate. The new engine compartment had new cooling grilles on the inspection hatches and new rear plate and shields to protect the mufflers from impacts.
Semovente M42 da 75/18 ready to be delivered to the Regio Esercito. The new engine compartment is visible together with radio antenna support and 20 liter can supports. Source: worldwarphoto.com
Apart from a first production of 60 Semoventi M40 da 75/18, a total of 162 vehicles were produced on Semovente M41 da 75/18 until 1942 when the chassis was again changed. Before the Italian Armistice in September 1943, another 66 Semoventi M42 da 75/18 were built. This meant that a total of 288 semoventi da 75/18 were produced on the 3 chassis models.
Surviving Vehicles
Only 2 Semoventi M40 da 75/18 have survived to this day out of 60 built. One was recovered after the war from the El Alamein scrapyard, and, without repairs, was transported, probably by Italian volunteers, to the El Alamein War Memorial in December 1967, when the museum was officially created.
The Semovente M40 da 75/18 exhibited at the El Alamein War Memorial in Egypt, near a Cannone da 90/53 Modello 1939. Source: wikipedia.org
A second vehicle is exhibited at the Musée des Blindés of Samur, in France. This vehicle is in great condition, even if its camouflage seems to be totally wrong. In fact, the 3-tone camouflage was painted on vehicles after the loss of the North African campaign, while the Semoventi M40 da 75/18 were all lost after the El Alamein or in fighting occurred shortly after the battle.
The Semovente M40 da 75/18 exhibited at the Musée des Blindés, in France. Source: eltee1.tumblr.com
Conclusion
The Semovente M40 da 75/18 was the first Italian self-propelled gun of the Second World War, which led to the development of a whole range of Italian self-propelled guns until 1945.
Its series was one of the most produced Italian SPGs during the war. With its short-barreled howitzer, it could support the infantry and fire against enemy tanks thanks to shaped charge rounds.
Its thin armor, weak engine, and cramped interior affected its operational use. These problems decreased the efficiency of the semoventi, while their powerful main gun offered the Italian divisions adequate anti-tank firepower that the medium tanks had failed to deliver early in the war.
Luckily, the M40 da 75/18 was quickly replaced by the Semovente M41 da 75/18, which shared the majority of its parts with the previous model, but had a more powerful engine and new anti-aircraft machine gun.
Prototype of the Semovente M40 da 75/18. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.Semovente M40 75/18 of an unknown battery of the DLVI Gruppo M40 da 75/18133ª Divisione Corazzata ‘Littorio’. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.Semovente M40 75/18 of the 2ª Batteria of the IV Gruppo M40 da 75/18 of the 132° Reggimento Artiglieria Corazzata ‘Ariete’. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
La Meccanizzazione dell’Esercito Italiano fino al 1943 Volume I Parte I – Lucio Ceva and Andrea Curami – Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Ufficio Storico, 1994
La Meccanizzazione dell’Esercito Italiano fino al 1943 Volume I Parte II – Lucio Ceva and Andrea Curami – Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Ufficio Storico, 1994
Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano Volume II Tomo I – Nicola Pignato and Filippo Cappellano – Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Ufficio Storico, 2002
Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano Volume III Tomo I – Nicola Pignato and Filippo Cappellano – Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Ufficio Storico, 2002
Semovente da 75/18, Tecnica del Primo Semovente Italiano – Nicola Pignato – Storia Militare – Parma 2010
Italian Medium Tanks 1939-45; New Vanguard Book 195 – Filippo Cappellani and Pier Paolo Battistelli – Osprey Publishing, 20th December 2012
Carro M – Carri Medi M11/39, M13/40, M14/41, M15/42, Semoventi ed Altri Derivati Volume Primo and Secondo – Antonio Tallillo, Andrea Tallillo and Daniele Guglielmi – Gruppo Modellistico Trentino di Studio e Ricerca Storica, 2012
AB42 Comando. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Kingdom of Italy (1942-1943)
Command Armored Car – 1 or 2 Prototypes Built
The Autoblindo AB42 Comando (English: AB42 Command Armored Car) was an Italian fast mobile command and observation vehicle developed by the Italian Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army) using a pre-series model of an AB40 present in one of its depots in Rome.
The Regio Esercito‘s High Command accepted it into service in late 1942 and planned to order a first batch of 50 vehicles. Unfortunately, according to official sources, it seems that the order probably never arrived at Ansaldo, which was manufacturing the AB series armored cars, and production never started. After the Italian Armistice of 8th September 1943, the project was abandoned.
The Autoblindo AB42 Comando at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione in Rome during testing. Source: Gli Autoveicoli dell’Esercito Italiano fino al 1943
The AB40
The AB, short for AutoBlindo (English: Armored Car), series of medium reconnaissance armored cars were the Italian industry’s most produced armored car series during the Second World War.
The first vehicle type of the series, the Autoblindo Modello 1940 (English: Model 1940 Armored Car), or simply AB40, was developed as a successor to the Lancia 1ZM, a First Word War era Italian armored car.
The Italian Army made a request for a new armored car with similar characteristics to the previous Lancia. At the same time, the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana or PAI (English: Police of Italian Africa), the police corps that guaranteed security in the Italian colonies in Africa, also ordered a similar vehicle to patrol the colonies.
The Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, or FIAT (English: Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), and Ansaldo of Genoa started a joint development to meet these requirements. In order to speed up production and save money, they produced a single vehicle type that could satisfy the two requests, and in 1938, the first prototype was ready.
The AB40 maintained the same armament distribution as the Lancia 1ZM, two medium machine guns in the turret and a third one on the rear. All the machine guns were 8 mm Breda Modello 1938. Apart from that, it had a totally new shape and two driving seats, one at the front and one at the back.
With the experience gained by the Italians during the Spanish Civil War, in which the Republican forces were equipped with the 45 mm armed BA-6 heavy armored cars and T-26 and BT-5 light tanks, the Italian High Command understood that two machine guns were not enough to deal with enemy vehicles.
Because of this, only 24 AB40s were produced in 1941, before being improved with a new turret armed with a Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 20 mm automatic cannon. This version was renamed Autoblindo Modello 1941. This new version also received a more powerful engine that delivered 88 hp instead of the previous 78 hp (although some models received the new armament but the old engine).
History of the Prototype
The Autoblindo AB40 with license plate Regio Esercito 116B was produced in mid-1940 as the final pre-series vehicle for the Regio Esercito. Unlike the production vehicles, it had a German Notek headlight on the front, an anti-aircraft support for a Breda Modello 1938 machine gun on the roof, and lacked a radio antenna.
The AB40 116B seems to have been used as a training and exhibition vehicle in Rome for some years, until 1942. In mid-1942, the armored car was modified into a command vehicle by the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione (English: Centre for Motorisation Studies) in Rome.
It is unclear if this vehicle was meant to be used by Italian units as a company, battalion, or regimental command vehicle. The radio equipment on board was the same as on the command tanks deployed in armored regiments and companies. Theoretically, in units with these command tanks, there were 24 for each regiment and 3 for each company. Infantry and mechanized divisions relied on radio-trucks, sometimes towing a mobile command post. It is probable that the Italian Regio Esercito intended to substitute some command tanks in armored regiments and equip its armored car regiments with this agile wheeled command command cars.
The modified AB40 116B was tested and accepted into service on 18th November 1942. The prototype was then sent to the Ansaldo plant of Sestri Ponente, where the Regio Esercito hoped a series of vehicles would be built.
The pre-series AB40 with license plate Regio Esercito 116B at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione of Rome, where it was evaluated. At the time, the license plates were not painted on the front of the Regio Esercito‘s vehicles. Source: Gli Autoveicoli dell’Esercito Italiano fino al 1943
The Regio Esercito High Command had ordered a first batch of 50 vehicles, but, based on official documents, it seems that the order was never received by Ansaldo or SPA, which never started the production of the vehicles.
Design
Modifications
The AB40 with license plate Regio Esercito 116B received a number of modifications. The most visible was the removal of the turret and the superstructure’s roof, which was substituted with a new higher roof that permitted the soldiers transported to stand inside the vehicle. The new roof was probably made of 8.5 mm thick armor plates, the same as the superstructure.
The AB40 Regio Esercito 116B at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione in Rome. The license plate, the upper hatch, and the rear bolted plates are visible. Source: italie1935-45.com
To access the vehicle, the crew could rely on the usual rear doors. In order to observe the battlefield, they could use a 4-part hatch placed on the new roof. Two of the four doors were equipped with thick glass in order to allow light to get into the crew compartment and also to provide some limited protection and vision when opened to the front and rear, even if this decreased protection. The photos of the prototype at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant of Sestri Ponente, near Genoa, show that the glass was substituted with standard armored hatches at some point before 29th January 1943, the day on which the photos were taken. Because of this, it is unclear which type of hatch the production vehicles would have been equipped with.
The rear driving position and machine gun position were removed to gain more space inside the vehicle. Another reason was that the vehicle was intended to operate far from the battlefield and it was not necessary to equip it with a rear driver, used mainly to retreat quickly, nor with armament.
The rear slot for the driver was covered by a rectangular armored plate bolted on the rear. The removed spherical support for the rear machine gun was substituted with a rounded armored plate, also bolted on the rear. The peculiarity of this armored plate is that it was equipped with a pistol port closed by a revolving shutter from the inside, identical to the ones mounted on the upper parts of the side doors. This would permit the crew to defend from enemy infantry attacks.
The interior was almost totally modified. The driver’s position was the only unmodified part of the armored car. The frontal vision slit, the episcope used when the slit was closed, the steering wheel, and the dashboard were placed in front of the driver’s position.
On the right of the driver’s position was the gearbox lever, and on the left, to the top, was a crank that facilitated the raising or lowering of the radio antenna. This is probably because the chassis from which the AB42 Comando prototype was built was not equipped with a radio antenna and it was not added during modification, but it is logical to assume that the productions vehicles would have the same radio antenna as the AB40, AB41, and AB43 production vehicles.
Image of the driving compartment of the AB42 Comando at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant. In front, the vision slot and episcope, on the right, the RF3M radio apparatus, on the sides, the storage spaces in which the radio apparatus was positioned and the folding seats. Strangely enough, it was equipped with the crank to lower and raise the antenna on the episcope’s left, even if the AB40 RE 116B was not equipped with a radio antenna. Source: fondazioneansaldo.com
The ammunition racks on the sides of the superstructure were substituted with wooden storage boxes with two doors, in which the radio apparatus was mounted.
Four foldable padded seats were placed on the floor of the vehicle for increased comfort for the radio operators and officers. In the center of the crew compartment, there was a small step on which the observer stood to watch from the hatch on the roof.
A top view of the center-rear of the crew compartment. The folding seats are visible, together with the side storage space. Source: fondazioneansaldo.com
At the rear was a foldable table where the officers could position maps and binoculars. It was placed in front of the engine’s 10 liter water cooling tank and the 20 liter reserve tank. The table, when folded, did not interfere with refueling operations.
On the left side, there was a small electric engine with its dashboard. This was probably added to increase the power of the electrical system of the armored car due to the increased power necessary to operate the radio apparatus and probably to permit the radio operators to use the radio even when the vehicle’s engine was turned off.
On the right side was the pistol port, and above it, supports for the crew’s personal weapons that could be used through the pistol ports of the armored car. On the floor, near the left door, there was a jack mounted on its support.
The rear side of the AB42 Comando. The table is folded, with the electric engine on its right, the jack on the left, and the tanks behind it. Above the table is the pistol port, on the left, and the slot on the right. Above the pistol port are two cloth cases for MAB 38 submachine guns. Source: fondazioneansaldo.com
Crew
The crew was made up of 5 people: the driver at the front, two officers or NCOs to check the battlefield, and two radio operators.
The crew’s personal weapons were used to defend the vehicle and were transported on the right side of the rear, near the door. The guns transported on the prototype were 2 Moschetti Automatici Beretta Modello 1938 or MAB 38 (English: Beretta Automatic Carbine Model 1938), but it is probable that there would have been the possibility to add a third gun or that these were substituted by Carcano Modello 1891 rifles, which were standard for Italian soldiers.
Hull and Armor
The armor on the entire hull and superstructure consisted of bolted plates. This arrangement did not offer the same efficiency as a mechanically welded plate, but facilitated the replacement of armor elements for repairs.
The armored plates of the prototype were left unchanged. The hull had 8.5 mm thick armored plates on the front, sides, and rear. The wheel fenders were also armored to prevent enemy fire from piercing the tires.
In general, for the tasks the armored car had to perform, the armor was more than adequate, protecting the crew from enemy infantry light weapons.
Internal structure on which the plates were bolted on the original AB40 and AB41’s chassis. Source: pinterest.com @Lucky01
The hull of the armored car had an internal structure on which the plates were bolted. At the rear of the superstructure, there were the two armored access doors, divided into two parts that could be opened separately. The upper part had a pistol port closed by a revolving shutter from the inside, so that the crew could use their personal weapons for close-quarters defense. On the left was the antenna, which rested on a support at the back of the superstructure. In fact, to open the upper part of the left door, it was necessary to raise the antenna a few degrees.
The AB42 Comando at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in Sestri Ponente. Source: La Meccanizzazione dell’Esercito fino al 1943
On the right, the horn was placed at the front, a pickaxe was placed on the right side, and the exhaust pipe was placed on the rear mudguard. The two spare wheels were placed in two fairings on the sides of the superstructure. Above the engine compartment, there were two air intakes and two hatches for engine maintenance. On the back were the cooling grille and the two rear lights with the license plate.
Radio Equipment
Not much is known about the radio equipment. It seems that, on the left side, just behind the driver’s position, there was a Apparato Ricetrasmittente Radio Fonica 3M (English: Audio Radio Receiver Apparatus 3M), produced by Magneti Marelli, which was installed on all vehicles of the AB series from March 1941 onwards.
The RF3M consisted of a transmitter placed on a shelf and the receiver placed on another shelf. Underneath them, on the floor, the power supplies and accumulator were placed on the sides of the driver’s seat. The transmitter was in a 35 x 25 x 25 cm box weighing 14.2 kg, whilst the receiver was in a 35 x 22 x 19.5 cm box weighing 8.4 kg. The radio was a radiotelephone and radiotelegraph station with power of 35 watts in telegraphy mode. Operating frequency range was between 1.690 and 2.790 kHz.
The transmitter and receiver parts of the Magneti Marelli RF3M radio equipment. Source: ha5kdr.hu
The mounted antenna (on AB series production vehicles) could be lowered to 90°. When ‘hoisted’ up, it was 3 m tall, but could reach 7 m fully extended. At its top height, it had a maximum range of 60 km and 25 to 35 km when just 3 m high. The RF3M would probably have been used for communication between the command vehicle and the battalions it would command.
Even less is known about the radio equipment stored inside the wooden storage space. Due to the dimensions of the wooden storage boxes, it seems that two other radio devices were mounted.
One was probably the Apparato Ricetrasmittente Radio Fonica 1 per Carro Armato or Apparato Ricevente RF1CA (English: Tank Audio Radio Receiver Apparatus 1). It was a 35 x 20 x 24.6 cm box weighing about 18 kg containing a radiotelephone and radiotelegraph station with 10 watts of power in both voice and telegraphy.
Operating frequency range was between 27 to 33.4 MHz. It was powered by an AL-1 Dynamotor supplying 9-10 Watts, mounted on the hull’s right side. It had a range of 8 km in voice mode and 12 km in telegraphics mode.
The radio had two ranges, Vicino (Eng: Near), with a maximum range of 5 km, and Lontano (Eng: Afar), with a maximum range of 12 km. In early 1940, it was mainly dedicated to internal communications for the company commanders in the tanks on which it was mounted.
The Magneti Marrelli RF1CA. angetmi.it
The other radio apparatus could have been the Apparato Ricetrasmittente RF2CA operated in graphic and voice mode. Its production began in 1940 and had a maximum communication range of 28-30 km that was lowered to 7-8 km when on the move. Its operating frequency range was between 4.285 – 5.300 MHz and with a maximum power of 10 Watts. It was used on the tanks for communication among tank company commanders and with the regiment or division command, in some cases also with the army commanders. Thanks to this, the radio operator could send the radio messages from individual tank commanders to more senior command units.
The Magneti Marelli T4, the field version of the RF2CA, with which it shared many components. Source: qrz.com
Engine and Suspension
The engine in the AB40 was a 78 hp FIAT-SPA ABM 1 6-cylinder water-cooled inline petrol engine. It was cooled by a water circuit driven by a centrifugal pump. The engine cooling water tank was placed under the rear driver’s hatch, on the left of the fuel reserve tank. The engine was coupled with a Zenith type 42 TTVP carburetor housed in the back of the engine compartment.
The engine could be started manually using a crank or electrically with an ignition key. The single dry plate clutch transmitted the movement of the drive shaft to a gearbox. The differential, from which the four drive shafts departed, was in the center of the vehicle and connected to the propeller shaft on the rear.
The engine compartment was well cooled with grilles on the engine deck, right behind the rear armored plate of the superstructure, grilles on the maintenance hatches, and inclined grilles on the rear for the radiator’s water cooling. It should also be considered that the lack of a bulkhead allowed for easier cooling.
The engines were designed by FIAT and produced by its subsidiary, Società Piemontese Automobili or SPA (English: Piedmontese Automobiles Company), in Turin.
There were two fuel tanks with a total capacity of 138 liters. The main one, with 118 liters, was in the double bottom of the floor, while the 20 liter reserve tank was placed on the rear armored plate, in the rear of the crew compartment. The oil bath air filters were of satisfactory quality, giving great results even in desert environments.
The AB41’s fuel system scheme. Source: Autoblindo AB41 & AB43
The electrical system was composed of a Magneti Marelli 3 MF15 battery with 4 accumulators and was used to power the 4 external headlights, radios, and the horn placed on the front right mudguard.
The AB42 Comando had four-wheel drive and four steering wheels with independent shock absorbers on each wheel which, coupled with the large diameter tires, gave excellent off-road mobility to the armored cars.
Two Prototypes? The Centro Studi della Motorizzazione and Ansaldo Vehicles
One thing that is immediately noticeable by seeing the images of the AB42 Comando prototype are the difference between when it was at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione, when the vehicle was tested in Rome, and when it was at the Ansaldo-Fossati Plant of Sestri Ponente. This opens the possibility that more than one vehicle was built.
The Autoblindo AB42 Comando at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione in Rome (top), and at the Ansaldo-Fossati Plant of Sestri Ponente (bottom). The hatches are different. Sources: Archivio Ansaldo and italie1935-45.com with author collage
In the photographs taken at the Ansaldo plant, the Autoblindo AB42 Comando had all the hatches at the top of the vehicle made from solid metal. Although the Notek headlight support is visible in the Ansaldo plant photos, the actual headlight is not present.
The absence of the frontal 57 liter fuel tank increases the hypothesis that a second prototype was produced. This secondary 57 liter fuel tank in front of the steering wheel was present on AB40s and early AB41s. This fuel tank increased the range, but it was very vulnerable to enemy fire. For this reason, during production of the AB41, it was removed.
Although it can be missed at a quick glance, the Regio Esercito 116B license plate painted on the frontal lower armored plate seen in the photographs at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione is not present in photos at Ansaldo. The reason for this may just be that the vehicle was repainted at Ansaldo. The vehicle photographed at Ansaldo also had the same radio antenna as the other AB series vehicles.
Lastly, and perhaps the most compelling case to suggest more than one vehicle was built was the presence of the rear driver’s slot. It seems illogical that Ansaldo’s workers, after receiving the prototype from Rome, would have unbolted the rectangular armored plate bolted in Rome and reintroduced the driver’s slot and its lever to raise it.
The AB42 Comando at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in Sestri Ponente. It had new armored hatches. The upper superstructure seems to be slightly modified from the AB40 prototype. The radio antenna is visible. Source: Archivio Ansaldo
The official sources do not mention the production of a second prototype or the fate of the first one, and overall, are really unclear about the order for production of the first batch. In fact, some secondary sources claim that the order was never received by Ansaldo, and other claim that it was received but the production never started due to the Italian Armistice.
The vehicle photographed at the Ansaldo plant could be a prototype built by Ansaldo after the supposed arrival of the Regio Esercito’s order to produce the first batch.
The Question of the Name
In official sources, the command armored car is named Autoblinda AB42 Comando, even if the prototype was created by modifying an AB40.
The Autoblinda AB42 was a prototype produced in the same period as the AB42 Comando. The armored superstructure and turret were totally redesigned and did not look like the AB41’s shape. The frame was the same but with some changes. The AB42 no longer had the all-steering wheels nor the rear driving position.
The Autoblindo AB42 at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant. Source: Gli Autoveicoli dell’Esercito Italiano fino al 1943
The AB42 prototype was made especially to fight in North Africa, where the four-wheel steering and rear driving position were rarely employed by AB41 crews during reconnaissance missions. The designers intended the rear driver position to allow for an easy retreat in narrow streets in case of an emergency. This was not the most useful in deserts environments.
The Autoblinda AB42 was not adopted in service but its chassis was used for the creation of the Camionetta SPA-Viberti AS42 ‘Sahariana’ (English: SPA-Viberti AS42 Reconnaissance Car) and on the Semovente da 47/32 su Scafo AB41, another prototype of the AB armored car series.
The Semovente da 47/32 su Scafo AB41 prototype outside the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in Sestri Ponente, 3rd December 1942. Due to the absence of the rear driving position and all wheel steering, it is also called Semovente da 47/32 su Scafo AB42. Source: Archivio Ansaldo
The AB42 Comando prototype did not have the rear driving position. It can be supposed that the all wheel steering system was not as necessary on a command vehicle that did not need to retreat quickly in the same way as a reconnaissance armored car and thus it was removed.
The AB41’s chassis. Source: Ansaldo
The AB command vehicles would have likely eventually been produced on the AB42 chassis.
The Autoblinda AB40 prototype with the license plate Regio Esercito 116B was powered with the FIAT-SPA ABM 1 engine, but at the time when the vehicle was converted into a command armored car, this engine was substituted with the FIAT-SPA ABM 2 and then with the FIAT-SPA ABM 3 on the regular armored cars. The latter version delivered a maximum power of 108 hp at 2,800 rpm. If the command armored car had been produced, it would certainly have had this powerful engine that would have increased the top speed of this lighter vehicle compared to a fully equipped AB41 and AB42 armored cars.
Conclusion
The Autoblinda AB42 Comando could have been a useful vehicle if produced. Its speed, off-road capabilities, and range could make it a reliable vehicle for the armored units of the Italian divisions. The command armored car could follow tank or armored car units and organize the division’s attacks.
Unfortunately, it was developed too late, when the Axis forces were defeated in North Africa, where the need for a vehicle with similar characteristics was most pressing. The photographs at Ansaldo were taken in late January 1943, 4 months before the fall of the North African front, so, even if it had entered service, the Autoblinda AB42 Comando would have been used in other theaters of the war, where it could still have been effective, but there was less need for it and more pressing requirements for other AFVs.
AB42 Comando. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Autoblinda AB42 Comando Specification
Size (L-W-H)
5.20 x 1.93 x 1.92 m
Weight, battle ready
//
Crew
5 (driver, 4 officers)
Engine
FIAT-SPA ABM1 6-cylinder petrol, 78 hp with 138 liters tank
Road Speed
~80 km/h
Off-Road Speed
~50 km/h
Range
400 km
Armament
//
Armor
8.5 mm all sides
Production
1 or 2 prototypes built
Sources
La Meccanizzazione dell’Esercito fino al 1943, Tomo II, Volume II – Lucio Ceva and Andrea Curami – Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito – 1994
Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano, Volume II, Tomo I – Nicola Pignato and Filippo Cappellano – Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito – 2002
Italian Armored Cars Autoblindo AB41 & AB43, Pz.Sp.Wg AB41 201(i) & AB43 203(i) – Daniele Guglielmi – Armor PhotoGallery #8, Model Centrum PROGRES – 2004
Carro Armato M13/40 of IIa Serie. It was the 2nd tank of the I Squadrone Carri M of the Gruppo Corazzato 'Leoncello' in early 1945. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Repubblica Sociale Italiana (1943-1945)
Medium Tank – 710 Built, Less Than 25 In RSI Service
A Carro Armato M13/40 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ during training in Piedmont in Summer 1944. Source: I Carristi di Mussolini
The Carro Armato M13/40 was the most widely produced Italian tank during the Second World War, with a total of 710 examples produced between early 1940 and mid 1941. It was used mainly by the Italian Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army) in the North African campaign.
After the Italian Armistice of 8th September 1943, some Carri Armati M13/40s remained on the Italian mainland for training or other tasks and were taken over by soldiers of the German Wehrmacht and by Fascist soldiers still loyal to Mussolini. In their hands, these tanks would be deployed against both partisans and the advancing Allied forces.
It is known that at least 11 were used by Repubblica Sociale Italiana or RSI (English: Italian Social Republic) units, along with 14 more medium tanks. Unfortunately, for the other 14 tanks, the sources do not specify which precise model they are, referring to them as ‘Carri M’ (English: Medium Tanks). Based on the Second World War era documents, it is only possible to confirm that they were Carri Armati M13/40s or Carri Armati M14/41s.
Colorization by Johannes Dorn
Italian Peninsula after the Armistice
After the end of the North African Campaign, Fascism began to lose support among the Italian population, exhausted by the Allied bombings, in crisis due to the embargoes and with most of the men deployed in war. Citizens no longer believed in Benito Mussolini’s promises.
On 10th July 1943, the Allied troops began the invasion of Italy with landings in Sicily. With these landings, even more support was lost by the Fascists, who had failed to organize a defense to protect their own country.
Thanks to the critical situation, the King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III, along with some Fascist politicians who had lost confidence in Mussolini and his ideology, carried out a coup on 25th June 1943, 15 days after the allies landed in Sicily. Mussolini was arrested and transferred to many places to maintain his position secret from the Italians still loyal to him and from the German secret services.
The same day of Mussolini’s arrest, the King created a new monarchic government with General Marshal Pietro Badoglio as Prime Minister. Almost immediately, Badoglio’s government tried to arrange an armistice with the Allied forces. This Armistice was signed on 3rd September 1943 and made public only at 1942 hrs. on 8th September 1943.
Between 9th and 23rd September, the Germans occupied all the territories under Italian control, capturing over a million of Italian soldiers and killing about 20,000. Thousands of tonnes of military equipment were captured, including 977 Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFVs).
However, some of the Italian soldiers, still loyal to Mussolini, immediately surrendered to the Germans without fighting or joined them against the Yugoslavian partisans in the Balkans and against the Allied troops in the Southern part of the peninsula. In fact, on 3rd September 1943, the Allied troops had disembarked on the Italian Peninsula.
Repubblica Sociale Italiana
On 12th September 1943, Mussolini was freed from his last prison. He had been jailed in a hotel on the Gran Sasso, a 2,912 m high mountain about 120 km from Rome. Thanks to a unit of German Fallschirmjäger (English: Paratroopers) that landed with two Fieseler Fi 156 ‘Storch’ liaison planes, he was freed and left the mountain to go to Munich, Germany.
On 14th September 1943, he met Adolf Hitler in Rastenburg where, for 2 days, they spoke about the future of the northern part of Italy, which was still under German control.
On 17th September 1943, Mussolini spoke for the first time on Radio Munich, saying to the Italian population that he was alive and that a new Fascist government would be created in the part of the Italian peninsula not yet occupied by the Allied forces.
On 23rd September 1943, Mussolini returned to Italy and the Repubblica Sociale Italiana was officially created. In Salò, a small city near Brescia, Lombardia region, many offices and headquarters of the new republic were created. For this reason, in Italy, the Repubblica Sociale Italiana is also known as Repubblica di Salò (English: Salò Republic).
The Repubblica Sociale Italiana’s territories on 25th September 1943. By 25th April 1945, its territory was severely diminished as the Allied forces advanced from the south. Source: wikipedia.org
The New Armies
The new Repubblica Sociale Italiana’s army was the new Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano or ENR (English: National Republican Army). This was composed, during its 20 months of existence, of a total of 300,000 soldiers. Mussolini and Hitler had planned to form 25 divisions of which 5 armored divisions and 10 motorized divisions.
During the 20 years of Fascist government in Italy, all the paramilitary and police corps in Italy were substituted with militias: harbor militia, railway militia, etcetera.
After the Armistice, all these militias were united and renamed Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana or GNR (English: National Republican Guard). It was composed of over 140,000 militiamen and soldiers that mostly fought partisan units or as Police duty units in the main cities.
A Bianchi Miles medium truck of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani, probably in Turin. It had two Fucili Mitragliatori Breda Modello 1930 on the cabin’s roof and a L3 light tank trailer. Source: Italia 43-45, I Blindati di Circostanza della Guerra Civile
The two armies were supported by the Squadre d’Azione delle Camicie Nere (English: Auxiliary Corps of the Action Squads of the Black Shirts).
The Auxiliary Corps of the Action Squads of the Black Shirts were simply known as the ‘Brigate Nere’ (English: Black Brigades). They were under the control of the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana and were born from the necessity for small units to be located in the small cities of Italy as garrisons to stop partisan formations.
The reason for the constitution of the Black Brigades is to be found mainly in the attempt to preserve the life and property of the republican fascists and to constitute auxiliary units, well rooted in the territory where they operated (most of the members were born and lived in the cities where they operated) and to be used in the fight against the partisans.
During their existence, the Black Brigades were also used to help bigger units in anti-partisan operations, to maintain public order in the cities and to prevent partisan sabotage against sensible targets in the cities.
Design
The Carro Armato M13/40, which, after 14th August 1942, was renamed in official designations into M40, was the first Italian medium tank equipped with the main armament in a rotating turret during the war. It was developed from the Carro Armato M11/39, with which shared many parts of the chassis and the suspension.
The Carro Armato M11/39 was developed in the 1930s with the task of fighting in the Italian mountains. In fact, the Italian High Command in the 1920s and 1930s thought that, in case a second Great War broke out, it would fight like during the first one, in the mountains of northern Italy.
For these reasons, the Carro Armato M11/39 had the 37 mm main armament on the right hand of the frontal hull armored plate and the secondary armament in a rotating one-man turret.
The new Carro Armato M13/40 reversed the gun positions, with a new 47 mm main gun coupled with a coaxial machine gun in the turret, with a depression of -15°, and an elevation of +25° and 2 coupled machine guns in a spherical support on the right side of the casemate.
The armor was 30 mm thick on the front of the casemate, 25 mm on sides and rear and 14 mm roof and floor. The horse-shoe-shaped turret had 40 mm thick armored plates on the gun mantlet and 25 mm on side and rear.
The crew was composed of 4 soldiers. The driver was on the left side of the hull, the machine gunner/radio operator on the right, the loader on the left side of the turret, and the commander/gunner on the right side.
Operational use
Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano
The new RSI High Command, composed of the new War Minister, Marshal of Italy Rodolfo Graziani, and Chief of General Staff General Gastone Gambara, already Regio Esercito’s generals.
During a private meeting with Adolf Hitler in Rastenburg on 13th October 1943, Marshal Graziani spoke with the German dictator about Italian armored units. The German Generals had no more confidence in the Italians but, thanks to Graziani, Hitler agreed to train the Italian tank crews in Germany and in Italy, but with German instructors.
Three days after, on 16th October, in the same Prussian city, Italian General Secretary of the Ministry of War, Colonel Emilio Canevari, met German General Walther Buhle, Chief of the Army Staff of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), to discuss about Italian armored units.
Incredibly, they planned to train enough Italian crew members at the Panzertruppenschule (English: Tank Troop School) Wünsdorf near Bergen to equip 4 different units (not known if battalions or companies or other types), which would then be assigned to 4 different Italian infantry divisions. They also planned to do this a second time, creating another 4 armored units which would then be assigned to other divisions, and a 9th one to be equipped with German armored fighting vehicles by the end of 1944.
After a brainstorming with the German Heeresgruppe B on 26th October 1943, the Italian High Command ordered the Console (English: Consul) General Alessandro Lusana, commander of the 1ª Divisione Corazzata Camicie Nere ‘M’ (English: 1st Black Shirt Armored Division), also known as the 1ª Divisione Corazzata Legionaria ‘M’ (English: 1st Legionary Armored Division, where ‘M’ stands for Benito Mussolini) to send 268 tank crew members, mechanics and specialists to San Michele, 38 km from Verona. In the letter, the Italian High Command urged Console Generale Lusana to send the soldiers as quickly as possible, and that his men should be in San Michele by 30th October. After this decision, the plan to train Italian crew members in the Panzertruppenschule of Wünsdorf was aborted.
The document for the creation of the school, written by Heeresgruppe B, arrived to Colonel Canavari only on 29th October 1943. In that document, the Germans listed all the Italian personnel that they needed to open the Reparto Addestramento (English: Training Unit) of the Scuola Carristi (English: Tank Crew School) of San Michele. Food, equipment, uniforms, barracks, and canteens would be provided by the Wehrmacht.
In total, 286 soldiers (of 268 planned) of the 1ª Divisione Corazzata Camicie Nere ‘M’ arrived in San Michele from Rome, of which 173 were tank crew members, 15 mechanics and 20 radio operators. The others were officers and specialists with other tasks.
However, it is unclear to which unit the 286 soldiers belonged. In fact, on that date, the 1ª Divisione Corazzata Camicie Nere ‘M’ was already renamed Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ and was transferred to Montichiari, near Brescia, and only the 1st Armored Division’s command had remained in Rome, in the militia’s headquarters at Caserma Mussolini (English: Mussolini Barracks) in Viale Romania.
Between late 1943 and the early weeks of 1944, many other Italian tank crew members arrived in San Michele, while many others were sent to Verona, where a former Regio Esercito tank unit had its headquarters. These men would be used for other training in the future.
The High Command planned to create three companies at the training school: an Armored Car Training Company, a Light Tank Training Company and a Tank Hunter Training Company.
1° Deposito Carristi
On 20th February 1944, the RSI High Command renamed the old 32° Reggimento Fanteria Carrista (English: 32nd Tank Crew Infantry Regiment) of Verona into the 1° Deposito Carristi (English: 1st Tank Crew Depot) in order to replace the old Monarchic names.
In the same document, the High Command ordered the disbanding of the 31° Reggimento Fanteria Carrista (English: 31st Tank Crew Infantry Regiment) of Siena by 29th February 1944. All the soldiers and materiel from the former 31st Regiment were then moved to Verona. However, a Lieutenant Colonel, a Captain, 6 Lieutenants, 41 Second Lieutenants, 17 NCOs and 30 crew members volunteered for the training school of San Michele on 5th February 1944.
After April 1944, the Scuola Carristi of San Michele ceased to exist. Probably all the men and tanks (of which no numbers and models are known) were given to the 1° Deposito Carristi.
The new 1° Deposito Carristi on 14th April 1944 was theoretically composed (unfortunately, lack of documents do not allow us to understand if they were completed or not) of a Depot Command, Logistic office, Administration office and an Enlistment and rookies office, with a total of 14 officers, 16 NCOs and 46 soldiers.
The commander of the 1° Deposito Carristi was, at first, Lieutenant Colonel Enrico dell’Uva but, between March and May 1944, the Lt. Colonel left his position to Lieutenant Colonel Pietro Calini.
On 23rd February, a document was sent from the Ufficio Operazioni e Servizi of the Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito (English: Operations and Services Office of the Army General Staff) to all the Fascist Comandi Militari Regionali (English: Military Regional Commands). This asked them to send all the already trained tank drivers, tank commanders, radio operators and tank mechanics under their command to the 1° Deposito Carristi.
This meant that, in February 1944, the High Command was in such a desperate situation that they had to take all the tank crew members already trained before the Armistice in order to equip the armored units. However, on 28th February 1944 General Gastone Gambara of the Ufficio Operazioni e Servizi of the Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito sent a phonic message to the Comando Militare del Veneto (English: Veneto’s Military Command).
The Italian general ordered the soldiers of the 1° Deposito Carristi to be sent at the Centro Costruzione Grandi Unità (English: Division’s Building Center) of Vercelli to form tank destroyer self-propelled guns companies. In mid May 1944 6 officers and 106 crew members under Captain Giovanni dalla Fontana were sent to the Centro Costruzione Grandi Unità and to be trained and assigned at the 1ª Divisione Bersaglieri ‘Italia’ and to the 2ª Divisione Granatieri ‘Littorio’. Another 4 officers were sent to Sennelager, in Germany but they returned to Verona a month after.
When it was created the 1° Deposito Carristi had in its ranks: 2 Carri Armati M13/40s, 1 Semovente M43 da 105/25 and an unknown number of trucks in various efficiency status.
The 1° Deposito Carristi needed more equipment and sent soldiers to search for equipment in many former Regio Esercito depots, trying to find any kind of abandoned military stuff.
Military Equipment recovered by the 1° Deposito Carristi
Former unit
City
Equipment recovered
Bologna
20 tonnes of equipment and a damaged Carro Armato L3 light tank
433° Battaglione Carrista
Fidenza
u/k
Reggio Emilia
4 Carri M (probably medium tanks), previously sabotaged
Centro Addestramento Carristi
Cordenons
10.7 tonnes of equipment including: Renault R35 hull and Somua S35 spare parts
With this new equipment, in May 1944, the 1° Deposito Carristi had 3 Carri Armati M13/40s and 3 Carri Armati M15/42s. All were non-operational and, on 17th May 1944, Lt. Col. Calini wrote a letter to the 203° Comando Militare Regionale (English: 203rd Military Regional Command) asking for permission to purchase material for repairs, since the production of Italian tanks was under German control after 8th September 1943. The Germans no longer trusted the Italian soldiers and did not share spare parts or armored vehicles with the Italian Repubblica Sociale Italiana.
On 31st May 1944, the 203° Comando Militare Regionale authorized the purchase of resources on the civilian market, but at the same time, ordered that all salvageable material be recovered from the Regio Esercito depots abandoned the previous year in order to save money. Thanks to this “4 Carri Armati M13/40s could be prepared” even if the military command probably meant 4 medium tanks, in fact the 1° Deposito Carristi would never have 4 Carri Armati M13/40s in its ranks.
From a report written on 17th June 1944 by Lieutenant Colonel Amedeo Reggio, the presence of 2 Carri Armati M13/40s and a Carro Armato L3 tank in running condition is confirmed. He also mentioned that those tanks were sometimes used in support of GNR units in the region for anti-partisan operations, but also that, if the War Ministry needed them, the tanks could be made available.
Reggio complained about the lack of fuel and lubricants, which could be bought on the civilian market (but he needed the approval of the Military Command), and for lack of spare parts and specialized mechanics to repair the other tanks. Another serious problem was the lack of ammunition for the tanks, especially for the 47/40 cannons of the Carri Armati M15/42s and for the 105/25 howitzer of the semovente they had.
With the equipment in its ranks the 1° Deposito Carristi was composed of 1° Battaglione Addestramento (English: 1st Training Battalion). It had an unspecified number of training companies, the only known was the 1ª Compagnia Addestramento (English: 1st Training Company) but, due the presence of 3 Compagnia Deposito Carristi (English: Tank Crew Depot Companies) numbered from 4ª to 6ª, it is logical to assume that the training companies were 3 in total, probably a light tanks one, medium tank one and a self-propelled guns one.
In total, on 17th June 1944, the 1° Deposito Carristi had in its depots:
(¹ of these 9 trucks 4 were in running conditions, 5 non-operational, ² of these only one non-operational)
However, Lt. Col. Reggio pointed out that all vehicles in running condition needed repairs or maintenance in order to be 100% operational.
During its existence the 1° Deposito Carristi delivered trained crew members or tank mechanics to various Italian and German armored units, including: the Gruppo Squadroni Corazzati ‘San Giusto’, the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’, 1ª Divisione Bersaglieri ‘Italia’ and to the 26. Panzer Division.
1° Deposito Carristi Ranks
Data
Officers
Non-Commissioned Officers
Crew members
14th April 1944
14
16
46
1st May 1944
6
22
245
30th May 1944
29
26
85
The repair of many vehicles was really slow due the fact that many mechanics were enlisted in other armored units and sent to other Italian cities leaving only few well trained mechanics in Verona.
The High Command of the Fascist Army answered on 15 July 1944, accepting all requests of Lt. Col. Reggio. The 203° Comando Militare Regionale was ordered to purchase fuel and parts for vehicle repairs. It was then ordered to give priority to refurbishing the medium tanks and the self-propelled gun.
Two days laters, the Ufficio Operazioni e Addestramento (English: Operations and Training Office) ordered the Ufficio Operazioni e Servizi of the Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito to provide the 1° Deposito Carristi with 1,000 47 mm rounds for the 47 mm L.40 cannons and 100 rounds for the Semovente M43 da 105/25 main gun.
Anyway, on 27th June 1944, 10 days after Lt. Col. Reggio’s report, the High Command ordered the delivery (when operational) of 2 Carri Armati M13/40s with their crews to Sorbolo (near Parma), at the dependencies of the Centro Addestramento Reparti Speciali (English: Special Forces Training Center). 1 Carro Armato M13/40 would be delivered to the Squadrone Autonomo di Cavalleria (English: Autonomous Cavalry Squadron), while the last medium tank (which the Army General Staff called Carro Armato M13/40) would remain at the 1° Deposito Carristi to perfect the training of the crews.
On 31st August 1944, the Army General Staff ordered the disbanding of the 1° Deposito Carristi.
The remaining vehicles were assigned to a newly formed Sezione Carristi (English: Tank Crew Section) of the 27° Deposito Misto Provinciale (English: 27th Provincial Mixed Depot) always in Verona. This unit was equipped, in January 1945 with:
The Sezione Carristi was composed of 2 officers, 3 NCOs and 4 soldiers. To the 27° Deposito Misto Provinciale was also assigned the workshop of the 1° Deposito Carristi that was particularly effective in reparations and maintenance.
On 1st October 1944 the 1° Deposito Carristi’s workshop and the Deposito C (English: C Depot) of the 27° Deposito Misto Provinciale went to form the Officina Autonoma Carristi (English: Autonomous Tank Crew Workshop) composed of 4 officers, 17 NCOs and 34 soldiers and tank crew members.
Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’
On 20th September 1944, the Ufficio Operazioni e Servizi of the Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito wrote a report about the spare parts needed for the reparation of tanks. These were significantly less than the ones ordered by Lt. Col. Reggio on 17th June, meaning that the 1° Deposito Carristi had done a great job in the restoration of the tanks, managing to find 4 new guns for the medium tanks and also to repair a serious problem with the electrical system of the self-propelled gun all by himself.
In the same report, the military office suggested to create a Compagnia Autonoma Carri (English: Tank Autonomous Company) with three platoons equipped as follows:
Source: author via diagrams.net
The office also suggested the ranks for this company, with 1 command platoon and 3 tank platoons.
Of these 16 tanks, 8 would be taken from the former 1° Deposito Carristi. Anyway, it is not clear why the office mentioned 5 Carri Armati M13/40s when the 1° Deposito Carristi had only 3 Carri Armati M13/40s and 3 Carri Armati M15/42s. They probably confused the medium tanks models.
On 26th September 1944, Captain Gian Carlo Zuccaro, who had been instructed in previous days by the Army High Command to form the autonomous company, wrote a letter to the 210° Comando Militare Regionale (English: 210th Regional Military Command) of Alessandria, in Piedmont, to deliver its Carro Armato M13/40 for the creation of the Reparto Autonomo Carri (English: Tank Autonomous Unit).
This was done to concentrate all the available tanks under the dependencies of a single unit and not individually with small units scattered throughout the peninsula still in Italo-German hands. From this letter, it is possible to infer that the Compagnia Autonoma Carri’s suggestion was accepted and its theoretical strength was expanded to include multiple tank companies.
Capt. Zuccaro had already been trying for months to create an armored unit for the RSI without the knowledge of the Germans. The cover name he had given the unit, in order to confuse the German authorities, was Battaglione Carri dell’Autodrappello Ministeriale delle Forze Armate (English: Armed Forces’ Ministerial Tank Battalion Unit).
On the same day, Capt. Zuccaro wrote a letter to the 27° Comando Militare Provinciale to deliver the Officina Autonoma (English: Autonomous Workshop) that, at that moment, was being retrained to become a new tank unit. He asked to stop the training and to send all the soldiers and materials to his command.
Whatever Capt. Zuccaro asked in his letters what was done and, after 1st October 1944, the workshop unit was renamed Officina Autonoma Carristi (English: Tank Crew Autonomous Workshop).
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’ (English: Armored Group) was created in Polpenazze del Garda near Brescia on 13th September 1944 by Captain Gian Carlo Zuccaro. It had all the tanks that should have been assigned to the Reparto Autonomo Carri, which was never created. It was never deployed in active service apart from a few skirmishes on 24th and 25th April 1945. The personnel of the unit were 6 officers, 9 NCOs, and 38 crew members and soldiers in January 1945, increased to 8 officers, 22 NCOs, and 58 crew members and soldiers on 31th March 1945. The small number of men in the armored unit is explained for one reason: Commander Zuccaro wanted only volunteers in the ‘Leoncello’, and at the same time, these volunteers had to be staunch fascists, loyal to Mussolini and Italy. In many cases, letters from volunteers were rejected the very day they arrived, if Zuccaro did not think the soldiers were adequately fascists. Due to the presence of only volunteers, many soldiers enlisted had not received tank training, many had already fought in other units such as Carabinieri, i.e. military police that never trained or operated with tanks.
Due to the absence of barracks or military buildings in Polpenazze, the crew members and soldiers of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’ were hosted by the inhabitants of the small city in their houses while the NCOs and officers lived in an abandoned mansion. They rented a depot as their military canteen and holded the armored vehicles in barns or parked along the few civilian cars and trucks on the street sides.
The search for new tanks continued and, on 18th March 1945, the unit was equipped with 1 Semovente M43 da 105/25, 1 Carro Armato M15/42, 4 Carri Armati M13/40s, one Carro Armato L6/40, and 7 Carri Armati L3s. This meant that the unit never reached Zuccaro’s planned ranks of 16 armored vehicles but only reached the ranks of 14 armored vehicles, 3 trucks, 2 staff cars, 2 motorcycles, and some Cannoni-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935s (English: 20 mm L.65 Breda Automatic Cannons Model 1935). This number is also confirmed by Lieutenant Carlo Sessa in a document dated 16th April 1945.
The Carri Armati M13/40s were assigned to the I Squadrone Carri M (English: 1st M Tanks Squadron) under Lieutenant Carlo Sessa command, the 7 Carri Armati L3 and probably also the Carro Armato L6/40 were assigned to the II Squadrone Carri L (English: 2nd L Tanks Squadron) under Second Lieutenant Lucio Furio Orano while the Carro Armato M15/42, the Semovente M43 da 105/25 together with the unarmored vehicles and the automatic cannons were assigned to the Squadrone Comando (English: Command Squadron) under Lieutenant Giacomo Cossu.
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’ unit’s ranks. Source: author via diagrams.net
A small section of the unit detached in Milan, in the last days of war also deployed 2 Carri Armati P26/40s. It was the only Italian unit that deployed such a heavy tank.
The medium tanks of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’, lined up in January 1945. Source: …Come il Diamante
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’, placed in Polpenazze to defend the ministries of the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana trained for the whole duration of its existence awaiting for its deployment against the Allied forces. In fact, Zuccaro wanted to fight the Allied forces that slowly advanced in Italy and refused many times the deployment of the ‘Leoncello’ in anti-partisan operations. The trainings with mixed vehicles were hold in the hills near Polpenazze and probably in the nearby Lonigo where the Germans had placed the Panzer-Ausbildungs-Abteilung Süd (English: Tank Training Division South) created to train the German soldiers to operate on Italian vehicles.
On 23rd April 1945, the Armored Group ‘Leoncello’ received an order from General Graziani to reach Monza, where many ministries of the Fascist government were placed after the Allied advance along the Italian peninsula.
Capt. Zuccaro organized the unit for the march and, on the morning of 24th April, departed with his own staff car, a Bianchi S6 armed with four heavy machine guns, to plan the road trip to reach Monza. While his car was moving toward Milan with 2 Carri Armati L3s, he was attacked first by a US reconnaissance unit near Sant’Eufemia della Fonte and then by a US plane (a North American P51 or a Lockheed P38) in the city of Rovato. The plane damaged and forced Zuccaro to abandon a light tank but was itself shot down by the anti-aircraft fire from Zuccaro’s car.
Cap. Zuccaro was then forced to continue by foot the march and met an US tank column near Palazzo sull’Oglio. An Italo-American US soldier on a Willy MB Jeep asked him for road information and Zuccaro got into the jeep in which he arrived in Palazzolo from where he then reached Milan alone.
Part of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’ left Polpenazze on the night of 24th April to avoid air attacks. It had the new task of reaching Milan (which was being liberated by the partisans in those hours) with 5 medium tanks, the self-propelled gun and 3 Carri Armati L3 light tanks towed by the medium tanks to save fuel. At least 2 Carri Armati L3s, the only Carro Armato L6/40 of the unit and the Officina Autonoma Carristi remained in Polpenazze.
The tragi-comic story of the column started during the march, when one of the medium tank drivers felt sick and lost control of the vehicle, which skidded and ended up in a small canal on the roadside. The unit had to stop and tow it outside the canal, and when the tank was recovered, the march was restarted.
After a while, one of the iron chains connecting a Carro Armato M13/40 with the Carro Armato L3 it was towing broke, and the light tank fell off a small bridge, probably in the same canal as before. The driver (the only soldier inside the tank at the time) survived, jumping outside the tank a few seconds before the crash.
Near Chiari, meanwhile, some Germans were loading some train wagons with stolen stuff of all kinds. The tanks of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’ arrived when the Germans were departing. The commander of the Italian column, Lieutenant Carlo Sessa, threatened the Germans that they would open fire if they did not return everything to the civilians. The Germans unloaded everything and left for Germany on the train. Lt. Sessa allowed his men to take some packages of linen and sheets that could have been useful in the following days. The packages were loaded onto the engine decks of the medium tanks. After that, the tanks restarted the march.
Near Rovato, the column was attacked by some Allied planes. It is known that at least oneM13/40 was damaged by the attack and probably also the last two 2 Carri Armati L3 tanks, which were, in fact, abandoned. The crew of the Carro Armato M13/40 tried desperately to repair their tank to join the rest of the ‘Leoncello’. It seems that the other tanks were not damaged because the majority of the bullets fired by the Allied planes hit the linen and sheet packages being carried on the engine decks.
Arriving at Cernusco sul Naviglio, Lt. Sessa called the Milan headquarters from a public phone to receive orders. The Milan command informed him of the situation and suggested that he contact the Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale or CLN (English: National Liberation Committee), the partisan command, to surrender.
Lieutenant Sessa contacted former Alpini Major Lucioni, commander of the Partisan forces in Cernusco and the surrender was made official. All the Fascist soldiers of the column received civilian clothes by the Partisans and were free to return to their homes apart from Sessa who was arrested.
The damaged Carro Armato M13/40 tank that was abandoned was then repaired in a few hours and restarted the march. On board there was also the driver of the Carro Armato L3 light tank that had fallen some hours before in the canal. Near Chari, it was attacked by a US plane; to avoid destruction, the driver hid under some trees at the side of the road and the aircraft gave up the attack.
After a few kilometers the engine broke again and the crew understood that they could not repair it for lack of parts and waited for other Axis units. Nothing happened on 25th April 1945, but at dawn on 26th April, some farmers informed the crew that the war in Italy was over. The crew split up and each soldier went his own way. Some of them reached Polpenazze and informed the soldiers remaining in the city of the situation and together went to the CLN of the city to peacefully surrender and deliver their weapons and tanks to the Partisans.
Gruppo Squadroni Corazzati ‘San Giusto’
The Gruppo Squadroni Corazzati ‘San Giusto’ (English: Armored Squadrons Group) was born in January 1934 as the 1° Gruppo Carri Veloci ‘San Giusto’ (English: 1st Fast Tank Group) in Parma with cavalrymen of the former 1° Gruppo Squadroni a Cavallo (English: 1st Horse-Mounted Squadrons Group) from the 19° Reggimento ‘Cavalleggeri Guide’ (English: 19th Regiment).
It was composed of three gruppi carri veloci (English: fast tank groups), later renamed gruppi carri L (English: light tank groups) and some cavalry squadrons.
In 1941, it was deployed with Carri Armati L3/33s and Carri Armati L3/35s during the Yugoslavian Campaign and remained in the Balkans with anti-partisan tasks until 8th September 1943. When the news of the Armistice arrived at the unit, it had a headquarters, a Squadrone Comando (English: Command Squadron) and Squadroni Carri L (English: Light Tank Squadrons). All were equipped with Carri Armati L3 light tanks.
The majority of the unit disbanded in the days after the Armistice, apart from the 2° Squadrone Carri L (English: 2nd L Tanks Squadron) under the command of Captain Agostino Tonegutti. On 9th September 1943, with its soldiers and 15 light tanks (of which 4 found abandoned during the march), it reached Rijeka from Susak and Crikvenica. Arriving in the city, they helped to stop the Yugoslavian Partisan attack that was besieging the city for days.
Tonegutti’s unit remained in Rijeka until February 1944, when the German command ordered him to reach Gorizia, also near the Yugoslavian border. The Germans provided the unit with Italian soldiers (some from the 1° Deposito Carristi of Verona) and armored vehicles. In Gorizia, they received another 80 soldiers and the 1° Gruppo Carri L ‘San Giusto’ had the following armored vehicles:
A Carro Armato M13/40 of the Gruppo Squadroni Corazzati ‘San Giusto’ in late 1944. Source: …Come il Diamante
These were all the armored vehicles the unit had during its operational life. Never were they all operational all at once.
Thanks to the new vehicles, it was renamed Gruppo Squadroni Corazzati ‘San Giusto’ and organized into three squadrons:
The Gruppo Squadroni Corazzati ‘San Giusto’c ranks in Spring 1944. Source: author via diagrams.net
The unit had at its disposal a total of 8 officers, 23 NCOs, and 80 soldiers, while in late 1944 the ranks were increased to 100-130 soldiers and 8 officers. In early 1945, due to about 20 losses, the unit remained with 6 officers. It was under the command of the German Befehlshaber in der Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland (English: Commander in the Adriatic Coast Operational Zone), General Ludwig Kübler, even if it theoretically remained under Italian orders. In fact, it was the only armored cavalry unit of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana. During the reorganization of late 1944 the unit recovered from various sources 4 FIAT-SPA 38R light lorries, 1 FIAT 621P 3-axle medium truck, 2 SPA Dovunque 35 heavy duty trucks, 2 FIAT 666NM heavy duty trucks, 3 SPA mountain light lorries, and some staff cars.
The Germans usually called it the Italienische Panzer-Schwadron “Tonegutti” (English: Italian Armored Squadron) even after its renaming in Gruppo Squadroni Corazzati ‘San Giusto’. The German designation clearly refers to the Italian as a squadron, in fact it was a company-sized (or squadron-sized in Italian cavalry nomenclature) force that maintained the squadrons group designation for its military traditions.
In Gorizia the unit was rarely deployed and its mechanics repaired many vehicles to bring them on marching conditions and maintained 2 Littorine Blindate armored locomotives that were not assigned to the unit.
In April 1944, the Gruppo Squadroni Corazzati ‘San Giusto’ moved to Merano del Friuli, 12 km from Goriza and on the Udine – Monfalcone – Trieste main road abandoning in Gorizia the Renault R35 and the armored truck armed with flamethrower due the lack of spare parts for the first and probably for continuous maintenance needed by the armored truck.
In Merano del Friuli Gruppo Squadroni Corazzati ‘San Giusto’ was first trained reaching fully operable capabilities and then deployed in active service to protect the main road from partisan ambushes, escorting the military supply convoys and in anti-partisan operations near the Gorizia countryside, in Friuli Venezia Giulia’s east part. On some occasions, some units were employed for the protection of isolated guarrisons, bridges, or military depots.
The bloodiest fighting in which the unit took part was the one in Dobraule di Santa Croce, on the road between Gorizia and Aidussina, in the Vipacco Valley, on 31st May 1944.
During the escort of a military convoy, the unit was attacked by partisans and lost 1 Carro Armato M14/41, 2 Autoblinde AB41 medium reconnaissance armored cars, and two FIAT 665NM Scudati, even if the loss of life was more constrained, with only 3 deaths.
On 21st January 1945, a section of medium tanks broke the Yugoslavian encirclement to the Battaglione ‘Fulmine’ of the Xª Divisione MAS (English: 10th MAS Division) in Tarnova. On 17th January, three medium tanks were transferred to the area between Rijeka and Postumia to support the German forces that tried to fill the gaps in the Axis defensive line.
A Carro Armato M13/40 of the third series ready to tow a Semovente M42M da 75/34 on a French-built tank flatbed trailer. One of the men behind the Semovente is the unit commander, Capt. Tonegutti, 1945. Source: …Come il Diamante
On 28th March 1945 General Archimede Mischi wrote a report on the unit that he had passed in review 6 days before. In his reports he claimed a total of 137 soldiers in the ranks of the unit. A report dated 8th April 1945 has a full list of all the armored vehicles of the unit. Some of these were likely under repair and were not operational at the time.
16 Carri Armati L3/33s and Carri Armati L3/35s (probably the same of February 1944)
4 Carri Armati M13/40s and Carri Armati M14/41s
1 Semovente M41 da 75/18
2 Semoventi M42 da 75/18s
1 Semovente M42M da 75/34
2 Semoventi L40 da 47/32s
2 Autoblindo AB41s
In mid April 1945, the situation for the Nazi-Fascist troops in the Balkans was becoming disperate and the Germans called the Italienische Panzer-Schwadron “Tonegutti” for support.
In total, 8 Carri Armati L3s, 3 Carri Armati M (Carri Armati M13/40s and Carri Armati M14/41s) and 2 Semoventi M42 da 75/18s with 4 officers (with Tonegutti himself), 56 NCOs, and soldiers were sent to Ruppa (nowadays Rupa in Croatia), about 50 km Southeast of Triest on railway. Their mission was to protect the city from the 4th Yugoslavian Army. From 18th April to 23th April 1945 the vehicles were deployed in patrol actions and many were attacked by Allied planes but without losses.
On 24th April, while the column was moving from Fontana del Conte (nowadays Knežak in Slovenia) to Massun, North of Ruppa, a Carro Armato L3 tank drove over an anti-tank mine which exploded and killed the crew and another light tank fell in a canal. The explosion attracted the attention of the Yugoslavs, who attacked the column with mortar fire and bursts of small arms fire. Under heavy fire, the remaining tanks were forced to retreat from the area while the semoventi shooted the majority of their 75 mm ammunition trying to slow down the partisans.
On the evening of 25th April 1945, the ‘San Giusto’ unit that had been sent to Ruppa had lost 3 Carri Armati L3 tanks, 2 to mines, and 1 to mortar shells. Another Carro Armato L3 was damaged by machine gun fire, while a medium tank and a self-propelled gun were damaged by air attacks.
Given the desperate situation and the impossibility of slowing down the Yugoslav partisans, the unit sent to Ruppa departed on 27th April 1945 first to Trieste and then to Mariano del Friuli, where the rest of the unit was headquartered.
They arrived in the city only on 28th April morning, discovering that the rest of the unit had peacefully surrendered to the partisans the day before and that the partisans had used some Carri Armati L3 tanks and an Autoblinda AB41 (the only operational vehicles that had remained in the barracks) against the German forces in Cividale del Friuli.
The still-equipped forces arrived from Ruppa then decided to disband, abandoning their tanks on the road on the same day.
Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani
The Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani or RAP (English: Anti Partisan Group) was created in August 1944 as an anti-partisan unit. Its main task was to counter partisan actions and to patrol the areas where the partisans concentrated.
It was created in Brescia, where it received 2 Carri Armati M13/40s. These were the two tanks of the 1° Deposito Carristi destined for the Centro Addestramento Reparti Speciali on 27th June 1944. 8 of the 13 tank crew officers of the RAP were from the already disbanded 1° Deposito Carristi of Verona.
After the organization of the unit, it left Brescia and was deployed in Turin, where it was headquartered in many barracks of the city.
In November 1944 the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani was composed of:
Source: author via diagrams.net
The Reparto Autonomo di Cavalleria (English: Cavalry Autonomous Department) was created in Bergamo and was composed of soldiers and crew members of various ENR units. The unit slowly phagocytes all the units of the Gruppo Esplorante (English: Exploring Group), where the armored vehicles were deployed. It was transferred in Turin in November 1944 and was headquartered in the Scuola di Applicazione (English: Training School) in Via Arsenale.
The 1a Compagnia Carri M had in its ranks 1 Carro Armato M13/40 medium tank received by the 1° Deposito Carristi. The 2a Compagnia Carri L was equipped with 10 Carri Armati Leggeri L3.
The commander of the 1a Compagnia Carri M was Lieutenant Ascanio Caradonna. Of the about 20 officers of the unit, 12 were trained in an unknown German Panzertruppenschule (English: Armored Troops School) and, for that reason, were praized in December 1944 by Oberleutnant (English: Senior Lieutenant) Glaser for their training.
Between November 1944 and January 1945 the 1a Compagnia Carri M was disbanded for the lack of medium tanks and the 2a Compagnia Carri L was renamed 1a Compagnia Carri L.
In December 1944 the RAP wrote to the German Aufstellungsstab Süd (English: Positioning Staff South) asking for the delivery of Italian armored vehicles.
After an inspection from Oberleutnant Glaser that after praized the crew members positively reviewed the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani, the Aufstellungsstab Süd delivered to the Italian unit some Italian armored vehicles.
The Germans put at the disposal of the unit some tanks abandoned at the Deposito di Caselle (English: Caselle’s Depot) in Caselle, near Turin.
The Germans would have had to spend too much time repairing them, so they donated them to the RAP, who could try to repair some and use the others for parts. The tanks that were made available by the Germans for the unit were:
7 Carri Armati L3
1 Carro Armato M13/40
2 Semoventi L40 da 47/32
1 Autoblindo AB41
2 Semoventi da 75/18 (exact model unknown)
All the vehicles were in bad conditions and necessitated to be heavily overhauled to return to combat valuable status.
On 10th January the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani had 6 serviceable Carri Armati L3 and 8 vehicles.
On 30th January 1945, the armored company was composed of 21 officers, 2 NCOs, 24 soldiers, and 5 female auxiliaries. On 5th April 1945, there were 16 officers, 5 NCOs, 27 soldiers, and 1 female auxiliary. The other soldiers were missing in action or had deserted.
Some of the vehicles delivered by the Germans were repaired and pressed into service with the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani. On 25th February 1945, in a report from the National Republican Army General Staff, the following vehicles were listed as in service with the RAP:
1 Autoblindo AB41
17 Carri Armati L3 (of which 7 under repair)
1 Carro Armato L6/40
2 Carri Armati M13/40
However, it seems that the Carro Armato L6/40 would have been a Semovente L40 da 47/32 that was wrongly identified, as some photographic sources reveal.
On the same document, the National Republican Army General Staff ordered the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani to deliver all its medium tanks and the Autoblindo AB41 to the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’, while the ‘Leonessa’ had to deliver all its light tanks to the RAP.
This was done to concentrate all the medium tanks and self-propelled guns in a single bigger unit able to fight against Allied forces, while the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani was created to fight the badly equipped partisans which were only equipped with light and obsolete vehicles.
It seems that the delivery was started before the Great Partisan Uprising of late April 1945. In fact, on 6th March 1945, the partisans captured a Lancia Lince scout car during an ambush near Cisterna d’Asti, a small city near Turin. This small scout car was deployed by the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani even if it was formerly a ‘Leonessa’ vehicle.
Anyway, the transfer was never finished. In fact, on 23rd March 1945, the AB41 armored car was still in the ranks of the RAP. On 28th April 1945, when the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani left Turin, it abandoned many of its tanks in its barracks, of which at least one was a Carro Armato M13/40.
However, during an unknown period, in order to allow the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani crews to receive adequate training, the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ assigned some of its tank crew officers to the RAP. One of these officers was put in charge of the Carro Armato M13/40 given his extensive previous experience. The only serviceable Carro Armato M13/40’s story is unknown, as is its fate.
The Carro Armato M13/40 of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani being transported on a trailer back to Turin after an anti-partisan operation in Turin’s countryside. The man in the photo was a ‘Leonessa’ officer that was reassigned to the RAP. The vehicle had no radio antenna (even if it was equipped with the radio) and had 20-liter fuelcan supports on the side, never mounted at the Ansaldo on Carro Armato M13/40s. Source: I Mezzi Corazzati Italiani della Guerra Civile 1943-1945
Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana
Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was the biggest and best equipped unit of the entire Repubblica Sociale Italiana.
It was created from officers and soldiers (the majority of them tank crew members) from the disbanded 1ª Divisione Corazzata Legionaria ‘M’. After the Armistice, on 21st September 1943, the Division created the new armored group in the Caserma Mussolini of Rome. They had already been disarmed by the German 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division ‘Ramke’ (English: 2nd Paratrooper Division) on 12th or 13th September in Tivoli, near Rome.
The soldiers put back the Fascist insignia on the lapel of the uniform (removed after the arrest of Mussolini on 25th July 1943) and tried to find new military equipment. They found 2 Carri Armati M13/40 and some lorries abandoned after 10th September in the Forte Tiburtino fortress, the headquarters of the former 4º Reggimento Fanteria Carrista (English: 4th Tank Crew Infantry Regiment). The 2 tanks were from the 3° Reggimento Fanteria Carrista (English: 3rd Tank Crew Infantry Regiment) that arrived in Rome shortly before the armistice to equip the IX Battaglione Carri M under creation.
On 17th September 1943, Lieutenant General Renzo Montagna, the former commander of the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale or MVSN (English: Voluntary Militia for National Security) was put in charge. The former 1ª Divisione Corazzata Legionaria ‘M’ was part of the MVSN before the Armistice, so returned under its control.
Lt. Gen. Montagna mentioned in a letter that the units under his control had recovered a total of about 40 medium tanks and dozens of other vehicles in the streets of Rome. This not seems an exaggerated number, in fact before the armistice, in Summer 1943 the 4º Reggimento Fanteria Carrista alone had at its disposal 31 tanks (probably all Carri Armati M), 11 semoventi and 20 camionette of which the majority deployed during the disparate defense of Rome.
2 Carri Armati M13/40 knocked out in Rome after the Armistice. Source: I Mezzi Corazzati Italiani della Guerra Civile 1943-1945
The 2 medium tanks were immediately reused after an order of Lt. Gen. Montagna. They were to guard the Piazza Colonna, were the Ente Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche or EIAR (English: Italian Body for Radio Broadcasting) and the Partito Fascista Repubblicano or PFR (English: Republican Fascist Party) were headquartered in Palazzo Wedekind.
Two former Regio Esercito’s Carri Armati M13/40 just arrived in Piazza Colonna, where they were deployed until 29th September 1943. On the foreground Palazzo Wedekind. Source: I Carristi di MussoliniAnother photo of a Carro Armato M13/40 on the left side of Palazzo Wedekind in Piazza Colonna. Source: …Come il Diamante
On 29th September, the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was transferred to Montichiari, near Brescia, with the few armored vehicles that it had recovered in Rome. The command of the former 1ª Divisione Corazzata Legionaria ‘M’ remained in Rome until November 1943 and then joined a small group of officers who prepared the new headquarters in Rovato, near Brescia.
The unit started to reorganize and a lot of new volunteers joined the unit. Among these were also 5 officers that were part of the 132ª Divisione Corazzata ‘Ariete’ (English: 132nd Armored Division) before the Armistice, two of them already decorated with medals for bravery.
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was able to create 3 companies. However, the armored ones were almost immediately disbanded due to the scarcity of armored vehicles in the unit’s ranks.
On 8th December 1943, due to the few tanks present in the unit’s ranks, the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale High Command planned to transform the unit into a public order company. After a fierce resistance of the officers to maintain the status of armored unit, General Renato Ricci, the new commander of the MVSN, amazed by the tenacity of the officers of the ‘Leonessa’ ,granted the unit two months to reorganize and find armored vehicles to use.
The officer in command of the armored group, Lieutenant Colonel Priamo Switch, ordered some officers to recover as many armored vehicles as possible from anywhere on the RSI territories.
The most successful officers were Tenant Giovanni Ferraris and Tenant Loffredo Loffredi who, in less than two months, found dozens of tanks, armored cars, trucks and other equipment in Bologna, Brescia, Milano, Siena, Torino, Vercelli and Verona.
Some tanks were found in the 32° Reggimento Fanteria Carrista (English: 32th Tank Crew Infantry Regiment) barracks and depots in Verona, thanks to the suggestions of former 32° Reggimento Fanteria Carrista members that joined the unit. Spare parts were taken from the depots of the Breda factory in Turin (which produced only spare parts), as Tenant Ferraris had some friends among the factory managers.
Everything that was found was sent to Montichiari, where the workshop of the unit commanded by Lieutenant Soncini and Lieutenant Dante, supported by civilians and workers from a nearby factory of the Officine Meccaniche or OM (English: Mechanic Workshops), repaired them. They were able to repair dozens of vehicles: motorbikes, staff cars, trucks, armored cars and tanks, allowing the unit to remain an armored group.
On 9th February 1944, Gen. Ricci arrived in Brescia to participate in the ceremony for the official Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ loyalty oath. After the ceremony, all the running condition vehicles of the unit paraded through the streets of Brescia. At least one was a Carro Armato M13/40 of the 1st series.
A Carro Armato M13/40 of the 1st Series lined up with soldiers of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in Brescia in January 1944. Source: …Come il Diamante
On 1st March 1944, the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ moved to Turin with the 1ª Compagnia Arditi Autocarrata (English: 1st Motorized Arditi Company), the 2ª Compagnia Guastatori (English: 2nd Saboteurs Company) and the 3ª Compagnia (English: 3rd Company). The moving was complete on 5th March and the group was headquartered in three different Turin barracks: the Caserma Alessandro La Marmora in Via Asti, the Caserma Vittorio Dabormida in Corso Stupinigi, Caserma Luigi Riva of Via Cernaia the and Caserma Podgora in Piazza Carlo Emanuele.
The 1ª Compagnia Arditi Autocarrata was deployed in the Caserma Luigi Riva, headquarter of the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’, while the 2ª Compagnia Guastatori was deployed in the Caserma Podgora.
The majority of the armored vehicles of the unit (unfortunately, there is no data to say how many there were) were deployed with the 2ª Compagnia Guastatori, even if it seems that the tanks were not assigned to the companies.
From Second World War-era documents about the operations of ‘Leonessa’, it is known that the armored vehicles were not assigned to a particular company but that they were essentially assigned to a company before the start of a mission. Obviously, the more dangerous the mission, the more armored vehicles were assigned to the company.
Together with the tanks, the crews were also assigned at the mission’s start. In fact, the armored group’s command decided to maintain the same soldiers for each tank as long as possible in order to create cohesion between the various members of the crew. More importantly, in this way, the driver knew all the characteristics of his vehicle and knew how best to repair it.
A group of veterans of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ wrote a list of all the vehicles of the armored group in the book Gruppo Corazzato Leonessa 1943–1945 – RSI. They did not specify if this is the list of vehicles in service at a certain data of the armored group’s life or if this is the full list of vehicles that the armored group had in service during its 20-month long service.
35 Carri Armati M (M13/40, M14/41, M15/42, and at least 2 M42 command tanks)
8 Autoblindo S40 and S26 (improvised vehicles, unknown models)
60 Lancia 3Ro heavy duty trucks
5 SPA Dovunque 41 heavy duty trucks
12 FIAT 634N heavy duty trucks
13 FIAT 666 heavy duty trucks
25 FIAT 626 medium trucks
10 OM Taurus medium trucks
4 Bianchi Miles medium trucks
9 FIAT-SPA 38R light trucks
8 FIAT-SPA TL37 light prime movers
48 Staff and civilian cars
60 Motorcycles
8 Mobile kitchens
2 Mobile workshops
4 Cannoni da 75/27 Modello 1911s
The only original list of vehicles in service with the armored group was written on 25th February 1945 in a document of the National Republican Army General Staff. It states that the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ had in its ranks:
10 Carri Armati M15/42s
10 Carri Armati M13/40s and Carri Armati M14/41s
Unknown number of Carri Armati M13/40s and Carri Armati M14/41s under repair
12 Autoblinde
30 Motorcycles
This is surely an incomplete list that does not mention all the trucks in service with the armored group, but allows to understand the number of losses that the partisans inflicted on the Fascist forces.
The first anti-partisan action of the unit was on 21st March 1944, when it participated with a medium tank and an Autoblindo AB41 armored car that were temporarily assigned to the Füsilier-Bataillon 29 “Debica” (English: 29th Rifle Battalion) of the 29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS “Italia” (English: 29th Grenadier Division of the SS) with about 500 soldiers under German SS General Peter Hansen.
The armored vehicles were deployed in the Lucerna Valley, where Italian communist partisans of the IV Brigata ‘Pisacane’ (English: 4th Brigade) were active. During a patrol, the vehicles were divided from the rest of the SS soldiers due to a landslide caused by the explosion of a partisan mine. The partisans then started to throw hand grenades and Molotov cocktails on the medium tank and the Autoblindo AB41. The Autoblindo AB41, hit by a hand grenade, fell off the road into a nearby river, killing the three crew members inside, while another 4 soldiers and an NCO were captured.
2 Carri Armati M13/40s of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ during the parade in Piazza Carlo Felice in Turin on 23rd May 1944. The first vehicle had a machine gun placed in the anti-aircraft position. Source: Istituto Luce
To celebrate its service in the Piedmontese capital city, on 23rd May 1944, a parade was organized by the High Command of Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ and the city’s mayor.
The parade counted 9 Carri Armati L3s, 1 Carro Armato L6/40, 2 Autoblinde AB41s, 2 Carrozzerie Speciali su SPA-Viberti AS43s, 2 Carri Armati M13/40s, another medium tank and some trucks. It departed from the Porta Nuova train station, passed through Piazza Carlo Felice, Via Roma and then arrived in Piazza Castello, Turin’s main square.
The second Carro Armato M13/40 of the previous photo in front of a Carro Armato L6/40 light tank. Source: PiemonteTopNews
From Piazza Castello, the armored vehicles and trucks full of militia men turned back to Porta Nuova, from which the column disbanded and the troops returned to their barracks.
The first Carro Armato M13/40 of the column turned right in Piazza Carlo Felice to enter Via Roma. In front of it are visible the tank commanders on the Carri Armati L3 tanks and, far behind, Piazza Castello. Source: Istituto Luce
On 28th May, just returned from an anti-partisan operation in which 33 partisans and 3 former prisoners of war escaped from a military camp were captured, the ‘Leonessa’ was deployed in Operation Hamburg that took place in Biella, Caluso Cavaglia, Chatillon, Dondena, Gressoney, Rivara, and Ronco.
In total, two tanks and two armored cars (models unknown) and a company-strength unit of the ‘Leonessa’ were deployed. Together with the armored group soldiers were other units: the GNR from Vercelli, from other Turin units, a company of the GNR border police, a unit from the Legione Autonoma Mobile ‘Ettore Muti’ (English: Mobile Autonomous Legion) and some German soldiers.
Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ crew members cleaning the gun barrels with rods and checking the suspensions in Caserma Alessandro La Marmora in Via Asti in Turin, June 1944. Source: …Come il Diamante
In June 1944, the unit was reorganized with the 1ª Compagnia Carri (English: 1st Tank Company), the 2ª Compagnia Autoblindo (English: 2nd Armored Car Company) and the 3ª Compagnia Arditi (English: 3rd Arditi Company).
Reloading operations on the same tanks from the previous photos. The first photo gives a great view of the coat of arms while the second one shows the tank crew’s helmets sitting on the tank. The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was the only RSI unit that applied a coat of arms on the helmets as well. Source: …Come il Diamante
Between 26th June and 8th July 1944, the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was deployed in an anti-partisan operation in Avigliana, 22 km from Turin. During the operation, 3 Carri Armati M13/40s were deployed, of which one was deployed in the city after the operation and remained in the city probably as a deterrent against other partisan attacks. Nothing is known about its service in Avigliana or how long the garrison of Avigliana remained operational.
After the same Val di Susa anti-partisan operation, at least 1 Carro Armato M13/40 was deployed to protect the Fixed Aircraft Spotting Post of Lanzo. This tank was deployed after a partisan operation, when the garrison of the 2ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico (English: 2nd Public Order Company) commanded by Captain Giuseppe Bertoni was attacked by partisan forces. As reported by Captain Bertoni in his report, the armored vehicles of the ‘Leonessa’ left the barracks, attacking the partisans and forcing them to retreat.
The Carro Armato M13/40 medium tank was certainly engaged in combat at least once against the partisans. The garrison was disbanded at the end of 1944.
On 25th July 1944, Gen. Ricci organized a big parade in Milan to celebrate the first anniversary of the first fall of Fascism in Italy. A total of 5,000 soldiers and 275 female auxiliaries took part in the parade, including Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ armored vehicles.
A Carro Armato M13/40 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in Piazza Duomo in Milan on 25th July 1944. It had license plate ‘Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana 4340’. Source: I Carristi di Mussolini
On 25th September 1944, a Carro Armato M15/42, a Carro Armato M13/40, 2 Carri Armati L6/40s (probably a light tank and an SPG), an Autoprotetta and a platoon of the 1ª Compagnia of the ‘Leonessa’ were deployed in Giaveno, in Val di Susa, under the command of Major Antonio Braguti.
During the mission, some soldiers from the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani and from the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ were also present. Together with the soldiers and vehicles of the armored group, they patrolled the villages of Fratta, Giaveno, and Maddalena di Val Sangone.
On 15th January 1945, 1 Carro Armato M13/40 was sent to support a convoy of German vehicles in Villanova D’Asti, which was hit by a partisan attack. The tank returned to its barracks in Turin the same night.
On 21th February 1945, 2 Carri Armati M13/40s, 2 armored cars and 2 autoprotette of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ were deployed in an anti-guerrilla operation between Villanova D’Asti and Mononio. Together with these armored vehicles, the XXIX Battaglione ‘M’ (English: 29th ‘M’ Battalion), the 1ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico (English: 1st Public Order Company) of Turin and some soldiers from the Xª Divisione MAS participated. Only a single partisan was killed during the operation.
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was deployed after April 1944 to protect the Roberto Incerti Villar or RIV ball bearing factory in San Raffaele Cimena, near Chivasso. Some machinery tools were transferred from Turin to San Raffaele to continue the production. In fact, in February 1944, the RIV plant at Via Nizza 148 in Turin was badly damaged by Allied bombardments. The San Raffaele Cimena area was really quiet until 6th February 1945, when about 40 partisans attacked 21 ‘Leonessa’ soldiers, killing 2 and wounding 3 of them.
For this reason, after 3rd March 1945, a Carro Armato M13/40 was deployed by the armored group’s garrison in the village. In total, on 3rd March, the garrison had at its disposal 6 officers, 88 NCOs and militia men, 2 Carri Armati L3 light tanks, and 1 Carro Armato M13/40.
On 16th March 1945, the ranks of the garrison were reinforced with another Carro Armato M13/40 tank, but on the 29th, the ranks of the garrison were modified with 3 M15/42 medium tanks, 3 L3 light tanks, 5 officers, 50 NCOs and militia men. The garrison was probably disbanded and the soldiers returned to Turin between 15th and 20th April 1945.
On 23th March 1945, the unit took part in its last parade, on the occasion of the anniversary of the foundation of the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale in Turin. Its tanks now paraded in Via Po, arriving in Piazza Vittorio Veneto, where Alessandro Pavolini, secretary of the Partito Fascista Repubblicano, took part at the ceremony.
A tank that seems like a Carro Armato M13/40 of the first series with a monochrome desert camouflage. Photo taken during the 23rd March 1945 parade in Via Po. Source: I carristi di Mussolini
At 1630 hrs. on 17th April 1945, Lt. Col. Swich had a small briefing with the officers of the unit present in Turin to inform them that the CNL had proclaimed a worker’s strike on 18th April. The unit patrolled the city roads all the night and day after but without partisan attacks. On this occasion, almost all the vehicles were deployed.
On 24th April 1945, General Adami Rossi, Commander of the 206° Comando Provinciale Regionale, ordered the creation of 22 checkpoints in the Turin countryside to prevent partisan attacks. All the roadblocks were patrolled by militia men from the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’.
On 25th April, the day of the Great Partisan Insurrection, the 1ª and 2ª Compagnia of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’, 2 companies of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani, a platoon of the Xª Divisione MAS, the XXIX Battaglione ‘M’, a Battaglione Ordine Pubblico of the GNR of Turin and the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ were present in Turin.
The ‘Leonessa’ headquarter was in the Via Asti Barracks, together with the Battaglione Ordine Pubblico. The 1ª Compagnia, under the command of Lieutenant Tommaso Stabile, was in the Caserma Luigi Riva with a company of the Black Brigade, while the 2ª Compagnia, under the command of Lieutenant Nicola Sanfelice, was in the Caserma Podgora together with the RAP companies.
Lt. Col. Swich had ordered 2 Carri Armati M13/40s to Piazza Castello with an armored car and about 15 militiamen to defend the prefecture of the city in that square. The Carro Armato M14/41 commanded by Brigadier Leonardo Mazzoleni was placed in Piazza Gran Madre di Dio to protect the bridge over the Po river. Two companies of the Battaglione Ordine Pubblico, the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani companies and the majority of the ‘Leonessa’ soldiers were deployed to reinforce the roadblocks and checkpoints and to patrol the city roads.
On 25th April 1945, the day was calm due to the fact that, in Turin, the CLN had delayed the attack by one day, to the 26th April. The Fascist soldiers tended to their guns and the engines of their tanks.
On 26th April, the partisans started their attack, occupying Porta Nuova, Dora, and Stura train stations, 8 of the 10 FIAT plants in the city (FIAT Lingotto and FIAT Mirafiori remained in Fascist hands), Lancia Veicoli Industriali, the RIV plant, the city hall and the Gazzetta del Popolo newspaper headquarter.
The EIAR headquarter was also attacked by the partisans but the soldiers and vehicles of the ‘Leonessa’ deployed near the radio broadcasting building, with a medium tank and two armored cars, forced the partisans to retreat.
Some counter attacks were undertaken and the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was able to retake control of the majority of the production plants and train stations occupied by the partisan on the same day.
In the city hall, before being arrested by the partisans, the Podestà (English: Major) Michele Fassio called for reinforcements. Immediately, a medium tank and an armored car commanded by Second Lieutenant Stornelli of the 1ª Compagnia, together with some soldiers under the command of Captain Milanaccio, were deployed from the Caserma Luigi Riva to reoccupy the city hall.
The small unit reached the city hall where the partisans, hearing the engine noises, barricaded themselves inside the building. The door of the city hall was destroyed by the tank’s main gun, the major freed and the vehicles and men of the 1ª Compagnia returned to the Via Asti barracks.
In the afternoon, the Lamarmora barracks was surrounded but the partisans could not force the Fascists to retreat due to the heavy armament of the defenders. Lieutenant Marchegiani, commander of a medium tank, opened fire against the windows of a building near Porta Nuova train station, while partisans opened fire against a hotel from where civilian German inhabitants were rescued. After several machine gun bursts, the partisans retreated, abandoning the building.
The Caserma Luigi Riva was attacked around 14:00 of 26th April by partisans and auxiliary police (who joined the partisans that morning) from the Corso Vinzaglio police barracks, near the Porta Susa train station. The partisans also fired mortar shells against the building, but their lack of training did not permit them to deal heavy damage.
According to the testimony of Lt. Tommaso Stabile, at 18:00, 4 medium tanks, 3 armored cars, a platoon from the ‘Leonessa’ and a platoon from the ‘Ather Capelli’ left from the Caserma Luigi Riva. This group attacked the partisans and auxiliary police officers, who tried to resist. After a few hours, the Fascist armored cars destroyed the partisan 20 mm automatic cannons and the 47 mm guns of the tanks destroyed the barrack’s doors, allowing the Fascist troops to enter.
After the loss of 10 partisans and police officers, the rebels disbanded, retreating through the Pietro Micca tunnel which had been dug in 1706 by the Piedmontese Army to destroy French forces that had surrounded the city. One of the four tanks advanced until Porta Susa, 600 meters from the Caserma Luigi Riva’s entrance.
On 27th April 1945, almost all the plants and other targets occupied by the partisans the previous day were recaptured by Fascist forces. During the morning, 5 medium tanks and 2 armored cars were deployed to patrol the roads in the perimeter: Corso Vinzaglio, Via Cernaia, Piazza Castello, and Porta Susa train station.
At 15:00 on 27th April 1945, there was a briefing between all the Fascist commanders in Turin. They planned to activate the Esigenza Z2B Improvviso (English: Requirement Z2B Sudden) secret plan. This was a planned retreat of all Fascist forces to the Valtellina Valley, where they would wait for the Allied forces to surrender to them, avoiding falling into partisan hands.
The units were ordered to start moving toward Piazza Castello, where the Fascist column would depart from during the night.
All the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ militia men reached Turin’s main square, where Lt. Col. Swich ordered the tanks to position themselves in front and rear to defend the column in case of attacks.
At 0128 hrs. on 28th April 1945, about 5,000 Fascists, the few remaining Germans and some civilians (soldier’s families or persons who had collaborated with the Fascists) left the city towards Lombardia. The tanks in the front of the column opened a break in a barricade near the Dora train station and then reached the road to Chivasso.
On the dawn of 28th April 1945, the column left the highway to avoid Allied air attacks and continued the march on small roads, without the few German soldiers that had joined the column that night. The Germans tried to reach Germany or other foreign units continuing to march in the Northern direction.
After stopping their march for the night near Livorno Ferraris, the Fascist forces of the column were informed of Benito Mussolini’s execution. The officers then decided that it was useless to reach Valtellina and preferred to deploy the over 5,000 soldiers under their command in the village of Strambino Romano, where they created a headquarters and waited until 5th May 1945, when the Allied troops arrived in the area. At that point, the Fascist troops in Strambino Romano numbered between 15,000 and 20,000. All surrendered without fighting to the Allied troops.
Vehicles of the Fascist soldiers that surrendered in Strambino Romano. The majority of them were from the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’. The farthest tank in the photo appears to be a Carro Armato M13/40. On the left of the tank, a SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta is also visible. Source: I Mezzi Corazzati Italiani della Guerra Civile 1943-1945
Carro Armato M13/40 assigned to the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’
The first 2 tanks assigned to the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’ (English: 2nd Cyclist Assault Battalion) operating in Val d’Ossola area were 2 Carri Armati M13/40s that were temporary assigned to the Fascist unit from the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ with their crews under command of Adjutant Ferdinando Baradello. They were headquartered in Omegna but it seems that they were not used in early September 1944.
The Repubblica dell’Ossola (English: Ossola Republic) was a partisan republic that arose in northern Italy on 10th September 1944. This was a small (1,600 km²) territory freed by partisan troops.
In early October 1944, the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ temporarily assigned a total of 3 medium tanks and 10 armored cars more and their crew members to some units deployed in the area of Repubblica dell’Ossola to launch a fierce attack on the partisans, forcing them to disband.
At least 2 more tanks were assigned to the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’ of the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana, one Carro Armato M13/40 and one Carro Armato M14/41 commanded by Lieutenant Oberdan Marchegiani. They were deployed to the south of the republic. It had the task of destroying the partisan first line in Ornavasso and then reaching Domodossola as soon as possible, the capital city of the self proclaimed republic.
The attack on the Repubblica dell’Ossola was codenamed Operazione Avanti (English: Operation Ahead). The operation was planned by Monza High Command and the command was assigned to German Colonel Ludwig Buch.
Anyway, the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’ was supported by the Füsilier-Bataillon 29 “Debica” and some other small units, forming Kampfgruppe ‘Noveck’. It started the attack on the partisan republic on 10th October 1944. The book Il Battaglione SS ‘Debica’ written by Leonardo Sandri claims that the SS soldiers arrived at Gravellona Toce on 10th October and that the anti-partisan actions started on 11th October, a day after.
The same book claims that, during the operation, apart from the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’ and the Füsilier-Bataillon 29 ‘Debica’, a company of the Scuola Allievi Ufficiali (English: Officer Rookies School) of the GNR of Varese and a company of the Battaglione Paracadutisti ‘Mazzarini’ (English: Paratrooper Battalion) were also deployed for a total of about 3,500 soldiers. The Italian troops were supported by a 8.8 cm FlaK gun, two 75 mm mountain howitzers, two 75 mm anti-tank guns, two 47 mm anti-tank guns, a German armored train and 2 Carri Armati M13/40s. This confirms the presence of 2 Carri Armati M13/40s even if they had to be at least 5. Probably the book Il Battaglione SS ‘Debica’ was listing only the forces that supported the ‘Debica’ and not all the Axis forces deployed to attack the Partisan’s republic. The last tank detached to the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was a Carro Armato M15/42 that was assigned together with a Carro Armato M13/40 and the Carro Armato M14/41 to the Il Battaglione SS ‘Debica’ after the Operazione Avanti.
On the first day, the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’ tried to break up the defensive line of the Divisione Partigiana ‘Valtoce’ (English: Partisan Division) on the right side of the Toce river, trying to enter in the city of Ornavasso. The Füsilier-Bataillon 29 ‘Debica’, on the left side of the river, tried to break the line of the Divisione Partigiana ‘Val d’Ossola’, trying to capture Mergozzo.
The 2 medium tanks were supporting the 1ª Compagnia, 3ª Compagnia and 4ª Compagnia of the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’ on the valley floor, while the 2ª Compagnia tried to circumvent the partisan defensive line, climbing the narrow streets of Monte Massone, covered by woods.
Luckily for the partisans, their reinforcements arrived quickly and they could start a counter attack before the 2ª Compagnia arrived in position. When the partisans attacked, the 2 tanks left the road to avoid being easily detected, but got stuck, probably in a mud field. The Fascist forces were forced to retreat with the tanks. On that day, the partisans resisted the attack.
A group of partisans during the clashes in Val d’Ossola. Source: archiviodelverbanocusioossola.com
At dawn of the next day, 2 tanks, supported by infantry, having learnt the ground, reached the partisan positions near Ornavasso, forcing the partisans to leave them.
The Fascist forces then advanced more into the partisan republic territory, but were blocked about 2 km north from Ornavasso, where the partisans had dug anti-tank ditches and entrenched themselves in a First World War-era bunker of the Liena Cadorna (English: The Cadorna Line). The Fascist forces were forced to stop their advance, fighting against the partisans barricaded in the fortress until 12th October 1944.
The night between 12th and 13th October, two companies of the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’ encircled the partisan forces from Monte Massone and deployed unnoticed on the right side of the partisan line, waiting to ambush the partisan reinforcements.
One of the Carri Armati M13/40s detached by the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ to the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’ in Val d’Ossola. This particular tank was a 1st Series vehicle. Source: Storia dei Reparti Corazzati della Repubblica Sociale Italiana 1943-1945
On the morning of 13th October, the remaining two companies of the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’ along with the medium tanks attacked the partisan positions in the Linea Cadorna again. When the soldiers of the Divisione Partigiana ‘Valtoce’ from the rearguard arrived in the area, the two companies hidden on the mountain ambushed them, causing many losses.
The partisans were forced to abandon the battle and retreated, pursued by Fascist forces and tried to reach Switzerland, a neutral territory, where they could have been saved. On 14th October afternoon, the reconnaissance squads of the Fascist forces arrived at Domodossola, the capital city of the partisan republic.
On 16th October 1944, the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’ and the Carro Armato M13/40 commanded by Lt. Marchegiani dispersed the last weak partisan defense in Varzo. After liberating the city, two companies of the battalion and the tank continued the advance, trying to arrive as soon as possible to the Swiss border and block the retreat of the last partisans in the area.
An interesting story about that day was mentioned by the commander of the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’, Lieutenant Ajmone Finestra, in his book Dal Fronte Jugoslavo alla Val d’Ossola. In it, he mentions that the Carro Armato M13/40 challenged the Swiss border guards when it arrived at the Swiss border, rolling towards the roadblock at high speed. The Swiss border guards tried to place an anti-tank gun in position as a deterrent, but before the gun was ready, the tank arrived near the borderline, turned around and went back.
The border between the Kingdom of Italy and Swiss Confederation, probably before the war. Source: La ‘repubblica’ dell’Ossola – Paolo Bologna
After the end of the operations, one of the 2 Carri Armati M13/40s detached to the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’ in August returned back to Turin with Lt. Marchegiani. A single Carro Armato M13/40 was put under command of 1° Aiutante (English: Adjutant of 1st Class) Ferdinando Baradello, with driver Adjutant Stevani, while the other two crew members were Legionnaires Bianchi and Ciardi. It remained in Omegna under the command of the 2ª Compagnia of the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’. The other 3 tanks as seen before followed the Il Battaglione SS ‘Debica’.
The Carro Armato M13/40 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’, temporally assigned to the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’, in front of the Partito Fascista Repubblicano’s headquarter in Gravellona Toce after the fighting. Source: …Come il Diamante
In January 1945, thanks to the Carro Armato M13/40, the Fascist forces reached the goal of capturing an entire batch of Allied equipment launched from a cargo plane in the Val d’Ossola for the partisans.
On 14th and 15th March, the 2ª Compagnia of the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’ was attacked at Omegna. The troops, supported by the Carro Armato M13/40 of 1° Aiutante Ferdinando Boradello, broke through the encirclement and tried to reach Quarna, where a mixed garrison composed of Battaglione ‘Castagnacci’ of the Xª Divisione MAS and a black brigade were encircled. When the tank arrived, the Fascist troops had already surrendered.
On 17th March 1945, the car of Lieutenant Ajmone Finestra was ambushed by partisans while traveling with two soldiers from Omegna to Baveno. Miraculously escaping from death, the three fascist soldiers barricaded themselves behind the car, refusing to surrender. Meanwhile, the rifle shots attracted the attention of the fascist soldiers in Omegna, who sent the tank on the road.
Rescuing the officer and the two soldiers, the tank was again attacked by partisans near Omegna. This was an unsuccessful attack that cost the partisans 5 men.
Another photo of the Carro Armato M13/40 taken in the same place as the first one. From this angle, the monochrome desert camouflage and the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ coat of arms are visible. Source: …Come il Diamante
On 22nd March 1945, a tank and an armored car took part in an anti-partisan operation in Varallo Sesia, while the Carro Armato M13/40 of Adjutant of 1st Class Boradello was deployed with the same task in Gravellona Toce area.
During the same month, 1° Aiutante Ferdinando Boradello was transferred and Adjutant Stevani took his place as tank commander. From March to late April 1945, the tank was deployed to support the units of the ‘Venezia Giulia’ battalion, black brigades, militia men and German forces in the cities of Cireggio, Lucerna, Luzzogno and Omegna. Their opponents were the 2ª Divisione ‘Garibaldi’ communist partisans and the autonomous of Divisione ‘Beltrami’.
The tank was again deployed in Intra, near Omegna, against the partisans on 21st April 1945. During the night between 23rd and 24th April 1945, the 2ª Compagnia of the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’ received the order to withdraw from Omegna to Baveno. On the morning of 24th April, the company left the city in column formation, with the tank at the rear. The partisans from the valley’s sides opened fire, blocking the Fascist company for some hours.
In the end, the column succeeded retreating to Gravellona Toce, where it met the rest of the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’ and other Italian and German units arriving from Domodossola. Together, they reached Baveno; the column was named ‘Stamm’ Column for the name of the German commander of the SS-Polizei-Regiment 20.
On 25th April 1945, there were 450 soldiers of the II Battaglione Ciclisti d’Assalto ‘Venezia Giulia’, 150 of the XXIX Brigata Nera ‘Ettore Muti’, plus some more Italian and German soldiers. In total, there was the Carro Armato M13/40 of Adjutant Stevani, two German armored cars and 700 soldiers ready to move toward Stresa under command of Major Fagioli and German Captain Stamm.
The column moved on the road to Belgiate, breaking all the Partisan roadblocks and entering Stresa and then Belgiate. During the late afternoon of 25th April, the column reached Meina, while the partisans in the area reached Arona to block the column.
During the night, the Carro Armato M13/40 and the German armored cars attacked Arona where the partisans opened fire with heavy guns. The muzzle flashes of the partisan bursts were targeted by the Fascist 75 mm WW1-era artillery pieces and by German 20 mm FlaK bursts.
Before dawn, some troops encircled the partisans. Supported by the medium tank and the two armored cars, the partisans came under heavy fire and were forced to leave Arona. After entering Arona, the Fascists freed it immediately and settled in Castelletto Ticino for 2 days awaiting ferries to cross the Ticino river.
On 28th April 1945, the ferries did not arrive and they tried to reach Milan but the road was blocked. They tried to go to Novara, but the road to that city was blocked. The Fascists were then reached by the Bishop of Novara, who went to confer with them, giving them news of the great partisan insurrection and that Milan and Novara were now in partisan hands.
The fascists came to an agreement with the partisans that allowed them to go to Novara where they would wait in the Caserma Cavalli in Novara for the arrival of the Allied troops.
They arrived in Novara on 29th April and parked the Carro Armato M13/40 of Adjutant Stavani outside the barracks. The unit surrendered to soldiers of the US 34th Infantry Division on 1st May 1945.
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in the Piacenza countryside
Piacenza is one of the biggest cities of the region of Emiglia-Romagna, located in the center north of the Italian peninsula. Piacenza was the capital of the homonymous province, with a population (in 1936) of 64,210 inhabitants. It was an important city for the Italian economy, with a well organized agriculture. The city also had some small companies specialized in the bodywork of cars and trucks and in the production of truck trailers. Machinery tools were also important in Piacenza, with many companies specialized in the production of lathes and other components. However, the most important companies in the area were the Azienda Generale Italiana Petroli (English: General Italian Oil Company) the only one in Italy that extracted oil until 19th April 1945, and the Arsenale Regio Esercito di Piacenza or AREP (English: Royal Army Arsenal of Piacenza). Until the armistice of September 1943, it was used mainly to produce and repair artillery pieces. After the armistice, it was renamed Arsenale di Piacenza and the workers started working for the Wehrmacht.
After the Armistice of September 1943, the German forces transformed the city into a headquarters for their units in the region. The Plazkommandantur was placed in Via Santa Franca, under Colonel Blecher’s command. Under his command were a number of units deployed in the city. In Via Cavour 64 was a Waffen-SS unit and a Sicherheitspolizei or SIPO (English: Security Police) and in Via Garibaldi 7 was another SIPO unit.
The Todt Organization, a German civil and military engineering organization responsible for a huge range of engineering projects in all the occupied territories, also had some units in Piacenza. In Piazza Cavalli 94 was its volunteer enlisting center, while in the Caserma (English: Barrack) of Via Emilia Pavese were the dormitories for the Todt workers.
The San Damiano airbase near the city was also under German control (even before the Armistice). There were also the Train Station, the bridges, the arsenal and the most important company of the city, the Officine Massarenti, specialized in the extraction of the little oil found in the Piacenza countryside.
To prevent this important city from falling into the hands of the partisans or Allied paratroopers, the garrison of Piacenza was reinforced by some Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ units. At the beginning, only 2 armored cars (other sources claim 1 armored car and an autoprotetta) and 50 soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Giovanni Ferraris arrived in the city on 20th August 1944. They were headquartered in the Caserma Paride Biselli. The first actions of the unit were essentially escort missions.
In the same period, part of the 29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS ‘Italia’ was deployed in the area. It was at the orders of SS-Obersturmbannführer Franz Binz’s Kampfgruppe ‘Binz’ command along with a 29th Division regiment.
The unit was extensively used in the area and, in the months after, many other soldiers and vehicles were deployed in the Piacenza countryside. On 17th March 1945, a German report gave a list of vehicles deployed by the 3ª Compagnia and 4ª Compagnia of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in the area of Piacenza:
In Montecchio (where the AGIP oil wells were located), these were commanded by Lieutenant Loffredo Loffredi.
Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ equipment in the area of Piacenza
Montechino garrison; Lieutenant Loffredo Loffredi
Name
Model
Number
Mitragliatrice Media Breda Modello 1937
Medium Machine gun
1
Fucile Mitragliatore Breda Modello 1930
Light machine gun
4
Moschetti Automatici Beretta (MAB)
Submachine guns
7
various
Rifles
42
various
Pistols
12
Carro Armato M15/42
Medium tank
1
Carro Armato M13/40
Medium tank
1; non-operational
Carro Armato L3
Light tank
1; non-operational
Autoblindo AB41
Armored car
2; 1 non-operational
u/k type
Motorized tricycle
3; 1 non-operational
u/k type
Motorbike
7; 5 non-operational
Rallio Garrison; Lieutenant Francesco Motta
Mitragliatrice Media Breda Modello 1937
Medium machine gun
2
Mitragliatrice Media Breda Modello 1938
Medium machine gun
4
Mitragliatrice Media FIAT-Revelli Modello 1914/1935
Medium machine gun
1
Fucile Mitragliatore Breda Modello 1930
Light machine gun
2
Moschetti Automatici Beretta
Submachine guns
6
various
Rifles
37
various
Pistols
15
Carro Armato L3
Light tank
3; 2 non-operational
Moto Guzzi Alce
Motorbike
1 non-operational
Moto Bianchi 500 M
Motorbike
1 non-operational
FIAT Balilla
Staff car
1 non-operational
Piacenza; Captain Giovanni Bodda
various
Rifle
10
various
Pistols
8
Carro Armato M13/40
Medium tank
1 non-operational
Carri Armati L6/40
Light tanks
2 non-operational
Autoprotetta
Armored personnel carrier
1 non-operational
Moto Guzzi Alce
Motorbike
1 operational
FIAT 1100
Utility car
1 non-operational
FIAT 626
Medium truck
1 operational
Bianchi Miles
Medium truck
1 operational
Unluckily, the sources do not mention when the Carri Armati M13/40 were deployed in Piacenza. It is probable that they arrived in February 1945, after some heavy clashes with partisans. In Piacenza was also located the II Battaglione SS ‘Debica’ with the 3 Carri Armati M detached from the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ after the Operazione Avanti. It seems that the tanks were only theoretically assigned to the Italian SS unit, in fact it seems that not all 3 were operational in Piacenza.
On 12th April, the situation was slightly changed by the arrival of a Carro Armato M14/41 in the Montechino garrison, which had also repaired its Carro Armato L3. The Rallio garrison had received 1 running condition Carro Armato M13/40 (probably from the Montechino garrison). It had an operational Carro Armato L3 and another one under repairs.
The Piacenza headquarter had at its disposal 1 Carro Armato M13/40, 1 Carro Armato L6/40 and an Autoblinda AB41 under repairs, while an Autoblinda AB41 and 2 Semoventi L40 da 47/32 (they arrived on 20th April) were combat ready.
On 15th April, the 3 operational medium tanks (an M13, an M14, and an M15) were assigned to the I. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon of the Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment SS 81. of the 29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS ‘Italia’. The light tanks were assigned to the II. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon ‘Nettuno’ from the same regiment, while the Autoblinde AB41 remained under Capt. Bodda’s command. The operational one, under the command of Legionnaire Medoro Minetti, was used to support the withdrawal of the Fascist garrisons in Montechino and Rallio.
The armored vehicles placed in Rallio were transported to Rivergaro and placed with the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ soldiers as garrison in the city, together with the Battaglione ‘Mantova’ of the V Brigata Nera Mobile ‘Quagliata’.
The German and Italian officers in Piacenza concentrated all the units under their command in Piacenza, apart from the I. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon and II. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon ‘Nettuno’. On 16th April, these latter units attacked Gropparello and Perino, inflicting heavy losses on the partisans.
During the next few days, the Brazilian forces of the Força Expedicionária Brasileira (English: Brazilian Expeditionary Force) and US troops entered Bologna and advanced further north.
The partisans tried to enter the city of Piacenza from all directions. The I. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon retreated from Gropparello with their three medium tanks on 24th April. Two tanks were commanded by Vice Brigadier Donati and Vice Brigadier Martini, while the third one was probably Lieutenant Rinetti’s. The unit reached Pontenure, deploying on a defensive line along the Nure river, with the headquarters of the unit placed in a nearby farm on the Via Emilia.
On 25th April morning, 1 Semovente L40 da 47/32 under Second Lieutenant Giancarlo Fazioli left the Piacenza barracks of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’, leaving the city and taking the Via Emilia with 7 or 8 soldiers and a German officer. Their task was to reach the Allied reconnaissance units to counter them and slow down the Allied advance.
After crossing the II. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon ‘Nettuno’ defensive line, south of Piacenza, it met Allied forces near Montale, 6 km south of Piacenza, and after firing some 47 mm rounds in the direction of the Allied forces, retreated before becoming an easy target for Allied artillery.
On the same day, I. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon exchanged some light gun bursts with a platoon of A Company of the 755th Tank battalion of the US Army, which supported some troops of the 135th Infantry Division. The skirmish cost the life of a single Italian soldier.
After the skirmish, German commander SS-Obersturmbannführer Franz Binz, who commanded the Italian SS, ordered the battalion to retreat and to entrench itself in a defensive line closer to Piacenza. The I. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon ‘Debica’ was located in the south-east part of Piacenza, in the city of Montale.
The 1. Kompanie (English: 1st Company), under the command of Waffen-SS Obersturmführer Giorgio Giorgi, was placed on the left side of the defensive line, the 2. Kompanie (English: 2nd Company), under the command of Waffen-SS Obersturmführer Vittorio Passéra, was on the right side, while the Abteilung-Schwere-Waffen (English: Heavy Weapons Section) of the 4. Kompanie (English: 4th Company) under Waffen-SS Obersturmführer Franco Lanza was a few hundred meters behind them with the support guns. The heavy equipment of the unit consisted of 81 mm mortars and some Cannoni da 47/32 Modello 1935 or 1939 anti-tank guns.
A few months before, the unit was equipped with 6 75 mm mountain howitzers, 6 Cannoni da 47/32 Modello 1935 or 1939 anti-tank guns, and three 20 mm automatic cannons, but it is not clear if some were lost in the previous weeks and how many were deployed in Montale.
On the morning of 26th April, the US soldiers of the 135th Infantry Division, supported by Sherman tanks of A Company, A platoon of B Company, and some M7 Priests of the 755th Tank battalion, stormed the defensive line of the Italian SS soldiers. Arriving within range of the German produced Panzerfausts (used for the first time by the units in combat) in the hands of the Italian soldiers, the US tanks were easily knocked out, while the Italian tanks and guns on the rear guard started heavy suppression fire in the direction of the US forces.
During the attack, the US soldiers were forced to retreat, leaving the task of breaking through the Italian lines to the Shermans. Some minutes after the start of the battle, the three medium tanks of the ‘Leonessa’ assigned to the Kampfgruppe ‘Binz’ arrived in the area, starting to fire at the US tanks. Some sources claim that there was probably also a Semovente L40 da 47/32 with them.
During the 20 minute-long battle, 2 Shermans and an M7 Priest were destroyed, while many others were damaged by mortar shells, Panzerfausts, and 47 mm armor piercing rounds and subsequently abandoned.
During the fighting, Waffen-SS Obersturmführer Giorgio Giorgi, a pair of NCOs and at least 4 soldiers of Kampfgruppe ‘Binz’ were killed. To these losses need to be added a squad of soldiers of the 2. Kompanie that was barricaded in a farm and was attacked by one of the Shermans. After a brief skirmish, the Italian soldiers surrendered. Corporal Major Rosario Carli was shot by US troops after surrendering because he refused to hand over personal items and for responding to the beating he suffered.
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ suffered the loss of a driver and of Second Lieutenant Arnaldo Rinetti, the last Italian tank crew member killed in action during the Second World War. The information about his death is not so clear. Many sources claim different variants of which, in the past years, some were refuted.
At least two tanks were commanded by Vice Brigadier Donati and Lieutenant Rinetti. If the Semovente L40 da 47/32 was really deployed in the battle, it seems that the vehicle commander was Legionnaire Mimmo Bontempelli.
During the battle, one of the medium tanks was hit, probably by a US 75 mm armor piercing round. Which Italian tank was hit is nowadays a mystery. Lieutenant Loffredi, during an interview reported in the book …Come il Diamante, stated that, during the retreat after the battle, the Carro Armato M13/40 was present, commanded by Vice Brigadier Donati, while all the other sources claim that the vehicle targeted by the American shell was a Carro Armato M13/40. However, the armor piercing round penetrated an unspecified frontal part of the tank, killing the driver, cutting his legs and lightly wounding the commander who got out of the vehicle with slight burns. The crew tried to restart the vehicle, but it probably suffered a mechanical failure.
Lt. Rinetti did not abandon the burning tank and continued to fire with the main gun even if the vehicle was immobile. From the testimony of a veteran of the 29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS ‘Italia’, it seems that, from the crew, 3 crew members exited. Lt. Rinetti was probably killed by a splinter of armor after a second shot hit his tank a few minutes later.
A source claims that he was killed by partisans after surrender, a hypothesis refuted because there were no partisans in the area. Another interesting hypothesis was the one that claimed that Lt. Rinetti was killed by the breech of the 47 mm gun during recoil.
This hypothesis is plausible as Italian medium tanks were cramped vehicles and, with a fifth crew member, the space inside would be really limited but. However, it needs to be noticed that, during the same day, Vice Brigadier Casoni was hit in the face by the 47 mm gun breech during recoil and, after the battle, he went to the Piacenza military infirmary to be treated.
The source which states that Lt. Rinetti died from the gun recoil was probably a confusion, created perhaps by a veteran who unwittingly mixed the two stories.
Another source claims that Lt. Rinetti was captured by US troops and transported to a prisoner camp, where he was shot by partisans to take revenge for all their fellow comrades killed by the ‘Leonessa’ tanks in the last months of war in the Piacenza area. However, this claim appears to have no supporting sources.
Anyway, the US Army had already won the battle and another heavy tribute of life was not necessary. For this reason, the fight was brief and, for the rest of the day, the Allied forces maintained the Italian positions under heavy artillery fire. This was also done to prevent the Italian soldiers from capturing the damaged Sherman and Priests abandoned on the battlefield.
The I. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon ‘Debica’ retreated from Montale and was redeployed between Via Emilia and Mortizza, where one of the two river ferries used to reach the northern shore of the Po river was stationed.
During the battle between the I. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon ‘Debica’ and the US soldiers, the partisans had infiltrated the city and the Fascist forces of the city fought back, supported by the soldiers of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’, the operational Autoblindo AB41 of Vice Brigadier Campanini, a tank (model unspecified but probably the Carro Armato L6/40 or a Carro Armato L3) and an automatic cannon.
On the night of 26th April, all the ‘Leonessa’s’ guns, ammunition and fuel depots were destroyed to prevent partisan capture. The non-operational vehicles were also destroyed, including the Autoblindo AB41 of Lt. Minetti.
The vehicles that survived destruction in Piacenza were:
2 Semoventi L40 da 47/32
1 Carro Armato L6/40 under repair
1 Carro Armato M13/40 of unknown status
1 Autoblindo AB41
2 medium tanks assigned to the I. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon ‘Debica’ (model unknown).
1 Carro Armato L3 assigned to the II. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon ‘Nettuno’.
During the night, the majority of German and Italian units crossed the Po river under the cover of darkness. The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ and the ‘Debica’ and ‘Nettuno’ battalions remained on the southern shore of the river to defend the city.
The Allied troops could easily enter the city and destroy the ferries with their armored forces, but they had made an agreement in the past days with the partisans. The partisans would free the city and then the Allied troops could enter. This decision favored the Fascist soldiers in the city that, with a few tanks, could slow down the partisan liberation.
On 27th April, the partisans suffered heavy losses and a total of 18 partisans lost their lives during two different clashes with the Fascists. Two medium tanks were under ‘Debica’s’ command, along with the last L3 of ‘Nettuno’. The Semoventi L40 da 47/32 were protecting the pier of Mortizza’s ferry for the duration of the day.
The I. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon ‘Debica’ was not employed in action on 27th April and, at dawn on 28th April, was transferred to the northern shore of the Po river from Mortizza. During the crossing, some shells fell near the ferry without causing losses. The two medium tanks were probably too heavy for the Mortizza ferry and, on 27th April, they left the Italian SS unit to reach the other ferry pier in San Rocco al Porto, less than 5 km from Mortizza ferry.
The tanks waited all day and, on the morning of 28th April 1945, one of the two tanks was transferred to the other shore.
The second tank, claimed by Lt. Giancarlo Grazioli to be a Carro Armato M13/40, remained on the southern shore to defend the pier but was destroyed by artillery fire during the same day at an unknown hour.
The remaining 20 soldiers of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ and 20 soldiers of the 162. Infanterie-Division ‘Turkistan’ were taken from the command of Lieutenant of 1st Class Loffredi and transferred to Lieutenant Romolo Paroletti.
Lt. Paroletti divided the soldiers in squads of 10 soldiers (5 Italian and 5 Turkmeni) that entrenched on the main roads of Piacenza: the State Road for Cremona, Via Emilia Parmense, Via Emilia Pavese, and State Road 45.
The soldiers were well equipped. They took all the Italian firearms that remained in the city, such as heavy and light machine guns and submachine guns, dozens of hand grenades and also some really rare Italian anti-tank hand grenades.
The Turkmeni were also equipped with 8.8 cm Raketenwerfer 43 ‘Puppchen’ anti-tank rocket launchers.
The night of 28th April passed calmly, with Lieutenant Paroletti in a medium tank that patrolled the city roads.
Lt. Paroletti mentioned that the tank was a Carro Armato M14/41. If this information is true, it probably means that the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ mechanics in Piacenza had repaired the second Carro Armato M13/40 before the partisan insurrection and US attack.
Unfortunately, this information cannot be confirmed. However, the book …Come il Diamante reports that an Carro Armato M13/40 was left to defend the San Rocco pier.
Three or 4 medium tanks had left the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ barracks in Piacenza on 26th April 1945. A Carro Armato M13/40 was knocked out in Montale, while the rest retreated. The Carro Armato M15/42 crossed the Po river on 28th April, the last Carro Armato M13/40 was destroyed by artillery fire on 28th April while the last tank, a Carro Armato M14/41, was used to patrol the city of Piacenza.
During the night of 28th April 1945, the Carro Armato M14/41 was connected to an old WW1-era FIAT 18BL which the tank towed through all the city, taking all the Italian and Fascist soldiers still in Piacenza. Shortly after 0400 hrs., the soldiers reached San Rocco al Porto. The troops dismounted from the vehicles and crossed the Po river with the ferry.
Arriving on the northern shore, the ferry was destroyed and the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ veterans claimed that they were able to see US tanks already on the southern shore. The Carro Armato M14/41 that Lieutenant Paroletti used all night on patrol was ferried with the soldiers, while the old truck was abandoned near the shore, where dozens of damaged vehicles lay abandoned by the Axis forces.
While the soldiers were leaving the southern shore, a Carro Armato L6/40 tank reached their position at maximum speed. It was the Carro Armato L6/40 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ deployed in Piacenza which, during the last days, was blocked in the barracks for maintenance. During the night, the crew had repaired it and was ready to transport it on the other shore but the Germans refused this, probably due to the lack of time. For the transport of the light tank, the ferry had to do 2 river crossings, wasting time, fuel (which probably they did not have) and increasing the risk that US or partisan forces would attack the ferry.
Lieutenant Romolo Paroletti ordered the sabotage of the tank and, when the ferry was on its way to cross the river with the medium tank loaded on, he ordered firing a pair of 47 mm rounds to totally destroy it.
On the morning of 28th April, the survivors of Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ and the Kampfgruppe ‘Binz’ restarted their march in the northern direction towards Erba to reach the rest of the 29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS ‘Italia’.
Their real task was to reach Travagliato, near Brescia, to join the Kommandostab Ersatz Einheiten der italienischen Waffenverbände der SS (English: SS Italian Armed Forces Reserve Unit Command) under SS-Sturmbannführer Luis Thaler. Together, they were then meant to reach the Alto Adige region passing through Val Camonica.
For unknown reasons, only some soldiers of the 162. Infanterie-Division ‘Turkistan’ reached Travagliato.
On 28th April 1945, the soldiers of Kampfgruppe ‘Binz’ entered Santo Stefano Lodigiano, already liberated by the partisans. The partisans, seeing the Italian Fascist soldiers, preferred to retreat from the city and hid themselves in a nearby forest. The Italians freed hundreds of Fascist soldiers captured during the partisan attack of the previous days and also a dozen trucks.
The column restarted the march with a total of about 2,000 soldiers, including about 100 Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’s’ soldiers under Lieutenant Loffredi’s command. Together with them were about a hundred trucks, cars and motorbikes, 3 tanks (2 Carri Armati M15/42s and a Carro Armato M14/41), the Semovente L40 da 47/32 and an Autoblindo AB41 armored car. There were also some 75 mm howitzers, 4 Cannoni da 47/32 and some 20 mm automatic cannons.
The Semovente L40 da 47/32 of Second Lieutenant Giancarlo Fazioli fell into a canal near the road on the same day due to the ground collapsing under its weight. It was recovered after a few hours with a pair of oxen pulling it out of the canal.
In order to avoid US air strikes, the column was divided into three sections, with the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ vehicles in the front section, the II. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon ‘Nettuno’ in the center section, and the I. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon ‘Debica’ at the rear of the column.
For about half an hour, the reconnaissance groups of the column had a skirmish with partisan forces in Guardamiglio, where the partisans had a 20 mm automatic cannon on top of a bell tower and opened fire on the forward units of the column. After the fighting, the column was attacked by 3 Republic P-47 ‘Thunderbolts’ US ground attack planes.
During the attack, the last Lancia 3Ro of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was damaged by 0.50 in. machine gun rounds, while the quick reaction of the Fascist soldiers damaged an US plane. Hauptmann Noweck, with a German 20 mm FlaK, shot down one of the planes.
The Lancia was towed by a medium tank and the column quickly restarted to move, reaching Codogno, where the column was ready to fight the partisans in the city. These had captured some German soldiers of another unit.
The unit commander and SS-Obersturmbannführer Franz Binz started discussions with the partisans and, in the evening, they managed to convince the partisans to free the Germans, or they would shell the city with artillery fire.
At midnight, the column stopped. The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ stayed in Livraga, the II. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon ‘Nettuno’ in Ospedaletto, and the I. Waffen-Grenadier Bataillon ‘Debica’ stayed in Somaglia. The Semovente L40 da 47/32 crew slept in Brembio, near Livraga, where the Fascist soldiers entered the city pub where there were also some partisans. Before entering the city, in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, the partisans and fascists agreed to a ceasefire for the night.
On 29th April 1945, the march restarted on secondary roads to avoid the US planes. Around noon, the column reached Sesto San Giovanni, where some partisan commanders from Lodi arrived to have the column surrender.
German Commander Franz Binz strongly refused to surrender, intending to reach the city of Erba at all costs. During these hours, the Semovente L40 da 47/32 commanded by Lt. Fazioli was assigned to the ‘Debica’ battalion.
The soldiers under Lieutenant Loffredi’s command were composed of about 80 GNR soldiers of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’, 9 German sailors from the ferry, one female auxiliary, 4 militiamen, probably from the XIII Brigata Nera ‘Turchetti’, the Carro Armato M13/40 (the other one was abandoned due to mechanical failure), the Autoblindo AB41 and 2 trucks, of which one damaged. All the soldiers were well armed. Some hours before, they learned of the death of Benito Mussolini and the majority of the ‘Turchetti’ militiamen decided to return to their homes.
In Locate Triulzi, Lieutenant Loffredi’s forces, which now served as the vanguard of the column with about 600 ‘Nettuno’ soldiers, met some partisans. After a furious discussion between Lt. Loffredi and the partisan commander of the area, the partisans left the small city without shooting a single bullet.
During the night, at 2300 hrs., part of the column tried to advance but was blocked by a roadblock in Zizzolo and surrendered to the partisans.
On the morning of 30th April, the column restarted the march but was blocked again in Melzo by the partisans. After a few hours, they reached an agreement. They restarted the march but they were shortly after reached by US tanks from the 34th Infantry Division. SS-Obersturmbannführer Franz Binz finally surrendered to the Allied forces.
The troops under Lieutenant Loffredi had taken another road the night before and were not blocked in Melzo. They moved toward San Giuliano Milanese, Caleppio and Truccazzano, finally approaching Trecella, where they took a break to repair the Carro Armato M13/40 that still worked, but not at its best. Lt. Loffredi, along with some officers, reached the school of Trecella, where they spoke with an US NCO, trying to gain time while the crew repaired the tank.
When the tank was ready to move again, the force was encircled by at least 6 M18 Hellcat tanks, so Lt. Loffredi was forced to surrender.
From a postwar letter of Lt. Loffredi, it is claimed that the last tank was an Carro Armato M13/40 and that the US tank crew found it ready, permitting the crew to restart the engine with the crank, laughing a lot for all the operation. All the soldiers under Lt. Loffredi were taken prisoner without any problems.
Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in Milan
In mid October 1944, the Compagnia Addestramento (English: Training Company) of the ‘Leonessa’ was transferred to the former Reggimento ‘Savoia cavalleria’ barracks in Via Monti with training tasks. Shortly after, it became part of the combat ready unit.
It was commanded by Major Egidio Zerbio. It was first planned to become an independent battalion but, due to the lack of men and vehicles, it remained under Leonessa’s command with logistic and support tasks. It supported the troops deployed in Piacenza and defended the Oleoblitz, the last refinery of Italy to produce fuel from the oil that came from Piacenza.
The unit remained a training unit and trained new crew members that were assigned to different Gruppo Corazzato companies around northern Italy after the courses.
The crew members were trained to drive armored cars in the city streets. For the tank driving lessons, the fields filled with US bomb craters near the barracks were used.
For training duties, a Carro Armato M13/40 and a Carro Armato M14/41 arrived from Turin. These were shortly accompanied by 2 Carri Armati L3 light tanks and a Semovente L40 da 47/32 recovered from some depots in Milan and repaired by the workshop of the unit in Milan.
In early 1945, Lieutenant Barone found 5 or 6 Italian medium tanks in Chiari. These arrived in Milan by railway. In the book I Mezzi Corazzati Italiani della Guerra Civile 1943-1945, the writer mentions a German document reported that the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ recovered about 30 damaged medium tanks from the Germans, who were in the process of scrapping them.
In the same book, Paolo Crippa states that only 5 of these tanks were repairable. This could suggest that the vehicles found by Lieutenant Barone were part of this batch. This also clarifies why the depot of the Distaccamento di Milano (English: Milan Detachment), as it was called, was full of spare parts. They were probably recovered from badly damaged tanks. The tanks were probably sent to Turin after repairs.
On 16th December 1944, the Distaccamento di Milano participated in the last speech of Mussolini at the Lyric Theater. Mussolini then climbed on the turret of a Carro Armato M15/42 tank outside the theater to make a second shorter speech. On the same day, Mussolini visited the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ barracks in Milan, where 2 Carri Armati M15/42 and 2 Autoblinde AB41 were lined up.
This means that the Carro Armato M13/40 was under repair, or the tank was assigned to another company. The first hypothesis makes more sense because the unit was created only in mid October 1944 and needed time to train the crews. It seems improbable that, in just 2 months, the tank was reassigned.
However, on 25th April 1945, Lieutenant Morandi participated with a medium tank in supporting the Fascist units in Sesto San Giovanni. With some soldiers, he then reached the Fiera Campionaria depot in Milan to take some freshly built armored vehicles not yet assigned to the Axis forces. They recovered 2 Autoblinde AB43 medium reconnaissance armored cars.
The same night, the company prepared to leave Milan and reach Valtellina. The Distaccamento di Milano was deployed with its armored vehicles in the front and rear of the column of Fascist forces leaving Milan.
The column left Milan at about 0600 hrs. on 26th April and the march for the valley was eventful, with some air attacks (without significant damage) and some machine gun fire from a partisan motorcycle that quickly retreated under the fire of the 47 mm cannon of the semovente.
During their way to Como, a Carro Armato M13/40 of the Distaccamento di Milano had a mechanical failure and Lt. Morandi shot some pistol rounds into the engine to make it unrepairable. One of the Autoblinde AB43s also had a failure of the fuel ignition system, but the failure was shortly repaired and the armored car reached Como. On the afternoon of 26th April, the Distaccamento di Milano arrived in Caserma De Cristoforis in Como. There, it surrendered to the partisans, as Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana’s High Commander, General Niccolò Nicchiarelli, had ordered.
The number of vehicles in service with the Distaccamento di Milano is uncertain. When it was transferred to Milan, it had only a Carro Armato M13/40 and a Carro Armato M14/41. Two months later, it had at least 2 Carri Armati M15/42, 2 Autoblinde AB41 armored cars, a Carro Armato L3 light tank, and probably a Carro Armato M13/40.
Before departing from Milan on 25th April night or 26th April early morning, Vincenzo Costa, one of the soldiers of the unit, wrote a list mentioning that the column that was leaving Milan had 10 tanks and 4 armored cars. The number of armored cars coincided with those present in the unit 4 months earlier (2 Autoblinde AB41 + 2 Autoblinde AB43 taken the day before), while the number of tanks had increased, although some may have been Carro Armato L3 light tanks from other Milanese units.
Comando Provinciale della Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana
The Reparto Corazzato (English: Armored Department) of the Compagnia Comando (English: Command Company) of the Comando Provinciale della Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana (English: Provincial Command of the Republican National Guard) in Varese had in its ranks a Carro Armato M13/40 and an Autoblinda AB41 armored car recovered shortly after the Armistice by Captain Giacomo Michaud from the countryside of Varese.
These were probably used only to defend the Varese’s command building and escort some convoys without fighting until September 1944. In September 1944, the High Command of the National Republican Army ordered the Provincial Command to send its armored vehicles in the Val d’Ossola area against the partisan brigades.
The vehicles, under Capt. Michaud’s command, arrived at Laveno and were embarked on a ferry, arriving in Cannobio on 9th September. However, only the Carro Armato M13/40 was disembarked while the Autoblinda AB41 that suffered from mechanical failure and returned to Varese.
The Carro Armato M13/40 took part in the Operazione ‘Avanti’ against the Ossola Republic, but in another sector of the battlefield. It departed from Cannobio and advanced east to Domodossola supporting 2 Nazi-Fascist columns. It was deployed in the area and then in Val Formazza against Partisan units until late October 1944. In that period it was heavily damaged, while the Cap. Michaud was badly wounded.
The Carro Armato M13/40 returned to the workshop in Varese but could not be repaired due to a lack of spare parts. Together with the unrepaired Autoblinda AB41, it was sent probably to Genoa or Turin. There they were repaired by specialized workshops and then were assigned to other unknown units.
The Autoblinda AB41 and a Carro Armato M13/40 inspected by some officers of the Comando Provinciale della Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana. Source: Paolo Crippa
XXI Brigata Nera ‘Stefano Rizzardi’
In a document from the Undersecretary of the Ministry of the Interior Giorgio Pini, in January 1945, the XXI Brigata Nera ‘Stefano Rizzardi’ (English: 21st Black Brigade) of Verona had a Carro Armato M13/40. The unit was named after Bersagliere Stefano Rizzardi, who died on 26th October 1943 and was the first Italian soldier awarded the Memorial Gold Medal for Military Valor.
Unfortunately, little information is known about the black brigade of Verona. In August 1944, the commander was Luigi Sioli and the total brigade force was about 150 soldiers.
The tank, used to patrol the streets of the city of Verona, was probably taken from the depot of the former 27° Deposito Misto Reggimentale when it was disbanded.
Partisan Service
About the service of the former Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’ tanks, the Partisan commander Giacomo Cibra, nicknamed ‘Nino’ that commanded the 5° Squadra Volante (English: 5th Flying Squad) of the 11ª Brigata Partigiana ‘Matteotti’ (English: 11th Partisan Brigade).
In his book written after the war Cibra explained that, on 24th April 1945 night, while the majority of the Partisans attacked the Axis forces at Carugate, his detachment remained in Pioltello stopped a Nazi-Fascist column of vehicles in Cerusco sul Naviglio, near the tram station.
The Axis soldiers, aware of the imminent end of the war, surrendered weapons and vehicles peacefully. Cibra explained that created a column composed of 2 tanks (2 Carri Armati M13/40 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’), a German armored car, 2 trucks full of partisans, and a staff car in which Cibra himself took his seat.
The column, after small skirmishes along the journey, reached Milan, entering in the northeastern boulevard Corso Buenos Aires.
As they advanced on the boulevard, at the height of Porta Venezia, in the downtown they met a car full of fascist soldiers that opened fire against the Partisan column.
One of the two tanks, probably while the driver tried to stop it to open fire, broke a track hitting at high speed a sidewalk and was abandoned.
The Carro Armato M13/40 after the fighting in Milan, being inspected by Milanese civilians or other partisans. Source: …Come il Diamante
The other tank, nicknamed ‘TEMPESTA’ (English: Storm), was deployed first to patrol some streets of the city and, on 26th April 1945 it was deployed in the final Partisan assault on Piazza 4 Novembre, where was located the Milanese headquarter of the Xa Divisione MAS.
The Carro Armato M13/40 ‘TEMPESTA’ during the parade in Pioltello on 1st May 1945. It was in Via Adua, now Via Aldo Moro. Source: pinterest.com
On 27th April 1945 the tank nicknamed ‘TEMPESTA’ was transported to Pioltello, city of origin of most of the partisans of the 11ª Brigata Partigiana ‘Matteotti’ after the end of the battle in Milan. It was shown in the great partisan parade in Pioltello on 1st May 1945.
Always from Cibra’s testimony, the damaged tank was transported to Cernusco sul Naviglio where it was repaired in a local workshop with spare track links that Cibra had recovered somewhere in Milan.
The Carro Armato M13/40 ‘TEMPESTA’ during the parade in Pioltello on 1st May 1945. On the transmission cover was painted the writing ‘BRIGATA MATTEOTTI’ and a white sheet was placed on the turret, probably to cover the fascist’s coat of arms. Source: instagram.com @Forza_Italiana
Another Carro Armato M13/40 was taken on 25th April 1945 by the partisans of the 183ª Brigata Partigiana ‘Garibaldi’ (English: 183th Partisan Brigade) in Saronno. The tank was damaged by a Panzerfaust hit and the partisans took it to a Elettro Meccanica Societa Anonima or CEMSA (English: Caproni Electro Mechanical Limited Company) workshop. There, the tank was repaired by two Soviet prisoners of war that joined the Italian communist partisans after escaping from a fascist prison camp.
The Carro Armato M13/40 captured by the Partisans in Saronno. Behind it there was a 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT heavy machine gun and a Cannone-Mitragliera Breda 20/65 Modello 1935 with shield. In front of the tank there were other guns including a Cannone-Mitragliera Scotti-Isotta Fraschini 20/70 Modello 1941. Source: I Mezzi Corazzati Italiani della Guerra Civile 1943-1945
It was put in service again to patrol the streets of the city of Saronno during the partisan uprising and then publicly shown after the war for some time in the city.
At least one Carro Armato M13/40 was captured by the partisans in the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani barrack of Turin. Partisan’s War Diary declares that the vehicle was used during the fighting to liberate the city. It seems not clear if this statement is correct, in fact, if the vehicle had been in a condition to march, the Fascist forces would have taken him with them and not abandoned a working vehicle in enemy hands.
Some Italian sources, about the Comando Provinciale della Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana of Varese, only the armored car was sent back to Turin or Genoa for reparations while the tank remained in Varese where it was delivered peacefully by the Fascist to the Partisans at the war’s end on 25th April 1945. In the image of this vehicle it seems a Carro Armato M13/40 of 1st series or a Carro Armato M14/41; unfortunately the bad quality of the image and the presence of Partisans in front of it, did not permit a clear identification.
A Carro Armato M13/40 captured by the Partisans in the Varese area. This was not the Comando Provinciale della Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana. It was probably captured by another Fascist unit. Source: I Mezzi Corazzati Italiani della Guerra Civile 1943-1945
Camouflage and Markings
The Carri Armati M13/40s used in the first months of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana usually maintained the common monochrome Kaki Sahariano (English: Saharan Khaki) desert camouflage used by the majority of former Regio Esercito vehicles.
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’ medium tanks (4 Carri Armati M13/40 and a Carro Armato M15/42) received three different camouflage schemes: at least 1 Carro Armato M13/40 was painted with a green-gray camouflage (probably the one applied at Ansaldo), while some other Carri Armati M13/40 received some medium brown and dark green spots camouflage. The Carro Armato M15/42 (and maybe also some Carri Armati M13/40s) were in Kaki Sahariano camouflage.
The three tone camouflaged Carro Armato M13/40 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’. Even if the photo is of poor quality (it was taken from a newspaper), the unit’s coat of arms and the Italian flag with the number I in Roman numerals and number 3 are visible. Source: …Come il Diamante
On the sides of the turret, at the front, lions were painted standing on two legs in a white rectangle. The lion was the symbol of the ‘Leoncello’. At the center of the turret was a tricolor Italian flag. Above the tricolor was painted a Roman numeral, indicating the number of the squadron, in this case the I Squadrone Carri M. Under the tricolor, in Arabic numerals, the number of the tank in the squadron was painted. These symbols were also painted on the turret rear, while on the front hull armored plate, between the driver and machine gunner’s positions, was only an Italian flag. Each tank also received a name painted near the driver’s slot. The names were painted in white capital letters.
The 2nd tank of the squadron was painted in green-gray camouflage and was named ‘TEMPESTA’ (English: Storm). The 3rd tank of the same squadron had the three tone camouflage but its name is not known.
One of the Carri Armati M13/40 of the Gruppo Squadroni Corazzati ‘San Giusto’ during a revision. It had the three tone camouflage scheme and the unit’s coat of arms on the frontal plate, partially covered by the driver’s vision port. This Carro Armato M13/40 of 2nd or 3rd series is equipped with two more spare wheels placed on the fenders. Source: …Come il Diamante
The Gruppo Squadroni Corazzati ‘San Giusto’ tanks were painted in standard Kaki Sahariano camouflage and received the unit’s coat of arms on the front of the casemate.
The coat of arms changed with the evolution of the unit. The earliest one was a simple Italian flag. After Spring 1944, the black silhouette of an Italian medium tank was added on the flag. After late 1944, the flag was repainted as waving with the black silhouette of an Italian self-propelled gun.
Another photo of the same Carro Armato M13/40. It shows the last version of the coat of arms of the unit and the spare wheel on the fender. Source: Storia dei Reparti Corazzati della Repubblica Sociale Italiana 1943-1945
At least one of the Carro Armato M13/40 medium tanks of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani was painted with a particular three-tone camouflage similar to the Continentale (English: Continental) applied by Ansaldo on the tanks ready to be delivered. The Continentale had dark green and reddish brown spots on the original Kaki Sahariano camouflage.
In this case, it seems that the unit totally covered the Kaki Sahariano original paint with two different shades of dark green spots and then they outlined the border of the spots with slight Kaki Sahariano lines.
The Carro Armato M13/40 of the Compagnia Carri Medi of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani. Photo taken when the tank was towed after an anti-partisan operation in Turin’s countryside. Note the particular three tone camouflage. Source: I Mezzi Corazzati Italiani della Guerra Civile 1943-1945
The medium tanks of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ were painted in usual Kaki Sahariano camouflage with the unit’s symbol, a red ‘m’ with a lictorial beam (symbol of the Fascist party) intersected by a lictorian beam. Under it was the acronym GNR painted in red. These coats of arms were painted on the turret sides and rear and were the only symbols painted on the Carri Armati M13/40 of which there are available images. The tanks also had a license plate with the acronym GNR. These plates were probably the original Regio Esercito ones but with the acronym RE covered. This hypothesis is supported because one of the license plates, ‘Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana 4340’, was probably the former ‘Regio Esercito 4340’.
A Carro Armato M13/40 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ during ammunition reloading operations. The unit’s coat of arms is clearly visible. Source: …Come il Diamante
After late 1944, the camouflage was modified on almost all the medium tanks, even if at least one Carro Armato M13/40 deployed in Turin was not repainted. The vehicles were now also painted with a camouflage similar to the Continentale, with dark green and medium brown spots, sometimes covering the coat of arms on the turret sides and sometimes maintaining them.
Conclusion
The Carro Armato M13/40 was already an obsolete vehicle when it was substituted by the Carro Armato M14/41 in 1941. Its main problem was the underpowered engine that did not permit it a good speed or good off road characteristics.
However, when used to stop the partisan maneuvers, the old Carri Armati M13/40 proved to be a more than adequate vehicle. Fighting the partisans, who did not have anti-tank weapons such as cannons, anti-tank guns, or rocket launchers, medium tanks were virtually unstoppable.
The absence of sand also favored the tank, which suffered fewer mechanical failures on the Italian mainland. This also permitted the crews to operate on mountain streets where partisans operated without overstressing the engines.
Carro Armato M13/40 of IIa Serie. It was the 2nd tank of the I Squadrone Carri M of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’ in early 1945. It was nicknamed ‘TEMPESTA’. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.Carro Armato M13/40 of IIa Serie. It was the 3rd tank of the I Squadrone Carri M of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’ in early 1945. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.Carro Armato M13/40 of IIa Serie of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani in Piemonte. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.Carro Armato M13/40 of IIIa Serie of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in Piemonte, Summer 1944. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.Carro Armato M13/40 IIIa Serie del Gruppo Squadroni Corazzati ‘San Giusto’. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Carro Armato M13/40 Specification
Size (L-W-H)
4.915 x 2.280 x 2.370 m
Weight, battle ready
13 tonnes
Crew
4 (driver, machine gunner, gunner/commander, and loader)
Engine
FIAT-SPA 8T Modello 1940 diesel, 8-cylinder, 11,140 cm³ 125 hp at 1’800 rpm
Speed
30 km/h
Range
210 km
Armament
one Cannone da 47/32 Modello 1935 with 87 rounds, four 8 mm Breda Modello 1938 medium machine guns with 2,592 rounds
Armor
Hull: 30 mm front, 25 mm sides and rear. Turret: 30 mm front, 25 mm sides and rear.
Production
710 built until mid 1941, less than 25 in RSI service.
Sources
I Mezzi Corazzati Italiani della Guerra Civile 1943-1945 – Paolo Crippa – TankMasterSpecial Italian and English Edition Volume 5
I Carristi di Mussolini: Il Gruppo Corazzato “Leonessa” dalla MSVN alla RSI – Paolo Crippa – Witness to war Volume 3
… Come il Diamante. I Carristi Italiani 1943-45 – Marco Nava and Sergio Corbatti – Laran Editions
Dal Fronte Jugoslavo alla Val d’Ossola, Cronache di guerriglia e guerra civile. 1941-1945 – Ajmone Finestra – Mursia
Il Battaglione SS “Debica”: Una documentazione: SS-Freiwilligen Bataillon “Debica” – Leonardo Sandri – eBook
La “repubblica” dell’Ossola – Paolo Bologna
Storia dei Reparti Corazzati della Repubblica Sociale Italiana 1943-1945 – Paolo Crippa – Marvia Edizioni
I Sbarbàa e i Tosànn che Fecero la Repubblica, Fatti, Storie, Documenti dal Primo Dopoguerra alla Liberazione a Pioltello – Giacomo Cibra – Lupetti
Autocannone da 75/32 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Kingdom of Italy (1943)
Half-Track Mounted Self-Propelled Gun – Paper Project
The Autocannone da 75/32 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 was an Italian anti-tank self-propelled gun designed in 1943 based on the FIAT 727 half-track chassis for the needs of the Italian Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army).
The delays with the production of the FIAT 727 caused the delay of the half-track Autocannone. The project was canceled after the 8th September 1943 Italian Armistice.
In Italian, Autocannone da 75/32 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 literally means Truck-mounted 75 mm L.32 cannon on FIAT 727 half-track hull.
Italian Half-Tracks
Before the Second World War, the Italian Army and the Italian industry were not interested in half-tracked vehicles, besides some interwar projects, such as the Semicingolato Corni (1923). The Italians preferred heavy-duty trucks or medium trucks with all-wheel drive. With the start of the conflict, during the French campaign, Italian officers were impressed by the mobility of the German half-tracked vehicles, such as the Sd.Kfz.7 heavy-duty half-track or the medium Sd.Kfz.10 that were used by the Wehrmacht to tow artillery pieces and ammunition.
An Sd.Kfz.10 of the Wehrmacht in the Soviet Union in June 1941. Source: wikipedia.org
In 1940, Colonel Sergio Berlese, an Italian designer in the Servizio Tecnico di Artiglieria (English: Artillery Technical Service), visited various German military vehicle production plants. In the production plant at Kiel, he was impressed by the German armed half-tracks and returned to the Kingdom of Italy, suggesting to his commanders that similar vehicles be produced in Italy. He easily managed to gain interest from the High Command of the Regio Esercito, and some generals showed some positive opinions towards the production of half-tracks in Italy.
Col. Berlese planned to create an Italian armed half-track, even if at that time, Italy was not producing half-tracks.
The Regio Esercito’s General Staff, enthusiastic about Col. Berlese’s ideas, ordered him to develop his design on the chassis of a fully tracked vehicle. This decision was made to speed up the project. If it was necessary to wait for the production of a half-track chassis to create a self-propelled gun on it, it would have taken a great deal of time that the Regio Esercito did not have.
This led to two different design paths. Under the supervision of Col. Berlese, an artillery piece was mounted on a fully tracked chassis. This was the Semovente M40 da 75/18, one of the most successful vehicles of the Regio Esercito during the war and the only successful design of Col. Berlese.
The other design path led the Italian Army High Command to put out some requests for the creation of half-tracks in 1941. The first developments were presented in the same year by the Centro Studi ed Esperienze della Motorizzazione (English: Vehicle Study and Experience Center) in Rome. These were the Bianchi Mediolanum medium trucks modified with tracks and the heavy duty Alfa Romeo 800RE (‘R.E.’ stands for Regio Esercito) truck.
The Alfa Romeo 800 CSEM semicingolato. Source: wikipedia.org
These two vehicles, which were tested by Italian Army specialists, were standard medium trucks with modifications to the rear axles. They did not give the desired results in off-road tests and towing tests and were abandoned.
Bianchi Mediolanum in half-track configuration during testing. On the tarpaulin is the writing R. Esercito. Source: wikiwand.com
In 1941, the Regio Esercito High Command asked for an Sd.Kfz.7 from the Wehrmacht. The German Army responded positively and, during the same year, a German half-track was tested at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione (English: Center for Motorisation Studies) in Rome, impressing the Italian officers with its towing capabilities and robustness.
Almost immediately, the possibility of producing the half-track under license was requested, but some bureaucratic problems slowed the release of documents. Production of the suspension and tracks was only granted by the German manufacturer Krauss-Maffei in 1942.
The production of the Italian copy of the Sd.Kfz.7, called Autocarro Semicingolato (English: Half-tracked Truck) Breda 61 (also known as the ‘Breda 8t’ for its weight), and a smaller version produced by FIAT called FIAT 727 or Maffei-FIAT 727 (a copy of the Sd.Kfz.10), started very slowly.
The Autocarro Semicingolato Breda 61 da 8 t during testing. Source: panzerdb.com
The FIAT 727 prototype was tested by the Italian Regio Esercito in 1943 at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione (English: Center for Motorisation Studies) in Rome. Before the 8th September 1943 Armistice, a total of 6 or 8 pre-series vehicles were produced by the FIAT plants of Turin. It was planned to deliver the first vehicles in 1944, but the Germans were not interested in producing such medium half-tracks and the project was abandoned.
The Maffei-FIAT 727 half-track. Source: Semicingolati, Motoveicoli e Veicoli Speciali del Regio Esercito Italiano 1919-1943
Like in the case of the Breda 61, even while the FIAT 727 was just a paper project, way before the production of a prototype, a team of engineers started the development of variants on its chassis: the Autocannone da 75/32 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 and the Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727.
Design
The only source that mentions the Autocannone da 75/32 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 is the book Andare Contro i Carri Armati written by Filippo Cappellano and Nicola Pignato. The two authors dedicated very few words to the vehicle and no kind of blueprint even exists.
Autocarro Semicingolato Maffei-FIAT 727 da 3 t
After testing the Sd.Kfz.7 in 1941, FIAT and Breda divided the tasks. FIAT would produce a scaled-down copy of the Sd.Kfz.7 (although later moved onto the smaller Sd.Kfz.10), whilst Breda would produce the copy of the Sd.Kfz.7. However, the two companies had to wait until late 1942 to receive permission from the German company Krauss-Maffei to produce the tracks and suspension of the Sd.Kfz.7.
The Maffei-FIAT 727 (above) and the Sd.Kfz.10 (below). Sources: Compiled by author using Semicingolati, Motoveicoli e Veicoli Speciali del Regio Esercito Italiano 1919-1943 and blueprint.com
Engine and Suspensions
The exact engine model is not known, but it was probably a FIAT license copy of the Maybach HL42 TRKM petrol engine used on the Sd.Kfz.10. The FIAT 727’s 6-cylinder engine produced a maximum of 100 hp at 2,800 rpm. It had a bore and stroke of 90 x 110 mm and an internal volume of 4,170 cm³. This propelled the vehicle to a maximum speed of 53 km/h.
Maffei-FIAT 727 chassis, radiator, and engine during testing. Source: Semicingolati, Motoveicoli e Veicoli Speciali del Regio Esercito Italiano 1919-1943
The gearbox was of Italian origin, probably a copy of the German semi-automatic Maybach Variorex-transmission Schaltreglergetriebe 102 128 H, and had 4 forward and one reverse gears with a reducer. The engine was equipped with a Solex carburetor. The tracked suspension consisted of five double road wheels, overlapping and interleaved, mounted on swing arms sprung by torsion bars. The front axle had a leaf spring suspension and shock absorbers. The sprocket wheel had the complicated rollers rather than the more common teeth. This was a complicated system but guaranteed an increased track life. On the rear, the idler wheel was used to tension the track.
Chassis
The Maffei-FIAT 727 had a total weight of 3 tonnes and a payload of 1.5 tonnes. The crew consisted of a commander on the left and a driver on the right. Behind them, there were two rows of benches that could sit 6 soldiers, usually artillery troops that operated the guns towed by the vehicle, which had a tow capacity of 6 tonnes. The windshield could fold forward. A convertible canvas top was mounted at the upper part of the rear body. It fastened to the windshield when erected to protect the crew from the elements.
The FIAT 727 during testing. It was a copy of the Sd.Kfz.10, but with a bodywork similar to the Sd.Kfz.7. Source: wikipedia.org
Like the German Sd.Kfz.10, the FIAT 727 had the engine and transmission on the front, the driving and transport compartment in the center, and a storage compartment on the rear.
The maximum speed was 53 km/h on road in the standard cargo variant. Its range was 240 km on road and 140 km off-road. The average fuel consumption was 45 liters per 100 km on road and 75 liters of fuel per 100 km off-road. The tires were produced by Pirelli of Milan. The rim dimensions were 7.25 x 20”.
Main Armament
The armament of the vehicle would have been the Cannone a Grande Gittata da 75/32 Modello 1937 (English: 75 mm L.32 Long Range Cannon Model 1937). The development of this new gun was proposed by Col. Sergio Berlese. It was a light long-range field gun, but due to the low muzzle velocity, it also had adequate anti-tank characteristics for shaped charge rounds.
Front view of the Cannone a Grande Gittata da 75/32 Modello 1937. Source: comandosupremo.com
The gun’s prototype was produced in 1937 by the Arsenale Regio Esercito di Napoli or AREN (English: Royal Army Arsenal of Naples) and tested later that year. It was designated as Cannone da 75/32 Modello 1937, but not accepted into service.
Between 1937 and 1939, an experimental battery was produced and intensively tested. After a series of modifications concerning the gun’s barrel lenght (decreased by some centimeters) and the muzzle brake, the gun was accepted into service in 1939. A total of 192 guns were ordered in 1940 and produced by the Ansaldo Pozzuoli plant in Pozzuoli, near Naples.
Some senior Italian officers requested the gun should be adopted as the main anti-tank gun of the Italian divisions, but the proposal was denied by the Regio Esercito’s High Command, as it considered it not reliable in that role due to the time the crew needed to put it in battery position and the complex operations to shoot at long distances. The Regio Esercito’s High Command suggested using it as an anti-tank gun only until more reliable guns came into service.
The gun had a weight in battery position of 1,160 kg with the gun shield. Its traverse was 25° to either side, elevation was from -10° to +45°.
There is no information about the trunnion on which the gun would be mounted on the half-track chassis. The decision to mount this field gun is questionable. During that period, the Regio Esercito had in service the Cannone da 75/46 Modello 1934 (English: 75 mm L.46 Cannon Model 1934), developed for the anti-aircraft role but used as an anti-tank gun due its muzzle velocity. It also had a trunnion that could be, with a few modifications, mounted on the chassis of a vehicle. This gun was probably discarded due to its weight, which was about 3,380 kg in battery position.
Cannone a Grande Gittata da 75/32 Modello 1937 fresh out of the factory. Source: Storia dell’Artiglieria
The Regio Esercito probably intended this autocannone to perform the tasks of a support vehicle, and, if necessary, also anti-tank vehicle, leaving the anti-aircraft role to other half-track autocannoni, such as the Autocannone da 40/56 su FIAT 727 and the dual use Autocannone da 90/53 su Breda 61.
In total, only 172 Cannoni da 75/32 Modello 1937 were produced before the 8th September 1943 Armistice. A total of 48 guns were captured intact by the Germans, who renamed the gun 7.5 cm FeldKanone 248(i) (English: 7.5 cm Field Cannon 248 Italian).
Ammunition
During the Second World War, to speed up production, the Regio Esercito used a variety of different rounds that could be fired by different cannons.
Ammunition for the Cannone da 75/32 Modello 1937
Name
Type
Muzzle velocity (m/s) with first charge
Muzzle velocity (m/s) with second charge
Weight (kg)
penetration in mm of a RHA angled at 90° at
penetration in mm of a RHA angled at 60° at
500 m
1,000 m
500 m
1,000 m
Granata Dirompente da 75/32
High-Explosive
//
570 (estimated)
6.35
//
//
//
//
Granata Dirompente da 75/32 a d.e.
High-Explosive
360
570
6.30
//
//
//
//
Granata Dirompente da 75/27 Modello 1932
High-Explosive
350
490
6.35
//
//
//
//
Granata Perforante da 75/32
Armor Piercing
//
630
6.10
70
60
55
47
Granata da 75 Effetto Pronto (early type)
HEAT
//
580
4.50
55**
55**
50**
50**
Granata da 75 Effetto Pronto (later type)
HEAT
//
557***
5.20
*
*
*
*
Granata da 75 Effetto Pronto Speciale (early type)
HEAT
//
*
5.20
*
*
*
*
Granata da 75 Effetto Pronto Speciale Modello 1942
HEAT
//
399****
5.30
*
*
70
70
Notes
* Data not present
** British estimation
*** Muzzle velocity of the projectile fired from the L.34 gun
**** Muzzle velocity of the projectile fired from the L.27 gun
Three rounds fired from the Cannone a Grande Gittata da 75/32 Modello 1937. From left to right: High Explosive, Armor Piercing, and HEAT. Source: forum.warthunder.com
Crew
As many other autocannoni, the crew would have probably consisted of 6 or 7 soldiers. The vehicle was operated by a crew of 2, a driver on the right and the vehicle/gun’s commander on the left.
The gun crew would have probably consisted of a gunner and 3 or 4 loaders, maybe more. It is not known where the gun crew would have been seated. If the vehicle would have had foldable sides for the rear platform, it could have been equipped with folding seats on the sides. If the vehicle was not to be equipped with foldable sides for the platform, the gun crew would have probably been transported on another vehicle, perhaps an extra FIAT 727 that also transported a decent reserve of ammunition for the cannon.
The Autocannone da 75/32 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727
The Autocannone da 75/32 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 probably maintained the original frame of the Maffei-FIAT 727. This would speed up production, as the chassis for the autocannoni and the standard medium half-tracks would be the same and only later would the vehicles be modified with a gun on a rear platform.
For the same reason, it is logical to suppose that the chassis of the Autocannone da 75/32 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 would have the same modifications as those of the Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727’s chassis. The frame, engine compartment, and driving compartment would have been identical to the standard Maffei-FIAT 727. The rear platform would have probably had sides that folded 90° to increase the working surface for the gun operators.
Before firing on enemy targets, the crew of an Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 would have had to lower the jacks present on the sides of the vehicle to avoid the risk of overturning and to avoid stress on the suspension. It is probable that this autocannone armed with a larger caliber gun would be equipped with similar jacks. It is unclear if the jacks were manual, as on the Autocannoni da 90/53 su Breda 52 and Lancia 3Ro, or hydraulic, as on the Autocannone da 90/53 su SPA Dovunque 41. The vehicle could probably not have fired without the jacks in place against ground targets because the recoil of the gun would have stressed the vehicle’s suspension.
Conclusion
Very little is known about this interesting autocannone. The only source that mentions it dedicates just a few short sentences to it. Not even the original blueprint survived the war.
The Autocannone da 75/32 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 was envisioned on a chassis that was never mass-produced, so it is difficult to hypothesize about its characteristics.
A support vehicle with great mobility would surely have been useful for the Italian divisions which regularly had to rely on improvised armed vehicles during the war.
Autocannone da 75/32 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Autocannone da 75/32 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 Specification
Size (L-W-H)
5.55 x 2.00 x ~2.50 m
Weight, battle ready
~ 5 tonnes
Crew
6 or 7 (driver, commander, gunner, 3 or 4 loaders)
Engine
FIAT petrol 6-cylinder engine, 100 hp at 2,800 rpm
Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano, Volume Secondo, Tomo II – Nicola Pignato and Filippo Cappellano – Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito – 2002
AB41 Trasporto Munizioni. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Kingdom of Italy (1941-1942)
Ammunition Carrier – 5 Built
The Autoblindo AB41 Trasporto Munizionic (English: AB41 Armored Car [based] Ammunition Carrier) was an Italian ammunition carrier built on the chassis of the AB armored car series, the most produced Italian armored car during the Second World War. A total number of 5 older AB40 were modified by the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in Sestri Ponente into ammunition carriers, but it seems that they were never delivered to the Italian units in the frontline.
The Autoblindo AB41 Trasporto Munizioni at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in Sestri Ponente, near Genoa. Source: Italian Armored Cars Autoblindo AB41 & AB43
The Autoblindo Modello 1940
The first vehicle of the AB series, the Autoblindo Modello 1940 (English: Model 1940 Armored Car), or simply AB40, was developed as a successor to the Lancia 1ZM, a First Word War era Italian armored car.
The Italian Army made a request for a new armored car with similar characteristics to the Lancia. At the same time, the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana or PAI (English: Police of Italian Africa), the police corps tasked with keeping order in the Italian colonies in Africa, also ordered a similar vehicle to patrol the colonies.
The Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino or FIAT (English: Italian Automobile Factory of Turin) and Ansaldo of Genoa started a joint development to meet these requirements. To speed up production and save money, they produced a vehicle that could satisfy both requests simultaneously, and in 1938, the first prototype was ready. It was initially called Autoblindomitragliatrice Modello 1940 (English: Machine Gun Armored Car Model 1940).
The Autoblindomitragliatrice Modello 1940. This prototype was designed for the Regio Esercito and was slightly different from the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana prototype. Source: italie1935-45.com
The AB40 maintained the same armament distribution as the Lancia 1ZM, with two medium machine guns in the turret and a third in the rear of the hull. All the machine guns were 8 mm Breda Modello 1938. Apart from that, it had a totally new shape and two driving seats, one at the front and one at the back. This would permit the crew to quickly disengage from firefights.
The AB40 last Polizia dell’Africa Italiana prototype at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant. Source: Archivio Ansaldo
With the experiences gained by the Italians during the Spanish Civil War, during which the opposing Republican forces were equipped with BA-6 heavy armored cars, T-26 and BT-5 light tanks, all armed with 45 mm guns, the Italian High Command understood that two machine guns were not enough to deal with enemy vehicles.
The pre-series AB40 with license plate Regio Esercito 116B at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione of Rome for evaluations. Source: Gli Autoveicoli dell’Esercito Italiano fino al 1943
Because of the lack of firepower, only 24 AB40s were produced in 1941, before being improved with a new turret armed with a Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 20 mm automatic cannon. This new version also received a more powerful engine that delivered 88 hp instead of the previous 78 hp (although a number of vehicles were fitted with both the new turret and the old engine). This new version was renamed Autoblindo Modello 1941.
Accepted into service, the production of the pre-series vehicles started. In March 1941, a total of 5 other pre-series AB40 were ready, and on 20th March 1941, they were delivered to the Scuola di Cavalleria (English: Cavalry School) of Pinerolo, in the Centro Addestramento Autoblindo (English: Armored Car Training Center). The 5 vehicles received license plates: Ro. Eto. 117B, Ro. Eto. 118B, Ro. Eto. 119B, Ro. Eto. 120B and Ro. Eto. 121B.
The 5 pre-series Autoblindo AB40s lined up outside the Ansaldo-Fossati plant. Source: Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano
History of the Vehicles
It is not clear exactly for how long the 5 pre-series vehicles remained in Pinerolo for training purposes, but they were used extensively to train crews.
The pre-series AB40s lined up at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in Sestri Ponente. Sources: italie1935-45.com and La Meccanizzazione dell’Esercito fino al 1943
As the war progressed, the 5 AB40s deployed at Pinerolo were substituted by more powerful AB41s, which was the standard vehicle in the theaters of war.
The 5 pre-series AB40s produced in early 1941 were sent back to the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in Sestri Ponente. They received a thorough inspection and overhaul, during which worn parts were replaced with new ones.
The Autoblindo AB40 with license plate Regio Esercito 117B inside the Ansaldo-Fossati plant. It had a two tone camouflage and was not yet equipped with the machine guns. Source: italie1935-45.com
The Regio Esercito units often complained, especially the divisions deployed in North Africa, about the little amount of ammunition transported inside armored cars, tanks, and other armored vehicles. This forced individual vehicles to retreat to replenish ammunition during clashes with the Allies, before returning to the battlefield. This slowed down any offensive, weakened the Italian line, and could create serious problems if the vehicles could not be reloaded with ammunition.
Infantry divisions also complained about the lack of dedicated ammunition carriers for their artillery units. The few ammunition carriers available were simple cargo trucks that were very vulnerable to light enemy fire. This was exemplified during the first actions in North Africa, where captured Commonwealth lorries were modified into ammunition carriers.
Another way to protect ammunition carriers was to place a light anti-aircraft gun or 47 mm support gun on the cargo bays of heavy duty trucks, which had enough space to additionally load the crewmembers and a considerable ammunition supply.
It is not clear when or who came up with the idea to convert the obsolete Autoblinde AB40 into ammunition carriers. It is likely that Ansaldo initiated it on its own accord, but nothing to verify this has been found in the Ansaldo archives nor the Army’s archives. The images of the Autoblindo AB41 Trasporto Munizioni show a single AB40 converted into an ammunition carrier, so it is difficult to confirm if all the 5 pre-series AB40s were modified.
It seems that the Autoblindo AB41 Trasporto Munizioni, however many were built, were never deployed to the field, probably because Ansaldo never received orders from the Regio Esercito on where to send them or to which unit to deliver them to. As a result, it is likely that the vehicles were used by Ansaldo to transport ammunition or materials within the perimeter of the Ansaldo-Fossati plant, were repurposed into something else after the project failed, or scrapped for spare parts.
The Autoblinda AB42 Comando and the Semovente 47/32 su Scafo AB41 were built on the same chassis as the AB41 Trasporto Munizioni and could have also been produced starting from one of the 5 pre-series AB40 chassis.
Design
The question of the name remains a clue. The vehicles were called Autoblindo AB41 Trasporto Munizioni even though they were modified from Autoblindo AB40 armored cars.
This was probably because the modifications to convert the obsolete armored cars into ammunition carriers started in 1941. This was also made for the Autoblinda AB42 Comando that was built from a pre-existing pre-series AB40.
By analyzing the Italian industry’s capabilities at that time, maybe the decision not to adopt the armored car’s chassis for ammunition transport was a good one. The AB armored car series already had a slow rate of production in its standard fighting variant. Another variant built on its chassis would have deprived the Italian divisions on the frontlines of precious reconnaissance armored cars.
Modifications
The turret and armored roof were removed on the ammunition carrier version of the AB40. Some armored plates, probably 8.5 mm thick, were bolted on the sides to raise the sides of the superstructure increasing the internal volume of the vehicle. To protect the crew from the elements, there was a removable waterproof tarpaulin. The open topped solution was a useful one to reload armored vehicles, as the Autoblindo AB41 Trasporto Munizioni’s crew could easily pass the 20 mm clips or the 47 mm rounds to the crews of armored vehicles who remained safely inside their vehicles.
The rear driving position was removed on the Autoblindo AB41 Trasporto Munizioni. Due to the new tasks the vehicle had to perform, it was not as necessary to retract quickly from battlefields. Instead, it was important to carry as much ammunition as possible.
The vision slot that permitted the rear driver to check the battlefield was removed and the hole was covered by a rectangular armored plate bolted onto the rear armored plate. The rear Breda Modello 1938 machine gun’s spherical support was also removed, as the vehicle no longer needed offensive armament in its new role. The hole was once more covered by a rounded armored plate bolted onto the vehicle’s superstructure. It is not known if the rounded armored plate was equipped with a pistol port closed by a revolving shutter from the inside like the side doors. The Autoblinda AB42 Comando, a vehicle modified in a similar way, received a pistol port on the rear to permit the crew to defend themselves from enemy infantry attacks.
Drawing of the Autoblindo AB41 Trasporto Munizioni. Source: Semicingolati, Motoveicoli e Veicoli Speciali del Regio Esercito Italiano 1919-1943
The interior sides of the vehicles were totally changed. All the ammunition racks for the Breda machine guns were removed, together with the radio apparatus and the antenna, on the left side. Instead, wooden racks to store 20 mm and 47 mm rounds were added. Unfortunately, it is not known exactly how nor how much ammunition was stored inside the Autoblindo AB41 Trasporto Munizioni.
At an unknown date, a single Autoblinda AB42 Comando was produced by the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione. After testing, it was sent to the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in Sestri Ponente, where the Regio Esercito’s High Command planned that Ansaldo would start production. Production never started, but it seems that Ansaldo produced a prototype of the AB42 Comando on another chassis. To save money, they perhaps converted one of the 5 pre-series AB40s into this second prototype of the command vehicle.
The AB42 Comando at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in Sestri Ponente. The similarity with AB41 Trasporto Munizioni is apparent. Source: Archivio Ansaldo
The crew on the Autoblindo AB41 Trasporto Munizioni consisted of two: a driver sat in the front and a commander, whose exact position is not clear. The crew could rely on the side’s pistol ports and probably a third one on the rear to use their personal weapons. It seems plausible that the vehicles would have been equipped with an anti-aircraft machine gun support, probably for a Breda Modello 1938 medium machine gun.
Armor
The armor on the entire hull and superstructure consisted of bolted plates. This arrangement did not offer the same efficiency as a mechanically welded plate, but facilitated the replacement of an armor element in case it had to be repaired.
The armored plates of the prototype were left unchanged on the Autoblindo AB41 Trasporto Munizioni. The hull had 8.5 mm thick armored plates on the front, sides, and rear. The wheel fenders were also armored to prevent enemy fire from piercing the tires.
In general, the armor was more than adequate for the original armored car role and its ammunition carrier version, protecting the crew from enemy infantry’s light weapons.
The Autoblindo AB41’s armor scheme. Apart from the turret’s armor, the hull of the ammunition carrier had identical thicknesses. This scheme, made by the British at the School of Tank Technology seems incorrect, as, in fact, the AB armored car series were protected by 8.5 mm armored plates and not 9 mm thick. Source: Autoblindo AB41 & AB43
Hull
The hull of the armored car had an internal structure on which the plates were bolted. At the rear of the superstructure, there were the two armored access doors, divided into two parts, that could be opened separately. The upper part had a pistol port closed by a revolving shutter, inside so that the crew could use their personal weapons for close-quarters defense. On the left was the antenna, which rested on a support at the back of the superstructure. In fact, in order to open the upper part of the left door, it was necessary to raise the antenna by a few degrees.
The internal structure on which the plates were bolted on the original AB40 and AB41 chassis. Source: pinterest.com @Lucky01
On the right, the horn was placed at the front, a pickaxe was placed on the side, and the exhaust pipe was placed on the rear mudguard. The two spare wheels were placed in two fairings on the sides of the superstructure. Above the engine compartment, there were two air intakes and two hatches for engine maintenance. On the back were the cooling grille and the two rear lights with the license plate.
Engine and Suspension
The Autoblindo AB41 Trasporto Munizioni’s engine was a FIAT-SPA ABM 1, 6-cylinder water-cooled inline petrol engine with an internal volume of 4,995 cm3. It delivered a maximum output of 78 hp (some sources claim 80 hp) at 2,700 rpm.
It was cooled by a water circuit driven by a centrifugal pump. The engine’s cooling water tank was placed under the rear driver’s hatch, on the left of the fuel reserve tank, even if the rear driver position was removed. The engine was coupled with a Zenith type 42 TTVP carburetor housed in the back of the engine compartment.
The AB40’s engine scheme. Source: Autoblinda FIAT Ansaldo 40-41, Manuale per le Riparazioni
The engine could be started manually using a crank or electrically with an ignition key. The single dry plate clutch transmitted the movement of the drive shaft to a gearbox. The differential, from which the four drive shafts departed, was in the center of the vehicle and connected to the propeller shaft on the rear.
The engine compartment was well cooled with grilles on the engine deck, right behind the rear armored plate of the superstructure, grilles on the maintenance hatches, and inclined grilles on the rear for the radiator’s water cooling. It should also be considered that the lack of a bulkhead allowed for easier cooling.
The engines were designed by FIAT and produced by its subsidiary, Società Piemontese Automobili or SPA (English: Piedmontese Automobiles Company), in Turin.
There were two fuel tanks with a total capacity of 138 l. The main one, with 118 l, was in the double bottom of the floor, while the 20 l reserve tank was placed on the rear armored plate, in the rear of the crew compartment. The oil bath air filters were of satisfactory quality, giving great results even in the desert environment.
Fuel system of the AB40 and early AB41 armored cars. Source: modellismopiù.com
The electrical system was composed of a Magneti Marelli 3 MF15 battery with 4 accumulators and was used to power the 4 external headlights, radios, and the horn placed on the front right mudguard.
The suspension was a four-wheel drive and four steering wheels with independent shock absorbers on each wheel which, coupled with the large diameter tires, gave excellent off-road mobility to the armored cars.
The AB armored car series’ independent suspensions. Source: pinterest.com
The Turretless AB41 in North Africa
During the North African Campaign, it seems that at least one AB41, probably damaged during combat with the Allies, was modified by removing the turret. It was likely initially used as a liaison vehicle or as an ammunition carrier vehicle, i.e. what the Autoblindo AB41 Trasporto Munizioni was meant to perform. Nothing more is known about it.
An interesting image of a Autocarro Sahariano AS37 towing a trailer loaded with a Sd.Kfz.10 and just behind them a AB41 without turret. Source: Lybia at War
Conclusion
The Autoblindo AB41 Trasporto Munizioni was a cheap conversion of the obsolete AB40. They could be used to effectively reload frontline units even under enemy fire thanks to its armor.
Unfortunately, it seems that the vehicle never had a chance to be presented to the Regio Esercito, and the few vehicles converted were never deployed for their purpose, even if many Italian units continued to complain about the absence of ammunition carriers.
AB41 Trasporto Munizioni. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.AB42 Comando. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Semicingolati, Motoveicoli e Veicoli Speciali del Regio Esercito Italiano 1919-1943 – Giulio Benussi – Intergest – 1976
La Meccanizzazione dell’Esercito fino al 1943, Tomo II, Volume II – Lucio Ceva and Andrea Curami – Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito – 1994
Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano, Volume II, Tomo I – Nicola Pignato and Filippo Cappellano – Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito – 2002
Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Kingdom of Italy (1943)
Half-Track Mounted Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun – Paper Project
The Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 was an Italian self-propelled anti-aircraft gun based on the Maffei-FIAT 727 half-track chassis, designed in 1943 for the needs of the Italian Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army).
Delays in the production of the FIAT 727 had a knock-on effect on the half-tracked Autocannone. The project was canceled after the Italian Armistice of 8th September 1943.
Translated from Italian, Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 literally means ‘Truck-mounted 40 mm L/56 cannon on FIAT 727 half-track hull’. In some sources it has also been called Semovente da 40/56 Bofors su Semicingolato da 3 t (English: Self-propelled gun 40 mm L/56 Bofors on 3 tonne half-track).
Drawing of the Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727. Source: Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano
Italian half-tracks
Before the Second World War, the Italian Army and the Italian industry were not interested in half-tracked vehicles, apart from some interwar projects, such as the Semicingolato Corni (1923).
The Italians preferred heavy-duty trucks or medium trucks with all-wheel drive to tow their artillery, transport ammunition etc.
During the start of the war, in the French Campaign, Italian officers were impressed by the mobility of the German half-tracks, such as the Sd.Kfz.7 heavy-duty half-track or the medium Sd.Kfz.10 that were used by the Wehrmacht to tow artillery pieces, transport ammunition, and in other important logistic tasks.
An Sd.Kfz.10 of the Wehrmacht in the Soviet Union in June 1941. Source: wikipedia.org
In 1940 Colonel Sergio Berlese, a brilliant Italian designer and member of the Servizio Tecnico di Artiglieria (English: Artillery Technical Service) visited various German military vehicle production plants.
In the production plant of Kiel he remained impressed by the juggernaut German armed half-track and returned to the Regno d’Italia (English: Kingdom of Italy) suggesting his commanders to produce similar vehicles in Italy. He easily managed to interest the High Command of the Regio Esercito, In fact, some generals had positive opinions on the production of half-tracks in Italy.
The plans of Col. Berlese were to create an Italian made armed half-track, but in that period Italy was not producing half-tracks. This led to two different design paths: the idea of Col. Berlese was changed, mounting an artillery piece on a fully tracked chassis, this led to the Semovente M40 da 75/18, one of the most successful vehicles of the Regio Esercito during the war and the only successful design of Berlese.
The other design path led the Italian Army High Command to put out some requests for the creation of half-tracks in 1941. This was not only to create new cargo half-tracks, but also to create armored vehicles on their chassis.
The first developments were presented in the same year by the Centro Studi ed Esperienze della Motorizzazione (English: Vehicle Study and Experience Center) in Rome. These were the Bianchi Mediolanum medium trucks modified with tracks and the heavy duty truck Alfa Romeo 800RE CSEM (‘R.E.’ stands for Regio Esercito and CSEM for Centro Studi ed Esperienze della Motorizzazione) in fact the vehicle was not proposed by the Alfa Romeo company but was a Regio Esercito’s own development.
The Alfa Romeo 800 CSEM semicingolato. Source: wikipedia.org
These two vehicles, which were tested by Italian Army specialists, were standard medium trucks with modifications to the rear axles. They did not give the desired results in off-road tests and towing tests and were abandoned.
Bianchi Mediolanum in half-track configuration during testing. On the tarpaulin there is the code R. Esercito. Source: wikiwand.com
In 1941, the Regio Esercito High Command asked for an Sd.Kfz.7 from the Wehrmacht. The German Army responded positively and, during the same year, a German half-track was tested at the Centro Studi ed Esperienze della Motorizzazione in Rome, impressing the Italian officers with its towing capabilities and robustness.
Almost immediately, the possibility of producing the half-track under license was requested, but some bureaucratic problems slowed the release of documents and the permission for producing the suspension and tracks came from the German manufacturer Krauss-Maffei only in 1942.
The production of the Italian copy of the Sd. Kfz.7, called Autocarro Semicingolato (English: Half-tracked Truck) Breda 61 (also known as the ‘Breda 8t’ for its weight) produced by Società Italiana Ernesto Breda per Costruzioni Meccaniche (English: Italian Ernesto Breda Company for Mechanical Constructions) and a smaller FIAT 727 or Maffei-FIAT 727 produced by Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino or FIAT (English: Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), copying the Sd.Kfz.10, started very slowly.
The Autocarro Semicingolato Breda 61 da 8 t during tests. Source: panzerdb.com
The FIAT 727 prototype was tested by the Italian Regio Esercito in 1943 at the Centro Studi ed Esperienze della Motorizzazione. Before the 8th September 1943 Armistice, either 6 or 8 pre-series vehicles were produced by the FIAT plants of Turin. Plans were made to deliver the first vehicles in 1944, but the Germans were not interested in producing such medium half-tracks and the project was abandoned.
The Maffei-FIAT 727 half-track. Source: Semicingolati, Motoveicoli e Veicoli Speciali del Regio Esercito Italiano 1919-1943
As was the case with the Breda 61, while the FIAT 727 was still just a paper project, before the production of a prototype, a team of engineers started the development of variants which would use its chassis, including the Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 and the Autocannone da 75/32 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727.
Design
Very little is known about this interesting vehicle armed with an unusual Swedish gun, with the only source that describes it, Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano only dedicating a few sentences to describe it.
Autocarro Semicingolato Maffei-FIAT 727 da 3 t
After testing the Sd.Kfz.7 in 1941, FIAT and Breda divided the tasks. FIAT would produce a scaled-down copy of the Sd.Kfz.7 (although later moved onto the smaller Sd.Kfz.10), whilst Breda would produce the copy of the Sd.Kfz.7. However, the two companies had to wait until late 1942 to receive permission from the German company Krauss-Maffei to produce the tracks and suspension of the Sd.Kfz.7.
The Maffei-FIAT 727 (above) and the Sd.Kfz.10 (below). Sources: Compiled by author using Semicingolati, Motoveicoli e Veicoli Speciali del Regio Esercito Italiano 1919-1943 and blueprint.com
Engine and Suspension
The exact engine model is not known, but it was probably a FIAT license copy of the Maybach HL42 TRKM petrol engine used on the Sd.Kfz.10. The FIAT 727’s 6-cylinder engine produced a maximum of 100 hp at 2,800 rpm. It had a bore and stroke of 90 x 110 mm and an internal volume of 4,170 cm³. This propelled the vehicle to a maximum speed of 53 km/h.
Maffei-FIAT 727 chassis, radiator, and engine during testing. Source: Semicingolati, Motoveicoli e Veicoli Speciali del Regio Esercito Italiano 1919-1943 – Giulio Benussi – Intergest Publishing – 1976
The gearbox was of Italian origin, probably a copy of the German semi-automatic Maybach Variorex-transmission Schaltreglergetriebe 102 128 Hc and had 4 forward and one reverse gears with a reducer. The engine was equipped with a Solex carburetor. The tracked suspension consisted of five double road wheels, overlapping and interleaved, mounted on swing arms sprung by torsion bars. The front axle had a leaf spring suspension and shock absorbers. The sprocket wheel had the complicated rollers rather than the more common teeth. This was a complicated system but guaranteed an increased track life. On the rear, the idler wheel was used to tension the track.
Chassis
The Maffei-FIAT 727 had a total weight of 3 tonnes and a payload of 1.5 tonnes. The crew consisted of a commander on the left and a driver on the right. Behind them, there were two rows of benches that could seat 6 soldiers, usually artillery troops that operated the guns towed by the vehicle, which had a tow capacity of 6 tonnes. The windshield could fold forward. A convertible canvas top was mounted at the upper part of the rear body. It fastened to the windshield when erected to protect the crew from the elements.
The FIAT 727 during testing. It was a copy of the Sd.Kfz.10, but with a bodywork similar to the Sd.Kfz.7. Source: wikipedia.org
Like the German Sd.Kfz.10, the FIAT 727 had the engine and transmission on the front, the driving and transport compartment in the center, and a storage compartment on the rear.
Modifications
The Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 maintained the original frame, engine deck, and driving compartment of the FIAT 727, but a platform on which the gun was added to the rear. Even with these modifications, it seems that the vehicle’s dimensions did not change, with a length of 5.55 m, a width of 2 m and height of about 2.30 m, compared to the standard Maffei-FIAT 727 half-track’s 5.55 x 2.00 x 2.15 m.
The Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 was very likely inspired by the German Sd.Kfz.10/4 and 10/5 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns armed initially with the 2 cm FlaK 30 and as the war continued, with the more modern FlaK 38 between 1939 and 1943.
The Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 (above) and the German Sd.Kfz.10/4 (below) sources: Compiled by author using Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano and warspot.net
The original sketches of the vehicle perhaps suggest that the platform had some sides that could be lowered 90° increasing the floorspace for the gun’s operators.
Before opening fire against air targets, the crew had to lower the jacks on the sides of the vehicle to avoid the risk of it overturning with the recoil. It is unclear if the jacks were manual as on the Autocannoni da 90/53 su Breda 52 and Lancia 3Ro or hydraulic as on the Autocannone da 90/53 su SPA Dovunque 41. The vehicle could probably not have fired without the jacks in place even against ground targets because the recoil of the gun would have stressed the vehicle’ suspension.
Original sketch of the Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727. The letters indicate: A) Bofors gun; B) turning platform for loaders; and C) spent cartridge rail. Source: Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano
Crew
In addition to the original 2 crewmembers, the gun was probably operated by 2 gunners and 3 loaders, maybe more. Where the gun crew were placed when not operating the gun is unknown. If the vehicle had had foldable sides for the rear platform, it could have been equipped with folding seats on the sides, as were the German Sd.Kfz.10/4 and 10/5. This is not a far-fetched idea, as other Italian vehicles were also equipped with folding seats, such as the Camionetta desertica SPA-Viberti AS42 and the Autocannone da 90/53 su Breda 501.
If the vehicle was not equipped with foldable sides for the platform, the gun crew were possibly transported on another vehicle, perhaps another FIAT 727 that also transported a decent reserve of ammunition for the anti-aircraft gun.
Main Armament
The Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 was armed with a 40 mm Fältautomatkanon L/60 (English: 40 mm Field Automatic Cannon L/60) produced in Sweden.
The Swedish Bofors company started the development of the gun in 1928 as a replacement for the Swedish Navy’s Vickers 40 mm guns. It was tested in late 1931 and was adopted by the Swedish Navy soon after. In the following years, the Bofors anti-aircraft gun was adopted by the Dutch Navy (1934), Belgium (1935), and then Poland, Norway, and Finland, followed by Argentina and many other nations. The United Kingdom examined a gun delivered by Poland in 1937 and quickly acquired the license to produce it as the Quick Firing 40 mm Mark I.
The automatic anti-aircraft Bofors 40 mm gun weighed, without the field carriage 1,981 kg. It was operated by a crew of 5 or 6 soldiers: commander, 2 gunners, and 2 or 3 loaders, depending on the versions. The Bofors had a rate of fire between 120 to 140 rounds per minute, depending on the elevation, and a muzzle velocity of 881 m/s. It was fed by 4-round metal strips loaded from the upper side.
The gun’s Italian designation was Cannone Bofors da 40/56 (English: 40 mm L/56 Bofors Gun). In fact, the real barrel length was 56 calibers, not 60 as used by other nation’s nomenclature in which the caliber number also counted the breech’s length.
The potential use of this gun is a strange decision for the Regio Esercito. The Fascist Kingdom of Italy followed a policy of autarky denying any kind of foreign equipment before the war. In part, this was also affected due to the international isolation placed on Italy as a result of the invasion of Ethiopia and the subsequent League of Nations mandated embargo. During the war, the policies of autarky evolved to a limited extent with the license production of certain German weapons or vehicles.
A Quick Firing 40 mm produced and manned by the British. Source: wikipedia.org
The desperate situation the Regio Esercito found itself in at the outbreak of the war forced the High Command to accept a compromise and initiated a deal for the delivery of the production license. Due to the war and Italy’s alliances, the Italian High Command avoided asking neutral Sweden for the production license. Instead, they turned to Hungary in 1941.
An Hungarian Bofors 36M 40 mm anti-aircraft gun manned by Hungarian soldiers. Source: wikipedia.org
In 1942 the license for the Hungarian Bofors 36M 40 mm gun was granted by the Hungarian Mavag company to Breda and Odero-Terni-Orlando (OTO). The order for 1,500 40 mm cannons was placed and the guns would begin to be delivered in January 1944. Breda and OTO had to produce copies of the gun while Terni steelworks company had to produce spare parts. the 8th September 1943 Armistice caused the cancellation of many Regio Esercito projects.
After the Armistice the Breda factories produced only small numbers of spare parts that were delivered to the Germans.
A 40 mm Bofors automatic cannon delivered by Hungary or a Quick Firing 40 mm captured from the British during tests in the Sabaudia shooting range in autumn 1942. Original color photo. Source: Storia dell’Artiglieria
The gun was tested in autumn 1942 at the Sabaudia shooting range. It was probably actually a British QF 40 mm Mark I, the British license copy of the Swedish gun, captured in North Africa.
A table in the book Storia dell’Artiglieria states that there were a total of 42 Cannone Bofors da 40/56 guns in the Italian peninsula and islands on 30th September 1942.
On the Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727, the gun would be mounted on a turntable platform that allowed a loader to load the clips while standing still while two other loaders on the vehicle’s platform and on the ground passed the clips. Thanks to the small dimensions of the FIAT 727, the gun would have a 360° traverse and an elevation of -5° to +90° on the sides and the rear of the vehicle, while on the front, due the engine deck and driver’s cabin, the gun had to be elevated a few degrees to open fire.
The number of ammunition transported on board is not known.
Conclusion
The Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 was an Italian paper project that was developed on a vehicle that, at the time, was also merely a paper project and even armed with a main gun that was not yet in service with the Regio Esercito.
If Italian projects with greater importance were abandoned, this project was not even considered by the Germans after the Armistice and immediately canceled.
A self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with these characteristics would certainly have been useful for the Italian divisions, which, from the beginning of the war until 1943, could only rely on a few ‘improvised’ autocannoni mounted on truck loading bays to defend themselves against air attacks.
Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Autocannone da 40/56 su Autocarro Semicingolato FIAT 727 Specification
Size (L-W-H)
5.55 x 2.00 x ~2.30 m
Weight, battle ready
~4.5 tonnes
Crew
Engine
FIAT petrol 6-cylinder engine, 100 hp at 2,800 rpm
Speed
~50 km/h
Range
240 km
Armament
1 Cannone da 40/56
Armor
//
Production
Paper project
Sources
Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano, Volume Secondo, Tomo II – Nicola Pignato and Filippo Cappellano – Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito – 2002
Semicingolato da 8 t per Trasporto Nucleo Artieri per Grande Unità Corazzata. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Kingdom of Italy (1943)
Armored Personnel Carrier – Paper Project
The Semicingolato da 8 t (English: 8 tonne Half-track), short for Semicingolato da 8 t per Trasporto Nucleo Artieri per Grande Unità Corazzata (English: 8 tonne Half-track for Transporting Sapper Squads for Large Armored Unit), was an Italian paper project design for a half-tracked armored personnel carrier on the chassis of the Autocarro Semicingolato Breda 61 (English: Half-tracked Truck), the Italian licensed copy of the heavy duty German Sd.Kfz.7 half-track. The project was ready in July 1943 and was presented to the Italian Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army) the same month, but was never accepted into service because of the armistice of 8th September 1943.
Drawing of the Semicingolato da 8 t per Trasporto Nucleo Artieri per Grande Unità Corazzata. Source: Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano
Italian Half-Tracks
Before the Second World War, the Italian Army and the Italian industry were not interested in half-tracked vehicles, besides some interwar projects, such as the Semicingolato Corni (1923). The Italians preferred heavy-duty trucks or medium trucks with all-wheel drive. With the start of the conflict, during the French campaign, Italian officers were impressed by the mobility of the German half-tracked vehicles, such as the Sd.Kfz.7 heavy-duty half-track or the medium Sd.Kfz.10 that were used by the Wehrmacht to tow artillery pieces and ammunition.
In 1940, Colonel Sergio Berlese, an Italian designer in the Servizio Tecnico di Artiglieria (English: Artillery Technical Service), visited various German military vehicle production plants. In the production plant at Kiel, he was impressed by the German armed half-tracks and returned to the Kingdom of Italy suggesting to his commanders that similar vehicles be produced in Italy.
Col. Berlese planned to create an Italian armed half-track, even if at that time, Italy was not producing half-tracks.
Berlese’s design suggestions led the Italian Army High Command to request the creation of half-tracks in 1941. The first developments were presented in the same year by the Centro Studi ed Esperienze della Motorizzazione (English: Vehicle Study and Experience Center) in Rome. These were the Bianchi Mediolanum medium trucks modified with tracks and the heavy duty ALFA Romeo 800RE (‘R.E.’ stands for Regio Esercito) truck.
The Alfa Romeo 800 CSEM semicingolato. Source: wikipedia.org
These two vehicles, which were tested by Italian Army specialists, were standard medium trucks with modifications to the rear axles. They did not give the desired results in off-road and towing tests and were abandoned.
The Autocarro Semicingolato Breda 61 da 8 t front. Source: Semicingolato da 8 t per Trasporto Nucleo Artieri per Grande Unità Corazzata
In 1941, the Regio Esercito High Command asked for an Sd.Kfz.7 from the Wehrmacht. The German Army responded positively and, during the same year, a German half-track was tested at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione (English: Center for Motorisation Studies) in Rome, impressing the Italian officers with its towing capabilities and robustness.
Almost immediately, the possibility of producing the half-track under license was requested, but some bureaucratic problems slowed the release of documents. Production of the suspension and tracks was only granted by the German manufacturer Krauss-Maffei in 1942.
The production of the Italian copy of the Sd. Kfz.7, called Autocarro Semicingolato (English: Half-tracked Truck) Breda 61 (also known as the ‘Breda 8t’ for its weight), and a smaller version produced by FIAT called FIAT 727 or Maffei-FIAT 727 (a copy of the Sd.Kfz.10) started very slowly.
The Autocarro Semicingolato Breda 61 da 8 t during testing. Source: panzerdb.com
The Breda 61 prototype was ready in July 1943 and was sent to the Centro Tecnico della Motorizzazione (English: Vehicle Technical Center) in Rome, where it was accepted into service as a heavy artillery tractor as the Autocarro Semicingolato Breda 61 da 8t (English: 8 tonne Breda 61 Half-track).
Before 8th September 1943, a total of 36 Breda 61s out of the 500 ordered were delivered to the Regio Esercito. These went to equip the anti-aircraft artillery regiment of the 136ª Divisione corazzata ‘Centauro II’ (English: 136th Armored Division) to tow the Cannone da 88/55 (the Italian name for the 8.8 cm FlaK 37).
The original drawing of the Autocannone da 90/53 su Semicingolato Breda 61, found in the Breda Archives in Milan. Source: Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano
At the same time, it was decided to develop an armored variant of the Breda half-track inspired by the German Sd.Kfz.251.
Purpose of the Vehicle
The Semicingolato da 8 t per Trasporto Nucleo Artieri per Grande Unità Corazzata was not developed as simply an armored personnel carrier, but as a designated sapper and engineer vehicle. It would have followed the armored vehicles and infantry of an armored division during an attack.
This would have enabled Italian units to have frontline sappers to quickly open gaps in minefields, barbed-wire grids, or anti-tank obstacles of various kinds. At the same time, this vehicle could be used to move quickly from one side of a hypothetical Italian defensive line to another, to transport a small unit of sappers to construct anti-tank obstacles, barbed-wire grids, or place mines.
Design
The development was ordered by the Ispettorato dell’Arma di Fanteria (English: Infantry Army Inspectorate) before the presentation of the prototype of the Autocarro Semicingolato Breda 61 at the Centro Tecnico della Motorizzazione in July 1943, probably starting from the Breda 61’s original blueprint.
Armor
The armored superstructure was designed by the Officina di Costruzioni del Genio Militare di Pavia (English: Pavia Army Corps of Engineers Construction Workshop) in collaboration with FIAT and Ansaldo. In the original plan, its armor consisted of 14.5 mm thick armored plates to protect the vehicle from 12.7 mm heavy machine gun rounds, as fired by Allied planes.
At the end, lighter armored plates, varying between 6.5 mm and 8 mm thick, were prefered. The armored plates would be angled to increase the theoretical thickness against weapons of higher caliber than an average medium machine gun.
Semicingolato da 8 t per Trasporto Nucleo Artieri per Grande Unità Corazzata armor scheme. Source: Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano
Frontally, the radiator was protected by two angled armored plates. The frontal armored plate had two slits for the driver and the vehicle commander that permitted them to drive the vehicle and check the battlefield.
It is not known whether the armor plates would have been welded or riveted together.
As per all other Italian armored personnel carriers designed and produced during the Second World War, the armored personnel carrier version of the Breda 61 would not have had an armored roof. This feature, which it shared with many other armored personnel carriers of the Second World War, had positives and negatives. It allowed the vehicle’s occupants to survey the battlefield by looking over the vehicle’s sides and permitted them to use their personal weapons to defend the vehicle from all sides. At the same time, the soldiers were exposed to splinters, hand grenades, and aerial attacks.
Engine and Suspension
The engine of the Breda armored half-track was a Breda Tipo 14, 6-cylinder, 6,191 cm³ unit delivering 140 hp at 2,600 rpm, the same as on the Breda 61. It was probably a licensed copy of the Maybach HL62 TUK, which had the same characteristics and powered the Sd.Kfz.7. The book ‘Italian Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War II’, written by Ralph Riccio, claims that the engine was a 6-cylinder, 7,412 cm³ unit delivering 130 hp at 2,400 rpm, but there are no other sources to support this suggestion.
The gearbox was of Italian origin and had 4 forward and one reverse gears with a reducer for a total of 8 gears and 2 reverse gears.
The theoretical maximum road speed was 40 km/h to 50 km/h and the range with the 203 liter tank was unknown, but probably about 200 km, considering the 8 tonnes Breda 61 had a maximum range of 250 km. Thanks to its powerful engine, this 11,550 kg vehicle could transport 3,700 kg of equipment and troops and an unknown towed payload.
The front axle had transversely mounted leaf springs and shock absorbers. The sprocket wheel had rollers rather than the more common teeth. This was a complicated system but guaranteed an increased track life. The rear suspension consisted of five double road wheels, overlapping and interleaved, mounted on swing arms sprung by torsion bars. On the rear, the idler wheel was used also to tension the track.
The Breda 61 track and wheels. Source: lombardiabeniculturali.com
To maintain the engine, the crew could rely on two inspection hatches on the sides and two on the engine deck.
Armament
The Semicingolato da 8 t per Trasporto Nucleo Artieri per Grande Unità Corazzata was equipped with two supports for a Mitragliatrice Breda Modello 1937 (English: Breda Model 1937 Machine Gun).
The Mitragliatrice Breda Modello 1937. Source: italie1935-45.com
This gun was developed after the specifications issued by the Ispettorato d’Artiglieria (English: Artillery Inspectorate) in May 1933. Different Italian gun companies started working on the new machine gun. The requirements were a maximum weight of 20 kg, a theoretical rate of fire of 450 rounds per minute and a barrel life of 1,000 rounds. The companies were: Metallurgica Bresciana già Tempini (English: Metallurgica Bresciana formerly Tempini), Società Italiana Ernesto Breda per Costruzioni Meccaniche (English: Italian Ernesto Breda Company for Mechanical Constructions), Ottico Meccanica Italiana (English: Italian Optician Mechanics), and Scotti.
Breda had been working since 1932 on a 7.92 mm machine gun derived from the 13.2 mm Breda Modello 1931 heavy machine gun, which had been adopted by the Italian Regia Marina (English: Royal Navy), but with a horizontal magazine feed. Between 1934 and 1935, the models developed by Breda, Scotti, and Metallurgica Bresciana già Tempini were tested.
The Comitato Superiore Tecnico Armi e Munizioni (English: Superior Technical Committee for Weapons and Ammunition) in Turin issued its verdict in November 1935. The Breda project, by this point rechambered for the 8 mm cartridge, won. A first order for 2,500 units of the Breda medium machine gun was placed in 1936. After operational evaluation with the units, the weapon was adopted in 1937 as the Mitragliatrice Breda Modello 1937.
The weapon was famous for its robustness and accuracy, despite its annoying tendency to jam if lubrication was insufficient. It was considered too heavy compared to foreign machine guns of the time. It weighed 19.4 kg and its tripod had a weight of 18.8 kg, making this weapon the heaviest medium machine gun of the Second World War.
The practical rate of fire, which was about 200-250 rounds per minute, was considered a bit low. The machine gun was fed by 20-round rigid strips. After firing, instead of ejecting the spent casings like most firearms, the Breda Mod. 37 reinserted them into the rigid strip to facilitate the recovery of reusable spent casings.
A Mitragliatrice Breda Modello 1937 deployed in a defensive position in an Italian pillbox. Source: italie1935-45.com
The machine gun shot 8 x 59 mm RB cartridges developed by Breda exclusively for machine guns. The 8 mm Breda had a muzzle velocity between 790 m/s and 800 m/s, depending on the round type. The armor piercing rounds penetrated 11 mm of non-ballistic steel angled at 90° at 100 meters.
Deployed with infantry battalions and divisional corps machine gun units, the Breda Mod. 37 fought on all fronts during the Second World War. As of October 1939, the Regio Esercito had 17,690 Breda Mod. 37 machine guns and the Milizia per la Difesa Antiaerea Territoriale, or DICAT (English: Militia for Territorial Anti-Aircraft Defense) had 101, while another 11,098 were on order. By June 1942, 25,171 weapons had been delivered and the monthly production capacity of the Breda Mod. 37 reached 1,000 units. In the first half of 1943, 4,000 were delivered. After the Armistice of 8th September 1943, production continued for the Germans, which received 1,300 between 1st October 1943 and 30th September 1944.
The Semicingolato da 8 t armored personnel carrier had a frontal machine gun support, similar to the Sd.Kfz.251, and also had a pintle mount on the rear to allow the machine gunner to fire against planes in case of an air attack. On board, only a Breda medium machine gun was transported, but, probably, the soldiers transported could mount a Fucile Mitragliatore Breda Modello 1930 (English: Breda Model 1930 Light Machine Gun) on the second support to increase the suppressing firepower of the vehicle.
A Mitragliatrice Media Breda Modello 1937 on a pintle mount on an Italian ship. It is probable that the Semicingolato da 8 t per Trasporto Nucleo Artieri per Grande Unità Corazzata would have a similar mount on the rear. Source: italie1935-45.com
Nothing is known about the number of rounds transported by the vehicle, even if it is known that the theoretical weight of the ammunition stored on board was 100 kg. They were probably stored in standard 15-strip wooden crates placed somewhere in the vehicle.
From the original drawings, it is possible to assume that three round slits were cut on the sides of the upper angled armored plate to permit the 6 soldiers transported to open fire with their personal weapons. This increased the defensive capabilities of the vehicle and provided greater security for the transported soldiers who would not have to expose themselves outside the armor of the half-track to shoot at the enemy.
Interior, Cargo, and Other Design Features
The Semicingolato da 8 t with the armored superstructure had a total length of 6.88 m, a width of 2.5 m, and a height of 2.3 m. With the waterproof tarpaulin mounted on, it reached a total height of 2.9 m, not too different from the original Breda 61’s dimensions of 2.85 x 2.35 x 2.62 m.
The original blueprints of the Semicingolato da 8 t per Trasporto Nucleo Artieri per Grande Unità Corazzata. Source: Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano
The major difference between the Italian armored half-track and the German Sd.Kfz.251 was the presence of two side doors. These doors were divided into two parts due to the angled armored plates. They were equipped with slits on the upper part to permit the driver and the vehicle commander to check the sides of the road or of the battlefield. The doors opened backward, and thus would not provide adequate frontal protection to crew members if they exited the vehicle in an emergency situation.
Difference between the Sd.Kfz.251 Ausf.C (above) and the Semicingolato da 8 t per Trasporto Nucleo Artieri per Grande Unità Corazzata (bottom). Sources: blueprints.com and Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano with author’s collage
Another big difference was the absence of the rear doors on the Italian half-track, which were substituted by a rear storage compartment with two doors on the roof. To enter and exit the vehicle, the soldiers had to fold the commander’s left side seat. This could be really difficult when exiting the vehicle in case of an emergency on the battlefield, where the soldiers could become easy targets for enemy fire.
Vehicle’s scheme showing the crew compartment. The original captions says (from the left, clockwise): folding seat; space occupied by boxes, chainsaw, flammable liquid tank, ropes etc.; space for various materials; and space available for individual soldier’s luggage. Source: Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano
The rear compartment had racks to store 48 Mine Anticarro Tipo C.S. (English: Anti-Tank Mines Type C.S.), 36 Mine Antiuomo Tipo R (English: Anti-Personnel Mines Type R), and ammunition for infantry weapons.
Italian Mina Anticarro a Pressione Tipo C.S. Modello 1942. Source: Landmine and countermine Warfare, North Africa 1940-1943 (Department of the US Army)Scheme of the vehicle’s rear. The original caption says (from the bottom, clockwise): space for various materials and ammunition; space for various materials and vehicle’s equipment; box for the paratroopers; Anti-Tank Mines Type C.S. – 48 mines in 12 racks; and boxes for Anti-Personnel mines Type R – 36 mines in 12 boxes. Source: Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano
The interior had a seat for the driver on the right side and a foldable one for the commander on the left. Two wooden benches were placed on the sides to permit 6 soldiers per side to sit. In the center, between the two benches, there was a big rectangular storage box for a chainsaw, a flamethrower, and other sapper equipment. The soldiers could put their personal stuff under the benches or behind the backrests.
A tubular structure on which a waterproof tarpaulin could be mounted to protect the soldiers from desert storms, rain, or snow could be fixed onto the front, sides and rear of the vehicle.
Two rectangular boxes with sapper tools were placed on the mudguards. The tools to maintain and repair the vehicle were stored in four small compartments placed under the rear storage compartment that could be opened from outside the vehicle.
Part
Weight (kg)
Breda 61’s Frame
8,700
Armored superstructure
2,850
Spare wheel
100
Armament and tools
80
Total weight
12,450
Explosives and mines
900
Various materials
300
Ammunition for the machine gun
100
Crewmembers and soldiers
15 x 100
Total Battle ready
14,530
Crew
The crew consisted of a driver on the right and a non-commissioned officer (NCO) as the vehicle’s commander on the left. Behind them, 12 fully equipped sappers and their commander sat on the two benches. The commander probably sat on the central box in the transport compartment and optionally manned the machine gun when it was fixed on the front support.
During the Second World War, an Italian sapper unit consisted of 13 soldiers commanded by an NCO. Under the NCO was a sergeant that commanded the breaching unit composed of 2 sappers equipped with 3 m long bangalores with 3 kg of explosive to open gaps in barbed wire, 2 sappers with explosive charges to destroy enemy pillboxes or other defenses, and a couple equipped with a Lanciafiamme Modello 1935 (English: Flamethrower Model 1935). The other 4 soldiers were equipped with Moschetti Automatici Beretta Modello 1938 (English: Beretta Automatic Rifle Model 1938s) also known as MAB 38 and hand grenades to support the actions of the sappers.
Two sapper units formed a platoon and were also equipped with a Breda Modello 1930 light machine gun and a Mortaio d’Assalto Brixia Modello 1935 (English: Brixia Model 1935 Assault Mortar) small, rapid-firing 45 mm light mortar as support weapons.
It is probable that the sappers on a Semicingolato da 8 t could use their heavy support weapons from within the vehicle to defend the other sappers in their operations. They could have used their personal weapons to defend the vehicle using the six slots on the sides or standing or leaning out of the armour of the half-track when the enemy fire was not intense.
Considerations
Had the Semicingolato da 8 t per Trasporto Nucleo Artieri per Grande Unità Corazzata entered service, it would probably have been a useful vehicle for the Regio Esercito’s units. It could have transported a fully equipped sapper unit to the battlefront and supported it while it opened gaps in the enemy’s defenses.
It is unclear why the Ispettorato dell’Arma di Fanteria had requested an armored personnel carrier developed only for sapper units. Since the Regio Esercito had entered the war on 10th June 1940, it was without armored personnel carriers. The few that did enter service between 1941 and 1943 were produced in small numbers over a long period of time and very few army divisions were able to use them.
Only 36 Autocarro Semicingolato Breda 61 were produced between July to September 1943. Despite these small numbers, it did not halt the Regio Esercito and Col. Berlese’s desires to develop an entire series of paper projects on its chassis. Nonetheless, among the projects, perhaps the most necessary, an armored personnel carrier for infantry squads, was not considered.
Perhaps the reason for this apparent oversight was the fact that the Regio Esercito at that time already had the FIAT 665NM Protetto in production as a stopgap. It could carry 20 soldiers plus 2 crewmembers but was essentially an easy conversion of a standard all-wheel drive heavy-duty truck.
The Regio Esercito was waiting for 2 other vehicles, at that time in development, to substitute the FIAT 665NM Protetto. The better-designed version of the FIAT 665NM Protetto was the FIAT 665NM Blindato con Riparo Ruote. It could carry 24 fully equipped soldiers and 2 crewmembers. The other potential substitute, the SPA Dovunque 35 Protetto, could carry 10 fully equipped soldiers and 2 crewmembers.
Nevertheless, only 110 FIAT 665NM Protetto were produced between 1942 and 1943, meaning they did not fulfill the Italian Army’s requirements.
Conclusion
Although it remained a mere paper project because of the Armistice of 8th September 1943, the Semicingolato da 8 t per Trasporto Nucleo Artieri per Grande Unità Corazzata was an armored personnel carrier adequate to the Italian needs. Its protection and armament made it a vehicle capable of dealing with frontal assaults by Italian armored units and of supporting sappers in their complex operations to clear minefields or other enemy defenses. At the same time, its theoretical speed and spacious rear compartment would ensure that it could close gaps in Italian defenses in short order.
Semicingolato da 8 t per Trasporto Nucleo Artieri per Grande Unità Corazzata. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Semicingolato da 8 t per Trasporto Nucleo Artieri per Grande Unità Corazzata Specification
Size (L-W-H)
6.88 x 2.5 x 2.3 m
Weight, battle ready
14.53 tonnes
Crew
2 (commander driver) + 13 fully equipped soldiers
Engine
Breda Tipo 14, 6-cylinder, 6,191 cm³, 140 hp at 2,600 rpm.
Speed
40 – 50 km/h
Range
~ 200 km
Armament
1 Mitragliatrice Breda Modello 1937
Armor
6.5 mm to 8 mm
Production
Paper project
Sources
Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano, Volume Secondo, Tomo II – Nicola Pignato and Filippo Cappellano
Semicingolati, Motoveicoli e Veicoli Speciali del Regio Esercito Italiano 1919-1943 – Giulio Benussi
Storia dell’Arma del Genio, volume VII. Dalla Campagna in Africa Orientale alla Vigilia della Seconda Guerra Mondiale (1935-1939) – Renato D’Ascia, Roma 2007
IVECO Daily Homeland Security 4th series in Polizia dello Stato livery. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Italian Republic (2010-Present)
Personnel Carrier – Unknown Number Modified
The IVECO Daily Homeland Security is an Italian unarmored personnel carrier for police duty tasks. It was created modifying existing IVECO Daily of the 4ª and 5ª Serie by the Italian Sperotto SpA company.
The IVECO Daily Homeland Security is currently in service with the Italian Polizia di Stato (English: State Police), Arma dei Carabinieri (English: Arm of Carabinieri), the Guardia di Finanza (English: Financial Guard) and Corpo Forestale dello Stato (English: State Forestry Corps), with an unknown number of vehicles built.
An IVECO Daily 50C18 5ª Serie Homeland Security of the I° Reparto Mobile of the Polizia di Stato in Rome. Source: flickr.com @Photo Squad
Context
The Italian Republic, which nowadays lives in peace was, for many years, all but calm.
Immediately after the Second World War, the Kingdom of Italy had two serious problems. First of all, Italy was on the border between the NATO and Warsaw Pact blocks. This meant that, in case a war between the communists and NATO forces began, the Italian peninsula would be one of the first nations involved in a large-scale nuclear conflict.
The second and most important reason was that, after the Second World War, there were many people in Italy that wanted a communist revolution. Unsurprisingly, Western forces did not want Italy to fall in the Soviet sphere of influence.
Between 1943 and 1945, 50,000 civilians and former soldiers formed Communist partisan brigades. They had the task of boycotting and fighting the Nazi-Fascist forces. They managed, by April 1945, to liberate many important cities in northern Italy. They became heroes for the Italian population after 20 years of Fascist dictatorship.
After the war, these people had guerrilla experience and most importantly were followed by many workers and peasants that, after 20 years of Fascist regime, wanted a serious change in Italian politics.
To give an example, in the first post-war Italian elections, in 1946, the Partito Comunista d’Italia (English: Italian Communist Party) had 18.93% of the Italian votes, while the Partito Socialista d’Italia (English: Italian Socialist Party) reached 20.68%. Their main opponent, Democrazia Cristiana (English: Christian Democracy) reached 35.21% by getting the votes of the center-right, the center-left, anti-communists and obviously all the Christian votes..
This led to a serious conflict of interest for the West, who both wanted to reduce support for communism, but also wanted to enforce the restrictions imposed by the Paris Peace Treaty, which limited the dimension of the newborn Esercito Italiano (English: Italian Army).
In the end, the British and US decided to maintain restrictions on the Italian Army, but permit the police corps to equip themselves with mortar platoons, machine gun squads, armored car companies and even a few light and medium tanks.
In these years, the police weaponry, when deployed for security duties during strikes, was composed of batons, without shields.
In the first years after the war, the militarized Italian police, additionally formed in large part from former soldiers, was really brutal in repressing strikes. When the worker strikes became violent, during the clashes, the workers more often beat the police forces than not, at least until 1948-49, thanks to the fact that many of them striked with their protective working helmets and gloves on. Police, in some cases, lacked batons and used rifle stocks to disperse the crowd. The presence of too many guns caused less trained or younger police officers to panic and open fire, killing workers or students during the strikes.
Previous Italian Police Vehicles
From 1945 to the 1960s, the police officers usually attacked the strikers with their jeeps to disperse them.
While the driver held his hands on the steering wheel, one police officer on each side of the Jeep whirled their batons outside the vehicle, panicking the workers and, in some cases, breaking their skulls or teeths. In many cases, they ran over them.
Police officers of the 3° Reparto Celere ‘Lombardia’ in Milan in 1946. Four occupants are ready to roll their batons to disperse the demonstrators. Source: Brigate RosseBehind the burning FIAT AR51 jeep, two police officers are about to be hit by rocks and sticks. Genoa 1960. Source: Brigate Rosse
For these attacks, in the first years of the Italian Republic’s existence, the police forces usually used Willys Jeeps and WC series Dodges that were abandoned by the Allied armies after the war and delivered to the Italian police forces. Subsequently, these worn-out US-made vehicles were substituted by the Italian-built ALFA Romeo AR51 and the more common FIAT AR51, and subsequent models of the same ALFA and FIAT chassis.
The Italian jeeps were developed as successors of the Willys, but they were very vulnerable (as the Willys and Dodge vehicles) against stone and brick throwing and obviously against Molotov cocktails, due to the absence of a roof.
A FIAT AR jeep of the 1° Reparto Celere ‘Lazio’, attacked by a demonstrator during clashes in Rome on 1st March 1968. Source: Brigate Rosse
The Italian workers and students who participated in the strikes quickly invented a tactic to counter these police attacks. When the jeeps attacked with the “rolling batons”, the strikers took iron scaffolding tubes. When the jeep passed near a worker, he launched the tube inside the vehicle, usually between the cockpit and the driver. This sometimes wounded the vehicle’s occupants, broke the driver’s arm, or simply made the police officers on board panic, with the result that the jeep swerved, sometimes stopping or crashing against walls, street lamps, or other vehicles. Once blocked, the strikers jumped inside, beating the police officers and sometimes setting fire to the jeep after throwing out the occupants.
Police jeeps ready to storm students during the Battle of Valle Giulia on 1st March 1968. Source: wikipedia.com
The most famous of these actions was a clash between 2,000 police officers of the Polizia di Stato and about 4,000 students in Rome on 1st March 1968. In this skirmish, also known as the Battle of Valle Giulia, the students managed to beat the Italian police, forcing them to retreat and wait for reinforcements. The balance of the skirmish was 228 arrested and 211 wounded, of which 158 police officers.
In that period, Italy was undergoing two different leftist strikes. The student one, related to the worldwide protests of 1968, and that of the workers and common people that wanted the Partito Comunista d’Italia or/and the Partito Socialista d’Italia to participate in the Italian Government. In fact, these two parties had a lot of support, especially in the 1960s, but Washington did not permit the Italian socialists and communists to become part of the Italian government, scared of a possible coup d’état. At the same time, the workers also protested due to rising wages and long shifts that far exceeded the 8 hours allowed by law.
The strikes often ended with violent clashes in many cities of Italy, mainly Milan and Turin, where most of the Italian industries were situated, but also in Genoa, Naples, Padua, and Rome.
In these years, the Italian Police and Carabinieri lacked a proper armored vehicle for troop transport. In the first decades of the Italian Republic, they used Italian military or US produced trucks delivered after the war to the Italian police forces. These included former military FIAT 666Ns, Lancia 3Ros, Bianchi Miles, GMCs, Dodges, Diamonds and even some British and German-produced trucks recovered from everywhere on the peninsula after the end of the war.
In the early-to-mid 1960s, the Italian police signed the first contracts with FIAT to purchase an unknown number of new trucks, such as the FIAT 643N, which were deployed to its units around the peninsula.
Meanwhile, the lack of concrete results of the civil protests of the 1960s caused the proliferation of communist extra-parliamentary political parties, with a few dozen or hundreds of members who chose arms to oppose the Italian state. The most famous of them were the Brigate Rosse (English: Red Brigades), Potere Operaio (English: Workers’ Power), Lotta Continua (English: Continuous Struggle) and many others.
From the early 1970s until the early 1980s, these groups were responsible of many crimes, including murdering and kidnapping of politicians, police commissioners, journalists, trade unionists or other important people. In some cases, these far-left guerrilla men participated in some workers’ strikes, bringing guns with them and opening fire against the police officers.
Giuseppe Memeo, a far-left terrorist of the Proletari Armati per il Comunismo, opening fire against police officers in a Milan street on 14th May 1977. The protest in which he participated was organized after the killing of 19 years old student Giorgiana Masi two days prior by police fire during another strike in Rome. Behind him are some journalists and another two armed protesters. Source: wikipedia.com
New armored vehicles
At the same time, in that period, the Partito Comunista d’Italia strongly increased its support at the parliamentary elections of 1976, with 34.38% of the votes, compared to 38.71% of the Democrazia Cristiana.
This forced the Italian Police to make a rapid change. The jeeps were quickly abandoned, together with the “rolling batons” attacks. In rare cases, in the 1970s, some jeeps were converted, bodyworking them to protect the occupants from stone throwing and bullets.
An ALFA Romeo AR55 modified with a closed crew compartment in 1975. Source: polizianellastoria.com
In 1972, FIAT, the most famous Italian vehicle factory, presented its wheeled armored personnel carrier, the FIAT 6614, developed with Ansaldo of Genoa for military tasks.
This vehicle was bought in 40 examples by the Police, while the Carabinieri bought its armored car variant, the FIAT 6616, which was equipped with a turret armed with a 20 mm gun instead of a single pintle mount on the cupola.
A FIAT 6614 of the Italian Polizia di Stato during a strike, followed by an IVECO VM90 Protetto. Source: pinterest.com
The FIAT 6614s, usually unarmed, were deployed for airport perimeter patrols by the Polizia Aeroportuale (English: Airport Police) and, in case of natural disasters, to rescue Italian civilians. Only rarely were they deployed for public order duties, such as during the Genoa strikes in 2001. In these cases, they were totally disarmed.
Only in the 1980s did the Italian Police and Carabinieri purchase a new protected vehicle, the IVECO VM90 Protetto (Veicolo Multiruolo, English: Multirole Vehicle). It was developed by the Industrial VEhicles COrporation or IVECO in 1978 to fulfill an Italian Army request for a light wheeled armored personnel carrier.
An IVECO VM90 Protetto deployed by the Polizia di Stato, probably in Genoa in 2001. Source: polizianellastoria.it
The IVECO VM90 Protetto, derived from the most successful IVECO truck, the civil Daily light commercial vehicle, could carry on board 5 police officers and 1 driver and its armor was capable of withstanding 7.62 mm bullets. The Carabinieri also bought the VM90 Protetto, together with some M113 tracked armored personnel carriers and their Italian-licensed copy, the VCC-2.
An unarmed VCC-2 equipped with a dozer blade in Genoa during the clashes in 2001. Source: reddit.com
The FIAT 6614 and the IVECO VM90 were more than adequate to protect the police officers in case of clashes with strikers in Italian cities, but they needed a lot of maintenance and had a high rate of fuel consumption. This made them expensive for the Italian police. After the mid-1980s, due to the fading of the communist-terrorist groups, the Italian Government started to cut the funds of the Italian police and Carabinieri. The funds decreased again, especially in early 1990s, when the Soviet Union collapsed and the risk of a war between NATO and Warsaw Pact dissolved.
The state in which some FIAT 6614s are lying today due to poor maintenance. Behind them are some FIAT Ducato trucks. Source: polizianellastoria.it
The lack of funds forced the Italian police and Carabinieri to abandon the majority of these armored vehicles in their depots without maintenance for a long time. This was not a serious problem. From the late 1980s to the late 1990s, the Italian Republic had a period of calm, with the strikes becoming peaceful and only rare clashes with strikers occurred in this decade. Between 1980 and 1999, no police or Carabinieri officers nor protesters died during demonstrations, compared to over a hundred striker deaths between 1948 to 1979.
In the last decades, only a single episode saw the presence of heavily equipped police forces to maintain public order, in 2001, in Genoa, during the G8 meeting, where the latest victim of a demonstration was recorded in Italy.
Image taken during the clashes between the police and demonstrators during the G8 in Genoa in 2001. In the background, an FIAT 6614, an IVECO Trakker water carrier and an unknown truck, probably a Daily. Source: La Stampa
However, the Italian Arma dei Carabinieri, Polizia di Stato and Guardia di Finanza were equipped with old armored personnel carriers or simple transport trucks from the 1980s until the early 2010s, such as the FIAT Ducato 1ª Serie (1981), the IVECO Daily 1ª Serie (1978) and 2ª Serie (1989).
A FIAT Ducato 1ª Serie of the Italian Polizia di Stato. Source: polizianellastoria.it
These trucks were simply civilian trucks with police livery and license plates and were deployed to transport the police officers from the barracks to where the protests would take place.
IVECO TurboDaily 2ª Serie in minibus configuration, with a total weight of 4,000 kg and a 100 hp engine. This was a rare 4×4 vehicle, probably produced especially for the Italian police forces. Source: passioneauto.it
As said before, usually nothing happened, but on rare occasions protesters launched stones at the police, easily damaging the trucks or breaking their windshields. Another problem was that these vehicles, after many years of service, started to be heavily worn out and, being old, their spare parts were expensive, even for the Italian Government.
The Italian police forces decided to adopt a new civilian medium truck without armament or armor, but protected with wire mesh on the windscreens, headlights and sirens to protect the occupants. The vehicle had to be fast in order to quickly reach any part of the area in which the police unit operated and had to be spacious enough to transport as many police officers as possible.
The Italian Government hoped this solution would also be cheap due its civilian origin and due to fewer modifications to the original chassis.
The IVECO Daily Truck Family
The IVECO brand was born in 1975 from the merger of Italian (FIAT Veicoli Industriali, Lancia Veicoli Speciali and Officine Meccaniche), French (Unic), and German (Magirus-Deutz) brands. It has production facilities in Italy, Spain, Serbia, China, Russia, Australia, Libya, Argentina, and Brazil and is present in more than 160 countries, with about 5,000 sales and service outlets. Worldwide production is around 150,000 commercial vehicles a year, with sales of about 10 billion euros. The Daily is produced under license by the Leomar-ZK company under the name ZK Rival and by Styer-STI, which produced a variant of its military version, the VM90, with the name Light Tactical Vehicle (LTV).
A fun fact about the IVECO Daily is that it was chosen by the Activision video game company as one of the vehicles in the maps of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. In the single-player campaign mission ‘Bag and Drag’ in Paris, the user and his squad request an IVECO Daily of the Gendarmerie Nationale (English: National Gendarmerie), the French police force.
The design of the IVECO Daily began in 1973 at FIAT. The basic concept lay in transferring the structural configuration of a real truck to a small vehicle. The separate chassis and rear-wheel drive gave this lightweight vehicle the same characteristics as a heavy duty truck.
Thanks to these features, the Daily is one of the leading vehicles in strength and durability, as well as extensive conversion and outfitting possibilities. This is thanks to the bodywork being devoid of any load-bearing functions. This is an opposite feature, for example, to the FIAT Ducato, where in the majority of the vehicles produced, the body and chassis are connected (unibody frame).
The physical separation of bodywork and mechanics allows for better vibration isolation, while the rear-wheel drive provides excellent grip under all load conditions.
The IVECO Daily first appeared in the market in 1978, as a substitute of the old FIAT 616N, at the time already 23 years old, and the younger FIAT 40. The IVECO Daily uses a separate ladder frame typical of heavier commercial vehicles. It is the most successful IVECO vehicle, with a service career of over 40 years and 3 millions vehicles sold in a total of 110 nations of the world.
Its particularity is that, until 1983, IVECO, FIAT, OM and ALFA Romeo produced the vehicle with different names: FIAT Daily, OM Grinta, and ALFA Romeo AR8.
1ª Serie
The first series was greatly appreciated by the customers for its robustness, speed and cross country characteristics. It was also appreciated due to all the special bodywork that the Daily could be equipped with.
The first series was produced in two variants: IVECO Daily 35 with a truck + cargo weight of 3,500 kg and the Daily 50 with a total weight of 5,000 kg. In 1985, a version with a turbocharged engine was presented, called Turbodaily, produced in 35 and 50 versions. The Turbodaily had engine power increased by 28% and torque increased by 42% compared to the standard Daily. The 1ª Serie was produced until 1990.
An IVECO Daily 1ª Serie produced by FIAT in the first years of production in minibus configuration. Source: iveco.com
2ª Serie
The Daily was one of the best trucks in the Italian market but, in 1989, it was 12 years old and IVECO decided to upgrade it to compete with newer vehicles. The new version entered production in 1990 and featured the same characteristics as the 1ª Serie. The new modifications were various, including a 3,000 kg IVECO Daily 30 version and a 6,000 kg Daily 59 variant, apart from the already existing 35 and 50 versions.
In 1998, methane engined Dailies and optional automatic gearboxes appeared for the first time. The 2ª Serie was produced until 2000. During the same year, it won the ‘International van of the year’ prize for its robustness.
IVECO Daily 30 2ª Serie in van version. Source: iveco.com
3ª Serie
The IVECO Daily 3ª Serie replaced the earlier series after 1999. With this series, the ‘Turbo’ designation was removed because all the vehicles were equipped with turbocharged diesel engines. Another great improvement was the optional 6 speed gearbox or the CNG automatic gearbox that could be fitted at the request of the customer.
IVECO Daily 35 3ª Serie in van version. Source: iveco.com
With this series, two new variants were proposed. Apart from the already produced Daily 35, 50 and 59 (now renamed 60), the 3ª Serie also introduced the Daily 28 with a total weight of 2,800 kg and Daily 65 with a total weight of 6,500 kg. The 3ª Serie was produced until 2006.
A 3rd series IVECO Daily in pick-up truck version with a 7-seater cab and custom loading bay sides. Source: author
4ª Serie
This version, produced after 2006, was mechanically identical to the 3ª Serie, but received a bodywork restyling, with redesigned cabs and interiors. The engines were also the same as on the 3ª Serie, even if IVECO homologated the Daily 4ª Serie for more powerful Methane gas engines, petrol engines and electric engines. The diesel engines fitted on previous series received new filters that permitted the engine to meet the European laws of emission level 5 (Euro 5). One of the big changes was the addition of new and more efficient brakes.
In 2009, the first electric engined Daily was presented. It had a 60 kW engine and a fully loaded range of 120 km.
Even if the Daily was still at the top of the Italian market, IVECO presented the new Daily 70 with a total weight of 7,000 kg with the 4ª Serie, allowing the vehicle to become even more versatile and attracting new buyers, who needed vehicles with greater maximum capacity. The Daily 4ª Serie was also produced in a minibus version with 20 seats by the IVECO subsidiary Iribus. This was the first variant of the Daily to be produced by this company. The 4ª Serie was produced until 2014. In 2010, a milestone was reached when 2 millions Dailies had been sold all over the world.
IVECO Daily 4ª Serie in service with the Corpo Nazionale Vigili Del Fuoco, the Italian firefighter national corp in Chieti, southern Italy. 115 is the Italian firefighter emergency number. Source: autocentroindivisa.it
The IVECO Daily 3rd and 4th series were also deployed as Véhicule de Transport de Groupe de Gendarmerie Mobile or VTGGM (English: Transport Vehicle for the Mobile Gendarmerie Groups) for the Gendarmerie Nationale, the French police force.
5ª Serie
The 5ª Serie, produced from July 2014 until nowadays (mid-2022), shows how the IVECO Daily chassis is multifunctional thanks to recently made investments to renew the production lines. The Daily was totally redesigned, with only the chassis unchanged. All the engines are now equipped with two turbochargers, the cab is totally redesigned with new aerodynamic shapes and has a better-designed interior with a new driver’s seat improving comfort during driving. It also has a 5, 6 or 8-speed gearbox or an automatic gearbox (Daily Hi-matic variant) that improves the driving comfort and decreases fuel consumption. These improvements earned it, for the second time in its history, the coveted ‘International van of the year’ in 2015.
The IVECO Daily 5ª Serie van version is available with three different wheelbases, five different lengths and three different heights for an internal volume from 7.3 m³ to 19.6 m³, increasing the number of possible new buyers even more. In 2016, a version was introduced with improved engines and filters, which reduced fuel consumption by 12% and reduced CO2 emissions, permitting the IVECO Daily to meet the European laws of emission level 6 (Euro 6). In 2018, on the completion of its 40th anniversary of production, the new lower emissions series Daily Blue Power won the ‘International van of the year’ again.
New IVECO Daily 35 Blue Power. Source: iveco.com
This Daily fifth series is sold on the Italian market in various variants. The lightest one is the Daily 33 with a total weight of 3,300 kg, while the heaviest civilian one is the Daily 70, with a total weight of 7,000 kg. According to an official statement from IVECO, the IVECO Daily 5ª Serie can be bodyworked in a total of over 8,000 versions thanks to its design. The Daily frame can be equipped with different cabs equipped with 2, 3 or 7 seats and different heights. Also, the bodywork can be for vans, minibuses, pick-up trucks, campers, water or fuel carriers, tow trucks, fireworks trucks, dump trucks, ambulances and so on.
IVECO Daily 70 5ª Serie in truck configuration. Source: omnifurgone.it
The prices for the IVECO Daily 5ª Serie pick-up truck version range between 39,000€ for a Daily 35 with a 116 hp diesel engine, 3 seats and a payload capacity of 1,669 kg to a maximum of 56,000€ for a Daily 35 with a 211 hp diesel engine, 7 seats and a payload capacity of 1,142 kg. For the van versions, the prices for the 3,500 kg variant range from 46,000€ to 56,100€ depending on the engine power, maximum payload and crew seats.
IVECO Daily 35 5ª Serie in refrigerated cargo truck configuration for carrying edibles. Source: author
In all, for IVECO Daily vehicles produced after 2006, on the left side, near the driver’s door, a small code is always written. This permits any person to recognise the model exactly. This can be something like 35-15, and was recently upgraded by adding a letter, like 40C18. The first number means the weight in quintals, the letter means the type of version, for example, C for Cabinato (English: Cab-equipped), while the last two numbers are the first two numbers of the maximum output of the engine, 15 for 150 hp, 18 for 180 hp etc. The latest models with automatic gearboxes also have the name Hi-matic written near this code. On the IVECO Daily Homeland Security the codes are: 50C17 and 50C18, depending on the version.
IVECO VM90 and IVECO 40E
One of the many derivations from the IVECO Daily chassis is the IVECO VM90, a square-shaped vehicle, developed for military tasks and produced between the mid-1980s to 2010 as a substitute of the FIAT AR76. It is a hybrid between a truck and an SUV. It can be simply described as an IVECO Daily with off-road capabilities.
IVECO VM90 Torpedo previously in service with the Esercito Italiano in an unspecified UN peacekeeping mission. Source: demolizioneecologica.it
IVECO had developed an unarmored transport troop version called Torpedo for the Esercito Italiano. It had a capacity of 9 fully equipped soldiers plus a driver. This variant could be equipped with a wide range of guns on a pintle mount on the roof, from a 5.56 mm machine gun to a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher.
In its production history, it was upgraded in many ways, of which the main one was the engines. The second version was the VM90T2, while the third one, still in production nowadays, is the VM90T3. It is also used to tow small artillery pieces, as a light supply truck or as a tactical command post.
The IVECO VM90 Protetto or VM90P is the armored variant that can withstand 7.62 mm bullets (NATO protection level STANAG B6) with a capacity of 5 soldiers plus a driver. With the armor, its total weight is about 7 tonnes. This variant is not appreciated by the troops due to the light armor that caused the death of 5 Italian soldiers in 2006.
Another version is the Ambulanza (English: Ambulance). The VM90 Ambulanza is produced on a standard VM90 (and subsequent T2 and T3) chassis and is in service with the army as an off-road ambulance equipped with all the systems commonly on board a standard civil ambulance. It can carry 2 wounded soldiers plus medics and a driver. The Light Ambulance has a capacity of 4 wounded in foldable stretchers.
The VM90 and its Chinese copy, the NJ2046, are in service in the armies or in the police forces of 25 nations, including Ukraine, which received 4 from Portugal and another one from volunteers in 2022 during Russian invasion.
Based on the VM90, various civilian models were developed, called IVECO 40E, of which a wide range of versions are produced, from firefighters truck to off-road light lorries.
IVECO E40 of the Corpo Nazionale Vigili Del Fuoco of Belluno. Source: autocentroindivisa.it
Multirole Military Utility Vehicle MUV 70.20
The MUV 70.20 was officially presented at Eurosatory 2016. It is the substitute for the now-old VM90 and its new design maintained the rounded shapes of the civilian Daily 5ª Serie, with an obviously heavily strengthened chassis, cab and 4×4 traction. It has an empty weight of 3.35 tonnes and a payload capacity of 3.65 tonnes, but there are also 5 and 8 tonne versions. Its towing capacity is 3,500 kg.
IVECO MUV 70.20 cargo truck with soft top and 6 seat cab exhibited at Eurosatory 2018. Source: infodifesa.com
It can carry 11 soldiers and a driver in the unarmored two-seat cab version, but it can also be equipped with a cab equipped with two rows of seats for 6 persons, including the driver, obviously decreasing payload or rear troop transport compartment.
Various options for the IVECO MUV presented by IVECO Defence Vehicles. Source: idvgroup.com
Its off-road capabilities are ensured thanks to various diesel engines of the FIAT PowerTrain (FTP) company. In some cases, these are produced under license by IVECO. The MUV can be equipped with a IVECO-FTP giving out 146 hp and a maximum torque of 350 Nm or a 175 hp engine with a maximum torque of 430 Nm. Optionally, it can also be equipped with a powerful 195 hp engine.
IVECO Defence Vehicles also developed armored versions with various levels of armor, so as to meet various tasks of law enforcement and NATO armies.
For now, only three armies had officially adopted the MUV 70: Italy, in various variants, has ordered a total of 3,750 MUVs to be delivered until 2025. The Czech Republic has bought 19 MUVs in off-road ambulance variants designed by Variel. Another 60 off-road ambulances are on order.
An IVECO MUV 70.20 off-road ambulance for the Czech Army. Source: rid.it
The Dutch company DMV has developed a special light tactical vehicle on the MUV 70.20 chassis. It seems to have been tested in Morocco until 2021, but its status is unknown. A police duty vehicle was also developed by the Dutch company. This is the Homeland Security Concept, which has nothing in common with the Homeland Security of the Sperotto SpA company, and for now is only a concept.
Design
Sperotto SpA is an Italian bodyworker founded in 1958 in Sarcedo, near Vicenza. It is a company specialized in truck bodyworks, such as for public order, food trucks, mobile clinics, campers, mobile kitchens and so on. In the 2010s, it began work on a troop transporter for the police.
Engine and Suspension
The engine of the IVECO Daily Homeland Security version is a powerful IVECO-FTP F1C turbo diesel, also utilized in some civilian versions of the 4×4 IVECO Daily. It gives out a maximum of 170 hp or 180 hp at 3,500 rpm (depending on the version), while the maximum torque is 430 Nm at 3,000 rpm. Its European emission level is EURO 4 thanks to the particle filter in the muffler. The suspension is independent on the front axle, while at the rear, there is a rigid axle connected with air-sprung shock absorbers and twin tires. The Homeland Security version can be equipped with a 6-speed gearbox or with an automatic gearbox. It is equipped with a differential lock.
FIAT Powertrain F1C turbo diesel engine. This engine is produced under license by IVECO for its heavy duty Dailies. Source: fptindustrial.com
It has a displacement of 3,000 cm3 with 4 cylinders and 4 valves per piston. Each cylinder has a bore and stroke of 96 x 104 mm and is connected to an ECR injection system. The IVECO F1C has a low fuel consumption rate and it guarantees a maximum velocity of 130 km/h to a fully loaded 5-tonne IVECO Daily Homeland Security. Many of the Dailies are assigned to quick-intervention units of the Italian police forces that need troop transport vehicles that can quickly reach cities or areas where protests break out. Its maximum torque permits the Homeland Security to reach mountain areas where there are only dirt roads, even with very steep slopes. A perfect example of these characteristics is their presence in many of the skirmishes in the Val di Susa against the No TAV movement, a group of protesters demonstrating, sometimes violently, against the construction of a rail tunnel that will connect Italy to France.
IVECO Dailies Homeland Security of the II Reparto Mobile of Padova in Val di Susa, in Piemonte, in action during some clashes with some No TAV Activists on Highway A32, Turin-Bardonecchia, 30th July 2022. Source: padovaoggi.com
Structure and Interior
The exterior of the IVECO Daily Homeland Security is identical to some civilian minibus variants. It has a sliding door on the right side or, on some vehicles, two doors on the rear and standard side doors for the cab.
The front is equipped with a standard 4ª Serie or 5ª Serie cab with towing hooks. The minibus bodywork is identical to the civilian one apart for the height, increased in this version, and other features on the roof.
Like all police vehicles, the vehicle is equipped with four flashing lights, one on each side of the roof, a siren and a rectangular hatch openable on the rear or, in newer models, on 5ª Serie chassis, with two side doors. From this hatch, a police officer can check the demonstrators, shout with a megaphone or fire tear gas with a grenade launcher.
Also mounted on the roof is the air intake of the air conditioning on vehicles equipped with air conditioning for the transport compartment.
The driving compartment, with two seats, has a cockpit identical to that of regular civilian ones. The steering wheel is on the left side, with the gear shift and passenger’ seat on the right side.
Installed in the center are a radio, navigation system, and, on the last series produced, a complex system that regulates the vehicle’s sirens and sounds. Vehicles of the 5ª Serie are equipped with grille flashers near the headlights.
Cockpit of an early Homeland Security IVECO Daily (top) and cockpit of a later Homeland Security IVECO Daily (lower). Source: fiammeblu.org
The driving compartment is connected to the troop compartment. Behind the driver seat is a foldable 2-step iron ladder that can be opened in the center to reach the roof hatch.
The folded ladder behind the driver seat (top) and opened in the center of the entrances that, in this case, are on both sides. Near the hatch are some air conditioning holes used to cool the transport compartment, a smoke grenade launcher support and a sling for the commander. Sources: fiammeblu.org
In the center and rear, there are two rows of 4 seats for the police officers. The right row is offset backwards by a few dozen centimeters due the presence of the sliding door. In the vehicles with two side doors, all the rows of seats are offset backwards, with only 4 seats per side.
On the rear left side is a small compartment to store part of the equipment of the transported unit. The rest of the equipment is transported in the upper storage compartment, as on a standard bus.
Rear side of the passenger compartment with 4 seats per side (top) and the rear of a 10 seat Daily (bottom). Sources: fiammeblu.org and autocentroindivisa.it
In the last series of Homeland Security vehicles, the front and central-rear compartments are equipped with air conditioning systems. The earliest versions only included air conditioning for the cab.
The side windows are equipped with curtains to give more comfort to the police officers during driving or in case they need to sleep in the vehicle. Only the top of the side windows of the transport compartment can be opened, as on a normal bus, by sliding windows. The cabin door windows can be lowered fully, as on a normal vehicle.
Protection and anti-riot features
The IVECO Daily Homeland Security is equipped with various protections that permit it to be deployed in the most violent riots and demonstrations, which rarely appear nowadays in Italy.
Wire mesh grilles are mounted on the side and rear windows of the vehicles, while on the front is a particular wire mesh grille that can be lowered by sliding on rails mounted on the sides. This guarantees great visibility during driving and, in case of a violent riot, the protection can be electrically lowered from the inside or manually from the outside by means of two handles.
These wire mesh grilles are enough to protect the occupants when demonstrators throw stones, bottles, sticks, tear gas grenades or cherry bombs at the windows. Thanks to the frontal grille, it is more difficult to hit the windscreen with paint, flour, glue or eggs to cover the glass and not allow the driver to see. This is cleared, in most cases, by the wipers that can work with the grille lowered, cleaning the windscreen.
The last series of Dailies delivered to the Carabinieri are equipped with modified grilles on the sides that permit the police officers to open the upper part of the windows.
On the lower side, the frontal wire mesh grille is equipped with a plastic protection to prevent the demonstrators from climbing on the vehicle or slipping objects between the grille and the windshield.
Only the windows on the side doors of the cab are not equipped with wire meshes grilles. They are the only armored windows of the vehicle.
Other wire mesh grilles protect the sirens and lights on the roof. The front headlights, rear stop light and grille flashers are covered with more wire mesh grilles.
In case the demonstrators launch cherry bombs under the vehicle, the engine compartment is protected by a plate that deflects the explosion outside. The wheels are equipped with run flat tires that permit the vehicle to move with all 4 tires pierced.
Regular wheel rims have coolant holes. In a police vehicle like the Homeland Security, these holes can be really dangerous because the demonstrators can slip a iron tube that will stop the vehicle by blocking the brake caliper or could be used to overturn the vehicle using the tube as lever.
In order to avoid this problem, on the Homeland Security vehicles adopted after 2014, the rear rim is covered with a rounded armored protection that protects all the rim. On newer vehicles, the holes of the wheel rims are capped with plates with smaller holes. It seems that only the Homeland Security of the Carabinieri units are equipped with this protection. The vehicles deployed by the other police corps are equipped with oval holes with a small diameter which make it difficult to insert tubes.
Early IVECO Daily 5ª Serie 50C17 Homeland Security with full rounded plate (top) and a Daily 5ª Serie 50C17 Homeland Security with smaller plates (lower). These two vehicles are deployed by the Battaglioni Mobili of the Arma dei Carabinieri in Rome. Sources: sicurezzaesoccorso.com
Another tactic used by demonstrators to stop a vehicle is to put objects in the exhaust pipe of the muffler. This can cause the engine to turn off. The Daily Homeland Security is equipped with a cap with holes, preventing protesters from inserting objects into the muffler, but at the same time, allowing exhaust gasses to escape.
The IVECO Daily Homeland Security also had a bull bar on the front, fixed to the vehicle’s chassis. It protects the frontal grille from stone throwing and is useful in case the demonstrators create barricades to stop the police vehicle.
In the last series of Homeland Security produced, the vehicles are equipped with an automatic external fire extinguisher system which automatically operates in less then a second.
IVECO MUV 70.20 Homeland Security
After its official presentation at the Eurosatory 2016, the MUV in truck configuration was exhibited again at the Eurosatory 2018. This time, it was accompanied by another new prototype, the MUV Homeland Security. During its world premiere, it was only equipped with bull bar and beacon protections and was powered by the FIAT Powertrain F1C giving out 175 hp.
The MUV 70.20s exhibited at the Eurosatory 2018. Source: infodifesa.com
In 2020, a prototype of a MUV 70.20 in Homeland Security configuration was seen with the Arma dei Carabinieri livery. It shares the same characteristics of the latest series of the IVECO Daily Homeland Security of 5ª Serie, but it is visibly higher due to the 4×4 drivetrain and independent suspension on each wheel. For this reason, each door is equipped with a step. Another visible difference is the presence of two lights on the side walls of the transport troop compartment and the absence of the air conditioning system on the roof, probably substituted with new generation ones that do not need such a big air intake or simply, not mounted on the prototype.
IVECO MUV 70.20 Homeland Security with Arma dei Carabinieri livery in 2020. Source: twitter.com @cironappi
In the next two years, no MUV 70.20 in Homeland Security configuration have been seen, either on parade or during demonstrations. This probably means that the Italian Police corps did not adopt it. There are two conceivable reasons for this: either the COVID pandemic diverted funds from the purchase the new vehicles for the police or Italian law enforcement agencies are more than satisfied with the IVECO Daily in Homeland Security configuration and do not need more powerful and expensive vehicles to replace them in the next years.
The same vehicle showing off the rear side. From this image, the rim hole caps are visible. Source: fiammeblu.org
Crew
The crew of the IVECO Daily Homeland Security is composed of a squad with an officer and 9 police officers, of whom one is also the driver.
The vehicle is comfortable enough to carry all the policemen fully equipped in anti-riot gear, bulletproof vest, riot shield and helmet. The latter two are carried in the upper storage compartment along with every kind of other equipment.
Police officers of the Polizia di Stato on board of an IVECO Daily Homeland Security. Source: difesaonline.it
According to the Italian traffic code, all drivers with standard driving license, code B, can drive vehicles with a total weight (vehicle + payload) of 3,500 kg and a maximum of 9 seats (including the driver).
To drive a vehicle with 10 (including the driver) to 16 seats, it is necessary to get the D1 driving license for minibusses. In order to drive the Homeland Security version of the Daily, a police officer needs to get the civilian D1 driving license and a special police driving license Level 2 released after going through a tough practical and theoretical examination.
Versions
IVECO Daily 4ª Serie 50C17 Homeland Security and Daily 4ª Serie 50C18
Standard 5-tonnes IVECO Daily 4ª Serie with riot-protection, air conditioning only for the cab and 170 hp or 180 hp FTP engine produced by IVECO.
An IVECO Daily IVECO Daily Homeland Security 50C17 4ª Serie, 6.3 m long early version produced by Sperotto SPA for the Corpo Forestale dello Stato. Source: fiammeblu.org
IVECO Daily 5ª Serie 50C17 Homeland Security and Daily 5ª Serie 50C18
Standard 5-tonne IVECO Daily 5ª Serie with riot protection, air conditioning for all the troops and 170 hp or 180 hp FTP engine, improved controls and new hatches produced by IVECO.
Early IVECO Daily Homeland Security 50C17 5ª Serie, 6.3 m long, with the Guardia di Finanza. Rome, April 2014. Source: autocentroindivisa.it
For these two series the vehicles can be on two different wheelbases, with a total length of 6,300 and 7,470 mm. Another difference between the two variants is the rear. On the 6,300 mm version, the distance between the rear wheel and the rear bumper is 3,520 mm, while on the 7,470 mm version, the distance is 4,100 mm.
IVECO MUV 70.20 Homeland Security
5-tonne IVECO MUV 70.20 with the same riot-protections of the Dailies, 4×4 driving system and 175 hp FTP engine. It was officially shown at Eurosatory 2018, but seems to not have been purchased by the Italian police forces.
IVECO MUV 70.20 in Homeland Configuration of the Arma dei Carabinieri near an IVECO RG-12 riot vehicle. Source: fiammeblu.org
Liveries
The Italian police forces are well distinguishable due to their characteristic colors.
Early livery of an IVECO Daily Homeland Security 50C18 4ª Serie, 7.47 m long early version. Source: autocentroindivisa.it
The Polizia dello Stato is probably the main user of the Homeland Security. Its livery is composed of light blue with white lines on the sides, engine hood and front roof.
On the sides, the lines are interrupted where ‘POLIZIA’ is written, with the upper part in light blue and with the lower part in white.
In 2014 the livery was slightly modified. The light blue remained but the white stripes were changed and were only on the sides and engine hood. An Italian tricolor is painted as a line on the first part of the sides. ‘POLIZIA’ is now painted in white under the white line and on the front part of the roof. On the vehicles assigned to the Reparti Mobili (English: Mobile Departments), the coat of arms of the reparti mobili is painted on the sides in front of the cab’s door.
The Polizia di Stato’s new livery on an IVECO Daily 0C18 5ª Serie Homeland Security. Source: sicurezzaesoccorso.com
The Arma dei Carabinieri’s IVECO Dailies are painted totally in black, with only the roof painted white and ‘CARABINIERI’ written on the sides. This livery is also adopted for the IVECO MUV 70.20 Homeland Security prototype.
An IVECO Daily 50C18 4ª Serie Homeland Security of the Arma dei Carabinieri with its livery. This particular vehicle had the wire mesh grilles on the side windows as well. Source: autocentro in divisa.it
The IVECO Dailies of the Corpo Forestale dello Stato are painted in light green with white lines on the sides and roof. The wider white line on the sides is interrupted by the words ‘CORPO FORESTALE dello STATO’ painted in white. It seems that, since 2017, this livery has changed slightly, changing the white lettering to ‘CARABINIERI’. In fact, since the 1st of January 2016, the Corpo Forestale dello Stato has become part of the Arma dei Carabinieri.
IVECO Daily 50C17 4ª Serie of the Corpo Forestale dello Stato in its particular livery. Note that these vehicles lack the frontal lowerable grille. Source: flickr.com @antonionoberini
The IVECO Dailies of the Guardia di Finanza are painted in dark gray with a yellow line on the sides and the words ‘GUARDIA di FINANZA’ on the sides, under the yellow lines and on the front part of the roof. Also painted on the engine hood, to each side of the engine hood, are the coat of arms of the Guardia di Finanza on the right side, and the Italian flag on the left.
Two IVECO Daily 50C17 5ª Serie of the Guardia di Finanza livery. In the top image, the coat of arms on the front is visible. In this case, they are above the IVECO logo because this is an early 5ª Serie Daily while in the second case the vehicle was a newer model of the 5ª Serie. Sources: sicurezzaesoccorso.com and fiammeblu.org
From 2015 onward, it seems that the livery changed slightly, modifying the yellow lines. Until that year, the yellow lines were straight. After this, the lines start from under the headlights and at the front they are rounded downward. Another change was the position of the frontal coat of arms. Due to the modified engine hood IVECO logo, now the logo is between the coat of arms of the Guardia di Finanza and the Italian flag.
It also has a stylized griffon (symbol of the Guardia di Finanza) on the back end of the sides of the yellow line.
IVECO Daily 50C17 5ª Serie of the Guardia di Finanza with its latest livery. The griffon is visible at the end of the yellow line, over the emergency number. Source: sicurezzaesoccorso.com
On all the vehicles, on the rear part of the sides, the emergency number of the police corps of which they are part is written: 112 for the Arma dei Carabinieri, 113 for the Polizia di Stato, 117 for the Guardia di Finanza and 1515 for the Corpo Forestale dello Stato. This is a common feature shared on all the police and emergency Italian vehicles, such as cars, helicopters, boats and even ambulances for the Croce Rossa Italiana (English: Italian Red Cross). In the last years the vehicles received, over, or on the sides of the wheel archs the number, written in white of the wheel pressure limit: 4.75 bar for the 6.300 mm-long version and 5.25 bar for the 7.470 mm-long version.
Conclusion
The IVECO Daily Homeland Security has proven to be a very versatile vehicle, as have all versions of the Dailies, both civilian and military. The Homeland Security version is very often used in Italy by law enforcement agencies, not only during demonstrations, where dozens of these vehicles are deployed, but also in parades and official situations, such as guarding important buildings or squares in the largest Italian cities.
The IVECO Daily Homeland Security is an appropriate unarmored personnel carrier for service during Italian demonstrations and strikes, even the most violent ones. Its protection provides appropriate safety for the men carried on board while its on-board equipment ensures adequate comfort for the entire crew while on the march.
IVECO Daily Homeland Security MUV in Carabinieri livery. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.IVECO Daily Homeland Security 4th series in Polizia dello Stato livery. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.IVECO Daily Homeland Security 4th series in Corpo Forestale dello Stato livery. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.IVECO Daily Homeland Security 5th series in Polizia dello Stato livery. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.IVECO Daily Homeland Security 5th series in Carabinieri livery. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.IVECO Daily Homeland Security 5th series in Guardia di Finanza livery. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
FIAT 666N Blindato in Repubblica Sociale Italiana Service. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Italian Social Republic (1944-1945)
Improvised Armored Truck – 1 Converted
The FIAT 666N Blindato (English: Armored) was an Italian improvised heavy armored truck used by the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico (English: 630th Public Order Company) of Piacenza, a unit assigned to the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana (English: National Republican Guard), the Italian military police.
This armored behemoth was obviously used not used for public duties, as the name of the unit would suggest, but as an armored personnel carrier and armored car in anti-partisan operations in the city of Piacenza and its country-side, where it became famous with the partisans for its sturdiness and invulnerability to small arms.
Context
After the end of the North African Campaign with the defeat of the Axis troops in May 1943, the popular discontent with Fascism increased. The King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III, took the opportunity to regain power.
With the collaboration of some fascist generals, Benito Mussolini, the dictator of Italy, was deposed and a Monarchist government was created. In less than 2 months, an armistice with the Allied powers was in place.
On 8 September 1943, the signing of the armistice between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allied powers was made public, to the great surprise of the Italian soldiers that were left unaware of the situation up to that point.
The Germans immediately launched Fall Achse (English: Operation Axis), an already planned operation to capture the remaining Italian troops, equipment and territory. This operation lasted from 8 September to 23 September 1943, and saw them occupy all the territories under Italian control in Italy, including the northern and central parts of the Italian peninsula still in the hands of the Axis forces.
Mussolini was freed from a secret prison on 12 September 1943 by a task force of Fallschirmjäger (English: Paratroopers) under Waffen-SS command and transferred to Germany. There, he met Adolf Hitler and decided to found a new republic in the Italian territories not yet occupied by the Allies.
On 23 September 1943, Mussolini returned to Italy, founding the new Repubblica Sociale Italiana with two new military corps, the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano (English: National Republican Army) and the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana or GNR (English: National Republican Guard), a paramilitary corps with public order and military police tasks. However, some units under GNR command, such as the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ (English: Armored Group), were well equipped and trained and acted as normal army units.
These corps were formed from Italian prisoners of war in German prisoner camps, and from not already enlisted young Italians, or Italian workers not necessary to the military economy of the nation.
Apart from some well-equipped and trained units, the majority of the Italian military forces were composed of poorly trained and equipped soldiers, mainly used by the Axis command in anti-partisan operations, or to support German troops on Italian soil.
The necessity of these units located in the small cities of Italy as garrisons to combat the partisan formations were realized and, for that the compagnie di ordine pubblico (English: public order companies), small police units composed of fascist militiamen badly equipped by the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana, were deployed on the whole Italian peninsula not yet liberated by the Allied forces.
During their service, the compagnie di ordine pubblico were also used to help other GNR units in anti-partisan operations, to maintain public order in the cities and prevent partisan sabotages.
The Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana was born after the proposal of Renato Ricci to merge all of the paramilitary units of the RSI (Carabinieri, militias, Polizia dell’Africa Italiana) into one large corps.
In the first half of 1944, the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana could rely on about 130,000 militiamen, soldiers, auxiliaries, police officers and Fiamme Bianche (English: White Flames), the name given to the young fascists between 14 to 18 years old (about 12,000), and were rarely deployed in active service.
The 130,000 men deployed by the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana were assigned to 10 regional inspectorates, 58 provincial commands, 5 militia territorial defense regiments, 5 battaglioni ordine pubblico (English: public order battalions), 53 compagnie ordine pubblico, 6 territorial battalions and other non-military units, such as investigation units, special police inspectorates, training and juvenile units.
Piacenza and the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico
Piacenza is one of the biggest cities of the region of Emiglia-Romagna, located in the center north of the Italian peninsula. Piacenza was the capital of the homonymous province, with a population (in 1936) of 64,210 inhabitants. It was an important city for the Italian economy, with a well organized agriculture. The city also had some small companies specialized in the bodywork of cars and trucks and in the production of truck trailers. Machinery tools were also important in Piacenza, with many companies specialized in the production of lathes and other components.
The city had one of the oldest arsenals of the Kingdom of Italy: the Arsenale Regio Esercito di Piacenza or AREP (English: Royal Army Arsenal of Piacenza). Until the armistice of September 1943, it was used mainly to produce and repair artillery pieces. After the armistice, it was renamed Arsenale di Piacenza and the workers restarted working for the Wehrmacht.
During the war, in the Piacenza province, about 2,400 soldiers, militiamen and partisans lost their lives. About ¼ of them were from Piacenza. Another 5,000 Italian soldiers from the province were forced to enlist as workers in Germany and disappeared for 2 years after the Armistice.
Another great problem was the Allied bombardments. During the war, from 2 May 1944 onward, about 30 formations of Allied 4-engine bombers attacked the city, plus about 60 other attacks of smaller formations or singular planes. During the bombardments, 266 civilians died and 10,000 civilians evacuated from the city. In total, 205 buildings were totally destroyed by Allied bombs, 116 heavily damaged and some hundreds slightly damaged.
After the Armistice of September 1943, the German forces transformed the city into a headquarters for their units in the region. The Plazkommandantur was placed in Via Santa Franca, under Colonel Blecher’s command. Under its command were a number of units deployed in the city. In Via Cavour 64 was a Waffen-SS unit and the Sicherheitspolizei or SIPO (English: Security Police) and in Via Garibaldi 7 was another SIPO unit.
The Todt Organization, a German civil and military engineering organization responsible for a huge range of engineering projects in all the occupied territories, also had some units in Piacenza. In Piazza Cavalli 94 was its volunteer enlisting center, while in the Caserma (English: Barrack) of Via Emilia Pavese were the dormitories for the Todt workers.
The San Damiano airbase near the city was also under German control (even if it was under German control before the Armistice). There were also the Train Station, the bridges, the arsenal and the most important company of the city, the Officine Massarenti, specialized in the extraction of the little oil found in the Piacenza countryside.
The Repubblica Sociale Italiana forces in the city were composed of the 83ª Legione della Milizia (English: 83rd Militia Legion) and the Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali (English: Corps of the Royal Carabinieri) that were stationed in Palazzo Farnese in Piazza Cittadella.
In the Piazza Cittadella barracks, there were also other RSI units, such as the Compagnia della Morte (English: Company of Death) under Major Ambrogio Gianneschi’s command. Units of the 4ª Divisione Alpina ‘Monterosa’ (English: 4th Alpine Division) and the 3ª Divisione di Fanteria di Marina ‘San Marco’ (English: 3rd Marine Infantry Division) were headquartered in Piacenza’s main square during their deployment in the region.
The 3ª Compagnia Arditi and 4ª Compagnia Mista (English: 3rd Arditi Company and 4th Mixed Company) of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ were headquartered in the city after January 1945. The Distaccamento Operativo di Piacenza (English: Operative Detachment of Piacenza), with 7 officers, 113 militiamen, one M15/42 medium tank, one L6/40 light tank, three L3 light tanks, 2 AB41 armored cars, two APCs, 13 motorbikes, a staff car and two trucks was also stationed there.
A small unit of the Xª Flottiglia MAS, units of the Legione Autonoma Mobile ‘Ettore Muti’ (English: Autonomous Mobile Legion) and finally the Battaglione ‘Vendetta’ and Battaglione ‘Debica’ assigned to the Kampfgruppe Binz of Colonel Franz Binz belonging to the 29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS ‘Italia’ had its headquarters in the city during its deployment in the province.
In August 1944, the XXVIIIª Brigata Nera (English: 28th Black Brigade) was named after Giuseppe ‘Pippo’ Astorri (born 3rd March 1901 and deceased on 26 July 1944). He was a militiaman of the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico killed during an anti-partisan operation in Chiosi di Bobbiano, 35 km south of Piacenza. The unit had, on 14 January 1945, a total of 17 officers, 42 NCOs and 182 militiamen and auxiliaries divided into two companies. It was equipped with three medium trucks, a light truck, a staff car and a Lancia 3Ro armored truck probably received from another GNR unit. In January 1945, the Black Brigade was equipped with 3 medium machine guns, 6 light machine guns and 220 rifles.
The XXXVIª Brigata Nera ‘Benito Mussolini’ (English: 36th Black Brigade), founded on 22 June 1944 in Lucca, was extensively employed in the Piacenza province. After the Allied offensives south of Florence, Lucca was evacuated on 4 July 1944. The Black Brigade retreated first to Bagni di Lucca, then to other locations until November 1944, when it was deployed in Piacenza. In December 1944, it was composed of 137 officers, NCOs, militiamen and auxiliaries. Its equipment was composed of an improvised armored truck: a Lancia 3Ro Blindato with an armored trailer, a Lancia 1500 Berlina Semiblindata civil car and some other medium trucks. The XXXVIª Brigata Nera was renamed ‘Natale Piacentini’ in December 1944, after the death of the militiaman on 24 November 1944.
In the enormous Caserma Generale Antonio Cantore, on an area of 22,200 m² in Stradone Farnese 35, the 630ª Comando Provinciale della Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana (English: 630th National Republican Guard’s Provincial Command) was headquartered, with a total of more than 500 militiamen, police officers and auxiliaries assigned to 42 garrisons in the Piacenza province. In Summer 1944, this number was diminished due partisan attacks to 22 garrisons and 527 members.
Under direct control of the 630ª Comando Provinciale della GNR was the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico, stationed in the Caserma Generale Antonio Cantore and the Caserma Paride Biselli of Via Beverora 54.
The 630ª Compagnia OP was commanded by Captain Mayer, who had served in the Balkans for two years before the Armistice, learning how to counter Yugoslav partisans. When he became commander of this GNR unit, he exploited his knowledge of anti-guerrilla warfare to counter the Italian partisans.
In fact, as part of the important task of infantry transport and anti-partisan operations, the improvised armored vehicles of the unit effectively carried out convoy escort missions and supply missions to isolated garrisons in the Piacenza province. They also counterattacked the partisans during the sieges of some isolated garrisons, permitting the soldiers to maintain the positions or, in the worst cases, open a breach in the partisan line, allowing the besieged fascists to escape.
This was done also with Regio Esercito improvised armored trucks used in the Balkans before the Armistice, such as the Renault ADR Blindato, from which Captain Mayer probably took inspiration.
The first vehicle that Cpt. Mayer’s attempt to transform into an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) was an old Ceirano 47CM produced by Giovanni Ceirano Fabbrica Automobili (English: Giovanni Ceirano Car Factory) company after 1927.
It was not an easy task. In fact, the arsenal now worked almost exclusively for German orders and Mayer had to insist with the German command, which in the end allowed some workers to work on the armor of the truck.
It is unknown the exact number and the model of trucks that the company deployed in early 1944, but it is logical to suppose that the vehicle was chosen for its obsolescence as a transport truck. In fact, it had a maximum speed on road, empty, of 40 km/h and a limited payload.
A Ceirano 47CM medium truck. Source: wikipedia.org
The vehicle was armored by the Arsenale di Piacenza and delivered to the unit in April 1944 and commonly called Ceirano 47CM Blindato. The armored vehicles of the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico were all assigned to the Sezione Autoblindo (English: Armored Car Section).
The Ceirano 47CM Blindato could transport 12 fully equipped soldiers plus driver and vehicle commander and had slits from which the soldiers transported could open fire with personal weapons. It was extensively used by the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico in anti-partisan operations in the Piacenza countryside.
Cpt. Mayer had also ordered a light armored vehicle, based on the Guzzi Ercole 500 three-wheeled motorbike. This particular vehicle was totally armored and used to patrol the city’s roads after curfew. A Guzzi 500 liaison motorbike was equipped with a frontal armored shield and a Breda Modello 1930 light machine gun.
According to the testimony of a veteran, reported in the book ‘…Come il Diamante! I Carristi Italiani 1943-’45’ written by Sergio Corbatti and Marco Nava, the unit had another APC, probably on a Lancia 3Ro heavy-duty truck chassis. Giorgio Cassinari, in the book ‘Piacenza nella Resistenza’, also claims the presence of a Lancia 3Ro with armored plates used by the unit. Unfortunately, no iconographic sources exist of these vehicles.
Design
FIAT 666N
The FIAT 666N (N for Nafta – Diesel), produced by Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino or FIAT (English: Italian Automobiles Factory, Turin), was the first cab-over-engine heavy truck of the company, which usually specialized in producing conventional-cab trucks.
One of the brochures of the FIAT 666N heavy-duty truck. Source: ebay.com
The Kingdom of Italy was forced in 1937 to pass a law that specified the main characteristics required for all civilian or military trucks that were produced. This was done for three main reasons:
Firstly, Italy was a rapidly growing nation with numerous companies producing dozens of different models of trucks. A standardization would lead companies to produce vehicles that were similar to each other and with common parts, increasing the production capacity.
Secondly, there was also the problem of embargoes placed on Italy and the policy of autarky, or the aspiration of Italian leaders to be economically independent from foreign countries. Unified truck standards would certainly help to avoid wasting resources.
Thirdly, and probably the most important reason, was the fact that, in case of war, civilian trucks could be requisitioned for war needs.
The third reason however, brought an obvious problem. Despite the excellent characteristics of the trucks, many Italian drivers were skeptical about purchasing the Autocarri Unificati, since the Regio Esercito could requisition them for military purposes at any time. The term Autocarri Unificati (English: Unified Trucks) was the name by which these particular vehicles built under the new rules were called.
Post-war FIAT 666N was used by the transport company ‘Corriere dei Fiori’ which transported flowers from Sanremo to other parts of Italy every day. The truck towed a 12 tonnes trailer which used to belong to another company and on the waterproof tarpaulin there is still the name of the old company. Source: corrieredeifiori.it
With Regio Decreto (English: Royal Decree) N° 1809 of 14 July 1937, the so-called Autocarri Unificati were born. For heavy trucks, the maximum weight was not to exceed 12,000 kg, of which at least 6,000 kg had to be payload, with a minimum road speed of 45 km/h.
As for light trucks, the ground clearance was to be at least 200 mm, the maximum truck weight was to be 4,000 kg, and the payload 3,000 kg.
Civilian FIAT 666N prototype at the FIAT Mirafiori plant. Source: FIAT Archives
The FIAT 666N was a heavy-duty truck. The civilian version was developed in 1938 under the Regio Decreto N° 1809 rules. Its prototype was ready at the end of 1938 and was presented to Benito Mussolini on 15 May 1939, on the occasion of the inauguration of the FIAT Mirafiori plant in Turin.
This factory building covered 300,000 m² on an area of over one million square meters, with a total of 22,000 workers on several shifts. All 50,000 FIAT workers of Turin were present for Mirafiori’s inauguration. The AB40 prototypes were also presented then.
The military version, the FIAT 666NM (NM for Nafta Militare – Diesel; Military), was presented to the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione (English: Center for Motorization Studies), the Italian department which would examine new vehicles, for evaluation on 19 September 1940.
The FIAT Mirafiori plant in Turin. Photo taken in early 1940s by a Regia Aeronautica pilot. Source: panorama.com
It differed from the civilian version through the addition of acetylene headlights, a bulb horn, support for rifles on the cab’s roof and manually operated turn signals on the sides of the windscreen. The first military order for 1,000 FIAT 666NM trucks was issued on 10 January 1941. Another 1,500 were ordered on 23 July 1941, 1,000 on 5 March 1942, and 700 on 16 June 1943.
In total, about 8,000 FIAT 666s left the assembly lines of the Mirafiori plant, including the post-war direct-injection 666N7 and FIAT 665NM 4×4 versions.
FIAT 666NM-RE with civilian cab. Sources: Archivio FIAT
The Regia Aeronautica (English: Royal Air Force) ordered 796 trucks on 23rd October 1941. This truck was used on the Eastern Front, in North Africa, in Italy, and in the Balkans.
After the Armistice of 8th September 1943, between November 1943 and December 1944, 79 FIAT 666NMs and 2 FIAT 665NMs were delivered to the Wehrmacht.
A FIAT 666N in service with the Wehrmacht after the Armistice. This exemplar had the German license plate WL-3914*5 and a particular skull on the front. Source: photo from an e-shop
The FIAT 666 was produced in a wide range of variants, such as standard truck and fuel carrier for civilian service, while for military service, recovery trucks, fuel and water carriers, mobile workshops, petrol engine variants, and many others were produced.
FIAT 665NM 4×4 outside of the FIAT Mirafiori plant. It is interesting to notice that it is in Kaki Sahariano desert camouflage and that it has Pirelli Tipo ‘Libia’ tires for desert soils, even if it was never used in North Africa. Source: Archivio FIAT
Engine and Suspension
Propulsion was provided by a FIAT Tipo 366 6-cylinder in-line diesel engine. It had overhead valves, with a displacement of 9,365 cm³ and FIAT-produced injectors. The maximum output power was 110 hp at 2,000 rpm on the civil FIAT 666N, the FIAT 666NM for the Regia Aeronautica, and on the FIAT 665NM. The maximum output power on the Regio Esercito’s FIAT 666NM was limited to delivering 95 hp (70.84 Kw) at 1,700 rpm. The Ricardo type direct-injection chamber created lots of problems in the cold Russian steppes, which forced the crews to mix the diesel fuel with gasoline in order to allow the engine to start.
FIAT Tipo 366 with cartridge filters. Source: italie1935-45.com
The maximum speed on-road was 48.3 km/h (30 mph) for the power-limited FIAT 666NM, 56.8 km/h for the FIAT 666N and FIAT 666NM and 57 km/h for the FIAT 665 NM. The fuel was kept in a 135 liter tank (255 liters for the FIAT 665NM) located on the right side of the chassis, which offered a 750 km on-road range (465 km for the FIAT 666N).
A FIAT 6-75-2510 diaphragm pump then pumped the fuel into a 5.5-liter tank located behind the cab’s dashboard. This ensured trouble-free feeding thanks to a gravity injection pump. The lubricant oil tank had a capacity of 12 liters, while the water-cooling tank had a capacity of 50 liters.
Air was drawn through two filters mounted at the back of the engine. Up until engine number 000530, they used cartridge filters, after which they were replaced with oil bath filters.
As on the FIAT 626 medium truck, the engine could be extracted through the cab’s front after the removal of the grille thanks to rollers mounted on the two supports of the engine, rolling on guides fixed to the frame.
FIAT 666N chassis. The powerpack, fuel tank and air tank are clearly visible. Source: italie1935-45.com
Brakes and Electric Systems
The single dry plate clutch was connected to the gearbox via a cardan shaft. This could be removed independently of the gearbox and engine simply by removing the rear casing. This meant that maintenance and disassembly were easier.
The transmission, thanks to the reductor, had eight gears and two reverse gears. The drum brakes were hydraulic and had a pedal-operated air brake booster. The compressed air tank, with a capacity of 55 liters, was located on the left of the frame. It had a pressure of 5.5 bar. On the NM version, the rear axle was equipped with a differential.
The battery box of the FIAT 666NM. Also visible are the air tank on the left and the fuel tank on the other side. Source: Archivio FIAT
There was a 12-volt electrical circuit used to power the headlights and dashboard, and a 24-volt circuit for starting the engine. The two 12V Magneti Marelli batteries were housed in a box on the left side of the chassis, behind the air tank.
Structure
The cargo bay measured 4.75 meters long by 2.20 meters wide, with a height of 600 mm on the civilian version and 650 mm on the military version. It was designed to carry up to 6 tonnes of cargo but could carry, without much difficulty, an L6/40 light tank (weighing 6.84 tonnes).
The cab had the steering wheel and the driver on the right, while the vehicle’s commander was placed on the left. The cab’s doors opened backwards. Due to the slow production rates, some early FIAT 666NMs were equipped with civilian FIAT 666N cabs.
FIAT 666NM in standard configuration. Interesting to note the presence of racks on the roof for the personal weapons of the crew. Source: pinterest.com
In spite of its respectable dimensions and its large load capacity, the FIAT 666 heavy-duty truck, with a chassis weight of 1 tonne and about 5 tonnes of additional structure weight, for a total weight of 6 tonnes in the FIAT 666NM variant and 7.2 tonnes in the FIAT 665NM version, could travel at more than 56 km/h with a 12 tonne trailer attached. Fully loaded, it could climb 26º slopes. Thanks to its short wheelbase and cab layout, it was comfortable traveling on mountain roads.
The FIAT 666NM had a wheel rim size of 20 x 8” (50.8 x 20.32 cm). Like the other vehicles, it could use a wide variety of tires developed and produced by the Pirelli company in Milan.
It was considered a short range heavy duty truck. In fact, the companies that bodyworked the chassis never used long cabs with berths inside. The only FIAT vehicle with berths was the FIAT 634N, the first truck in Europe with the possibility to be equipped with two or three berths. As an example, the second company to provide a berth in the cabin was Renault with its three-axle Renault AFKD, with a load capacity of 10 tonnes, which entered service only in 1936. The third was Lancia with the Lancia 3Ro in 1938.
Armored Superstructure, Turret and Internal Structure
The FIAT 666N modifications were carried out by the Arsenale di Piacenza in 1944. Captain Mayer had decided to modify another vehicle after the creation of the XXVIIIª Brigata Nera ‘Pippo Astorri’ (English: 28th Black Brigade) on 25th April 1944. This was because, with the new brigade, the militiamen needed more armored vehicles to support their operations.
The FIAT 666N Protetto of the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico parked in the parade ground of the Caserma Paride Biselli of Via Beverora 54 in August 1944. Near the armored behemoth, there is the smaller Ceirano 47CM Blindato. Source: beutepanzer.ru
Another company that participated in the development of the Arsenale di Piacenza was Officine Carenzi, which carried out the majority of the modifications. It was a small company founded by Giuseppe Carenzi in 1929, specialized in bodyworks for trucks with fuel tanks and the production of cargo trailers. This company, with a few hundred workers, also started the production of ballistic armor plates during the war.
The turret was developed by a German tank crew officer that was assigned by the German command to the Officine Massarenti of Piacenza. His task was to design some rotating coastal cannon platforms. Finishing his work, he started to supervise the work of the company workers, trying to delay his return to the front lines. When the cannon platforms project was quite ready, he tried to delay his return, starting to work on the armored 360° traversing turret for the FIAT 666N. However, it is unclear if he voluntarily proposed himself to design the turret or if it was the Italian command that asked him to work on this project.
A standard FIAT 666N used by Piacenza’s garbage company was requisitioned. This is why it received the nickname ‘Tullòn ‘dla Vërdura’, Piacenza dialect for ‘Vegetable Garbage Can’. The cab and cargo bay were removed, leaving only the chassis, powerpack, seats, and probably the dashboard.
Some armor plates were forged by the Officine Carenzi but, to speed up the production and to save money, Arsenale di Piacenza provided some cannon shields that were welded onto the structure to the small company.
In the books ‘Siamo Ribelli, Storie e Canzoni della Resistenza’ written by Italian author Ermanno Maianai and ‘Italia 43-45, I Blindati di Circostanza della Guerra Civile’ written by Paolo Crippa, it is claimed that the thickness of the armored plates of the FIAT 666N Blindato was 9 mm.
The book ‘…Come il Diamante! I Carristi Italiani 1943-’45’ claims that the armored plates of the armored car were enough to protect the vehicle against 20 mm rounds, becoming virtually invulnerable to the partisan’s light weapons.
It apparently could withstand the 12.7 mm rounds. In fact, on one occasion, the vehicle was hit by several heavy machine bursts and only the radiator and the wheels were damaged, permitting the vehicle to return to Piacenza for repairs.
On the vehicle’s sides were four loopholes through which the crew could see the battlefield and use small arms, such as SMGs and rifles. Two cylindrical supports were also mounted on each side. These were mounted after the delivery, during a visit to the Arsenale di Piacenza. These supports were taken from the Arsenale di Piacenza, which also produced supports and armored pieces for bunkers, or from the Todt Organization which had the task of building bunkers on the Italian peninsula.
These particular supports were probably used for light and medium machine guns. They guaranteed more protection and a higher traverse than the loopholes. Ermanno Maianai also claims that the vehicle had loopholes on the rear side.
The armored driving compartment was connected to the central fighting compartment and the driver and vehicle commander could enter the vehicle through two armored doors that opened forward, as on other vehicles, or through the rear armored door. The forward opening doors guaranteed more protection to the crew in case of an emergency exit from the vehicle.
The turret was cylindrical, with a 360° traverse an unknown depression and elevation. It probably could be elevated enough to engage flying targets, like the Lancia 3Ro produced a few months after.
The main armament was a 20 mm automatic cannon, probably recovered from Arsenale di Piacenza. Due to the homemade design and production, the vehicle lacked a coaxial machine gun.
The rear of the vehicle had an armored door for access to the central fighting compartment. At least 8 fully equipped militiamen could be transported on the rear of the vehicle, but this number was probably higher.
As an example, the Lancia 3Ro Blindato of the XXXVIª Brigata Nera ‘Natale Piacentini’ of Piacenza could transport at least 8 militiamen plus its crew of 7 soldiers. The FIAT 666N Blindato probably had a crew composed of four soldiers; the commander was placed on the left of the armored cab while the driver was on the right. The front of the armored car was well angled to deflect enemy bullets. The two crew members placed in the driving compartment had two openable loopholes for driving and surveying the battlefield.
The rest of the crew was composed of a gunner that manned the heavy machine gun in the turret and probably a loader that handed the magazines to the gunner seated in the turret and to the machine gunner on the sides.
For the militiamen transported in the vehicle, some wooden benches were probably placed along the sides. Four of them operated the lateral machine guns while four more could open fire through the loopholes.
The vehicle was painted in a three tone-camouflage, the most common painted by the RSI forces called Continentale (English: Continental). It had a Kaki Sahariano base with reddish-brown and dark green spots painted on it. Unfortunately, from the only photo available, it is impossible to identify numbers or symbols painted on the sides. In fact, many improvised armored vehicles used by Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana received the symbols of the cities where they were created on the sides. In the case of Piacenza, the symbol was a female wolf.
An interesting method used by the Repubblica Sociale Italiana’ soldiers to empathize with the resistance of their improvised armored cars was to paint a white ring around bullet hits. Even if the existing photo of the vehicle was taken in August 1944, less than a month after the delivery, as many as 6 or 7 rings are clearly visible.
Armament
The main armament of the FIAT 666N Blindato was a Cannone-Mitragliera Scotti-Isotta-Fraschini 20/70 Modello 1939 20 mm L/70 anti-aircraft automatic cannon.
Developed in the late 1920s by Engineer Alfredo Scotti as an aeronautical gun, it was never used for this. In 1932, Scotti sold the patent, which was bought by the Swiss company Oerlikon. Scotti’s design was probably studied by engineer Marc Birkigt before developing the 20 mm Hispano-Suiza H.S. 404. In 1935, the Regio Esercito made a request for a new multipurpose automatic cannon capable of engaging flying targets. At the same time, it had to be able to deal with light armored vehicles. Scotti and the Società Italiana Ernesto Breda per Costruzioni Meccaniche responded to the request with the Cannone Scotti da 20/70 and the Cannone Breda da 20/65 Mod. 1935. After tests, the Breda gun was chosen, while the Royal Army gave a negative review of Scotti’s gun.
In 1938, the Isotta-Fraschini company in Milan bought the patent of the gun and started to update the project. This was presented a year later as the Scotti-Isotta-Fraschini 20/70 Modello 1939. The new gun was bought by the Italian Regia Aeronautica (English: Royal Air Force) and Italian Regia Marina (English: Royal Navy), with a fixed mounting for airfield defense and as an anti-aircraft gun on some Italian warships.
When the war started, the Regio Esercito showed interest in the gun, mainly because Breda could not satisfy the army’s requests and because the Scotti-Isotta-Fraschini gun was less expensive and faster to produce. For the Regio Esercito, the Scotti-Isotta-Fraschini 20/70 Modello 1941 was produced with a wheeled carriage. It was also produced under license by the Officine Meccaniche company or OM (English: Mechanical Workshops), which was known as the Scotti-OM 20/70 Mod. 1941.
The gun was gas-operated and had a theoretical rate of fire of about 500 rounds per minute. However, this dropped to 250 rounds per minute in practice. Its maximum firing range was 5,500 meters against ground targets and 2,000 m against flying targets.
The gun fired the 20 x 138 mm B ‘Long Solothurn’ cartridge. This was the most common 20 mm round, used on 20 mm guns of the Axis forces in Europe, such as the German FlaK 38, Finnish Lahti L-39 anti-tank rifle, and Italian automatic cannons. The gun was fed by eight 20 mm round feed strips or twelve 20 mm round feed strips loaded by a loader. A more practical 41-round drum magazine also existed.
The side machine gun models are unknown. In the only existing photo, the machine guns are not mounted, so it is impossible to distinguish their type. It was probably not the Breda Modello 1930 light machine gun. It was the only light support machine gun used by the Italian soldiers and was universally known for being an unreliable machine gun.
The two medium machine guns that were plausibly used were the Mitragliatrice Breda Modello 1937 (English: Breda Model 1937 Machine Gun) and Breda Modello 1938, also used on the similar Lancia 3Ro Blindato.
The Lancia 3Ro Blindato with its armored trailer Rimorchio Unificato Viberti da 15T of the XXXVIª Brigata Nera ‘Natale Piacentini’ in Via Manzoni, Milan. The Lancia 3Ro was armed with one Modello 1937 machine-gun on a spherical front mount, two Modello 1938s on spherical mounts on the sides of the vehicle and finally a Cannone-Mitragliera Scotti-Isotta-Fraschini da 20/70 Modello 1939 in the turret. On these vehicles, there are tens of white rings. Source: pinterest.com
These were two gas operated machine guns developed by Società Italiana Ernesto Breda per Costruzioni Meccaniche. The Modello 1937 was developed in 1937 as a medium machine gun, while the Modello 1938 was developed in 1938 as a medium machine gun but with modifications to be used on armored vehicles.
A Breda Modello 1937 with its 18.8 kg tripod. The 20-round rigid strip is clearly visible. Source: associazionenazionalefantiarresto.it
They were powerful weapons adopted by the Regio Esercito as a company or battalion supporting heavy machine guns. The Modello 1937 version was the heaviest rifle-caliber machine gun of the Second World War, with a weight of 19.4 kg, while the Modello 1938 weighed 15.4 kg due to the modifications.
The practical rate of fire of the Modello 1937 was about 200-250 rounds per minute and was considered a bit low. The machine gun was fed by 20-round rigid strips loaded from the left side. After firing, instead of ejecting the spent casings like all firearms, the Modello 1937 reinserted them into the rigid strip to facilitate the recovery of reusable spent casings. The Modello 1938 had a practical rate of fire of 350 rounds per minute and was fed by 24-round top curved magazines.
Apart from the different feeding types, the two machine guns had different barrel lengths, 740 mm for the Modello 1937 and 575 mm for the Modello 1938. Another difference was the presence of a pistol-type grip.
A Breda Modello 1938 medium machine gun. It was developed only to be used on armored vehicles. Source: dandbmilitaria.com
The machine guns shot 8 x 59 mm RB cartridges developed by Breda exclusively for them. The 8 mm Breda had a muzzle velocity between 790 m/s and 800 m/s, depending on the round type. The armor-piercing rounds penetrated 11 mm of non-ballistic steel angled to 90° at 100 meters. Unfortunately, the quantity of ammunition transported in the vehicle is unknown and would have largely depended on availability.
Operational use
The ‘Tullòn ‘dla Vërdura’ was surely deployed after August 1944 by the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico in the flatland area between Fiorenzuola and Castell’Arquato, the south east countryside of Piacenza. This armored behemoth could operate more easily on narrow flat country roads than on hilly roads among vineyards and other crops that characterized the rest of Piacenza’s countryside.
On 3rd August 1944, around 9:00 pm, numerous partisans attacked two different ammunition depots in San Giuseppe and Galleana villages in the suburb of Piacenza. The two garnisons held the line until 11:30 pm, when one of the armored cars of the 630ª Compagnia OP and a company-sized German and Italian force arrived to counterattack, putting the partisans on the run.
On one occasion, the vehicle, during a rescue mission from Piacenza to Fiorenzuola in August 1944, was stopped by 5 or 6 civilians in the village of Fontanafredda. Some hours before, a civilian truck loaded with salt from Genoa was stopped by a partisan car that blocked the street and ordered the men to exit the vehicle. The partisans then went back to the street toward San Protaso with the truck in front of the car.
The fascists decided to change their mission and started a chase with the armored truck. Despite the size of the vehicle, they managed to reach the two partisan vehicles before they reached the village of San Protaso. Some warning bursts were fired from the armored truck. The partisans, unprepared to combat enemy forces, abandoned the vehicles and ran the fields near the street. The fascists recovered the truck, which was returned to the Genoese civilians, while the car was transported to Piacenza and became the staff car of the Perfetto of Piacenza, Alberto Graziani.
During the same days, some militiamen of the GNR of Rivergaro were captured by the partisans and shot on 10th August 1944 near Agazzano, 17 km southwest of Piacenza. The FIAT 666N Blindato was deployed in a liaison mission the day after the shooting to transport the coffins of the eight soldiers to Piacenza.
On 30th August 1944, the soldiers of the XXVIIIª Brigata Nera ‘Pippo Astorri’, along with elements of the Compagnia ‘Baragiotta-Salines’ of the Legione Autonoma Mobile ‘Ettore Muti’ of Milan and an armored car of the 630ª Compagnia OP (model not specified) were engaged in an anti-partisan operation in the sector of Travo in Val Trebbia. While crossing a bridge in Rivergaro, the militiamen of the brigade and the Arditi of the ‘Muti’ were attacked by partisans, who blew up the bridge. The fascist column, taken by surprise and under heavy fire, managed to disengage and return to Piacenza without suffering any losses.
The operation was retried the following day. On this occasion, the Fascist column passed through the village of Piozzano, where it was again attacked by large enemy forces. In the clash that followed, the partisans had eight losses, among which a former Regio Esercito soldier and a former Carabiniere, were captured and shot immediately after the clash. The fascists suffered two deaths among the legionaries of the black brigade, while the Arditi of the ‘Muti’ had one dead and one wounded.
On 10th September 1944, the Provincial Command of the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana of Piacenza planned an anti-partisan operation in the town of Castel San Giovanni and surrounding areas.
The armored car section of the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico with an armored car of an unknown model, 1 officer and 12 men participated. Due to the number of militiamen deployed, it is impossible to identify which model of armored car was used in the action. The Ceirano 47CM Blindato could transport 12 soldiers and 2 crew members, but the FIAT 666N Blindato could transport a similar number of soldiers: 4 crew members and at least 8 fully equipped soldiers.
In the anti-partisan operation, two platoons of the Legione Autonoma Mobile ‘Ettore Muti’ with 1 officer and 50 soldiers, an operational nucleus of the Ufficio Politico Investigativo (English: Political Investigation Office) of the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana of Piacenza, with 1 officer and 10 police officers, and 2 officers and 50 soldiers of the XXVIIIª Brigata Nera ‘Pippo Astorri’ were also deployed.
During the action, the Arditi of the Legione Autonoma Mobile ‘Ettore Muti’ captured a partisan, who was immediately shoot in the main square of Castel San Giovanni. At the same time, the armored car intercepted a group of partisans on a road, where they were changing a pierced tire on a car. The fascists opened fire, killing one partisan and dispersing the others. The fascists recovered many weapons and ammunition, including some Sten submachine guns that were immediately reused by the militiamen. During the action, about twenty suspects were also stopped and were transported to Piacenza for interrogation. In Castel San Giovanni, a small garrison of the black brigade of Piacenza was constituted. It had about fifty militiamen under the orders of Lieutenant Angelo Montesissa.
In the so called Battle of Ponte dell’Olio (1st October – 6th October 1944), numerous partisan forces attacked the city garrison composed of 65 Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana militiamen and 7 XXVIIIª Brigata Nera ‘Pippo Astorri’ soldiers.
The Ceirano 47CM Blindato and the FIAT 666N Blindato were deployed. Nothing is known about the Ceirano’s service, while the other armored behemoth of the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico was deployed many times to force the partisan roadblock on the street between Piacenza and Ponte dell’Olio, 23 km South of Piacenza, to deliver food and ammunition to the besieged fascists.
In the first two days of battle, it forced the roadblock at 2:00 pm on 1st October. The fascists tried to pass at 6:00 pm again, but the partisans, positioned above the small road, threw hand grenades, Molotov cocktails and improvised explosive devices at the vehicle, which was forced to give up.
On 3rd October, the FIAT 666N Blindato began the supply mission at dawn. With the favor of darkness and fog, it managed to deliver food and ammunition to the besieged garrison. On the road to Ponte dell’Olio, the partisans had dug holes and placed mines to stop the advance of the enormous armored car.
The fascist, noticing the mined road, tried to clear it with two oxen pulling a harrow, but the system did not work and two militiamen detonated the mines by throwing hand grenades onto the road. The armored truck arrived at the garrison without other problems.
On the way back, when the FIAT 666N Blindato went out of the village, crossing the bridge over the river Nure, it was ambushed. The partisans used a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, damaging the radiator and piercing the tires, temporarily stopping it on the bridge.
After a short time, the engine restarted and the armored behemoth slowly restarted its way to Piacenza.
The Officine Carenzi of Piacenza repaired the vehicle, replacing the radiator and the wheel rims, damaged by the weight of the vehicle that had traveled several kilometers with pierced tires.
The work of the Officine Carenzi was excellent and the vehicle was operational again in no more than a couple of days. In fact, on 6th October 1944, it participated in the final fascist counterattack.
The Repubblica Sociale Italiana’s forces were composed of about 160 militiamen of the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico, of XXVIIIª Brigata Nera ‘Pippo Astorri’ militiamen and vehicles of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’. The FIAT 666N Blindato, an L6/40 light reconnaissance tank, an autoprotetta (probably a SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta), two Škoda 7.5 cm Vz. 1915 guns (in Italy know as Obici da 75/13 Modello 1915), a 47 mm Cannone da 47/32 and two mortars took part in the action.
After a fight that put the partisans on the run, the fascists, divided into two different columns, entered the village, but too late. The local secretary of the Partito Fascista Repubblicano (English: Republican Fascist Party) had decided to surrender to the partisans the day before, on 5th October, fearing that the partisans might retaliate against the civilians.
All the garrison members (apart from three members of the black brigade that escaped) were taken prisoner and transported to a partisan prison camp.
On 21st October 1944, an armored car of unknown model was deployed by some elements of the ‘Pippo Astorri’ Black Brigade in retaliation for a partisan ambush on the previous day. The fascists probably attacked on their own initiative and killed the owner of the house from which the partisans opened fire the day before. This was an old lady and they then stole some food from her house.
On 2nd November 1944, the Provincial Command of the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana of Piacenza organized a vast anti-partisan operation in the area between the Strada Statale 9, usually called ‘Via Emilia’ because it was built on the old Roman-era road, the Po River and the Nure and Chiavenna streams.
The Repubblica Sociale Italiana units that took part in the operation were the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico with 3 officers and 60 militiamen, the Sezione Autoblindo of the same unit with an armored car, 1 officer and 9 men, a squad of the Compagnia della Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana Territoriale (Eng: Company of the Territoriale National Republican Guard) with 1 officer and 15 legionnaires, some units of the two companies of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ with a tank and 3 soldiers and a squad of the Ufficio Politico Investigativo of the GNR with 1 officer and 10 police officers.
The Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano also took part in the action with 4 officers and 50 soldiers and one of the two companies of the XXVIIIª Brigata Nera ‘Pippo Astorri’ with 4 officers and 70 militias. The operation, which ended the same day, was a total failure. The soldiers managed to kill only one partisan and wounded a second one during a whole day of patrols in a territory under partisan control. The fascist forces also stopped several civilians who had taken refuge in the mountains to escape compulsory enlistment in the RSI armies or to escape forced enlistment as workers in wartime factories.
During the vast anti-guerrilla operation, code-named Operation Heygendorf, which took place in the last ten days of November in the Apennines, between the provinces of Piacenza, Pavia and Genoa, a large nucleus of the Piacenza’s black brigade was deployed under the orders of Vice Commander Barera, who was part of the Gruppo di Combattimento Piacenza (English: Piacenza’s Combat Group), under the orders of Major Kraus, together with the Black Brigade of Lucca and the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico. The soldiers were supported by an armored vehicle of the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana.
This heterogeneous force occupied Rivergaro on 24th November 1944, despite a violent barrage of mortars and 47 mm Cannoni da 47/32 placed on the left bank of the Trebbia river that caused the wounding of a single soldier.
From Rivergaro, the Gruppo di Combattimento Piacenza then went up the Trebbia Valley where almost all the towns in the area in the hands of the partisans were reoccupied and where two hundred Italian and German soldiers, prisoners of the partisan brigades, were also freed.
After 14th January 1945, the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico was aggregated for a few weeks to the Gruppo di Combattimento ‘Bicci’, composed of elements of the XIVª Brigata Nera ‘Alberto Alfieri’ (English: 14th Black Brigade) of Voghera, and the Sicherheitsabteilung (English: Security Unit), an Italian police unit with German name at the command of the German 162. Infanterie-Division ‘Turkistan’. The Gruppo di Combattimento ‘Bicci’ stormed the area of Stradella in the Oltrepò Pavese region.
On 11th March 1945, the Ceirano 47CM Blindato was damaged during an air attack and then captured by the partisans.
The FIAT 666N Blindato was deployed until April 1945 when, on an unclear day, the vehicle was attacked by an Allied aircraft.
While the driver was trying to avoid the aerial attack, the vehicle skidded and ended up with its wheels in a ditch on the side of the ground, tipping over. Trying to get back on the road, the vehicle was “damaged beyond repair”. The suspension or an axle shaft had probably broken.
Conclusion
Between summer 1944 and late 1944, the FIAT 666N Blindato was virtually unstoppable against the partisans, causing numerous losses to the Italian patriots that tried to free the Italian peninsula. Despite its weight and size, it was a fairly maneuverable vehicle and faster than a tank. Its armor plates were thick enough to protect some parts of the vehicle from heavy machine-gun fire, protecting the crew inside.
It was also thanks to this vehicle that the fascists were able to impose themselves in the Piacenza area, avoiding being overwhelmed by the partisans before April 1945.
Obviously, in spite of its merits, the improvised armored car on a FIAT chassis was not without its faults. Probably because of the weight of the armored superstructure and the load it carried, it was constantly under stress, causing the mechanical parts to wear out more quickly. In spite of this, on 3rd October 1944, it was able to run about 20 km on its way back to Piacenza for the necessary repairs.
At the end of April 1945, the partisan units attacked the city, forcing the last Nazi-Fascist units to flee towards the north. Some members of the various fascist units mentioned managed to cross the Po River, while others were taken prisoner.
After the surrender of the fascist forces, the partisans drew up a list of drivers and commanders of the improvised armored cars and went to look for them in the prison camps in the provinces of Piacenza and Lodi.
Four were found, taken, brought to Piacenza and shot in revenge for all the comrades killed. The commander of the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico, Captain Mayer, managed to disappear.
FIAT 666N Blindato in Repubblica Sociale Italiana Service. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
FIAT 666N Blindato Specification
Size (L-W-H)
~ 8 x ~ 2.4 x ~ 4 m
Weight, battle ready
approximately ~ 12 tonnes
Crew
4 (commander, driver, gunner and loader) + probably 6 or more militiamen
Engine
FIAT Tipo 366 9,365 cm³, 95 hp at 1,700 rpm with 135 liter tank
Speed
~ 35 km/h
Range
~ 400 km
Armament
One Cannone-Mitragliera Scotti-Isotta-Fraschini 20/70 Modello 1939 and 4 machine gun’ slots
Le Brigate Nere: Una Documentazione Struttura – Organigrammi – Operazioni 2^ Edizione – Leonardo Sandri – E-book
Gli Autoveicoli tattici e logistici del Regio Esercito Italiano fino al 1943, Tomo Primo and Tomo Secondo – Nicola Pignato and Filippo Cappellano – Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, 2005
Autocarro Blindato 'Ather Capelli'. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Italian Social Republic (1944-1945)
Improvised Armored Truck – 1 Converted
An improvised armored truck, built on an unknown chassis and used by the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ (English: 1st Black Brigade) of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana or RSI (English: Italian Social Republic) after November 1944 was one of the dozens of armored vehicles produced by the RSI units.
Nothing is known about the original chassis or its service, and only two photos of the vehicle exist.
The Repubblicana Sociale Italiana creation and its situation
After the end of the North African Campaign with the defeat of the Axis troops in May 1943, the popular discontent with Fascism in Italy increased. The King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III, took the opportunity to regain power.
With the collaboration of some fascist generals, Benito Mussolini, the dictator of Italy, was deposed, and a Monarchist government was created, which almost immediately tried to organize an armistice with the Allied powers.
On 8th September 1943, the signing of the armistice between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allied powers was made public, to the great surprise of the Italian soldiers. They were left completely unaware of the situation.
The Germans launched Fall Achse (English: Operation Axis), which lasted from the 8th of September to the 23rd of September 1943, occupying all the territories under Italian control in Italy, including the northern and central part of the Italian peninsula in the hands of the Axis forces.
Mussolini was freed from a secret prison on 12th September 1943 by a task force of Fallschirmjäger and transferred to Germany. There, he met Adolf Hitler and decided to found a new republic in the Italian territories not yet occupied by the Allies.
On 23rd September 1943, Mussolini returned to Italy, founding the new Repubblica Sociale Italiana with two new military corps, the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano (English: National Republican Army) and the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana (English: National Republican Guard), its military police.
Apart from some well-equipped and trained units, most of the Italian military forces were composed of poorly trained and equipped soldiers, mainly used by the Axis command in anti-partisan operations or to support German troops on Italian soil.
The Black Brigades
The necessity of small units located in the small cities of Italy as garrisons to stop partisan formations was great. To cover this, Alessandro Pavolini, the secretary of the Partito Fascista Repubblicano (English: National Fascist Party), proposed the creation of a paramilitary corp at the dependencies of the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana to the Italian dictator, the so-called Brigate Nere (English: Black Brigades).
The reason for the constitution of the Black Brigades was to preserve the life and property of the republican fascists. Additionally, to constitute auxiliary units, well-rooted in the territory where they operated (most of the members were born and lived in the cities where they operated) used in the fight against the partisans.
During their existence, the Black Brigades were also used to help bigger units in anti-partisan operations, maintain public order in the cities and prevent partisan sabotage against important city targets.
On 26 June 1944, Mussolini approved the Decreto Legislativo Numero 446-XXII (English: legislative decree no. 446-22), which Pavolini had proposed. The Roman numeral XXII signified 1944 documentation because it was the 22nd year of the fascist government in Italy.
This order constituted the Corpo Ausiliario delle Squadre d’Azione delle Camicie Nere (English: Auxiliary Corps of the Action Squads of the Black Shirts), simply known as the ‘Brigate Nere’ (English: Black Brigades), under the control of the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana.
On 5 July 1944, Pavolini sent a 5-point circular to the commanders of the Black Brigades that were in the process of being constituted. It indicated the order of battle of the territorial brigades as consisting of a Brigade Command, composed of the Commander, Vice Commander, Chief of Staff, Operations Office, Information Office, Office of Personnel and Discipline, Materials Office, Administrative Office, Office Assistance-Propaganda and Press, Health Service. The Brigade Command had at its disposal three battaglioni (English: battalions), each with about 320 militiamen divided into a command and three regular compagnie (English: companies).
Each company, with 105 militiamen, was divided into a command and three regular squadre (English: squads), which consisted of a squad commander and 33 men. Each squad was divided into three nuclei composed of 11 men, including the nucleus commander. Pavolini’s circular also provided that each brigade would receive the name of a soldier that fell for the cause of Republican Fascism.
Only two Black Brigades out of about 60 created received factory-built armored fighting vehicles, the Iª Brigata Nera of Turin, with a SPA Dovunque 35 Blindato, and the XIIIª Brigata Nera ‘Marcello Turchetti’ of Mantova, with an obsolete M11/39 requisitioned from a tank crew training school.
The other brigades were equipped with trucks (of military or civil origin) that they used as transport vehicles or that they armored themselves or in civilian workshops. These improvised armored trucks were meant to help them on anti-partisan patrols or to escort columns of trucks loaded with military equipment or food.
Some examples of improvised armored vehicles used during the Italian Civil War, which broke out during the last two years of the Second World War, were the Lancia 3Ro Blindato of the XXXVI° Brigata Nera ‘Natale Piacentini’ (English: 36th Black Brigade) and (even if not used by a Black Brigade) the FIAT 666N Blindato of the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico of Piacenza (English: 630th Public Order Company).
The 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’
After the announcement of the creation of the Brigate Nere in early July 1944, many militiamen loyal to Mussolini and his ideology arrived in the Caserma (English: Barrack) Vittorio Emanuele Dabormida in Corso Stupinigi (now Corso Unione Sovietica) in Turin. On 7th July 1944, the 1ª Brigata Nera, also known as Iª Brigata Nera (with Roman numerals), was created.
The soldiers were volunteers from other units near Turin. After the armistice, they had remained without command and were employed as police officers in Turin or the countryside. Other former Regio Esercito soldiers from other fronts had returned to their houses in Turin after the armistice and joined up, also accompanied by young fascists without military training but loyal to Mussolini and his ideology.
The unit was located until September 1944 at the Caserma Giuseppe Arimondi in Via Verdi, in Turin. Then it was moved to the Caserma Cernaia in Via Cernaia, renamed by the brigade into the Caserma Luigi Riva after the Secretary of the Partito Fascista Repubblicano, Comandante del Fascio Luigi Riva. He had been killed in a truck during a partisan ambush on 30th October 1943 on the road between Borgone di Susa and Turin, returning, together with a dozen of militiamen, from checking the damage done to the fascist headquarters in Borgone di Susa, which the partisans had vandalized.
Members of the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ during a parade in Turin.Other Turin’s Repubblica Sociale Italiana units probably took part in the parade. Source: spazioinwind.libero.it
The 1st Black Brigade, like the other black brigades, received the name of a fascist killed by the partisans. The fascist from which the unit took its name was Ather Capelli, born in Ferrara in 1902. He was a great supporter of the fascist ideology and participated in the March on Rome (a fascist march on Rome leading to Mussolini’s political party coming to power in Italy) in October 1922. He became a journalist before enlistment as a volunteer for the Ethiopian War of 1935, where he was badly wounded.
At the start of the Second World War, his request to re-enlist in the Regio Esercito was refused due to war wounds. He continued his journalist career and, on 20th September 1943, became director of the ‘Gazzetta del Popolo’ of Turin (originally founded as a liberal and anti-clerical paper in the 19th century this was, by the end of the 1920s, an avowedly fascist-party-supporting paper). After 17th January 1944, he was also director of the weekly ‘Illustrazione del Popolo’, part of the ‘Gazzetta del Popolo’.
Capelli was killed in Turin on 31 March 1944 by a commando of the partisan Gruppi di Azione Patriottica or GAP (English: Patriotic Action Groups) while he was returning home from work. Giuseppe Bravin and Giovanni Pesce (a famous Italian Communist Partisan leader) were the partisans who ambushed and killed him. In retaliation, on 2nd April 1944, five prisoners held in fascist prisons were shot without trial on a nearby street.
On 25th August 1944, the creation of the unit ended. The Black Brigade was commanded, like the other black brigades, by the city’s Federale (English: Federal), in this case, Turin’s Federale Giuseppe Solaro.
It was originally composed of two battalions. The I° Battaglione (English: 1st Battalion) commanded by Major Alberto Villa had in its composition the 1ª Compagnia Mobile (English: 1st Mobile Company) commanded by Captain Carlo Orsini, the 2ª Compagnia (English: 2nd Company) commanded by Captain Alfredo Maestroni and the 3ª Compagnia (English: 3rd Company) commanded by Captain Aldo Giacone.
The II° Battaglione (English: 2nd Battalion), under the command of Major Placido Tiseo, had in its composition the Squadra d’Azione ‘Torresi’ (English: Action Squad) and Squadra d’azione ‘Albarella’ of the Compagnia ‘EIAR’ (English: EIAR Company), composed of a couple dozens of militiamen that defended Turin and Milan’s Ente Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche or EIAR (English: Italian Body for Radio Broadcasting) buildings. The Compagnia ‘EIAR’ was commanded by Captain Cesare Rivelli.
In Turin, the Squadra d’Azione ‘Torresi’ was located in Via Arsenale 21, where the leadership of the EIAR was placed, and in Via Montebello 12, where the production studios were located.
The 4ª Compagnia (English: 4th Company) was assigned to the II° Battaglione, commanded by Captain Giovanni Consiglio. In total, the unit was composed, on 25th August 1944, of over 569 Black Shirt militiamen and auxiliaries.
Table 1: 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ units until December 1944
1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ units until December 1944
Name
Commander
Place
Number of soldiers
Comando di Brigata
Federale Giuseppe Solaro
Turin
23 officers, 40 NCOs
Compagnia Comando
Capitano Alessandro Sapey
Turin
Daily Press “La Riscossa”
Direttore Lorenzo Tealdy
Turin
I° Battaglione
Maggiore Alberto Villa
Turin
360 soldiers
1ª Compagnia Mobile
Capitano Carlo Orsini
Turin
129 soldiers
2ª Compagnia
Capitano Alfredo Maestroni
Turin
105 soldiers
3ª Compagnia
Capitano Aldo Giacone
Turin
126 soldiers
II° Battaglione
Maggiore Placido Tiseo
?
//
4ª Compagnia
Capitano Giovanni Consiglio
Turin
Presidio di Pinerolo
Tenente Spirito Novena
Pinerolo
25 soldiers
Presidio di Buriasco
Buriasco
Presidio di Chieri
Tenente Giuseppe Carbone
Chieri
96 soldiers
Compagnia ‘EIAR’
Capitano Cesare Rivelli
Turin
Squadra d’Azione ‘Torresi’
Tenente Vincenzo Mortillaro di Ciantro
Turin
41 soldiers
Squadra d’Azione ‘Albarella’
Tenente Ventimiglia
Milan
Total
//
Over 600 soldiers
With the continuation of the war and the influx of new voluntary recruits and guns, the unit was reorganized in December 1944. The I° Battaglione, commanded by Major Alberto Villa (after 6th March 1945, commanded by Major Alfredo Maestroni) now had the 1ª Compagnia, which had changed its name, commanded by Major Placido Tiseo, the 2ª Compagnia commanded by Captain Alfredo Maestroni, substituted in March 1945 by Captain Victor Risso and the 3ª Compagnia commanded by Captain Giuseppe Motta.
The II° Battaglione, under the command of Major Pagnini, had in its composition the Squadra d’Azione ‘Torresi’ of the Compagnia ‘EIAR’, commanded by Captain Mario Porta (Squadra d’Azione ‘Albarella’ was assigned in late 1944 to the VIIIª Brigata Nera ‘Aldo Resega’ of Milan), the 4ª Compagnia commanded by Captain Duodero, the 5ª Compagnia commanded by Captain Antonio Rubatto and 6ª Compagnia commanded by Captain Spirito Novena until 28th February 1945, after which Captain Umberto Ragona substituted him. In total, on 30th March 1945, the unit was comprised of a thousand Black Shirts, militiamen, and auxiliaries.
On 2nd April 1945, Turin’s new Federale, Mario Pavia, took over the command of the Black Brigade, because Federale Giuseppe Solaro was promoted Ispettore Regionale per le Brigate Nere (English: Regional Inspector of the Black Brigades) in Piemonte. He left the Black Brigade’s command on 23 April 1945, two days before the Great Partisan Insurrection of 25 April that would free the main Italian cities from Fascist and Nazi control before the Allied armies arrived.
The vice-commander of the unit was Lieutenant Colonnello Lorenzo Tealdy, also director of the daily newspaper ‘La Riscossa’ that dealt with topics of the fascist unions in Turin and articles on the activities of the unit.
In December 1944, the Compagnia Armi Appoggio (English: Support Gun Company) was also created under the command of Captain Luigi Rey di Villerey with some armored vehicles and support guns. A new addition was also the Gruppo d’Azione Giovanile (English: Group of Young Action), also known as Compagnia ‘Balilla’. During its operational life, from mid-1944 to April 1945, the black brigade also created the Presidio di Santena (English: Garrison of Santena) in Santena, about 15 km from Turin. It was active from September to October 1944. The Presidio di Caramagna Piemonte, about 32 km from Turin, was composed of 12 Black Shirts but, at an unspecified date (before 1945), it was assigned to the Iª Brigata Nera Mobile ‘Vittorio Rocciarelli’ of Milan. The same fate be fell the Presidio di Carmagnola under Lieutenant Michele Rizzi, the Presidio di Cavallermaggiore and the Presidio di Racconigi of Captain Fortunato Troini, all reassigned to the Iª Brigata Nera Mobile.
Other garrisons were the Presidio di Moncalieri, a couple of kilometers from Turin, the Presidio di Leinì about 12 km from Turin and assigned to the II° Battaglione, the Presidio di Venaria, part of the conurbation of Turin, with 12 militiamen and an NCO under 3ª Compagnia’s command, and the Presidio di Ulzio, about 67 km from Turin, created on 25th August 1944 under command of Lieutenant Elio Triola and then Lieutenant Giovanni Ancillotti, assigned to the II° Battaglione.
Tabel 2: 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ units from December 1944 to early 1945
1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ units from December 1944 to early 1945
Name
Commander
Place
Number of soldiers
Comando di Brigata
Federale Giuseppe Solaro
Turin
23 officers, 40 NCOs
Compagnia Comando
Capitano Alessandro Sapey
Turin
Daily Press “La Riscossa”
Direttore Lorenzo Tealdy
Turin
Compagnia Armi Appoggio
Capitano Luigi Rey di Villerey
Turin
3 officers, 4 NCOs and ~100 soldiers
Compagnia Deposito
Capitano Guglielmo Gianoglio
Turin
Gruppo d’Azione Giovanile also known as Compagnia ‘Balilla’
Sottotenente Tullio De Chiffre
Turin
Servizio Sanitario
Capitano Luigi Starace
Turin
3 nurses and 2 auxiliaries
Servizio Ausiliario Femminile
Tenente Anna Maria Bardia
Turin
Presidio di Moncalieri
Moncalieri
I° Battaglione
Maggiore Alberto Villa
Turin
1ª Compagnia Mobile
Maggiore Placido Tiseo
Turin
2ª Compagnia
Capitano Alfredo Maestroni
Turin
3ª Compagnia
Capitano Giuseppe Motta
Turin
Presidio di Venaria
Venaria
1 NCO and 12 soldiers
II° Battaglione
Maggiore Pagnini
//
4ª Compagnia
Capitano Duodero
Turin
5ª Compagnia
Capitano Antonio Rubatto
Chivasso
6ª Compagnia
Capitano Spirito Novena
Pinerolo
~100 militiamen
Presidio di Chieri
Tenente Giuseppe Carbone
Chieri
Presidio di Leinì
Leinì
Presidio di Ulzio
Tenente Elio Triola
Ulzio
Compagnia or Presidio di Pinerolo
Pinerolo
5 officers, 87 NCOs and militiamen and 5 auxiliaries
Compagnia ‘EIAR’
Capitano Cesare Rivelli
Turin
Squadra d’Azione ‘Torresi’
Capitano Mario Porta
Turin
41 soldiers
Notes
Unfortunately the irregular nature of the units, and the poor record keeping that exact numbers are not known for many of the sub units.
Total
//
Over 1,000 soldiers
The Italian writer Marco Nava, in his book ‘1^ Brigata Nera “Ather Capelli”: Una documentazione’, mentions that the Compagnia Armi Appoggio had in its ranks an improvised armored car on unspecified chassis, a SPA Dovunque 35 Blindato, four 81 mm mortars, a 45 mm mortar, 2 Cannoni-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935s and 2 Cannoni da 47/32 Modello 1935s, about 100 militiamen, 4 NCOs and 3 officers: Lieutenant Pessot, Lieutenant Grindato, and the company commander, Captain Luigi Rey di Villerey.
The Comando di Brigata and Compagnia Comando, all the I° Battaglione, the 4ª Compagnia of the II° Battaglione, Compagnia Armi Appoggio were positioned in Turin at the Caserma Luigi Riva in Via Cernaia. The Gruppo d’Azione Giovanile was headquartered in Turin in Via Ettore Muti (Now Via Gagliani), in the Casa Littoria.
The Squadra d’Azione ‘Torresi’ of the Compagnia ‘EIAR’ was deployed to protect the radio buildings in Turin. The 5ª Compagnia was placed as a garrison in Chivasso, in the Caserma del Distretto Militare (English: Military District Barrack). The 6ª Compagnia was placed in the Casa Littoria in Pinerolo. It was the former 4ª Compagnia that was renamed after December 1944.
Table 3: 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ unit equipment on 30th August 1945
1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ unit equipment on 30th August 1945
Name
Type
Deployed
In the armory
Unusable
Total Number
Ammunition
Machine guns
FIAT-Revelli Mod. 14/35
Medium machine gun
3
3
17,200 rounds
Breda Mod. 1930
Light machine gun
3
3
2,280 rounds
St. Étienne mod. 1907
Medium machine gun
1
1
11,500 rounds
SubMachine Guns (SMGs) and pistols
MAB
SMGs
16
1
17
9,440 rounds in the armory
SMGs
Sten
SMGs
4
4
“Parabellum SMG”
SMGs
1
“Greek and Yugoslavian SMGs”
SMGs
2
7
9
16
Revolvers
48
8
56
2,505 rounds in the armory
Automatic pistols
29
3
32
Very
Signal gun
2
1
3
776 rounds
Rifles and carabines
Sniper rifle
1
1
Moschetti Cavalleria TS 6.5 mm
Rifle
54
1
7
62
18,915 rounds
Moschetti Alpini Mod. 91
Rifle
18
1
1
20
Fucili Mod. 91
Rifle
31
5
36
18,915 rounds
Fucili Mod. 41
Rifle
34
130
2
066
Fucile Mod. 37 6.5 mm
Rifle
54
22
10
86
18,915 rounds
Fucile Mod. 38 7.35 mm
Rifle
235
10
11
256
17,058 rounds
Fucile Cavalleria 7.35 mm
Rifle
2
5
7
17,058 rounds
Steyr Rifles
Rifle
14
4
18
Explosives
German hand grenades
Hand grenade
2
38
120 without percussor
160
OTO
Hand Grenade
72
38
110
Mine crates
41
41
Dynamite
9 kg in the armory
Heavy armament (in January 1945)
Mortaio da 81 Mod. 35
81 mm mortar
4
4
87 rounds
Brixia Mod. 35
45 mm mortar
1
1
Not present in the armory
Cannone da 20/65 Mod. 35*
20 mm automatic cannon
2
2
Not specified
Cannone da 47/32 Mod. 35*
47 mm support gun
2
2
Not specified
Note
* These guns were deployed by the unit from January 1945
About the trucks in service with the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’, not much is known. The sources claim that, on 28th July 1944, the unit captured a Bianchi medium truck (model not specified, probably a Bianchi Miles) and a Lancia 3Ro heavy-duty truck in a surprise attack against the partisans. The communist units tried to steal military equipment from freight cars loaded with fascist equipment in the Bagnolo Piemonte train station. Cpt led the fascist attack. Spirito Novena was, at the time, commander of the Presidio di Buriasco (30 km from Turin) and the 16 militiamen-strong ‘Squadra Fantasma’ (English: Phantom Team) that managed to kill 12 partisans and wound another 20. Marco Nava also claims that the Compagnia Armi Appoggio was also equipped with an improvised armored personnel carrier on the FIAT 1100 car chassis.
Members of the ‘Squadra Fantasma’ of the Presidio di Beinasco. The name of the unit was written on the flag. Source: spazioinwind.libero.it
According to an article on the Black Brigade written by Italian author Paolo Crippa on the website zimmerit.com, the 1st Black Brigade was also equipped with a FIAT 626 medium truck.
In the book ‘1^ Brigata Nera “Ather Capelli”: Una documentazione’, the deployment of a column of vehicles of the Black Brigade “consisting of three trucks and two cars” is mentioned on 6th March 1945. This was for an anti-partisan operation during which at least 18 militiamen of the brigade were killed and probably some vehicles were lost.
A Lancia 3Ro exits the Caserma Luigi Riva in Via Cernaia. The militiamen have hung the name of the Black Brigade on the right, above the windows. It was probably the one captured from the partisans on 28th July 1944. On board were the coffins of some of the militiamen who died in the previous days during a firefight with the partisans. Source: spazioinwind.libero.itThe coffins of the militiamen who died in a partisan attack are transported on two Lancia 3Ro and a FIAT 626 trucks in Via Roma in Turin. This was probably the same column of vehicles as in the photo above. If that is true, this is the FIAT 626 of the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’. Source: pinterest.com
From photographic evidence, it is known that the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ was also equipped with some motorcycles and a 1-tonne Autocarretta OM light lorry, probably used to tow the artillery pieces of the Black Brigade.
Part of the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ equipment lined up on the Caserma Luigi Riva’s parade ground. From left to right, there is an Autocarretta produced by OM, in front of it a pair of Cannoni da 47/32 Modello 1935 and a Cannone-Mitragliera Breda 20/65 Modello 1935, a SPA Dovunque 35, the improvised armored car and two motorcycles. Source: spazioinwind.libero.it
Design
In Northern and Central Italy, which were controlled by the Axis, German and Italian troops had about 1,000 trucks in service. These were insufficient, considering that the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano and the Wehrmacht counted about 600,000 soldiers. Few trucks were delivered to Italian units, which, in most cases, tried to compensate by capturing others from partisans or requisitioning civilian trucks.
None of the existing sources mention on which chassis the improvised armored car was built. The Black Brigade had in its ranks a FIAT 626 medium truck and the chassis of the armored car might seem similar to the FIAT 626 chassis at a quick glance.
The FIAT 626 was a cab-over-engine medium truck produced by the FIAT Mirafiori plant in Turin. It was one of the first cab-over-engine trucks of the FIAT company and could not be the chassis under the Iª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’. The armored car seems to be based on a conventional-cab chassis in the few available photos.
FIAT 626NM at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione during Regio Esercito training. It had a similar shape with the improvised armored car of the Black Brigade, but it was a cab-over-engine truck, while the armored car was on a standard-cab chassis. Source: wikipedia.com
Thus, it is possible it was based on one of the only two other vehicles that we know that the Black Brigade had captured and probably reused, a Lancia 3Ro heavy-duty truck produced by Lancia Veicoli Industriali of Turin or a medium truck produced by Bianchi company of Milan, probably a Bianchi Miles.
Lancia 3Ro NMSP at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione during Regio Esercito training. As is clearly visible, the vehicle is too large for the dimensions of the improvised armored car of the Black Brigade. Source: italie1935-45.com
The Lancia 3Ro was an enormous vehicle, with a payload capacity of over 6 tonnes and a maximum speed of 45 km/h. It was huge, and it is improbable that the improvised armored car of the ‘Ather Capelli’ Brigade was built on its chassis. To give a comparison, the Lancia 3Ro Blindato of the XXXVI° Brigata Nera ‘Natale Piacentini’ was a colossus that does not match the dimensions of the improvised armored car of the unit.
The Lancia 3Ro Blindato of the XXXVI° Brigata Nera ‘Natale Piacentini’, with its huge shape. The Lancia 3Ro heavy duty truck could not be the chassis for the improvised armored car of the Iª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’. Source: pinterest.com
The last vehicle is the Bianchi medium truck, of which the model is not specified. During the war, Bianchi produced the Mediolanum and Miles. The latter seems more similar to the improvised armored car chassis.
Bianchi Mediolanum at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione during Regio Esercito training. Source: wikipedia.comBianchi Miles at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione during Regio Esercito training. It probably is the vehicle that the mechanics of the Black Brigade modified into an armored car. Source: italie1935-45.com
Two clues that make the Bianchi Miles chassis hypothesis more plausible. One is the presence of headlights fixed on the engine hood-sides. This system was rarely seen on Italian trucks, which usually had them mounted and connected on the frontal mudguards. On the Bianchi Miles, the headlights were instead connected to the electric circuit through the engine bay sides.
The Bianchi Miles
The Bianchi Miles was a conventional-cab medium truck produced by Fabbrica Automobili e Velocipedi Edoardo Bianchi (English: Edoardo Bianchi Automobiles and Bicycle Factory) in the Desio plant, near Milan, in Lombardia.
The civilian version was produced until the start of the Second World War; while the military version was produced from 1938 to 1943 for the Regio Esercito and from November 1943 to early 1945 for the Germans, who received 90 newly produced vehicles.
Bianchi Miles of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani (English: Anti-Partisan Regrouping), probably in Turin in the Fall of 1944. It tows an L3 light tank trailer and is armed with a pair of Breda Modello 1930 placed on the cab’s roof. Source: Italia 43-45, I Blindati di Circostanza della Guerra Civile
The Regio Esercito used the Bianchi truck in the majority of the campaigns where it was involved: Southern France, the Balkans, the Soviet Union, and most importantly, North Africa.
Some specialized variants were also produced, such as ambulances, buses with 23 seats, mobile bathrooms with showers for the soldiers and mobile refrigerators. In August 1943, a Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun (SPAAG) version armed with a 25 mm Mod. 38 cannon captured from the French in 1940 was also proposed. The vehicle carried 4 gun crew members and 380 25 mm rounds. A pre-series of 20 vehicles was ordered, but the Armistice canceled the project.
A 1949 brochure of the Bianchi company showing four different versions of the Bianchi Civis 75. Source: facebook.com @Gianpaolo Pederzoli
From 1946 to 1952, an upgraded version called Bianchi Civis 75 was built, with military and civilian versions.
The cargo bay was made of wood planks 4 meters long and 2 meters wide. Only the rear side was foldable. The maximum payload was 3,000 kg, while the loaded truck weighed 6,500 kg. For the transport of troops, 6 cross benches could be set up.
A post war build Bianchi Civis 75. One detail that suggests it is a post-war production is the Fabbrica Automobili e Velocipedi Edoardo Bianchi symbol on the radiator grille. Source: italie1935-45.com
Engine and suspension
The Bianchi Miles was powered by a Mercedes-Benz MDU 35 M diesel engine produced under license by Bianchi, equipped with a manual inertia starter. The engine delivered 65 hp at 2,000 rpm and was powered by a pump and injectors manufactured under license from Bosch.
The maximum speed was 64 km/h and the maximum range was 350 km thanks to the main fuel tank, with a capacity of 70 liters and the reserve tank of 15 liters placed behind the dashboard, which fed the engine by gravity. This guaranteed that, in the event of a malfunction of the fuel pump, the truck could reach a workshop for repairs. This system saved many drivers from breakdowns in the middle of the desert.
The Bianchi-copied Mercedes-Benz MDU 35 with Bosch electric starter. It also has the transmission mounted. Source: italie1935-45.com
The brake system was a two-disc dry clutch and could be disassembled independently of the transmission for easier and quicker maintenance. The Bianchi Miles had four gears and one reverse. A pneumatic servo brake pedal operated the hydraulic drum brakes.
The Miles had one 12-volt circuit powered by a 90-watt Magneti Marelli dynamo that served two front headlights, the license plate light, windshield wipers, an electric horn, and dashboard lighting.
The suspension consisted of leaf-springs on each wheel but, in the rear axle, were mounted in couple.
Armament
The improvised vehicle was armed with a Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 gas-operated air cooled automatic cannon developed by Società Italiana Ernesto Breda per Costruzioni Meccaniche of Brescia.
This was first presented in 1932, and, after a series of comparative tests with autocannons produced by Scotti, Madsen, and Lübbe, it was officially adopted in 1935. The Regio Esercito adopted it as a dual-use automatic cannon. It was a highly effective anti-aircraft and anti-tank gun and, in Spain, during the Spanish Civil War, some Panzer Is were modified to accommodate this gun in their small turret to fight the Soviet light tanks deployed by the Republicans.
A Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 was used by Italian troops to defend a military convoy in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Source: italie1935-45.com
It was produced in the Breda plants in Brescia and Rome and by the Terni gun factory, with a maximum average monthly production of 160 autocannons. The Regio Esercito used more than 3,000 in all the war theaters. Hundreds were captured and reused in North Africa by the Commonwealth troops, who greatly appreciated its characteristics.
After the armistice of 8th September 1943, a total of over 2,600 Scotti-Isotta-Fraschini and Breda 20 mm automatic cannons were produced for the Germans, who renamed it ‘Breda 2 cm FlaK-282(i)’.
It had a total weight of 307 kg with its field carriage, which gave it 360° traverse, a depression of -10° and an elevation of +80°. Its maximum range was 5,500 meters. Against flying aircraft, it had a practical range of 1,500 meters, and against armored targets, it had a maximum practical range between 600 and 1,000 meters.
The muzzle velocity was about 830 m/s, while its theoretical rate of fire was 240 rounds per minute, which dropped to 200 – 220 rounds per minute in practice.
A Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 in the Donbass region during the Second World War, defending a railway. Source: italie1935-45.com
It was fed by 12-round clips on the field version and 8-round clips in the vehicle version. The type of clips used on the improvised armored car of the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ is unknown, as is the number of clips transported in the vehicle.
Modification and Operational use
The Arsenale Regio Esercito di Torino or ARET (English: Royal Army Arsenal of Turin) produced artillery pieces, and small armored plates and helped develop some armored vehicles before the Armistice, such as the FIAT 665NM Scudato.
After the Armistice, it changed its name to Arsenale di Torino and its primary tasks also changed. In addition to producing artillery pieces, it specialized in the production of armored plates for improvised vehicles that it also converted in its depots or that the units mounted themselves at their barracks. An example of improvised vehicles built by it were the SPA-Viberti AS43 Blindata of the Battaglione ‘Fulmine’ of the Xª Flottiglia MAS, which received armored plates that were mounted on the chassis by workers from one of the Turin’s FIAT factories, and the two armored vehicles delivered for the defense of the Alto Commissario per il Piemonte (English: High Commissioner for Piemonte) Paolo Zerbino that were assembled in the Arsenale di Torino.
The SPA-Viberti AS43 Blindata of the Battaglione ‘Fulmine’ during a parade on 29th October 1944 on Via Roma, Turin’s main street. Source: Le Camionette del Regio Esercito
If the vehicle was really built on the Bianchi Miles chassis captured to the partisans on 28th July 1944 by the ‘Squadra Fantasma’, it means that the vehicle was transferred from Buriasco to Turin, where it was delivered to the Arsenale di Torino in the weeks after. The transformation probably required a lot of time. One source claims that the vehicle was delivered to the Black Brigade only in November 1944.
It is logical to suppose that the armor was made of steel plates recovered by the units from various sources, with a thickness from 5 mm to 8 mm, as on other improvised armored vehicles produced in that period. The frontal engine compartment was protected frontally with an armored grille for the radiator, while vertical armored plates protected the sides.
The improvised armored car with some militiamen around it. This behemoth was probably rarely used due to its weight, which likely caused many mechanical failures. Source: spazioinwind.libero.it
From photographic evidence, the armored car’s windshield was left unprotected, quite a questionable choice. It is plausible that the windshield had an openable shield with a driver slot that could be raised when a gunfight was imminent.
The only existing photo of the armored car’s side shows that the armored plates just behind the driving compartment were welded in a different position for an unknown reason.
The turret, of small dimensions, was trapezoidal-shaped with a square base. The gunner, probably the only crewmember that sat in the turret, had a hatch on the turret’s top, opening towards the front. From the poor quality photos of the vehicle, it is not clear if the turret top had a small periscope to check the battlefield from inside the vehicle.
It seems the gun had a limited elevation and depression and it seems that it did not have a coaxial machine gun. This is probably because the Breda gun mounted in the turret was a standard field one (recognizable by the differences in the barrel) that was not equipped with supports for a coaxial machine gun. The space in the turret interior was really cramped, and the loading operations were probably difficult.
The absence of slots on the sides of the turret suggests that the commander could only check the battlefield through the gun sight and probably from the small periscope mounted on the turret roof.
The barrel of the Cannone-Mitragliera Breda mounted on the vehicles (upper) and the one mounted on the other supports used by the Italian armies (lower). Source: italie1935-45.com
Only a slot was placed on the superstructure side, allowing the driver and commander to check the sides of the vehicle. A large rectangular access door seems to have been placed on the superstructure side, just under the turret, and probably another access door was placed on the rear side, such as on armored personnel carriers. This meant that, in case of emergency, the crew could enter or exit the vehicle quickly. Behind the turret, there was a transport compartment for some militiamen of the Black Brigade. From the images of the vehicle, it is visible that the rear part of the roof, behind the turret, was slightly higher than the other parts of the roof.
The SPA Dovunque 35 Blindato and the improvised armored car of the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ in the Caserma Luigi Riva’s parade ground. From this angle, the armored car side is visible, showing off the side door. Source: spazioinwind.libero.it
The crew was probably composed of four militiamen. The driver was probably on the right side of the driving compartment and the commander on the left. In the turret was the gunner, who operated the 20 mm automatic cannon, while a loader was also probably transported to facilitate the loading operations. At the rear, there were probably some benches for four to six fully equipped soldiers or enough space for a spare wheel and ammunition racks.
Operational Service
Nothing is known about the use of the improvised armored car and the armored personnel carrier SPA Dovunque 35 Blindato, even if the armored car was used for at least 5 months by the Black Brigade.
From November 1944 to April 1945, the units of the Black Brigade stationed in the Caserma Luigi Riva, where the vehicle was located, took part only in public order activities, where a vehicle with its characteristics was not needed.
The official documentation never mentions the service of the Compagnia Armi Pesanti, so it is currently impossible to know how they were used. On 13th November 1944, a “vehicle” (according to one source) of the Black Brigade was involved in a skirmish against partisans in Moncucco Torinese, a few kilometers from Turin. On this occasion, a militiaman, Secondo Casetta, was killed.
After 18th November 1944, some companies of the Black Brigade, supported by a couple dozen of the Compagnia ‘EIAR’ supported the Presidio di Caramagna in an anti-partisan operation that was a total failure. Only 13 deserters and partisans were arrested.
Starting 29th November, a company of the Iª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’, composed of about seventy soldiers under the orders of Captain Amilcare Villani, took part in one of the phases of Operation ‘Koblenz’ in the provinces of Asti and Alessandria. Turin’s militiamen, reinforced by elements of the Vª Brigata Nera ‘Carlo Lidonnici’ of Cuneo, about 150 men in all, were aggregated to a company of the German SS-Polizei Regiment 15. Turin’s Black Brigade members raked the villages of Baldichieri, Villafranca, San Paolo, Savi, Castelnuovo Don Bosco and Murisengo, where the unit was stationed for a few days.
From Murisengo, the company moved to Felizzano and took part in the roundup operations in the area of Nizza Monferrato. Near Monastero Bormida, the unit captured numerous partisans who had escaped from the previous anti-partisan operation. On 10th December 1944, the company returned to Turin. The troopers did not suffer any losses during the entire operational cycle.
On 18th January, militiaman Bartolomeo Vittone was captured and killed. He belonged to the company of Pinerolo. For this reason, on 5th February 1945, 45 militiamen, under the orders of Captain Novena, made a raid in Villafranca Piemonte, where some of those responsible for the murder of Vittone were hiding.
After having surrounded a block, the Black Brigade’s militiamen entered into a lodging, capturing three young men armed with pistols and belonging to the partisan’s IV° Brigata Garibaldi (English: 4th Garibaldi Brigade). During the same operation the troopers, after a brief firefight that killed Giulio Maritano, former captain of the Royal Army, captured Ettore Carando, Chief of Staff of the partisan brigade, and Leo Lanfranco, political commissary of the Garibaldi formation. Before returning to Pinerolo, the soldiers also managed to capture the commander of the partisan police of the IV° Brigata Garibaldi, Enrico Carando.
In this operation, men from Caserma Luigi Riva were deployed, but nothing is known about the armored vehicles.
Between 19th and 20th February 1945, the Compagnia di Pinerolo, together with units of the Gruppo Esplorante (English: Exploring Group) of the Divisione Granatieri ‘Littorio’ (English: Grenadier Division), took part in a vast anti-partisan operation in the area of Torre Pellice, Bagnolo Piemonte and Campiglione.
The operation led to the discovery of the command of the 105ª Brigata Garibaldi ‘Carlo Pisacane’ (the partisans also used the names of fallen patriots for their units). Numerous partisans were captured during the operation, among them some well-known brigade leaders and 60 rifles, 8 submachine guns, 2 machine guns, as well as a considerable amount of ammunition and explosives. No losses were suffered by the unit or the militiamen of the Divisione Granatieri.
On 28th February 1945, by order of the Command of the 5ª Divisione Alpina (English: 5th Alpine Division), a platoon of the Iª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ (unknown if the improvised armored car was deployed) and the entire three company-sized XXXVIª Brigata Nera ‘Natale Piacentini’ (English: 36th Black Brigade) of Lucca were transferred to Cavour and Bricherasio in Turin’s province. Lucca’s black brigade had in its ranks 225 officers, NCOs, militians and auxiliaries (in March 1945) and the Lancia 3Ro Blindato. These forces, together with a company of the 5ª Divisione Alpina, took part in a police operation in the countryside east of Saluzzo. Divided into small units, the fascists searched the hills of the area assigned to them without finding any trace of partisan formations. The fascist forces also stopped several civilians who had taken refuge in the mountains to escape compulsory enlistment in the RSI armies or to escape forced enlistment as workers in wartime factories. The operation ended on the evening of 28th February.
On 25th April 1945, the new commander of the Black Brigade, Mario Pavia, ordered all the remaining soldiers to concentrate in the barracks at Via Cernaia, where about 300 militiamen arrived. Units of the 1ª Compagnia ‘Arditi’ of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ with some armored vehicles converged on the Caserma Luigi Riva.
In the morning of 26th April 1945, the partisans began the occupation of some factories in Turin and of the railway stations of Porta Nuova and Porta Susa. These were recaptured the same day by units of the Black Brigade, of the GNR and of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’.
In the afternoon of the 26th of April, from the nearby barracks of the Polizia Ausiliaria (English: Auxiliary Police) in Via Cernaia, where the agents had joined the partisans, a heavy firefight started against the barracks of the Black Brigade. Four tanks of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ and three armored cars, probably two of the ‘Leonessa’ and probably the improvised armored car of the ‘Ather Capelli’, supported by a platoon of soldiers of the brigade attacked the building in the late afternoon. After having broken through the main door with cannon fire, the armored vehicles and the squad broke into the building.
The agents and the partisans fled, leaving about ten dead on the ground, while the fascists suffered only a few injuries.
Throughout 27th April 1945, the fascists kept the partisans as far away as possible from the area where the republican units were concentrated. In order to break the resistance of the men of the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’, the partisans started to hit the barracks of Via Cernaia with artillery and mortars. Due to their inexperience with similar weapons, the shells did not cause casualties.
Towards evening, Colonel Cabras, commander of the GNR, gave the order to implement the plan ‘Esigenza Z2B’, which provided for the concentration of the republican units in Valtellina. The forces taking part in the retreat had to concentrate in Piazza Castello the same evening.
The column moved from Piazza Castello around 1 am on 28th April 1945. The armored vehicles of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ were located at the head and tail of the column, while the units of the ‘Ather Capelli’ formed the rear guard.
The column traversed Turin without being involved in clashes. A barricade at the bridge over the Dora was broken through by the armored vehicles. Once on the Turin highway, the column continued to Chivasso and then proceeded along the state road to Cigliano, where it stopped to avoid being hit by the Allied air force. The night after, the column moved towards Livorno.
Colonel Cabras, commander of the column, having ascertained the impossibility of continuing towards Valtellina, gave the order to continue north and reach the area of Strambino Romano, where the bulk of the German and Republican units coming from the western Alpine front were already concentrating. In Cascine Romane, the units stopped. The first American troops arrived in the area on 5th May 1945 and the fascist troops surrendered to them without resistance.
Conclusion
The improvised armored car of the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’, was one of the dozens of improvised vehicles produced by Repubblica Sociale Italiana units during the last years of the Second World War. Its service is unknown but was probably limited, as were other similar vehicles.
It is one of the less known improvised vehicles of the war. In comparison, similar vehicles, such as the FIAT 666N Blindato of the 630ª Compagnia OP of Piacenza or the Lancia 3Ro Blindato that were deployed with the same tasks, have better detailed operative histories.
Its service was probably also limited due to the vehicle’s weight, which probably exceeded the 6.5 tonnes of the truck + load of the standard military Bianchi Miles version. Due to the vehicle’s weight, it was probably often under repairs due to mechanical failures.
Due to the critical situation of the RSI units in the last stages of the Second World War, it was probably problematic for the unit to find the necessary spare parts to keep it operational.
Autocarro Blindato ‘Ather Capelli’. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
L6/40 of the 31° Reggimento Fanteria Carrista in Repubblica Sociale Italiana Service. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Italian Social Republic (1943-1945)
Light Reconnaissance Tank – Small Number Operated
After the Armistice of 8th September 1943, when the Kingdom of Italy announced its decision to leave the war, abandoning its German allies, the Italian territories not yet liberated by the Allied forces were occupied by the Germans. They captured a million Italian soldiers and almost all the Italian tanks.
Some Italian units that remained loyal to Benito Mussolini continued the war in the new Repubblica Sociale Italiana (English: Italian Social Republic). They operated the few tanks and armored vehicles left abandoned that they could recover from depots or workshops.
A Carro Armato L6/40 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’, lined up with other vehicles in Milan on 25th July 1944. Source: Elvezio Borgatti
Brief Summary – from 13th May to 8th September 1943
On 13th May 1943, after furious and bloody fighting, the North African Campaign was brought to an end with the defeat of the rest of the Italian and German armies. On the Italian peninsula, the population was beginning to show displeasure with the fascist government.
By 10th June 1940 (the day Italy entered the war), the Royal Army had failed in the Invasion of Greece, and it would soon lose the colonies Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia in East Africa. In addition, in 1943, the Italian Army in Russia had suffered a disastrous defeat and thousands of casualties during its westward retreat.
This discontent was exploited by the King of Italy, who, on 25th July 1943, had Benito Mussolini arrested on charges of treason. On the same day, Marshal of Italy Pietro Badoglio came to power as the new prime minister of a royalist government that secretly began making contacts with the Allied forces to sign an armistice.
On 3rd September 1943, the Armistice of Cassibile was signed in Sicily, while the Armistice was made public by the Allied newspapers and Italian radio on 8th September 1943.
The same day, the Germans started Fall Achse (English: Operation Axis), which found the Italian soldiers unprepared. Apart from a few generals and politicians and, of course, the Germans, no one in the Regio Esercito was aware of the armistice. In a few days, the German soldiers suppressed any kind of Italian resistance in the Balkans, southern France and the Italian peninsula, killing about 20,000 Italians, capturing over a million soldiers, and a bit less than a 1,000 armored fighting vehicles.
At least four L6/40s of the Battaglione ‘Vittorio Bòttego’ of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana on the street between Mentana and Monterotondo, together with an AB41 of another Italian unit on 9th September 1943. They are fighting the Germans after they launched Fall Achse. Source: instagram.com @Storia_Italiana
Mussolini was freed by a unit of German paratroopers and SS that accompanied him to Germany, where he met Adolf Hitler. On 23rd September, Mussolini, after having decided the fate of Italy with Hitler, returned to Italy. In Salò, near Brescia, he founded the Repubblica Sociale Italiana in the Italian territories not yet occupied by the Allied forces.
His new republic could count on about 300,000 soldiers in the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano or ENR (English: National Republican Army) and on about 140,000 soldiers in the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana or GNR (English: National Republican Guard).
Unfortunately, the Germans had occupied all the factories in Italy, forcing them to deliver all the newly produced tanks, planes, artillery pieces and logistic vehicles to their units, leaving only scraps to the Italian units.
The Carro Armato L6/40
In the late 1930s, the Italian Regio Esercito tried to develop a new light tank with a rotating turret to replace the older CV light tanks series in the ranks of its armored units. After a series of failed projects, on 26th October 1939, the FIAT-Ansaldo consortium proposed the M6T, a 6-tonnes tank (in that period still called a medium tank) armed with two machine guns in a one-man turret.
The Italian High Command was not impressed with the M6. On the same day, General Cosma Manera of the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione or CSM (English: Center of Motorization Studies), however, showed interest in the vehicle. He proposed to accept it into service on the condition that the armament be changed to a 20 mm automatic cannon mounted in the turret. In the eyes of Gen. Manera, this solution, in addition to increasing the tank’s anti-armor performance, would also make it capable of engaging aircraft.
The vehicle was then modified with a new one-man turret armed with a 20 mm Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935. However, it did not have enough elevation to hit flying targets. It was accepted in service anyway in April 1940 as the Carro Armato Leggero da 6 tonnellate Modello 1940 (English: 6 tonnes Light Tank Model 1940) or, more simply, Carro Armato L6/40.
An L6/40 of the LXVII° Battaglione Bersaglieri Corazzato climbing on the cargo bay of a FIAT 666NM heavy duty truck on the Eastern Front. Source: italie1935-45.com
In total, 415 were produced for the Italian Regio Esercito, plus another 17 for the German Army between 1943 and 1944. After the Armistice, the Germans captured the majority of the existing vehicles, leaving few serviceable tanks to the new Repubblica Sociale Italiana.
A Carro Armato L6/40 deployed by the German forces in Albania after September 1943. Source: worldwarphoto.com
Operational use after the Armistice
The Repubblica Sociale Italiana had some L6/40s in service in the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano and the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana.
31° Reggimento Fanteria Carrista
The 31° Reggimento Fanteria Carrista (English: 31st Tank Crew Infantry Regiment) was a tank unit deployed in the Balkans after 1939, first in Albania, then in Greece.
When the Armistice was made public, some of its soldiers did not accept the surrender. Some examples were Captain Ulrico Ripandelli, commander of the 6ª Compagnia Carri (English: 6th Tank Company) of the III Battaglione Carri (English: 3rd Tank Battalion), together with other soldiers and vehicles from the II Battaglione Carri (English: 2nd Tank Battalion) and other companies of the III Battaglione Carri. They all decided to join the Germans.
The Germans trusted them and, after painting some coats of arms to avoid friendly fire, immediately assigned them to the 118. Jäger-Division in Podgorica and redeployed them against the Yugoslavian Partisans.
The L6/40s were rarely deployed, as the 40 L3 light tanks that the unit had in its ranks were preferred.
A Carro Armato L6/40 of the 31° Reggimento Fanteria Carrista with license plate ‘Regio Esercito 5484’ in service with German forces. Source: bundesarchiv.com
Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano
Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’
On 26th September 1944, Captain Gian Carlo Zuccaro started the creation of an armored unit as he was instructed to do by the Army High Command in the previous days. This company was proposed on 20th September 1944 by the Ufficio Operazioni e Servizi of the Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito (English: Operations and Services Office of the Army General Staff).
Cap. Zuccaro had the task of concentrating all the available tanks under the dependencies into a single unit and not individually with small units scattered throughout the parts of the peninsula still in Italian and German hands.
He had already been trying for months to create an armored unit of the RSI without the Germans knowing it. The cover name he had given the unit to confuse the German authorities was Battaglione Carri dell’Autodrappello Ministeriale delle Forze Armate (English: Tank Battalion of the Ministerial Armed Forces).
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’ (English: Armored Group) was created in Polpenazze del Garda near Brescia on 13th September 1944 by Cap. Zuccaro. It had all the tanks that should have been assigned to the Compagnia Autonoma Carri, which was never created. It was never deployed in active service apart from a few skirmishes on 24th and 25th April 1945.
The search for new tanks continued and, on 18th March 1945, the unit was equipped with 1 Semovente M43 da 105/25, 1 M15/42 tank, 4 M13/40 tanks, one non-operational L6/40, and 7 L3 light tanks.
Unfortunately, due to mechanical problems, the L6/40 was not quickly put into service and spent much time in the workshop for repairs. During March and April 1945, the partisan units in the Italian peninsula started a series of violent attacks and sabotages to weaken the exhausted Fascist and Nazi forces. On 25th April 1945, they launched the last attack in the last cities under Axis control. In a few days, they fully liberated the main cities from Fascist presence.
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’ was only deployed during this occasion. A column composed of 5 medium tanks, the self-propelled gun and 3 L3 light tanks towed by the medium tanks to save fuel left Polpenazze on 24th April night to avoid air attacks. It had the new task of reaching Milan (ignoring the fact that Milan was being liberated by the partisans at those hours).
The Carro Armato L6/40 along with another light tank were left in Polpenazze with the unit’s workshop.
Battaglione ‘Lupo’
The Battaglione ‘Lupo’ (Lupo – Wolf) of the Xª Divisione MAS (English: 10th MAS Division) had an L6/40 in service, but, for many years, the sources confused its origin. The first theory written by Giorgio Pisanò and confirmed by veteran of the unit Emilio Maluta says that the unit captured the Carro Armato L6/40 from a partisan unit in Piemonte in September 1944.
The second theory, written by Sergio Corbatti and Marco Nava in the book …Come il Diamante, mentions that three L6/40s were recovered in the 2° Centro Esperienza Artiglieria (English: 2nd Artillery Experience Center) of Ciriè near Turin in September 1944. They were transported to Turin.
The Carro Armato L6/40 of the Battaglione ‘Lupo’ in Turin in 1944. Source: …Come il Diamante
The book Battaglione Lupo – Xa Flottiglia MAS 1943-1945, written by Italian writer Guido Bonvicini, reports the testimony of some veterans that sheds further light on the story.
The L6/40 captured from the partisans was abandoned in Milan when, after the anti-partisan operations in Piemonte, the Battaglione ‘Lupo’ was reorganized on 6th November 1944. On that occasion, it was judged as being in a very poor condition and scrapped. On the same occasion, the unit bought 4 Cannoni-Mitragliere Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 and some 81 mm mortars from the black market.
The three L6/40s recovered in Ciriè were transported to Turin at the Caserma ‘Monte Grappa’ barracks. It is not clear if the three vehicles were too damaged and two were cannibalized to put the third one into service or if more than one vehicle were operational.
One was deployed to break through the partisan encirclement of the Reparto Arditi Ufficiali (English: Arditi Officer Unit) in Venaria Reale near Turin in late October 1944.
One L6/40 without the 20 mm main gun was deployed by the unit during the Reoccupation of Alba. The city had been freed from the Fascist forces in early October 1944 and proclaimed a Free Partisan Republic on 10th October 1944. On 30th October 1944, the Fascist Minister of Interior Paolo Zerbino ordered Colonel Alessandro Ruta, commander of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani (English: Anti-Partisan Regroupement), to launch an attack to regain control of the area.
The attack began on 2nd November 1944. Col. Ruta ordered the Battaglione ‘Lupo’, Battaglione ‘Fulmine’ and the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ (English: Armored Group) to participate in the attack as well. The latter sent 2 AB41 medium armored cars and 3 M14/41 medium tanks. Together with these units, some companies of the black brigades were also deployed.
The L6/40 and the other armored vehicles attacked the city from the south-east, approaching on the Roddi-Alba road. Due to the road being mined, they needed to proceed on the roadside, where they risked getting stuck in the mud which was the result of many rainy days.
They easily broke through the partisan defensive line, but the battle finished about mid day, when a unit of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani attacked the partisans from the north by surprise, forcing them to retreat.
The unarmed Carro Armato L6/40 of the Battaglione ‘Lupo’ in Alba after fighting against the partisans. Source: …Come il Diamante
The Battaglione ‘Lupo’ then moved to Milan, where it scrapped the L6/40 captured from the partisans (probably after reusing all the spare parts) and armed the L6/40 that they deployed in Alba. The two other L6s found in Ciriè were probably left in Turin where they were scrapped or given for spare parts to the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’.
From the testimony of Walter Cagolato, captured by the partisans of the Divisione Garibaldi ‘Fratelli Varalli’ (English: Garibaldi Division – Italian Communist Partisans), due to poor reliability, the Lupo tank was abandoned in a tramcar depot in Milan and probably taken by the training company of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’.
Battaglione ‘Fulmine’
The Battaglione ‘Fulmine’ (Fulmine – Lightning) seems to have used a Carro Armato L6/40 after early 1945. A soldier enlisted in the unit had been a tank crew member before the armistice. He was instructed to go to Turin from Gorizia with a truck to recover a light tank directly from the FIAT depots (which had probably repaired it).
The first part of the task was performed quietly and the tank was taken from the FIAT depots in Turin without problems. The second part of the trip was done during the night to avoid being targeted by Allied air attacks. Due to the weight of the tank, it needed to be unloaded from the truck to cross bridges all along the return trip of about 500 km long. During the crossing of the Piave river, probably between Treviso and Venezia, the unloaded truck was hit by machine gun bursts and put in flames. The partisans that shot at it then quickly disappeared.
The tank crew member was forced to continue the about 130 km journey from Piave to Gorizia on tracks. The tank reached Gorizia, but with the tracks and suspension damaged due to the long trip.
Due to this deterioration and the absence of a truck that could transport it, the tank could not take part in the breakthrough of the Yugoslavian Partisans lines that besieged the town of Tarnova, where the Battaglione ‘Fulmine’ was trapped.
Apart from this, nothing is known about this Carro Armato L6/40, neither its provenance, its camouflage, or its final destiny.
Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana
Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’, the best-equipped Repubblica Sociale Italiana unit, was equipped with at least two L6/40s, probably found in or near Turin city.
One of the vehicles took part in the parade of the unit in the city of Turin on 23rd May 1944 and only one vehicle was shown on 24th July 1944 in the city of Milan during a parade to celebrate the anniversary of the attempted coup against fascism. On that occasion, the unit’s banner was placed on the raised antenna of the L6/40.
A Carro Armato M13/40 in the foreground with a Carro Armato L6/40 behind and a Carrozzeria Speciale su SPA-Viberti AS43 during a parade on 23rd May 1944 in Turin. Source: I Carristi di Mussolini via Elvezio Borgatti, Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa”s veteran
The two tanks took part in some anti-partisan operations in Piemonte in autumn 1944. When the Battaglione ‘Lupo’ of the Xª Divisione MAS left Milan for the Eastern front of the Italian peninsula, the Compagnia Addestramento (English: Training Company) of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in Milan probably recovered the L6/40.
Not much is known about the Compagnia Addestramento of Milan. After the Great Partisan Insurrection, on 26th April 1945, the unit left the city of Milan with 4 armored cars and 10 medium and light tanks.
Of the 10 tanks, one was surely a Semovente L40 da 47/32, another was an M13/40 and another one was an M15/42. Unfortunately, the book …Come il Diamante does not mention other vehicles, apart from the armored cars. There were two AB43s and probably two AB41s.
It is possible to assume that the Carro Armato L6/40 in running condition of the Battaglione ‘Lupo’ was recovered by the training unit of ‘Leonessa’. It is not known if it was put in service again or if it was cannibalized for mechanical parts for the Semovente L40 da 47/32.
Distaccamento Operativo di Piacenza
The Distaccamento Operativo di Piacenza (English: Piacenza Operative Detachment) was created on 20th August 1944 with 50 soldiers and two AB41 armored cars under the command of Lieutenant Giovanni Ferraris from the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’. A Carro Armato L6/40 was deployed at an unspecified date.
A document from 20th January 1945 claims that the Distaccamento Operativo di Piacenza had 7 officers, 113 NCOs and soldiers, a Carro Armato M15/42, a Carro Armato L6/40, 3 L3 light tanks, 2 AB41 armored cars, 2 armored vehicles, 3 light lorries, 10 motorcycles, two trucks and a staff car.
The unit helped to defend the few Italian oil wells present in the Piacenza countryside. It also carried out escort missions when the oil barrels were sent from the oil wells to Milan, where the Oleoblitz company refined oil into fuel.
In a report from 17th March 1945, the garrison of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in Piacenza had in its workshops two non-operational L6/40s.
On 25th April, the Great Partisan Insurrection began in Piacenza as well, but the strong Nazi-Fascist force in the area meant that the partisan assault was slowed down. After a battle with US soldiers and tanks in the area south of the city, on the night of 26th April, the Fascist soldiers destroyed their depot to prevent ammunition, armored vehicles and fuel from failing in partisan hands.
It is not clear if the second L6/40 was totally unusable and for this reason it was blown up or if, between 17th March and 26th April 1945, it was put into service again and then destroyed or abandoned during fighting against partisans in the days before the Great Partisan Insurrection.
The other L6/40 tank that was still under repair and avoided destruction was probably abandoned the next morning, when the majority of Fascist forces left the city with all the operational vehicles.
Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in Valtellina
During the last months of war, the Fascist forces planned to retreat to Valtellina, a valley in Lombardia near the Swiss border. There, the Fascists could make their last stand, allowing Benito Mussolini to flee to Switzerland to avoid the consequences of his failed dictatorship.
A small unit of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was sent to the Tirano area (in Valtellina) in mid April 1945. The unit was composed of a Carro Armato L6/40 and two armored cars, of which at least one was a Carrozzeria Speciale su SPA-Viberti AS43.
On 27th April 1945, about 1,000 soldiers from the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’, Compagnia ‘Pesaro’ of the Battaglione M ‘Guardia del Duce’, a few soldiers from the XV Brigata Nera ‘Sergio Gatti’ (English: 15th Black Brigade), from the XXXIX Brigata Nera ‘Raffaele Manganiello’ (English: 39th Black Brigade), the Brigata Nera Autonoma ‘Giovanni Gentile’ (English: Autonomous Black Brigade), the Fascist border guards from the III Legione GNR di Frontiera (English: 3rd GNR Border Guard Legion) and a battalion of French militias were ready to join Mussolini while fleeing north.
The commander of this column was the former commander of the 2° Battaglione (English: 2nd Battalion) of the III Legione GNR di Frontiera, Major Vanna. He planned to reach Sondrio, where they were to meet Mussolini and all escape to Switzerland.
A bad quality image of the column of Fascist forces during the fighting in Tirano. Source: I Carristi di Mussolini via Giorgio Pisanò
The column was fully motorized with the last few operational trucks of the Fascist units and the armored vehicles of ‘Leonessa’. There were also some trucks armed with 20 mm automatic cannons for close defense.
When the Fascist forces tried to reach Sondrio, they were hit by partisan bursts, blocking them in an open field near the city of Tirano, 200 meter away from the Santuario della Madonna (English: Sanctuary of Virgin Mary).
The Carro Armato L6/40, the only tracked vehicle of the column, was used as a shield, proceeding slowly from the blocked trucks to the sanctuary, where the Fascist soldiers could open fire against the partisan positions.
After some hours of fighting, the Fascist commander, Maj. Vanna, understood that it was impossible to reach Sondrio by breaking through the partisan lines. Maj. Vanna retreated his forces to the Caserma ‘Luigi Torelli’ barracks in Tirano. He chose 250 soldiers out of the 1,000 available and tried to reach Sondrio by passing on the shores of the Adda River. The rest of the soldiers and the three armored vehicles tried to resist the partisan forces, but surrendered the next day after heavy fighting.
The Carro Armato L6/40 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in Tirano on 27th April 1945. Source: I Carristi di Mussolini via Giorgio Pisanò
Camouflage and Markings
The Carri Armati L6/40s of the 31° Reggimento Fanteria Carrista were painted in a three-tone camouflage. The original Kaki Sahariano (English: Saharan Khaki) was partially covered by dark green and dark brown spots.
On the tanks used before the Armistice, white circles were painted on the sides of the superstructure and some cartoons on the front plate. After the Armistice, the white circles were covered with white bands that were also painted on the front part of the transmission cover. They did not cover the cartoons on the frontal plate. Two vehicles are known, one with plate ‘Regio Esercito 5484’ and one with plate ‘Regio Esercito 5488’ with a lion face.
The Carro Armato L6/40 plated ‘Regio Esercito 5488’ of the 31° Reggimento Fanteria carrista fighting with the Germans after the Armistice. The lion face and white rectangle are clearly visible. Source: bundesarchiv.com
Nothing is known about the camouflage of the L6/40 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leoncello’ and of the Battaglione ‘Fulmine’. They were probably in the original Kaki Sahariano monochrome desert camouflage.
At least one of the Carri Armati L6/40s of the Battaglione ‘Lupo’ was painted with dark green spots on the original Kaki Sahariano. On the turret sides, it had a wolf face, the symbol of the battalion, painted inside a black or red rectangle.
Unfortunately, the sources that speak about the rectangle color are discordant. Two veterans of the ‘Lupo’ Battalion give different versions, one with a red rectangle and one with a black rectangle. It is possible they may be talking about two different vehicles
The Carri Armati L6/40 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ had the standard Kaki Sahariano monochrome desert camouflage. As a coat of arms, they had an ‘m’ in lowercase italics painted red, which was the symbol of Mussolini. A lictorian beam, the symbol of the Partito Fascista Repubblicano, intersected the ‘m’ transversely, and the acronym GNR was painted in red under it.
Another image of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in Milan, ready for the parade of 25th July 1944. The coat of arms on the Carro Armato L6/40 is partially visible (there was another painted on the rear hatch of the turret). Source: I Carristi di Mussolini via Elvezio Borgatti, Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa”s veteran
After December 1944, the L6/40 tank that remained in Turin had the Kaki Sahariano Chiaro base covered with reddish brown and dark green spots. The vehicle spotted in Valtellina had this camouflage pattern.
Conclusion
The Carro Armato L6/40 was an already obsolete light tank when the Armistice with the Allied forces was signed. Despite this, the tank was deployed by the Germans and by the Fascist forces, who employed all the vehicles not yet captured by the Germans.
Interestingly enough, in the anti-partisan operations in Northern Italy, the tank performed without any particular criticisms. This was also because, until mid-to-late 1944, the partisan forces were equipped only with light firearms that could not penetrate the armor of the L6/40.
L6/40 of the Battaglione ‘Lupo’ in Repubblica Sociale Italiana Service. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.L6/40 of the 31° Reggimento Fanteria Carrista in Repubblica Sociale Italiana Service. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.L6/40 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in Repubblica Sociale Italiana Service. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Carro Armato L6/40 Specifications
Size (L-W-H)
3.82 x 1.80 x 1.175 m
Weight, battle ready
6.84 tonnes
Crew
2 (driver and commander/gunner)
Engine
FIAT Tipo 18 VT 4-cylinder 68 hp at 2500 rpm with 165 liters tank
Speed
42 km/h
Range
200 km
Armament
One Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 and a 8 mm Breda Modello 1938
Autoprotetto FIAT 666NM per Regia Marina. Illustrations by Godzilla
Kingdom of Italy (1941)
Armored Truck – 1 Prototype Built
Special thanks to Daniele Notaro, who helped with information on the Nuclei Anti Paracadutisti.
The Autoprotetto FIAT 666NM was a project for a semi-Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) requested and autonomously produced by the Taranto Command of the Italian Regia Marina (English: Royal Navy).
It was proposed by the Taranto Royal Army command to help the Nuclei Anti Paracadutisti (English: Anti-Paratrooper Squads) units of the Italian Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army) to patrol the harbor and airport perimeters, defending the military infrastructure against Allied paratrooper sabotage and attack.
Unfortunately, the project was not finished due to bureaucratic problems and remained only at the prototype stage.
The Difesa Anti Paracadutisti
Given the extensive use of airborne forces during the Second World War, in 1941, the Italian Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army) created elite units to engage any Allied paratroopers.
In fact, by 1941, British parachute units had launched only a few missions (e.g. Operation Colossus of February 1941), but the German Fallschirmjäger (English: Paratroopers) had proved to be excellent assault units, despite the many losses suffered in the attack on Crete.
With Document Number 41224, ‘Potenziamento difesa Costiera e Piazze M.M., Protezione vie di Comunicazione ed Impianti, Difesa Antiparacadutisti’ (English: Enhancement of coastal defense and headquarters, protection of communication routes and installations, anti-airborne defense) of the Ufficio Ordinamento e Mobilitazione dello Stato Maggiore (English: Ordnance and Mobilization Office of the General Staff), the Italian Royal Army constituted 330 Nuclei Anti Paracadutisti with a total of 330 officers and 8,000 NCOs and soldiers.
The officers (second lieutenants or lieutenants) were all enlisted from veterans of other units, while some NCOs were young men from territorial defense departments and from enlisted troops already assigned to the Infantry or Bersaglieri (assault infantry). Each Nucleo Anti Paracadutisti was assigned to coastal defense divisions.
One of the few photos known of members of Nuclei Anti Paracadutisti at Portofino in Liguria region. It is impossible to identify the exact nucleo to which they were assigned because in that area, under the 201ª Divisione Costiera, were assigned five different NAPs: the 49° Nucleo Anti Paracadutisti, 50° Nucleo Anti Paracadutisti, 52° Nucleo Anti Paracadutisti, 53° Nucleo Anti Paracadutisti and 54° Nucleo Anti Paracadutisti. Source: instagram.com @Forza_Italiana
The Anti-airborne units were theoretically composed of 30 soldiers commanded by an officer, but the units were usually composed of fewer soldiers. In theory, they were to be highly mobile emergency response units that, having identified a threat in a short time, could quickly intervene to eliminate it.
With regards to the military equipment and the assigned personal weapons, most were delivered without problems, such as the expected 330 liaison motorcycles. There were delivery problems with the 660 Breda Modello 1930 light machine guns, of which not all were ever delivered, nor the 330 light trucks and 660 bicycles. For these reasons, the majority of the Nuclei Anti paracadutisti were equipped with trucks or guns donated by the divisions to which they were assigned.
In the Taranto area, the 241° and 243° Nuclei Anti paracadutisti (English: 241st and 243rd Anti-airborne Units) were deployed, assigned to the X Brigata Costiera (English: 10th Coastal Brigade), renamed in March 1943 to the 210ª Divisione Costiera (English: 210th Coastal Division) with some staff reorganization. This division had the task of defending the coastal perimeter between Taranto and Brindisi in the Salento area.
History of the project
Some of the Nuclei Anti Paracadutisti were deployed in the defense of harbors and Military maritime infrastructure, but the absence of trucks and vehicles forced the Regia Marina to donate some of its trucks and weapons to these units.
Some of the Nuclei Anti Paracadutisti units were assigned to the defense of the Taranto area. This city, situated in Puglia, one of the southern regions of Italy, was one of the most important harbors of Italy. The Comando in Capo (English: Headquarter) of the Regia Marina in Taranto assigned some of its FIAT 666NM to the anti-airborne units.
For their counter-attacks and anti-sabotage tasks, these units required better protected vehicles than simple heavy duty trucks. Thus, in June 1941, the Comando in Capo of Taranto delivered to the Ufficio dello Stato Maggiore della Regia Marina (English: Office of the General Staff of the Royal Navy) a project for armoring some of these trucks with 5 mm armored plates. This was made for two reasons: first, if a Nuclei Anti Paracadutisti was ambushed during a patrol, the armored vehicle ensured more safety for the soldiers carried on board. Secondly, an armored vehicle could support the unit’s counterattacks, which a truck could not do.
An Autocarro Unificato OM Taurus Blindato with armored plates on the cab’s windows and cargo bay used in the Balkans by Italian troops before the Armistice. This is a clear example of what the Taranto Headquarters probably had in mind when they emitted the request. Source: Gli Autoveicoli tattici e logistici del Regio Esercito Italiano fino al 1943
The Stato Maggiore della Marina or MARISTAT (English: Royal Navy General Staff) examined the project and, on 8th July 1941, authorized the production of a prototype, changing some of the specifications. In particular, they asked to reduce the armor, leaving the cab unarmored, removing the armored roof and adding slots for the use of personal weapons from inside.
Another photo from the Balkans Theater of Operations. The first two vehicles were Renault ADRs with armored cargo bays, partially covered cab ang FIAT-Revelli Modello 1914/35 machine guns. Behind them is an unarmed Isotta Fraschini D80 heavy duty truck with armor plates protecting only the cargo bay. Source: Armored and Reconnaissance 1911-1945
After the modification of the project, the new vehicle project was ready in August 1941. The production of the prototype was assigned to the Arsenale Navale di Taranto or MARINARSEN (English: Taranto’s Naval Arsenal), which commenced to modify a FIAT 666NM.
On 8th September of the same year, MARISTAT wrote another letter, recommending to the Taranto headquarters to use special armor plates called ‘L.P.A.’ (unfortunately, nothing is known about this acronym). This probably referred to annealed, cold drawn steel. These were specially hardened armor plates produced by Terni Società per l’Industria e l’Elettricità (English: Terni Company for Industry and Electricity) foundry and could withstand 8 mm armor-piercing bullets. This request was accepted and officialized on 15th September 1941.
Design
FIAT 666NM
The FIAT 666NM (NM stands for Nafta Militare – Diesel Military) was produced by Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino or FIAT (English: Italian Automobiles Factory, Turin) from 1938.
A FIAT brochure of the FIAT 666N. It said that the FIAT 666N was powerful, cheap and fast and would surpass the success of the FIAT 634N, its predecessor. Source: FIAT
The FIAT 666N was a heavy duty truck. Its prototype was ready at the end of 1938 and was presented to Benito Mussolini on 15th May 1939, on the occasion of the inauguration of the FIAT Mirafiori plant in Turin. The military version, the FIAT 666NM, was presented to the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione for evaluation on 19th September 1940.
FIAT 666N civilian version prototype at the FIAT Mirafiori plant. Source: FIAT Archives
It differed from the civilian version through the addition of acetylene headlights, a bulb horn, and manually operated turn signals on the sides of the windscreen. The first military order for 1,000 FIAT 666NM trucks was issued on 10th January 1941. Another 1,500 were ordered on 23rd July 1941, 1,000 on 5th March 1942, and 700 on 16th June 1943. In total, about 8,000 FIAT 666s left the assembly lines of the Mirafiori plant, including the post-war direct-injection 666N7 and FIAT 665NM versions.
The Regia Aeronautica (English: Royal Air Force) ordered 796 trucks on 23rd October 1941. This truck was used on the Eastern Front, in North Africa, in Italy, and in the Balkans.
A FIAT 666NM in Italy, probably shortly after delivery to the unit. The license plate is ‘Regio Esercito 99971’. Source: italie1935-45.com
The FIAT 666 was produced in a wide range of variants, such as standard truck and fuel carrier for civilian service, while for military service, recovery trucks, fuel and water carriers, mobile workshops, petrol engine variants, and many others were produced.
Engine and Suspension
Propulsion was provided by a FIAT Type 366 6-cylinder in-line diesel engine. It had overhead valves, with a displacement of 9,365 cm³ and FIAT-produced injectors. The maximum output was 110 hp at 2,000 rpm on the civil FIAT 666N, the FIAT 666NM for the Regia Aeronautica, and on the FIAT 665 NM. The maximum output power on the Regio Esercito’s FIAT 666NM was limited to delivering 95 hp at 1,700 rpm.
FIAT Tipo 366 with oil bath filters (right). Source: Archivio FIAT
The maximum speed on-road was 57 km/h for the FIAT 665NM, 48.3 km/h for the power-limited FIAT 666NM, and 56.8 km/h for the FIAT 666N and FIAT 666NM. The fuel was kept in a 255 liter tank (135 liters for the FIAT 666N) located on the right side of the chassis, which offered a 750 km on-road range (465 km for the FIAT 666N).
As on the FIAT 626 medium truck, the engine could be extracted through the cab’s front after the removal of the grille thanks to rollers mounted on the two supports of the engine, rolling on guides fixed to the frame.
The single dry plate clutch was connected to the gearbox via a cardan shaft. This could be removed independently of the gearbox and engine simply by removing the rear casing. This meant that maintenance and disassembly were easier.
The transmission, thanks to the reductor, had eight gears and two reverse gears. The drum brakes were hydraulic and had a pedal-operated air brake booster. A 12-volt electrical circuit was used to power the headlights and dashboard, and a 24-volt circuit for starting the engine. The two 12V Magneti Marelli batteries were housed in a box on the left side of the chassis, behind the air tank.
Structure
The cargo bay measured 4.75 meters long by 2.20 meters wide, with a height of 600 mm on the civilian version and 650 mm on the military version. It was designed to carry up to 6 tonnes of cargo, but could carry, without much difficulty, a Carro Armato L6/40 light tank (weighing 6.84 tonnes).
Two unarmed L6/40 light reconnaissance tanks loaded on a FIAT 666NM and its 15 tonnes payload trailer. Source: Cavalleria Italiana
The cab had the steering wheel and the driver on the right, while the vehicle’s commander was placed on the left. The cab’s doors opened backwards. Due to the slow production rates, some early FIAT 666NMs were equipped with civilian FIAT 666N cabs.
FIAT 666NM-RE with civilian cab. Source: Archivio FIAT
In spite of its respectable dimensions and its large load capacity, the FIAT 666 heavy duty truck had, with a chassis weight of 1 tonne and about 5 tonnes of additional structure weight, a total weight of 6 tonnes in case of the FIAT 666NM variant. Additionally, it could pull a 12 tonne trailer. Fully loaded, it was able to climb 26º slopes. Thanks to its short wheelbase and cab layout, it was comfortable traveling on mountain roads.
The FIAT 666NM had a wheel rim size of 20 x 8” (50.8 x 20.32 cm) and could use different types of tires all developed and produced by the Pirelli company in Milan.
Autoprotetto FIAT 666NM
Probably in late August or early September 1941, the Arsenale Navale di Taranto started modifying a FIAT 666NM with license plate ‘Regia Marina 0220’.
The modification was really simple. The workers of the arsenal took 5 mm thick armored plates of R.E. armor (unfortunately, nothing is known about this acronym) and welded them to a superstructure fixed on the truck’s cargo bay and side walls. The Arsenale Navale di Taranto had not used the ‘L.P.A.’ armor, as the Stato Maggiore della Marina had requested due the delays from the Terni foundry in delivering such types of armored plates. In order to not delay the production of the vehicle, it was preferred to finish the prototype with different armored plates.
On each side, there was an armored plate with a length of 4,080 mm, a height of 1,050 mm and 5 mm thick. These armored plates had four slits each, with a length of 300 mm and a height of 60 mm. The armored plate welded to protect the cargo bay’s front was 2,080 mm in length, 1,050 mm in height and 5 mm thick. On the rear, there were two openable armored plates, measuring 1,040 mm in length, 1,050 mm in height and 5 mm thick.
Detail of the armor applied on the truck. Source: Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano
Unfortunately, due to the simplicity of the project, the cargo bay’s wooden sides were not protected by armored plates, leaving the 65 cm high plank walls without cover.
The vehicle could transport a total of 22 soldiers, including a driver and commander in the cab, seated on the right and the left side respectively. In the cargo bay, a total of 20 fully-equipped soldiers could sit on the original side wooden benches of the truck. Another two soldiers followed the truck on their bicycles and another one on the liaison motorbike.
In the original plan of the Headquarters of Taranto, the vehicle would have had a protected cargo bay (except for the roof) with armored plates with a height of 1,700 mm and also had a fully armored cab.
The absence of an armored cab would have made it impossible for the vehicle to support assaults by the anti-parachute units and would have made the driver and commander too vulnerable in the event of an ambush.
During the tests at the Taranto Naval Arsenal, it was found that the chassis and mechanical parts were not too stressed and the armored structure withstood the jolts of the truck during march without any problem. The problems that were immediately noted were the height of the armored structure, which raised the vehicle’s center of gravity, the absence of armor on the underside of the troop compartment (the Arsenal suggested putting sandbags under the benches to protect the underside) and, finally, the Arsenal informed the High Command that, due to the different plates of armor used, the vehicle could be penetrated by rifle or machine gun bullets from less than 100 meters away.
An Autoprotetto FIAT 666NM with the armored structure. Source: Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano
The report of the Arsenale Navale di Taranto about the production and testing of the prototype, delivered to the Stato Maggiore della Marina, also mentions production times and costs for the other 5 trucks ordered. Even though the order did not specify it, these were quite surely all based on the FIAT 666NM-RM version. The prototype’s production cost was 2,500 Italian liras (equivalent to the monthly wage of a lieutenant in the Regio Esercito). This included the cost of the steel plates, necessary workmanship and per-day wages of the workers who worked on the modification.
The arsenal also specified that, if the Royal Navy wanted to use ‘L.P.A.’ armor plates as suggested, the cost would go up to 18,300 liras for the materials for each truck. This was a total 54,900 liras for all the vehicles just for the plates. Taranto’s arsenal also claimed a total production time of 150 days (from the date on which the order was issued) for the delivery of all the vehicles.
Analysis of the Project
On 13th November 1941, Comando in Capo dello Jonio e Basso Adriatico (English: Headquarter of the Ionian and Lower Adriatic Seas) delivered a document to the Stato Maggiore della Marina about its own Autoprotetto FIAT 666NM tests.
The tests not only focussed on driving performance, but operational tests were also held, with mixed results.
In regards to the addition of sandbags which the Taranto arsenal had suggested, the Comando in Capo dello Jonio e Basso Adriatico explained that this was impossible because, in the space under the benches, the ammunition and hand grenade wooden crates of the soldiers transported on board were stored. This was a dangerous situation as it was, as they were exposed to enemy fire, with the risk of igniting a fire or an explosion in the transport compartment.
The slits were also a problem. They were useful to check the battlefield sides but were totally useless for the self-defense of the vehicle. The soldiers could not fire their personal weapons through them due to the limited space and their dimensions of 30 cm x 6 cm. Another problem was that the slits could not be closed by an armored hatch, so shrapnel or enemy bullets could pass through.
The absence of a slit on the front side of the cargo bay made communication impossible between the commander in the cab and the soldiers in the troop compartment.
The armored truck did not offer protection to the commander and driver in the cab, to the fuel tanks, or to the wheels.
The Comando in Capo dello Jonio e Basso Adriatico then suggested some changes. The same armored superstructure could be kept, but lowered in order to cover the cargo bay’s wooden walls.This solution would have led to better protection of the ammunition crates placed under the benches. It would also permit the crew to open fire with personal weapons and throw hand grenades over the top. However, this solution would have led to disadvantages as well. In this case, the plates would have protected only about one meter of the vehicle from the cargo bed, leaving the upper bodies of the soldiers poorly protected and would have made them vulnerable to ambushes from above. The primary purpose of the vehicle was to protect the Italian soldiers from ambushes, so this solution would have made the vehicle less useful.
Other suggestions were to try to protect the cab and the fuel tanks with the same armored plate thickness as used on the cargo bay, to add a communication door on the front side of the armored structure to allow the commander to communicate with the soldiers transported on board, and for the five production vehicles to use ‘L.P.A.’ armor plates produced by the Terni foundry to give more protection to the vehicle.
Destiny
Nothing is known after the Comando in Capo dello Jonio e Basso Adriatico analysis. It is impossible to know if the Stato Maggiore della Marina accepted the modifications suggested by the Comando in Capo dello Jonio e Basso Adriatico or if the 5 armored trucks were even produced and delivered by the Arsenale Navale di Taranto. The issue was probably abandoned completely, due to high production costs and other priorities.
Even the destiny of the Autoprotetto FIAT 666NM per la Regia Marina’s prototype remains unknown. It was probably used, despite its deficiencies, by the Difesa Antiparacadutisti units in anti-paratroopers and anti-sabotage patrols until the Armistice of 8th September 1943.
The day after the Armistice, a British fleet transporting British paratroopers of the 1st British Airborne Division arrived off the coast of Taranto. Aided by Italian sailors in crossing the minefields around the port, the troops landed without encountering any resistance.
The Autoprotetto, if it was still in running condition, was not used and most likely soon dismantled or abandoned in some depot because it was no longer useful.
This project underlines the total absence of cooperation between Italian Army branches. In fact, after the experiences gained in the first months of war, the Italian Regio Esercito ground forces started half a dozen of projects of armored personnel carriers on various chassis, such as the small tracked Camionette Cingolate CVP-4 and CVP-5, the small wheeled T.L.37 Autoprotetto and other projects that remained only on paper.
FIAT 665NM Protetto at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione in Rome. It had a totally armored structure, including the fuel tank, as visible in the photo. Each soldier transported in the vehicle could use his personal weapons through the slots on the side. Source: tumblr.com
The ground forces were also developing similar vehicles for infantry support and patrol tasks, which shared many features with the Autoprotetto FIAT 666NM of the Italian Royal Navy. These were the SPA Dovunque 35 Blindato and the Carro Protetto Trasporto Truppa su Autotelaio FIAT 626, which were under development already in May 1941, and the FIAT 665NM Protetto that was accepted in service in November 1942, a year after the Autoprotetto FIAT 666NM, but with which it shared about 70% of the chassis.
The SPA Dovunque 35 Protetto Armored Personnel Carrier. As clearly visible, it had a totally armored structure and four slots for each side for personal weapons. Its armor was 8 mm thick. Source: Officine Viberti Archives
In order to have sped up production and decreased costs, it would have been enough for the Ufficio dello Stato Maggiore della Regia Marina to have asked the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione or CSM (English: Center for Motorisation Studies), the Italian department which was examining new vehicles for the Regio Esercito, about its undergoing developments, instead of introducing yet another parallel development.
Conclusion
The Autoprotetto FIAT 666NM was one of the dozens of unfinished projects started during the Second World War by the Kingdom of Italy. Unfortunately, it was not a brilliant project, its specifications were lackluster and the project would need more time and money to provide an adequate armored personnel carrier.
It represents how Italian units, lacking adequate vehicles and armament, were forced to find improvised solutions to better adapt to the situations in which they had to operate.
Autoprotetto FIAT 666NM per Regia Marina. Illustrations by Godzilla
Specification
Size (L-W-H): ~ 7.095 x ~ 2.350 x ~ 3.850 m
Weight, battle ready: 8 – 9 tonnes
Crew: 2 + 20 (driver, vehicle commander + 20 soldiers)
Engine: FIAT Tipo 366 6-cylinder Diesel 9,365 cm³, with 110 hp at 2000 rpm
Speed: not specified
Range: not specified
Armament: unarmed but with slots for personal weapons
Armor: 5 mm on the superstructure on the cargo bay
Production: one prototype
Sources
Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano Volume II Tomo I – Nicola Pignato and Filippo Cappellano
Difesa del Territorio e Protezione Antiaerea (1915-1943) – Storia, Documenti, Immagini – Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito
A Camionetta SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta in monochrome camouflage.
Italian Social Republic (1944-1945)
Armored Personnel Carrier – 2 to 4 Built
The SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta (English: Protected Car) was a wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) produced by the soldiers of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ (English: Armored Group) based on a Camionetta SPA-Viberti AS43 light unarmored reconnaissance vehicle.
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was part of the new military police of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana or RSI (English: Italian National Republic), the pro-German Italian republic founded after the Italian Armistice with the Allied Powers on 8th September 1943.
A SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta on a street in Turin on 20th May 1944. Source: wikipedia.com
Context
After the fall of Tunisia in May 1943, the Italian Fascist Government began to fragment due to the loss of public support caused by the continued military defeats and the hardships civilians had to endure.
On 25th July 1943, the King of Italy Vittorio Emanuele III alongside some Royal Army officers and Fascist politicians took over control of the country. Benito Mussolini was arrested on charges of having dragged Italy into the war.
For more than two months, the Kingdom of Italy continued the war fighting the Allied powers, but under a new Monarchical government with Marshal Pietro Badoglio as prime minister.
In late August, Badoglio initiated negotiations for an armistice with the Allies. On 3rd September 1943, the Cassibile Armistice was signed and it went into effect at 19:42 on 8th September 1943.
Italian troops were taken by surprise by the Armistice announcement and were left without orders while the German troops expected these actions and quickly activated Fall Achse (English: Operation Axis). Between 8th to 23rd September 1943, German soldiers managed to kill 29,000 Italian soldiers and captured more than a million others. In addition, the Germans captured over 1.3 millions of rifles, machine guns and submachine guns, 17,058 mortar, anti-tanks, anti-aircrafts and field artillery pieces, 16,631 trucks, cars and motorcycles, and 977 armored fighting vehicles.
During Fall Achse, on 12th September 1943, a group of German Fallschirmjäger performed a daring action, Fall Eiche (English: Operation Oak), freeing Mussolini from prison. On 23rd September 1943, with German backing, he created, in the German-occupied Italian territories, the Repubblica Sociale Italiana or RSI (English: Italian Social Republic) with the new fascist party, the Partito Fascista Repubblicano (English: Republican Fascist Party) in the German-occupied Italian territories. The RSI’s army was the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano or ENR (English: National Republican Army) and its military police corps the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana or GNR (English: National Republican Guard).
These two forces were poorly equipped, apart from some rare exceptions, and had few armored fighting vehicles. The units solved the problem themselves by armoring some vehicles with scrap metal plates. The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ decided to weld some armored plates received from the Arsenale di Torino (English: Turin Arsenal) on some Camionette SPA-Viberti AS43 received from Officine Viberti.
Design
Camionetta FIAT-SPA AS43
The Camionetta Desertica FIAT-SPA AS43 or SPA-Viberti AS43 was an Italian light reconnaissance unarmored vehicle developed for North African service as a cheaper, lighter, and easier to produce variant of the SPA-Viberti AS42 ‘Sahariana’.
In Italian, the term ‘Camionetta’ (plural Camionette) designates unarmored cars, jeeps, or light trucks used in reconnaissance and infantry support roles.
Camionetta SPA-Viberti AS43 with the waterproof tarpaulin. It is unarmed and has Pirelli Tipo ‘Raiflex’ tires. Source: Le Camionette del Regio Esercito
The AS43 was developed by the Società Piemontese Automobili or SPA (English: Piedmontese Automobile Company), a FIAT subsidiary, and by Officine Viberti, both based in Turin. The project began using the chassis of the FIAT-SPA AS37 (AS for Autocarro Sahariano – Saharian truck) light lorry, itself derived from the FIAT-SPA Trattore Leggero Modello 1937 ‘Libia’ (English: Light Tractor Model 1937) light prime mover.
The SPA-Viberti AS43 was produced from mid-1943 until the 8th September 1943 Armistice. After the German occupation of Northern Italy, the vehicles were examined by the Generalinspekteur der Panzertruppen (English: Inspector General of the Armed Forces), which tested the vehicles and considered them positively. The production restarted with some modifications until the end of the war for the Wehrmacht and the Luftwaffe.
The FIAT-SPA AS37 chassis was lowered from a ground clearance of 390 mm to 345 mm. The cab was completely modified, apart from the hood and the radiator grille. The side doors, the windshield, the roof, and the third seat were removed. The cargo bay was completely modified. The spare wheel was moved from behind the cab to the cargo bay’s rear to free up space. The spare wheel was placed on a movable support that the crew could lower to allow the main gun to shoot at 0° elevation. The loading bay’s sides were fixed and could not be lowered, but were wide enough to permit the main gun 360° traverse.
Developed as a desert vehicle, there were two lockers on the sides, between the rear mudguard and the commander and driver’s seats. Each lockers could store five 20 liters jerry cans. Another six could be placed on the mudguards, two for each rear mudguard, and one for each frontal mudguard. This totaled 16 20 liters jerry cans for drinkable water, engine lubricant oil, and fuel. Obviously, given its use mainly in the Italian peninsula, the jerry cans were rarely carried and the side lockers transported ammunition for the main gun.
The SPA-Viberti AS43 prototype with Pirelli Tipo ‘Raiflex’ tires. Source: Italian Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War II
The main gun of the Camionetta SPA-Viberti AS43 was usually a Cannone da 47/32 Modello 1935 or Modello 1939 support gun or a Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 anti-aircraft gun. The vehicle commander was also armed with a Breda Modello 1937 or Modello 1938 medium machine gun on a support mounted on the left side of the cab. The ammunition was placed in a small rack between the driver and commander’s seats.
Engine and Suspension
The SPA-Viberti AS43 was all-wheel drive, as on the AS37. On this new vehicle, only the front wheels steered, reducing the mechanical complexity and the need for complex maintenance of the steering system.
The front wheels had independent coil spring suspension coupled with hydraulic shock absorbers, which guaranteed great comfort on rough terrain. The rear wheels had inverse leaf springs, but these were reinforced compared to those of the TL37 light prime mover.
There are doubts about the brakes. Italian Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War II, written by Ralph Riccio, mentions that the Camionetta had hydraulic brakes, while Le Camionette del Regio Esercito, written by Enrico Finazzer and Luigi Carretta, makes no mention of modifications to the original AS37 desert light truck, which had mechanical brakes with the brake pedal acting on pairs of brake jaws for each wheel.
Poor quality photo of the SPA 18VT engine. Source: Le Camionette del Regio Esercito
The engine was a more powerful version of the one used on FIAT-SPA AS37, the SPA 18VT 4-stroke, 4-cylinder, petrol 4,053 cm³ engine delivering 73 hp (or 75 hp, depending on the source) at 2,000 rpm. This gave a maximum fully-loaded on-road speed of 68.5 km/h. This was a powered version of the FIAT-SPA 18TL 4,053 cm³ engine, which delivered 52 hp at 2,000 rpm on the AS37. The gearbox was the same as on the AS37, with 5 forward and 1 reverse gears.
The fuel tank had a capacity of 120 liters, giving a range of 750 km on road and 1,120 km with the 20 liters cans.
Structure
Officine Viberti in Turin, a company with 1,780 workers, specialized, before the war, in producing bodyworks for Lancia and FIAT trucks. During the war, it also produced some autocannoni for Ansaldo and produced the frames of the Camionette that were produced jointly with SPA.
The SPA-Viberti AS42‘Sahariana’ and the subsequent ‘Metropolitana’ proved adequate, but the Regio Esercito needed something lighter and cheaper. The Technical Department of the Officine Viberti took the experience gained from the North African Campaign with the Autocarro Sahariano 37 light lorry, the Camionetta AS37 and the Camionetta Desertica Modello 1943 (English: Desert Camionetta Model 1943) in order to design something new.
The FIAT-SPA Autocarro Sahariano 37 during off road trials. Source: Le Camionette del Regio EsercitoA Camionetta Desertica Modello 1943 armed with a Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 and a Breda Modello 1937 machine gun. Source: ladigetto.it
The AS37 frame was taken and lowered from a ground clearance of 390 mm to 345 mm. The cab was totally modified, apart from the hood and the radiator grille. The side doors, the windshield, the roof and the third seat were removed.
Camionette SPA-Viberti AS43s ready for delivery at the SPA Plant. The first one is equipped with Pirelli Tipo ‘Sigillo Verde’ tires, whilst the second one with Tipo ‘Artiglio’. Source: Le Camionette del Regio Esercito
Modifications
The Camionette were probably modified by workers in one of the FIAT plants or workshops in Turin in mid-1944. The armored plates used on the vehicles were donated to the unit by the Arsenale di Torino which, at that time, was responsible for the production of other improvised armored vehicles, such as the SPA-Viberti AS43 Blindata and some Lancia 3Ro protected by armored plates and armed with 20 mm automatic cannons.
The official documentation mention that the Arsenale di Torino gave “Four armor sets for Autoprotette” to the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’, so it is logical to suppose that at least four vehicles were converted.
In the book Italia 1943-45 I Blindati di Circostanza della Guerra Civile written by Paolo Crippa, it is mentioned that the vehicles were converted by the Autoparco della GNR in Piacenza. However, it does not seem plausible that the armored plates were sent to Piacenza to modify the vehicles.
The frontal radiator grille and engine hood were left unchanged and unarmored. The armored windshield for the driver, found on the right, could be lowered, while the left front part was protected by an angled armored plate with a spherical support for a medium machine gun.
The sides and rear were also protected by angled armored plates of small thickness, probably enough to stop small arms bullets. These were probably 4.5 mm or a little more in thickness, probably in order not to weigh down the vehicle too much.
There were two slots on each side, one for the commander or driver towards the front and one in the center of the troop transport compartment. There were no armored doors and the crew had to climb over the armored superstructure to get in and out.
The rear was composed of angled armored plates with a spherical mount for a medium machine gun. There was enough space on the rear to keep the spare wheel support unmodified.
The rear of the SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta with a three-tone camouflage scheme. The armored superstructure shape is clearly visible. The vehicle was deprived of 20 liters can supports. The tires were Pirelli Tipo ‘Artiglio’. Source: pinterest.com
The vehicle had no roof. This was a problem in case of rain or if enemy troops threw Molotov cocktails or hand grenades inside the vehicle. The absence of a roof also meant that the soldiers transported could fire from inside, exposing themselves partially outside the vehicle.
On the frontal mudguards, the 20 liters can supports were removed and on top were mounted supports for the 18.8 kg tripods for the machine guns. This allowed the troops to use them on the ground. The rear 2 can supports were removed. On Italian territory, it was not necessary to expand the maximum range of the vehicle.
At the front of the vehicle sat the driver on the right and the commander on the left, who also operated the frontal machine gun. The cargo bay was spacious enough to accommodate two benches for six fully equipped soldiers, three per side, one of which operated the rear machine gun.
Main Armament
The main armament of the SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta was composed of two Breda Modello 1937 medium machine guns.
This gun was developed after the specifications issued by the Ispettorato d’Artiglieria (English: Artillery Inspectorate) in May 1933. Different Italian gun companies started working on the new machine gun. The requirements were a maximum weight of 20 kg, a theoretical rate of fire of 450 rounds per minute and a barrel life of 1,000 rounds. The companies were: Metallurgica Bresciana già Tempini (English: Metallurgica Bresciana formerly Tempini), Società Italiana Ernesto Breda per Costruzioni Meccaniche (English: Italian Ernesto Breda Company for Mechanical Constructions), Ottico Meccanica Italiana (English: Optician Italian Mechanics), and Scotti.
Breda Modello 1937 disassembled. Source: italie1935-45.com
Breda had been working since 1932 on a 7.92 mm machine gun derived from the 13.2 mm Breda Modello 1931 heavy machine gun, which had been adopted by the Italian Regia Marina (English: Royal Navy), but with a horizontal magazine feed. Between 1934 and 1935, the models developed by Breda, Scotti, and Metallurgica Bresciana già Tempini were tested.
The Comitato Superiore Tecnico Armi e Munizioni (English: Superior Technical Committee for Weapons and Ammunition) in Turin issued its verdict in November 1935. The Breda project (now rechambered for the 8 mm cartridge) won. A first order for 2,500 units of the Breda medium machine gun was placed in 1936. After operational evaluation with the units, the weapon was adopted in 1937 as the Mitragliatrice Breda Modello 1937 (English: Breda Model 1937 Machine gun).
The weapon was famous for its robustness and accuracy, despite its annoying tendency to jam if lubrication was insufficient. Its weight was considered too large compared to foreign machine guns of the time. It weighed 19.4 kg and its tripod had a weight of 18.8 kg, making this weapon the heaviest medium machine gun of the Second World War.
The practical rate of fire, which was about 200-250 rounds per minute, was considered a bit low. The machine gun was fed by 20-round rigid strips. After firing, instead of ejecting the spent casings like all firearms, the Breda Mod. 37 reinserted it into the rigid strip to facilitate the recovery of reusable spent casings.
A Mitragliatrice Breda Modello 1937 used by Italian troops in the Eastern Front. Note the 15-strip wooden crate with the 20-round strips. Source: italie1935-45.com
The machine gun shot 8 x 59 mm RB cartridges developed by Breda exclusively for machine guns. The 8 mm Breda had a muzzle velocity between 790 m/s and 800 m/s, depending on the round type. The armor piercing ones penetrated 11 mm of non-ballistic steel angled at 90° at 100 meters.
Breda Model 1937 used by the Marine Infantry. Source: italie1935-45.com
Deployed with infantry battalions and divisional corps machine gun units, the Breda Mod. 37 fought on all fronts during the Second World War. As of October 1939, the Regio Esercito had 17,690 Breda Mod. 37 machine guns and the Milizia per la Difesa Antiaerea Territoriale, or DICAT (English: Militia for Territorial Anti-Aircraft Defense) had 101, while another 11,098 were on order. By June 1942, 25,171 weapons had been delivered and the monthly production capacity of the Breda Mod. 37 reached 1,000 units. In the first half of 1943, 4,000 were delivered. After the Armistice of 8th September 1943, production continued for the Germans, which received 1,300 between 1st October 1943 and 30th September 1944.
Nothing is known about the number of rounds transported by the vehicle. They were probably stored in standard 15-strip wooden crates placed on the floor of the cargo bay, under the wooden benches or in the lockers on the sides.
Operational Use
The exact number of SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta, or AS43 Protetta (English: Protected) produced is unknown, as is their construction date.
At least two different vehicles are recorded through photographic evidence. Photos show that one of the vehicles had the license plate ‘GNR 438’ or ‘GNR 4381’. They were probably produced after 23rd May 1944. They were not spotted in a parade of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in Turin on that day. Their first appearance was on 25th July 1944, during a parade of the unit in the city of Milan.
The book Italia 1943-45 I Blindati di Circostanza della Guerra Civile, published in July 2014, mentions that the vehicles were assigned to the 1ª Compagnia Arditi Autocarrati (English: 1st Company of Motorized Arditi) that was deployed in Turin, Milan, and the surrounding areas. In the book I Carristi di Mussolini, published in May 2019, Paolo Crippa mentions that the AS43 Autoprotette were used by the 2ª Compagnia Guastatori (English: 2nd Saboteurs Company). It is unclear if this inconsistency between the sources is due to a mistake or new information having become available since publication.
The two companies were created in Montichiari near Brescia on 29th September 1943, with soldiers from the 1ª Divisione Corazzata CC.NN. ‘M’ (English: 1st Black Shirts Armored Division ‘M’, ‘M’ for Mussolini). The unit was renamed after the arrest of Mussolini on 25th July 1943.
In spite of the change of name, the unit remained faithful to Mussolini and Fascism and did not take part in the fighting that broke out against the Germans on 8th September 1943. It surrendered without fighting in the following days, delivering all the equipment to the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division. On 21st September, the remaining troops, 3 officers and 60 soldiers, were transferred to Montichiari.
On 9th February 1944, the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ moved to Turin with the 1ª Compagnia Arditi Autocarrati commanded by Capitano Aristide Lissa. It was stationed at the Dogliani Barrack in Via Savona 3. The 2ª Compagnia, commanded by Capitano Zerbio, was stationed at the Da Bormida Barrack in Corso Galileo Ferraris.
The companies were involved in dozens of anti-partisan operations in the Turin and Milan areas and protecting convoys on the A4 Highway that connected the two cities.
The first action during which the AS43 Autoprotette probably took part was Operation Köln from 11th to 22nd June 1944, when the two ‘Leonessa’ companies were deployed with an unspecified number and type of vehicles. During this action, Capitano Aristide Lissa was killed and the 1ª Compagnia Arditi Autocarrati was nicknamed ‘Lissa’ in his honor.
In June 1944, the continuous influx of new recruits and the arrival of new vehicles allowed the unit to change its composition. The 1ª Compagnia Arditi Autocarrati ‘Lissa’ was renamed 1ª Compagnia Carri ‘Lissa’ (English: 1st Tank Company) equipped with tanks, the 2ª Compagnia Guastatori was renamed 2ª Compagnia Autoblindo (English: 2nd Armored Car Company) equipped with armored cars and armored personnel carriers, and the 3ª Compagnia Arditi (English: 3rd Arditi Company) was created.
On 25th July 1944, the first anniversary of the fall of Fascism, General Renato Ricci organized a parade in Milan to demonstrate that Fascism was invincible, at least according to him. A delegation of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was called to parade in the streets of Milan. Some tanks, trucks full of soldiers, and at least one SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta of the unit were present.
They arrived and lined up on the morning of 25th July at Porta Venezia, where Gen. Ricci reviewed the unit and handed it the combat flag. After the ceremony, the delegation of the ‘Leonessa’ along with other units, in total 3,500 soldiers and 275 female auxiliaries, paraded, passing through Piazza del Duomo, where a huge crowd was waiting for them. The civil and military authorities of the city, as well as a delegation of German officers, participated.
A SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta in Piazza del Duomo in Milan during the parade of 25th July 1944. The ‘Leonessa’’s coat of arms is visible on the side. Source: I Carristi di Mussolini
The unit was then deployed in many anti-partisan actions, where the autoprotette were most probably employed. One of these was Operation Straßburg from 5th September to 5th October 1944, in the Lanzo Valley and Susa Valley. An AB41 was knocked out in Viù by some improvised grenades launched by Communist Partisans on 12th September, but the crew survived. On 25th September 1944, in Giaveno, in the Susa Valley, a unit of the 2ª Compagnia Autoblindo, under Major Antonio Braguti’s command was deployed, with two tanks of the ‘M’ series (an M13/40 and an M15/42), 2 L6/40light reconnaissance tanks, an autoprotetta, and 70 soldiers. The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was supported by some units of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani or RAP (English: Anti-Partisan Group) and of the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ (English: 1st Black Brigade) of Turin.
The Partisan presence in the Langhe and Monferrato areas during the Repubblica Partigiana di Alba existence. The arrows show the Axis attack while the purple arrows show the Partisan retreats. Source: wikipedia.com
Some time after, on 10th October 1944, some partisan units liberated the city of Alba, 50 km south of Turin. The Repubblica Partigiana di Alba (English: Partisan Republic of Alba) remained free for 23 days. On 2nd November 1944, units of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana, such as the 2ª Compagnia Autoblindo of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’, the Black Brigades of Turin and Cuneo, the I° Reparto Arditi Ufficiali and a platoon of the II° Reparto Arditi Ufficiali of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani, the X Battaglione Speciale, and some units of the Xª Divisione MAS, such as the Battaglione ‘Lupo’ and ‘Fulmine’, Gruppi d’artiglieria da Campagna ‘Da Guissano’ and ‘San Giorgio’, attacked the partisans. The Fascist troops counted over 1,000 soldiers and auxiliaries. The Partisan units that defended the city were the IIª Divisione Langhe, the 48ª Brigata Garibaldi ‘Dante Di Nanni’, the 78ª Brigata Garibaldi, Brigata ‘Castellino’, and the Brigata ‘Canale’.
Neither Partisan nor Fascist sources report the use of armored vehicles, which had probably remained on the hills and on the north bank of the Tanaro, providing, if possible, fire support to the Fascist troops. The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ only lost a single wounded soldier, a tank crew member that was hit by splinters from a partisan-manned mortar.
After the recapture of Alba, the unit was used only for escort duties until February 1945. On 21st February 1945, 2 Carri Armati M13/40s, two AB41 medium armored cars, and two autoprotette (model unspecified, but probably the AS43 ones) took part in an anti-partisan operation in Mondonio, near Villanova d’Asti. The unit was supported by the XXIX Battaglione ‘M’, the 1ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico of the GNR Command in Turin, and a unit of the Xª Divisione MAS. That day was unsuccessful and only one partisan was found and killed.
The Autoprotetta took part in an anti-partisan operation in the Villanova d’Asti region, in March 1945, where the last big clashes between the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ and the Partisans took place.
One of these actions, organized by the commander of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani, Colonel Alessandro Ruta, started on 6th March 1945. The action was headed by Major Gino Cera of the Compagnia Ordine Pubblico of the GNR. This anti-partisan action had the objective of reoccupying the towns of Cisterna d’Asti and Santo Stefano Roero, captured in the previous days by the partisans that also sabotaged the Genoa to Turin railway.
In Santo Stefano Roero, between 8th and 9th March, a column composed of a platoon of the 1ª Compagnia Carri, with two AB41s and an AS43 Autoprotetta (not clear why it was assigned to this company), two platoons of the 3ª Compagnia Arditi, some units from the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani, about 80 militiamen of the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’, a company of the Battaglione Ordine Pubblico (English: Public Order Battalion) of Turin, the Company Arditi Sciatori, and 25 soldiers of the Distaccamento ‘Umberto Cumero’ of the Xª Divisione MAS, a total of about 350 soldiers and auxiliaries, was ambushed by about 1,000 Partisans. The Partisan units were: 6ª Divisione Autonoma Alpina ‘Asti’ with three brigades, Divisione Matteotti ‘Tre Confini’ with five brigades, and 103ª Brigata Garibaldi ‘Rolandino’.
The AB41 commanded by Lieutenant Fossati was the opening vehicle of the column. Behind the armored car was a FIAT 666NM truck with a trailer full of militiamen, followed by the SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta of Lieutenant Berneschi, and then some more trucks full of soldiers and a Lancia Lince scout car of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani.
The Rimorchio Unificato Viberti da 15t trailer attached to the FIAT 666NM, abandoned on the roadside after the battle. Source: I Carristi di Mussolini
The column was ambushed at the entrance of the city by the Partisan forces. Almost immediately, bullets pierced one of the tires of the armored car of Lt. Fossati, immobilizing it. The truck behind it was hit from the side, with many of the soldiers on board killed. The truck was set on fire.
Lt. Berneschi ordered the driver of the autoprotetta to overtake the stuck AB41 to support the ambushed Fascist soldiers and keep the Partisans occupied with its suppressing fire.
The SPA-Viberti AS43 started to move and open fire but was immediately hit by several light-weapon bursts and also burst into fire. Lieutenant Berneschi then ordered the transported soldiers to exit the AS43 Autoprotetta and continued to open fire with the frontal machine gun.
He probably managed to fire several magazines, and while reloading, he exposed himself. He was hit by some bullets in the chest and died. Lieutenant Fossati was wounded by a ricocheting bullet as he got out of the armored car, trying to repair the pierced tire.
The FIAT 666NM burned out after the battle, abandoned on the roadside. From this angle, the trailer is not visible. Source: I Carristi di Mussolini
The remaining vehicles reached the nearby city of Canale, abandoning the burning FIAT 666NM with its two-axle 15 tonnes trailer, the burning SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta, and the Lancia Lince of the RAP (which was later captured by the Partisans). It is unclear whether the AB41 armored car of Lt. Fossati was able to retreat or whether it was abandoned on the road after the injury of Lt. Fossati. The Partisans were not able to take possession of it. Apart from Lt. Berneschi, the Fascists suffered 3 (another source claimed 8) casualties and many wounded.
In the following day, with the help of some artillery pieces of the RAP which had arrived from Turin, the Fascist forces retreated to Turin, abandoning the ground. In total, the Fascist losses in the 3-days operations were 27 (at least 18 of the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’) dead and 32 wounded. Partisan losses were fewer. The funerals took place on 12th March 1945.
A bad-quality photo of the SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta burned out at Santo Stefano Roero. The reason why it was overturned is unknown, but probably took place after the battle. Source: I Carristi di Mussolini
On 23rd March 1945, on the anniversary of the foundation of the first Fascist units in Italy, the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ paraded on the streets of Turin. The Secretary of the Partito Fascista Repubblicano’s, Alessandro Pavolini, participated for the last time.
Some of the surviving light and medium tanks, self-propelled guns, and armored cars of the unit, such as one M14/41, 2 AB41s, one Carrozzeria Speciale su SPA-Viberti AS43, and the SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta registered GNR 438, which carried a soldier with the unit’s war flag, were at the parade.
The SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta appearing in the 23rd March 1944 parade. The plate GNR 438(1) is partially visible. Source: I Carristi di Mussolini
During the Great Partisan Insurrection of 25th April 1945, the Partisans of the Piemonte region started to attack the city of Turin, where the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was stationed. The fighting lasted until 27th April, but the operations of the SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotette are not mentioned in official documents. At 1:40 am of 28th April 1945, about 5,000 fascist soldiers and auxiliares met up in Piazza Castello, the main square in Turin, and started the retreat to Lombardia.
The vehicle with the registration plate GNR 438 was captured by the US Army forces in Strambino Romano near Ivrea, 40 km north of Turin, when the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ surrendered to the Allied forces on 5th May 1945.
The vehicles of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ parked in a field in Strambino Romano. Three Carri Armati M15/42s, a Carro Armato M14/41, a Carro Armato M13/40, and an M42 command tank are in the foreground. Behind the last M15/42, on the first row, is the last AS43 Autoprotetta of the unit. Source: I Carristi di Mussolini
Camouflage and Markings
The SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotette were painted in standard Kaki Sahariano Chiaro (English: Light Saharan Khaki) used on all the Italian armored cars and camionette until mid-1943.
Front view of the SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta without a license plate. It was painted in Kaki Sahariano Chiaro monochrome camouflage scheme. The lictorial beam with the red ‘m’ and the acronym GNR are visible on the left fender. Source: Le Camionette del Regio Esercito
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ coat of arms, an ‘m’ in lowercase italics painted red, which was the symbol of Mussolini was painted on the vehicles. A lictorian beam, the symbol of the Partito Fascista Repubblicano, intersected the ‘m’ transversely, and the acronym GNR was painted in red under it.
The Autoprotette also received the Continentale (English: Continental) three-tone camouflage scheme. It was the standard Italian camouflage scheme for the vehicles produced after the end of the North African Campaign, when it became obvious that the peninsula had to be defended from Allied attacks and a desert camouflage was no longer suitable for the purpose.
Close-up of the AS43 Autoprotetta with three-tone camouflage spotted at the 23rd March 1944 parade in Via Po, Turin. The camouflage scheme with the coat of arms painted on the mudguards and the machine gun tripod fixed above are clearly visible. Source: I Carristi di Mussolini
They had a Kaki Sahariano Chiaro base covered with reddish brown and dark green spots. It was adopted on the Autoprotette after December 1944. The vehicles spotted from 23rd March until April 1945 had this camouflage pattern. During the application of the new camouflage pattern, the coat of arms of the vehicles was not all covered over. The front fenders remained while the sides were covered.
Conclusion
The SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta was an improvised wheeled armored personnel carrier produced by the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana due to the absence of factory-produced armored vehicles. Unfortunately, there is little information about its service and it is difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of the vehicle.
It proved to be a strong deterrent for the Fascist forces to avoid being ambushed by the partisans during anti-partisan patrols on the narrow mountain streets of Northern Italy.
This was an improvised vehicle specifically developed to counter guerrilla movements only armed with light fire arms that could not damage the vehicle in serious manners.
It was one of the dozens of improvised vehicles produced during the last bloody years of the Second World War when the civil war broke in Italy.
A Camionetta SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta in monochrome camouflage.A Camionetta SPA-Viberti Autoprotetta in thre tone camouflage in 1944. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta Specification
Size (L-W-H):
~ 5 x ~ 2 x ~ 2.5 m
Weight, battle-ready:
~6 tonnes
Crew:
2 (driver and commander/machine gunner) + 6 soldiers
Engine:
FIAT-SPA 18VT, patrol, 4-cylinder 4,053 cm³ delivering 73 hp
Autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R prototype of the 18° Centro Automobilistico, at the Nettuno Firing Range, in 1937.
Kingdom of Italy (1937-1943)
Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun – At Least 261 Officially Converted
The Autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R was an Italian Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun (SPAAG) designed in 1937, then abandoned and eventually officially accepted into service in June 1940, when the Italian Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army) high command realized that it did not have an SPAAG to protect its supply vehicles from air attacks.
It was rapidly put into service only as a stopgap but due to the Italian armistice of 8th September 1943, better performing alternatives never entered service. In spite of being widely available, very little is known about its operational use. In Italian, ‘Autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R’ means Truck-mounted 20 mm L.65 on FIAT-SPA 38R [chassis].
A pair of Autocannoni da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R and a FIAT 626NM of the 9ª Divisione fanteria ‘Pasubio’ in the Soviet Union in summer 1941. Source: Archivio Centrale dello Stato
Context
After the First World War, the Italian Regio Esercito did not give great importance to self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. In fact, no prototype was produced between 1918 and the second half of the 1930s. This decision was logical. After the First World War, the Regio Esercito fought only against Libyan rebels, which moved through the desert on camelback, or against the Ethiopian Royal Army during the Ethiopian War.
The Ethiopian Royal Air Force was only equipped with 13 old aircrafts and 4 pilots in 1935. During the Ethiopian War, the necessity of an anti-aircraft vehicle was not felt.
The need for a dedicated self-propelled anti-aircraft gun appeared with the Spanish Civil War, a bloody civil war which began on 17th July 1936 between the Spanish Republicans and the Spanish Nationalist, commanded by Generalissimo Francisco Franco.
The Italian Corpo Truppe Volontarie (English: Volunteer Troops Corps) intervened in favor of the Nationalist forces. A total of 78,500 Italian soldiers fought in Spain between December 1936 and April 1939, of which 3,819 were killed or missing in action and about 12,000 were wounded.
In Spain, the aircraft of the Fuerzas Aéreas de la República Española (English: Spanish Republic Air Force) numbered about 300 airframes (of which 100 cargo and liaison aircraft).
At the beginning of the conflict, the Spanish aircraft were mostly obsolete and easy targets for the Italian and German volunteer pilots. With the expansion of the conflict and the arrival of more modern French and especially Soviet aircraft and Soviet crews and instructors, the technological gap between the Spanish Republic and the Nationalists diminished. Republican pilots started giving their Nationalist counterparts a much harder time.
Even on the ground, the problems increased. Although flying obsolete aircraft with poorly trained pilots, the Republican ground attack planes caused significant losses among the Italian ranks on more than one occasion, especially to their logistic vehicles.
The solution was easy: equip some trucks with machine guns to defend the columns from enemy aircraft. In Spain, the Italian troops armed some trucks, while in the Kingdom of Italy, some tests were carried out and some prototypes were produced. A FIAT-SPA 38R was armed with a 8 x 59 mm FIAT-Revelli Modello 1914/1935 machine gun on a 360° traverse anti-aircraft support, but the firepower was not adequate and the crew was not protected from aircraft-fired bullets.
A FIAT 618 of the Corpo Truppe Volontarie armed with a 8 mm St. Étienne machine gun, used to protect columns from air attacks. Source: Archivio dell’Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito
Logically, a more powerful gun was tested, the Cannone-Mitragliera da 20/65 Modello 1935, already used in Spain with great results. The tests of the truck-mounted gun were carried out in 1937 and 1938, but the project was abandoned until the start of the Second World War.
Tests of the Autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R with an armored shield during 1938. Source: wikipedia.org
Design
FIAT-SPA 38R
The FIAT-SPA 38R light truck was developed by FIAT in 1933 at the request of the Regio Esercito, which wanted to replace the outdated SPA 25C. It was to be built in two versions, one air-cooled, which became the FIAT-SPA 36R, and one water-cooled. The two prototypes were presented to the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione (English: Center of Motorization Studies) at the beginning of 1934 and underwent long periods of testing.
After authorization, the water-cooled truck was adopted at the beginning of 1935 under the name FIAT-SPA 38R and production began at the Società Piemontese Automobili or SPA plant in Turin, a FIAT subsidiary since 1936, and also at the FIAT Lingotto plant.
FIAT-SPA 38R trucks ready to be delivered to the Italian Royal Army, waiting in the Lingotto Plant’s grounds. Source: pinterest.com
The wooden cargo bay had internal dimensions of 3.9 meters x 1.98 meters x 0.67 meters, for an internal volume of 5.17 m³. Only the rear part, equipped with a step, was foldable. Five transverse benches could be installed in the loading bay to transport 20 to 25 troops or a payload of 2.5 tonnes.
The chassis weighed 2.25 tonnes, the bodywork and spare wheels weighed 0.950 tonnes, giving an empty weight of 3.2 tonnes and a full load weight of 5.7 tonnes.
FIAT-SPA 38R standard light lorry variant. Source: italie1935-45.com
The cab had two seats, the driver’s on the right and the commander’s on the left. It had fixed windshields and acetylene headlights attached to the sides of the windshield.
The FIAT-SPA 38R ambulance version. Source: italie1935-45.com
The most important variant, after the light lorry, was the ambulance, which could transport 6 stretchers or 10 wounded soldiers sitting on the floor. It was used in the Spanish Civil War and then during the Second World War.
The Autofrigorifero version (English: Motorized Fridge) was produced after 1937 and had a payload capacity of between 1,300 to 1,500 kg. A command truck with a Magneti Marelli R5 Modello 1936 radio station was also produced after 1937. It carried 6 radio operators and was equipped with a radio transceiver and an electric generator placed on the rear. In case of problems with the generator, the radio equipment could also be powered by the truck’s engine. The radio antenna was placed on the roof.
The prototype of the motorized fridge version of the FIAT-SPA 38R in 1937. Source: italie1935-45.com
A mobile workshop version, called Autofficina Modello 1937 (English: Motorized Workshop Model 1937), was also produced. Two FIAT-SPA 38R trucks composed the workshop. One was a recovery truck with some spare parts transported, while the second one was equipped with tools to repair other vehicles. Usually, they were used to repair motorcycles, staff cars, and small trucks.
The FIAT-SPA 38R was also proposed for the fire service, with a 1,000 liters tank and a 1,000 liters-per-minute pump with a pressure of 8 bars. It was produced before, during, and after the Second World War and was used by the Italian Firefighters and the Regia Aeronautica.
The bus version was built by Officine Viberti in Turin, which built the bodywork for the chassis. The civilian ones (also bodied by Esperia and Orlandi) were produced in small numbers, mostly before the war. The military variant was produced by Officine Viberti, called Autoufficio (English: Motorized Office), and was equipped with tables, phones, and typewriters.
A FIAT-SPA 38R bus bodied by Esperia for the Società Automobilistica Dolomiti. Source: Negri
The FIAT-SPA 38R was delivered to the Italian troops deployed in Libya and in Africa Orientale Italiana (English: Italian East Africa), where they were considered sturdy and easy-to-drive vehicles.
In Spain, a certain number of 38R trucks were deployed with the Corpo Truppe Volontarie to tow the old Cannoni da 65/17 Mod. 1908/13 mountain artillery pieces. Due to its valuable characteristics, 600 were bought by the Spanish Nationalist Army, which used them to equip the Batallón de Transportes n°1 (English: 1st Transport Battalion).
During the Second World War, the FIAT-SPA 38R light lorry was one of the most common vehicles in the Italian ranks in every war theater, with over 16,000 vehicles produced between 1936 to 1943, counting both civilian and military variants. The total number of vehicles produced until 1948 is unknown.
After the war, a new variant called FIAT-SPA 38R/45 was proposed for the civilian and military markets. It was produced until 1948 and was characterized by a new 88 liter tank (without the 24 liter gravity tank), a battery and an electric ignition starter.
Engine and Suspension
The FIAT-SPA 38R was powered by a FIAT Tipo 18R petrol engine with four in-line cylinders and side valves. Ignition was provided by a Magneti Marelli FL-4 magnet and cooling was provided by a water circuit driven by a centrifugal pump. The engine was fed by gravity through a 25-liter tank housed behind the dashboard. The fuel came from the main 83-liter tank placed under the driver’s seat through a diaphragm pump. This system ensured, in case of pump failure or puncture of the main tank, a limited range until reaching a workshop that could repair the damage.
The engine was coupled to a Weber AK42 carburetor. The water cooling tank had a capacity of 18 liters, while the lubricant oil tank had a capacity of 8 liters. The maximum speed was 51 km/h on-road and the maximum on-road range was 310 km thanks to the 108 liters of fuel transported by the truck.
FIAT Tipo 18R engine. Source: italie1935-45.com
The two-disc dry clutch engaged via a first drive shaft on the four-speed plus reverse gearbox. A second drive shaft then connected the box to the rear axle, with a differential locking mechanism controlled from the dashboard.
The suspension consisted of four semi-elliptical leaf springs. Hollow-rim wheels, twinned on the rear axle, mounted 32×6” tube tires for 20×5” rims or ‘210-20’ type tires for 20×6” rims.
The 6-volt electrical circuit was powered by a Magneti Marelli Tipo D-75RI dynamo and powered the headlights, dashboard, license plate light, horn, spark plugs, and magnet.
Lacking a battery, the electrical circuit only operated above 12 km/h.
The FIAT-SPA 38R chassis. Note the two fuel tanks and the ignition lever. source: italie1935-45.com
The FIAT-SPA 38R Coloniale (English: Colonial) version of the FIAT-SPA 38R differed from the standard model in the addition of an oil bath air filter, the use of two Magneti Marelli 3MF 15 6-volt batteries, and the replacement of the tank placed under the driver’s seat with another 100 liter tank in the rear part of the chassis, for a total of 123 liters and a range of 350 km.
The FIAT-SPA 38R front suspension. Source: Aymeric Lopez
The Regia Aeronautica (English: Royal Air Force) variant, called FIAT-SPA 38RA, differed from that of the Regio Esercito by having a longer wheelbase (3,600 mm compared to 3,500 mm on the regular version) and some small modifications that allowed it to reach 60 km/h.
Crew
There is no concrete data on the Autocannone da 20/65 su SPA 38R’s crew. In some photos, a total of 5 soldiers can be seen in the cargo bay operating the 20 mm gun. In other images though, there are only 3 soldiers in the cargo bay. This has led to some confusion over the total crew number, but probably the crew was composed of 5 soldiers: driver on the left side of the cab, a commander on the right side of the cab, and a gunner and two loaders in the cargo bay.
When operating the gun, the driver helped by reloading the gun while the commander scouted for enemy targets using binoculars or a stereoscopic rangefinder.
The presence of 5 soldiers in some photographs can easily be explained. Soldiers from other vehicles helped the loaders pass the ammunition. The Autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R itself carried very few rounds and most ammunition was carried on other vehicles with their own crews.
For self-defense, the crew usually took their rifles with them leaving them in the cargo bay.
Modifications
The trucks were transformed into autocannoni at the Arsenale Regio Esercito di Napoli or AREN (English: Naples Royal Army Arsenal). The modification was really easy compared to the modifications carried out on more famous autocannoni, such as the Autocannone da 102/35 su FIAT 634N or the Autocannone da 100/17 su Lancia 3Ro.
A support was placed at the center of the cargo bay of the light lorry, on which the anti-aircraft mounting of the Modello 1935 gun was placed.
During 1940, the Italian military workshops in Libya also produced a total of 100 360° traverse supports for 20 mm Breda automatic cannons and 150 similar supports for the 47 mm support gun. These were probably used on various medium and heavy duty trucks, the most famous of which was the Autocannone da 47/32 su Lancia 3Ro.
The open rear side of the cargo bay allows the examination of the support. The presence of the Breda gun’s wheels suggests that the gun could be dismounted from the vehicle. Source: italie1935-45.com
Behind the cabin, a bench for the crew was mounted. The ammunition crates were stored under the bench and on the cargo bay floor, wherever they did not obstruct the activity of the gunner or loaders. Probably, the majority of the 20 mm rounds were transported by an ammunition carrier that followed the autocannoni. The cab of the vehicle was left unchanged, so the gun could not traverse 360° at 0° of elevation, but only 320°.
An Autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R in the Libyan desert in September 1940. In this photo, the cramped cargo bay of the FIAT-SPA is visible. In North Africa, where the majority of autocannoni were used, the troops prefered to use more spacious cargo bays of medium or heavy duty trucks. Source: alamy.com
Due to its small dimensions, the waterproof tarpaulin could be mounted over the autocannone to protect the automatic cannon from the desert sand and dust or from rain and snow. This also made the vehicle look like an ordinary light truck in order to avoid being targeted by enemy fire and to be an unwelcome surprise to the enemy in the event of an attack.
Due to the small size of the regular towed gun, this could also be loaded on the cargo bay along with its crew for a quicker transport from one point to another. For the same reason, it could also be placed in firing position on the cargo bay of an unmodified FIAT-SPA 38R. The only problem with these portees was the gun recoil, as the gun moved some centimeters while shooting because of the recoil.
The FIAT-SPA 38R was one of the most widely used vehicles by the Regio Esercito and virtually every division had an allotment of light trucks of this model in service.
Its small cargo bay and low load capacity did not make it an excellent base for SPAAGs and, in fact, when possible, the soldiers preferred to mount the Breda guns in the cargo bays of more spacious vehicles, such as FIAT 626NLM and ALFA-Romeo 430RE medium trucks or even heavy duty trucks, such as the Lancia 3Ro and FIAT 634N. These allowed greater comfort to the crew in the cargo bay and carried more ammunition.
An Autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT 626NM. The seven men and material in the cargo bay testify to how much more space there was. Source: Benvenuti
Main Armament
The Autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R was armed with a Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 20 mm L.65 anti-aircraft automatic cannon. It was developed by Società Italiana Ernesto Breda per Costruzioni Meccaniche in 1935 as an anti-aircraft gun, but showed itself powerful enough to deal with light armored vehicles, such as armored cars and light trucks.
It had a crew of three or five. A gunner was seated behind the gun and two loaders were seated in the cargo bay. Some photos of the cargo bay show a total of 5 soldiers, probably in order to speed up loading. The maximum anti-aircraft range was 1,500-2,000 meters, while against ground targets, the maximum range was 2,500 meters.
Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 used by the Corpo Truppe Volontarie in the port of Palma de Mallorca. Source: Aymeric Lopez
This gun was one of the best light automatic guns of its era, with a total weightof 330 kg and a theoretical rate of fire of 500 rounds per minute. The practical rate of fire dropped to about 220 rounds per minute due to the tight space in the cargo bay and clips of only 12 rounds. The maximum elevation with the Modello 1935 mounting was +80°, while the depression was -10°.
In the majority of the photos of these interesting vehicles, the crew in the cargo bay had their personal weapons at hand.
Ammunition
The gun fired the 20 x 138 mm B ‘Long Solothurn’ cartridges, the most common 20 mm round used on 20 mm guns of the Axis forces in Europe, such as the German FlaK 38, Finnish Lahti L-39 anti-tank rifle and Italian automatic cannons.
Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 ammunition
Name
Type
Muzzle Velocity (m/s)
Projectile Mass (g)
Penetration at 500 meters against an RHA plate angled at 90° (mm)
Granata Modello 1935
HEFI-T*
830
140
//
Granata Perforante Modello 1935
API-T**
832
140
27
Operational Use
During the testing phase in 1937, the vehicle was judged fairly favorable. The firepower was enough to dissuade enemy pilots from attacking, but the absence of armor and space, with a reserve of only 384 rounds (less than 2 minutes of fire), did not impress the Italian officers that evaluated the autocannone.
In 1938, the vehicle was tested with a gun shield that protected the gunners frontally, but it took a lot of space in the already narrow loading bay of the truck. The project was officially abandoned partially because the threat of air strikes in the skies over Spain had diminished dramatically after the first months of the war due to continued Republican losses.
Tests of the autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R prototype of the 18° Centro Automobilistico, at the Nettuno Firing Range, in 1937. The gun had the optics removed and the vehicle had a raised rod for the tarpaulin. Source: pinterest.com
In June 1940, the Italian Regio Esercito joined the Second World War on the Axis’ side. The airstrike problem once more reappeared and various trucks were again modified to become autocannoni.
On 7th February 1942, the Arsenale Regio Esercito di Napoli had an order to modify 261 FIAT-SPA 38R light lorries into autocannoni by installing Breda 20 mm guns on their cargo bays. Another 100 20 mm SPAAGs were produced in Libya during 1940, the majority of which were probably mounted on the FIAT-SPA 38R chassis. Sadly, despite the large amount of vehicles modified, hardly anything is known about their service.
A column escorted by three Autocannoni da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R in Ukraine in August 1941. The photo was taken during a visit on the battlefront by Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. Source: Archivio Centrale dello Stato
Some photos of Autocannoni da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R and their crews in the Soviet Union during action. Summer 1941. Source: Archivio Centrale dello Stato
Because of the simplicity of the modification, conversions were also carried out by units on the front line, in the field workshops in North Africa, the Balkans, France, Italy and the Soviet Union. This makes the vehicle the most produced autocannone during the Second World War, but also makes it impossible to identify precisely how many were produced.
In the Soviet Union, some vehicles were deployed to protect the thousand-vehicle columns of the Axis forces that advanced throughout the Soviet Union. Their service in that war theater is unknown.
An Autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R going through a street near Rome some days before the Armistice of 8th September 1943. Source: Istituto Luce
After the Italian Armistice and the German occupation of northern and central Italy and all the areas controlled by the Regio Esercito, some vehicles fell into German hands.
No sources or photos mention autocannoni da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38Rs in service with the Germans. Some photos have appeared of a similar vehicle, a FIAT-SPA 38R in German use armed with a Scotti-Isotta-Fraschini 20/70 Modello 1941 machine gun on a modified cargo bay. Unfortunately, the date and location are unknown, and it is impossible to say more about this interesting German-used field modification.
A bad quality photo of a German-manned Autocannone da 20/70 su FIAT-SPA 38R armed with a Scotti-Isotta-Fraschini 20/70 Mod. 1941, date and location unknown. It had a modified cargo bay to allow the gun to traverse 360°. Source: pinterest.com
Conclusion
The Autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R was one of the dozens of improvised armed trucks produced by the Italian Royal Army before the Armistice to deal with enemy planes, mainly in North Africa and the USSR.
Although not one of the most famous autocannoni, it was almost surely the most produced one, with more than 200 modified and an unknown number converted by the troops on the battlefield.
However, its simple nature has made it rather unremarkable, and thus, very little has ever been written about it.
Autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R prototype of the 18° Centro Automobilistico, at the Nettuno Firing Range, in 1937.An Autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R in North African desert. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R specifications
Dimensions (L-W-H)
5.783 x 3.5 x 2.6 m
Total Weight, Battle Ready
3.6 tonnes
Crew
5 (Driver, vehicle commander, gunner, and 2 loaders)
Propulsion
FIAT Tipo 18R, petrol, 4-cylinder, 4,053 cm³, 55 hp at 2,000 rpm
Speed
Road Speed: 51 km/h
Range
310 km
Armament
Cannone-Mitragliera Breda 20/65 Modello 1935
Armor
None
Production
At least 261 officially converted
Sources
I corazzati di circostanza italiani – Nico Sgarlato
Gli Autoveicoli tattici e logistici del Regio Esercito Italiano fino al 1943, Tomo Primo and Secondo – Nicola Pignato and Filippo Cappellano Ruote in divisa, I veicoli militari italiani 1900-1987 – Brizio Pignacca
Semicingolati, motoveicoli e veicoli speciali del Regio Esercito italiano 1919/1943 – Giulio Benussi
Autocannone da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA TL37 of the 136º Reggimento Artiglieria. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Kingdom of Italy (1941-1942)
Self-Propelled Gun – 12 Converted
The Autocannone da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37 was an Italian truck-mounted artillery Self-Propelled Gun (SPG). It was developed as a desperate solution to improve the mobility of an old artillery piece and to support the Italian troops in the North African Campaign.
It was used by the Italian Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army), with a dozen units assigned to three batteries of the XVI Gruppo Autoportato (English: 16th Truck-Transported Group) of the Raggruppamento Celere AS (English: North African Fast Group). After mid-1942, the surviving vehicles were assigned to the 136º Reggimento Artiglieria Motorizzata (English: 136th Motorized Artillery Regiment) of the 136ª Divisione Corazzata ‘Giovani Fascisti’ (English: 136th Armored Division).
Four Autocannoni da 75/27 Mod. 11 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37 lined up, probably before the delivery to a battery. Source: zen.yandex.ru
Context
After the initial military success in the North African Campaign, such as the Italian Invasion of Egypt between 9th-16th September 1940 and Operation Sonnenblume (English: Operation Sunflower) between 6th February-25th May 1941, the Regio Esercito High Command noticed that their ranks were missing fast support vehicles equipped with powerful support guns.
They had two options. They could wait for some fully-designed vehicles from the mainland or produce some support vehicles locally by modifying Italian trucks present in the Italian African colonies.
The inadequacy of the Italian tanks, such as the L3 series light tanks and the medium M11/39 and M13/40 tanks, made evident in the fighting against British tanks, and the reduced mobility of the infantry medium and heavy support artillery in the desert, pushed the High Command to appeal to the Italian workshops in Libya to create vehicles for the role.
These had to be light and fast and be able to support the Italian infantry or armored units from short-to-medium ranges with guns that would normally have been towed. Such vehicles would have to be able to move quickly from one point to another on the North African battlefields, in order to engage the enemy forces that broke through the Axis defensive lines.
Obviously, this was seen by the Italian commanders in Africa as a temporary solution while waiting for the production of better armed vehicles with adequate characteristics. Such vehicles unfortunately never came in any significant numbers.
The Autocannoni da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37s, like other autocannoni such as the Autocannone da 102/35 su FIAT 634N, were built at the Libyan workshops of the 12° Autoraggruppamento AS (‘AS’ stands for Africa Settentrionale – North Africa) situated in the village of Giovanni Berta, near the city of El Gubba in north-east Libya.
The Italian ‘Autocannone da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37’ (Autocannoni plural) means “75 mm L/27 truck-mounted [cannon] on FIAT-SPA T.L.37 [chassis]” in English.
Design
The FIAT-SPA T.L.37
In the first half of 1935, the Regio Esercito issued a request for a new prime mover to tow the 75 mm and 100 mm guns and howitzers in the Italian Royal Army artillery units. It was meant to replace the old Pavesi P4/100 TL140, also known as the Trattore Leggero Modello 1931.
Army requirements included four-wheel drive for better off-road performances, a maximum speed of 40 km/h, and to transport six soldiers, including the driver. Only two Italian companies responded to the request: Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino or FIAT (English: Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), and Società Italiana Ernesto Breda per Costruzioni Meccaniche (English: Italian Ernesto Breda Company for Mechanical Constructions).
The model proposed by FIAT in collaboration with the Società Piemontese Automobili or SPA (English: Pedimontese Automobile Company), its subsidiary, was developed by the team of engineer Emilio Martinotti and was equipped with the Tipo 18 engine, already extensively used on the SPA Dovunque 35 medium truck and on the FIAT-SPA 38R light truck.
The mechanical solution adopted responded well to the requirements, with four-wheel drive and steering allowing a turning radius of 5 m (other sources claim 4.5 m).
In 1937, tests were conducted and, despite similar results to the model proposed by Breda, the FIAT prototype was chosen for presentation.
The T.L.37 prototype at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione in May 1938. It was equipped with semi-tires. Source: pinterest.com
The FIAT-SPA prototype was presented to the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione (English: Motorization Studies Center) on 31st May 1938, and to the public on 11th July, during an army exercise in the Avezzano region. The official name, FIAT-SPA Trattore Leggero Modello 1937 (English: FIAT-SPA Light Prime Mover Model 1937), abbreviated FIAT-SPA T.L.37, was also chosen around this point.
In the course of 1938, 24 tractors were sent to Libya to test the towing of the Cannone da 75/27 Modello 1906 and also of ammunition trailers with a capacity of 100 rounds. These tests were judged very satisfactory, as the prime mover was able to solve the problem of the mobility of divisional artillery pieces in the loose sand of the desert.
The first Regio Esercito order for the T.L.37 was placed on 1st October 1937 for 250 units. The production capacity of FIAT-SPA increased from 39 units per month in the first half of 1939 to 135 units in the first half of 1940. In the first months of 1941, 150 T.L.37s were produced per month before dropping to only 100 units per month in late 1941. These numbers were insufficient to ensure both the replacement of losses and the horses that were towing artillery pieces in Italian artillery regiments.
The limited production numbers were not that bad. According to data, on 1st June 1940, only 467 75 mm and 100 mm artillery pieces from World War I had been modified to be towed by trucks and not just horses.
Two Cannone da 75/27 Modello 1911 towed by FIAT-SPA T.L.37s on the streets of Mostar (modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina) in the spring of 1941. The cannons have the original wooden wheels, so in order to tow them at high speed, they were loaded on small carts. Source: Archivio Centrale dello Stato
By 28th October 1940, 2,084 T.L. 37s had been ordered. By 1st March 1942, 1,021 vehicles had been delivered and 1,021 were in production. By 30th April 1943, a few days before the end of the North African Campaign, 2,267 FIAT-SPA T.L.37s were in service and 479 in production.
After the Italian Armistice with the Allied powers on 8th September 1943, almost all the FIAT-SPA T.L.37s were captured by the Germans, which also ordered the factories to continue production. Officine Viberti delivered 75 units in 1944 and 7 in January 1945.
The Repubblica Sociale Italiana (English: Italian Social Republic) also had a limited number of units in service, as did the Corpo Italiano di Liberazione (English: Italian Liberation Corps), the army that fought for the Allied forces in Southern Italy.
A FIAT-SPA T.L.37 of the 12. SS-Panzer Division ‘Hitlerjugend’ towing an anti-tank 7.5 cm PaK 40 cannon. Turnhout, Belgium 1944. Source: Terlisten collection
After the war, the T.L.37 remained in production in its T.37 version (similar to the A.S.37) until 1948 and remained in service into the 1950s, towing British 17-pdr cannons and 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft autocannons.
Three FIAT-SPA T37 towing 40/56 Mark II Bofors autocannons in Via dei Fori Imperiali during the Republic Day parade in Rome, 2nd June 1948. Source: pinterest.com
Engine and Suspension
The FIAT-SPA T.L.37 prime mover was powered by a FIAT Tipo 18TL in-line four-cylinder gasoline engine that gave out 52 hp at 2,000 rpm. Its maximum revolutions per minute was limited to 2,000 rpm to increase its lifetime, reducing the need for maintenance and replacement.
The Zenith Modello 1936 TTHVI carburetor was designed for off-road and steep slope operations. The original Zenith air filter was replaced by a standard OCI oil bath model adopted by all T.L.37s sent to Libya. The engine-clutch assembly was suspended from the frame by four silent blocks. The gasoline tank placed in front of the cabin had a capacity of 100 liters and offered a range of 170 km.
The FIAT Tipo 18TL four-cylinder in-line gasoline engine. Source: FIAT
The housing for the gearbox-differential unit was located in the center of the chassis. The housing had five gears plus a reverse gear. At the rear of the transmission box housing was the Power Take-Off (PTO) for the 2 tonnes winch. This meshed with the box’s output shaft when the vehicle was stationary. This mechanical complexity provided good performance to the vehicle but, at the same time, caused some parts to be fragile or to need constant maintenance by the crews.
For use in North Africa, three models of the FIAT-SPA T.L.37 were developed in 1941. The T.L.37 ‘Coloniale’ (English: Colonial) differed from the basic version by having Pirelli Tipo ‘Libia’ 11.25 x 24″ (22 x 60 cm) tires, a winch with more power, with a towing capacity of 2.5 tonnes, and oil-bath air filters for the engine.
FIAT-SPA T.L.37 ‘Coloniale’ in the testing ground of the Officine Viberti. In this photo, the four steering wheel system is visible. Source: Archivio FIAT
The T.L.37 ‘Libia’ had, in addition to the same modifications as the ‘Coloniale’ Model, a muffler, an additional 150 liters tank mounted on the roof of the small rear ammunition rack, and two 35 liters removable tanks on either side of the chassis. These tripled the vehicle’s range to about 500 km.
The FIAT-SPA T.L.37 ‘Libia’ in North Africa. Source: pinterest.com
The T.L.37 ‘Sahariano’ (English: Saharan), the third African variant, was identical to the ‘Libia’, but was equipped with Pirelli Tipo ‘Sigillo Verde’ tires.
The T.L.37 had a coil spring and torsion bar suspension on the front axle and the transverse leaf springs on the rear. All wheels were independent of each other for better off-road driving.
The FIAT-SPA T.L.37 ‘Sahariano’ at the Officine Viberti plant. Source: zen.yandex.ru
Structure
The FIAT-SPA T.L.37 light prime mover could carry, besides the driver, five gun crew on seats upholstered in black leather (replaced by black synthetic material from February 1942). It also had racks for the soldier’s personal weapons. The small ammunition rack at the rear could hold up to 290 kg of 75 mm or 100 mm ammunition. The folding waterproof canvas, which only partially protected the crew, was supported by two metal rods on each side, one folding on the rear shelf and one that could be folded behind the front seats.
The wheels, with 24″ (60 cm) full or perforated pressed sheet metal rims, could be equipped with Pirelli Tipo ‘Celerflex’ with a diameter of 1,098 mm. After 15th May 1939, the production vehicles were equipped with tires with inner tubes produced by the Pirelli company of Milan. These were the Pneumatici Tipo ‘Artiglio’ 9 x 24″ (22 x 60 cm) and Tipo ‘Artiglio a Sezione Maggiorata’ for continental terrain and Russian steppes, Tipo ‘Libia’ 11.25 x 24” (28.5 x 60.96 cm), Tipo ‘Libia Rinforzato’, Pirelli Tipo ‘Sigillo Verde’ 11.25 x 24″ for sandy soils, and Tipo ‘Raiflex’ for continental grounds. These were the same tires as used on the armored cars and camionette of the Regio Esercito.
Two types of tires used on the standard FIAT-SPA T.L.37, the Pirelli Tipo ‘Artiglio’ on the left and Pirelli Tipo ‘Celerflex’ on the right. Source: FIAT
In order to improve grip, the tires could be fitted with snow chains, while metal fins could be mounted to the wheels with semi-tires to help on ice.
The T.L.37 had a total weight of 3,560 kg with ‘Celerflex’ solid tires and 3,180 kg with the standard tires. Its payload capacity was 800 kg, while its towable capacity was 2.8 tonnes, enough to tow almost every type of artillery in the Italian ranks. The older Pavesi TL31 had a total weight of 2,950 kg, a payload of 500 kg, and a towable capacity of 2 tonnes.
The FIAT-SPA T.L.37 chassis. Source: Archivio FIAT
From early 1942, a mount for a spare tire was installed on the rear of the structure. This modification was extended to already delivered vehicles. There were two towing variants depending on the type of artillery piece being serviced. For the Cannone da 75/27 Modello 06, the tow hook was about 200 mm longer.
The 6 volt electrical circuit was powered by a Magneti Marelli Modello D75R dynamo to power the two headlights, the tail light, the dashboard lighting and the Magneti Marelli T23 horn located under the hood, along with the steering system. As on many Italian military vehicles, the vehicle was also equipped with two acetylene headlights.
Main Armament
The Cannone Vickers-Terni da 75/27 Modello 1911 was an artillery piece used by the Regio Esercito during the First World War and Second World War. Its predominant use was as an artillery piece, although it was also occasionally used in the anti-tank role using specially designed projectiles.
A Cannone da 75/27 Modello 11 on the Russian front in December 1941. Source: Archivio dell’Ufficio Storico di Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito
Only five years after its adoption, the 75 mm Cannone da 75/27 Modello 1906 gun, developed by Krupp, was shown to have poor mobility during tests in Tripolitania in the 1912 Libyan War. The limited elevation of 7° to 16° was also criticized.
Moreover, the delivery delays accumulated by the manufacturers prompted the General Staff to reconsider the issue of horse-drawn field artillery. Thus, in 1911, after long comparative tests of the most modern Schneider, Krupp, and Deport pieces of German and French origin, the Italian Army decided to adopt the French 75 mm cannon. Although developed from a design by French Lieutenant Colonel Joseph-Albert Deport, the Cannone da 75/27 Modello 1911 was not a renewal of the French Army’s 1897 model, but a much more modern piece that served in the Italian Army as a training gun until 1950.
In 1915, after three years of production, the Regio Esercito had in service 125 batteries of the Cannone da 75/27 Modello 1911, i.e. 500 guns, assigned to the divisional artillery regiments and to the army corps. These 500 cannons were also supplemented by the cannons in depots and those assigned to the schools of instruction. The Cannone da 75/27 Modello 1911 was superior to the Škoda 8 cm Vz. 1905 and Vz. 1905/08 cannons in service with the Austro-Hungarian and German armies. Despite the losses suffered, especially during the retreat of Caporetto, the Royal Italian Army had a total of 820 Cannone da 75/27 Modello 1911s in September 1918.
The gun shield was produced with 4 mm thick armored plates. It could not be removed and also had the gunner seat bolted on it.
After the First World War, many studies were carried out to try to improve the performance of this gun and to try to amend the few weaknesses spotted during the war. The various projects were mainly aimed at increasing the range and improving the effectiveness of the ammunition used. The adoption of a new projectile in 1932 made it possible to increase the range from 10,200 meters to 12,000 meters and to double the explosive power of the projectiles used during the First World War.
The gun had a weight of 1,075 kg battery ready, with a maximum depression of -15° and a maximum elevation of +65°. It had a total traverse of 53° thanks to the modern trails.
Cannone da 75/27 Mod. 11 opening fire against British troops in North Africa. Source: pinterest.com
The muzzle velocity was 502 m/s with standard High Explosive rounds and a bit more with the Armor Piercing rounds. The rate of fire could be up to 15 rounds per minute with a well trained crew, but it was usually maintained to 5 or 6 rounds per minute to avoid overheating the barrel.
Ammunition
The Cannone Vickers-Terni da 75/27 Modello 1911 could fire 75 x 185 mmR shells.
Cannone Vickers-Terni da 75/27 Modello 1911 used during the Second World War ammunition
Name
Type
Note
Weight (kg)
Granata Ordinaria da 75
High Explosive
6.3
Granata Dironpente da 75
High-Explosive (HE)
Twice more powerful than the World War I rounds
5.2
Scatola a Mitraglia
Canister
238 16-mm lead spheres
//
Granata Perforante Esplodente
Armor Piercing High Explosive
//
Granata Mod. 32
Armor Piercing
6.276
Granata Ordinaria Mod. 34/36
High-Explosive
//
Granata 1900/15N
High-Explosive
French rounds
//
Granata Mod. 17
High-Explosive
French rounds
//
Effetto Pronto
High Explosive Anti-Tank
Entered in service in late 1941 and early 1942 in small numbers
//
Effetto Pronto Speciale
Effetto Pronto Speciale Modello 1942
Proiettile a Grande Capacità
Smoke, incendiary, or toxic
Could be equipped with different charges
//
Penetration was 50 mm of steel angled at 90° at 500 meters and 45 mm of steel at 1,000 meters with the standard Armor Piercing Granata Mod. 32 round making it capable of effectively countering British tanks in the early stages of the North African Campaign.
According to a test carried out in 1942, during a mission in Germany meant to test the effectiveness of the cannon against the Soviet T-34-76 tanks and transported to shooting ranges in Germany, the cannon could not seriously damage the vehicle. This was due to the low muzzle velocity.
Autocannone da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37
The Autocannone da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37 was a radical modification of the FIAT-SPA T.L.37 ‘Libia’. For that reason, it is sometimes also called Autocannone da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37 ‘Libia’. The engine hood was the only part of the vehicle left intact, while the rest was completely changed to accommodate the 75 mm cannon. The steering wheel column was modified, lowering or angling it to permit the traverse of the main gun. Apart from the engine hood and the front cabin, the rest of the bodywork was cut out.
The FIAT-SPA T.L.37 chassis. Source: Archivio FIAT
On the rear section was placed a small iron platform. On this platform, the gun trails were blocked in open firing position, along with two seats for the gun crew.
The driver and commander’s seats were left in place, but the 4 mm thick gun shield covered their field of view. On the right side, a small openable slot was cut to allow the driver to check the battlefield. On some other vehicles, the gun shield was cut more to allow the driver and the commander a better field of view of the front arc.
The Autocannone da 75/27 Mod. 11 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37. It had a slot cut for the driver. Source: zen.yandex.ru
On the left side was a spare wheel. Due to the new combat role of the vehicle, it was more likely the tires would get hit by small arms fire. On the right side was a large ammunition rack, but the amount of ammunition is unknown. Under the platform, at the rear, a 150 liters tank was placed to keep the range at about 400 km.
An Autocannone da 75/27 Mod. 11. The rear platform, with the seats, the 150 liters tank and the cut gun trails is visible. Source: pinterest.com
The SPG had a crew of 6. The driver and commander were in the front, gunner and a loader on the rear of the vehicle, and other 2 gun crew were transported on another of the battery’s vehicles.
The gun traverse on the vehicle was 52°, 26° to each side. The depression was 0° because the gun cradle was leaning against the engine hood when at 0° elevation.
An Autocannone with a shortened gun shield. A Carcano Mod. 91/38 carbine is visible. The rifles were used by the crew to defend themselves against enemy attacks. Source: pinterest.com
Operational Use
The Autocannone da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37 was one of the last autocannoni produced by the Italian troops in North Africa. They were produced by the Autofficine del 12° Autoraggruppamento AS at the behest of the Comando Truppe Sahara Libico (English: Troop Command of the Libyan Sahara), the Libyan occupation force equivalent of the Guardia alla frontiera (English: Border guard) on the Italian mainland.
In March 1942, the first vehicles were ready and were tested, demonstrating decent mobility for a vehicle weighing nearly 5 tonnes and with an engine rated at only 52 hp. Thanks to the large tires, it had good flotation on the loose sand. For example, the Autocannone da 100/17 su Lancia 3Ro struggled in the same terrain.
An Autocannone da 75/27 Mod. 11 su T.L.37 with shortened gun shield in the Siwa Oasis, 1942. Source: Afrikakorps.org
The 12 Autocannoni da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37 were assigned in groups of four to the 7ª Batteria, 8ª Batteria, and 9ª Batteria (English: 7th, 8th, and 9th Batteries) of the XVI Gruppo (English: 16th Group) of the Raggruppamento Celere Africa Settentrionale (English: North Africa Fast Grouping).
The available literature is at times contradictory about the Raggruppamento Celere Africa Settentrionale’s history and organization. According to some, the total of 48 Autoblindo AB41 medium armored cars of the armored car squadrons had to come from the III Gruppo Esplorante corazzato ‘Cavalleggeri di Monferrato’ or GECo (English: 3rd Armored Reconnaissance Group). However, this unit was only sent to Africa in July with 18 armored cars and arrived in August 1942, under the command of Major Riccardo Martinengo Marquet. On the other hand, the Raggruppamento Celere AS was disbanded in May 1942.
Some sources then claim that the equipment used to fill the gap was an unknown number of armored cars from the III Gruppo Squadroni Corazzato ‘Nizza’ (English: 3rd Armored Squadron Group) that was formed in Turin in July 1941 and sent to Africa “during 1942”. It is plausible that the unit was equipped with a few armored cars from this unit or from others.
In the book ‘La meccanizzazione dell’Esercito fino al 1943’ written by Lucio Ceva and Andrea Curami, it is stated that 20 AB40 and AB41 armored cars arrived in Africa in February 1942 and another 63 in April of the same year. The same book reports that, in May 1942, there were a total of 93 armored cars in North Africa assigned to various units, among which was the III Gruppo Squadroni Corazzato ‘Nizza’ (40 armored cars in theory, 38 in service, serviceable and not), VIII Reggimento Bersaglieri Corazzato (also with 40 armored cars in theory, 31 in service, serviceable and not), the 3ª Compagnia della Polizia dell’Africa Italiana (10 armored cars assigned in theory), and the Raggruppamento Celere AS. Considering that, of 93 armored cars, 69 were assigned to the first two units, the remaining 24 armored cars were assigned to the 3ª Compagnia della Polizia dell’Africa Italiana and to the Raggruppamento Celere AS. This is less of the half of the 48 armored cars theoretically assigned to the Raggruppamento Celere AS alone.
The crew of an autocannone during reloading. Some beautiful details are visible in this great-quality photo. On the right is visible a Carcano Carbine used for self-defense. Source: Istituto Luce
When the Raggruppamento Celere Africa Settentrionale was disbanded in May 1942, the XVI Gruppo, equipped with the 12 Autocannoni da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37, was assigned to the 136º Reggimento Artiglieria (English: 136th Artillery Regiment) of the 136ª Divisione Corazzata ‘Giovani Fascisti’ together with other autocannoni such as the Autocannoni da 65/18 su Morris CS8.
Here again, however, the sources mentioning this are in disagreement. Nico Sgarlato, in his book ‘I corazzati di circostanza italiani’, states that a total of 16 Autocannoni da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37 SPGs may have been produced. If the source is correct, it can be assumed that the last four, most likely produced in mid-1942, were used to replace the losses of the XVI Gruppo, since no other batteries armed with such autocannoni were created. Other sources claim a total production of 20 or 30 units, but this seems to be an overestimation.
Autocannone su T.L.37 during maintenance. In this photo, the gun crandle leaning against the engine hood is clearly visible, together with the spare wheel. Source: Istituto Luce
The ‘Giovani Fascisti’ artillery regiment was composed only of autocannoni batteries: the XIV Gruppo and XV Gruppo were equipped with Autocannoni da 65/17 su Morris CS8, the XVI Gruppo equipped with Autocannoni da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37, the XVII Gruppo with Autocannoni da 100/17 su Lancia 3Ro, and, finally, the 88ª Batteria Artiglieria Contraerea (English: 88th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battery) was equipped with Cannoni da 20/65 Mod. 1935 loaded on trucks.
This regiment, on paper, had a total of 48 autocannoni. Due to months of hard fighting against British troops, many had certainly been lost.
Loading on a 75/27 su T.L.37. The gunner and two loaders are operating on the rear platform while the rest of the crew operates on the ground. Source: Istituto Luce
The last autocannoni were still used between 19th and 30th April 1943, during the First Battle of Enfidaville (now the Tunisian city of Enfidha) and in the Second Battle of Enfidaville. During these, the last forces of the 136ª Divisione Corazzata ‘Giovani Fascisti’ fought for an entire day, even after the declaration of the surrender of the Axis forces.
Conclusion
The Autocannoni da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37 were the last desperate conversions done by the Regio Esercito’s workshops in North Africa. These clunky vehicles proved to be quite effective, albeit with limitations due to the total weight of the vehicle. Unfortunately, the very limited number of converted vehicles did not allow the design to have a large influence on the war.
They anyway supported the Italian troops during attacks and defenses during the North African Campaign awaiting some better designed and produced autocannoni to be entered in service.
Autocannone da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37 of the 136º Reggimento Artiglieria. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Autocannone da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37 specifications
Dimensions (L-W-H)
4.13 x ~2 x 2.2 m
Total weight, battle-ready
4.5 tonnes
Crew
4 (driver, commander, gunner, and loader)
Propulsion
SPA Tipo 18TL petrol, 4-cylinders, 4,053 cm³, 52 hp at 2,000 rpm, 100 liter tank
Speed
38 km/h
Range
170 km
Armament
OneCannone Vickers-Terni da 75/27 Modello 1911 or Modello 1916
Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 in standard desert camouflage.
Kingdom of Italy/Italian Social Republic/Italian Republic (1938-1948)
Heavy Duty Truck – 12,692 Built In All Versions
The Lancia 3Ro was an Italian heavy duty truck produced by Lancia Veicoli Industriali (English: Lancia Industrial Vehicles) for the civilian market and for military service.
Its production began in 1938 in many civilian and military variants, becoming one of the most used trucks of the Italian Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army) during the Second World War.
After the war, production restarted and some upgraded variants ran out the factories until 1948, 20 years after it first appeared on the market, when it was substituted by more modern trucks in the production lines. It remained in Lancia’s sales brochure until 1950.
Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 in heavy duty truck standard configuration towing a M13/40 medium tank. In the photo, it has just passed underneath the Arch of the Philaeni (Arco dei Fileni in Italian) Tripolitania in Libya, which was built by order of Italo Balbo. Winter 1942. This monument was destroyed on the orders of Muammar Gaddafi in 1973. Source: Archivio Centrale dello Stato
History of the Lancia Company
Vincenzo Lancia was an Italian car racer and businessman who founded the Lancia & Company car factory in 1906 in Turin with his business partner Claudio Foglin.
After some years of producing small quantities of racing and luxury cars that enhanced the brand’s reputation in Italy and Europe, World War I stopped the dreams of the founders. During World War I, Lancia’s only production plant was totally converted to the production of military vehicles at orders of the Italian Government.
After the war, Vincenzo Lancia felt the need to develop his own range of trucks in order to respond to changes in the Italian civilian and military market and also in the European civilian market.
In fact, many European car companies were physically destroyed during the war. Many others that had been converted between 1915 and 1918 from civilian to military production, may have survived, but were out of funds and forced to declare bankruptcy. Many did not have enough funds to convert the production lines from military to civilian production and were forced to declare bankruptcy. In this context, US companies, such as Ford, were doing big deals selling US-designed and built cars and trucks in Europe.
In 1921, Lancia Veicoli Industriali restarted civilian production of trucks in parallel with Lancia & Company, which restarted production of racing and luxury cars. The new post-war truck models were the Trijota and Tetrajota, 585 of which were produced until 1923 and 1924 respectively, and which were appreciated by Italian and European truckers. The Trijota was also deployed by the British Army in an armored car version. In fact, the vehicle was one of the most exported vehicles of Europe in that period, with a few hundreds sold in France and Great Britain.
The most important truck produced in that period was the heavy duty truck Pentajota (factory code Serie 254), 2,191 of which were produced from 1924 to 1933. It was really appreciated, with some hundreds bought by British companies. It became so popular on the European market due its payload capacity of over 6 tonnes, which only some much more expensive American trucks could match.
Lancia Eptajota medium truck used by the Rome Public Bus Company after 1935. It was previously a bus purchased in 1927 and retired in 1935 to be converted into a standard truck. Source: wikipedia.org
Another important model produced in the Interwar period was the Eptajota (factory code Serie 254), of which 1,827 were produced from 1927 to 1935. This vehicle was one of the first Lancia trucks that received special bodyworks, such as water or fuel carrier, ice transporter, milk delivery, and garbage truck.
The last chassis produced before the ‘Ro’ series was the Omicron (factory code Serie 256), produced as heavy-duty trucks and buses. It was 9 to 10 m long in the bus version, while the truck ones, also produced with three-axles, were even longer, at 12 m.
Lancia Omicron heavy truck in standard two-axle cargo truck. Source: auto-moto-epoca.blogspot.com
The Lancia Omicron was equipped with the Lancia Tipo 77 petrol engine with a displacement of 7,060 cm³, offering 91.5 hp at 1,600 rpm. Its maximum payload was 7.95 tonnes in the two-axles version. It was a reliable truck used by some Middle Eastern companies in the bus version on the road between Beirut (Lebanon) and Baghdad (Iraq). They were so reliable that they were retired after completing over 2 million km each.
The Omicron’s only flaw was the high petrol consumption, which led Vincenzo Lancia to decide to switch to better-performing diesel engines. The diesel engine was invented by Rudolf Diesel and first patented in 1892, but was little known. The first use of a diesel engine did not come until 1903, finding use as a ship engine. The first diesel engine for aircraft was created in 1914 but it was only in February 1936 that the first wheeled vehicle powered by a diesel engine appeared, the Mercedes Benz 260D car.
The research of reliable diesel engines was a feature shared by almost all car and truck manufacturers in the 1930s in Italy, but also in other parts of Europe. All European car companies looking for diesel engines went to Germany, where many German companies were already producing excellent high-performance diesel engines.
Almost every European car company had contracts with Mercedes-Benz, Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg (MAN), and Büssing AG. However, Vincenzo Lancia was not satisfied with the engines of the big German manufacturers. All the Italian companies (except FIAT) bought blueprints for German diesel engines, with some companies buying blueprints for entire trucks, such as ALFA Romeo and Officine Meccaniche (OM).
At the beginning of the 1930s, Vincenzo Lancia signed a contract with Junkers, considered by the Italian businessman to be more advanced in the production of diesel engines.
Previous Models of the ‘Ro’ Series
After the reliable Junkers engines were chosen, Lancia needed new trucks to install them into. The first project had a license-built Junkers 2-cylinder engine produced as the Lancia Tipo 89. It had a 3,181 cm³ displacement and gave a maximum power of 64 hp at 1,500 rpm.
It powered the newly designed Lancia Ro (factory code Serie 264) heavy-duty truck, first presented at the Milan Motor Show in 1932. It was a totally new vehicle with more modern shapes that distinguished it from the Lancia trucks of the 1920s.
The Lancia Ro, an early production model with coachwork by Officine Viberti and towing an Officine Viberti medium trailer. Source: Camion Lancia
A total of 5,196 trucks were produced between 1933 and 1939 in five different series, two civilian and three military ones. It had a weight of 5.40 tonnes and a payload capability of 6.35 tonnes in the standard civilian version, while the military one had a weight of 5.30 tonnes and a payload capability of 6.45 tonnes. Its maximum speed was 35 km/h. The coachwork was primarily the work of Officine Viberti of Turin.
However, the Lancia Ro had power problems. In order to cope with the requests of increased maximum payload, a new Junkers-licensed engine mounted on a new vehicle was introduced in 1935.
The engine was the Junker 3-cylinder 6 opposed pistons version with a displacement of 4,771 cm³. It produced 95 hp at 1,500 rpm (produced under license as Lancia Tipo 90). The vehicle on which it was mounted was the new Lancia Ro-Ro (factory code Serie 265) heavy-duty truck.
This new vehicle was a failure because the Italian Royal Army was not interested in buying it, so, after a total production of only 301 vehicles for the civilian market, the construction was terminated. Lancia Veicoli Industriali wanted a common vehicle to produce simultaneously in military and civil versions to save up money and have that maximum percentage of common parts.
A Lancia Ro-Ro with an Officine Viberti short cab. This particular vehicle was produced without the frontal bumper, probably for service in the colonies. Source: Camion Lancia
This was an unfortunate destiny for a truck that had a weight of 6.9 tonnes but a payload capability of 8.9 tonnes. During the Second World War, no other Italian truck had such a load capacity.
The Lancia 3Ro
Vincenzo Lancia, not satisfied by the license-built engines, decided to develop his own four-stroke five-cylinder diesel engine in order to decrease the production costs, as the Junkers engines were expensive, and to become more independent from foreign developments. In the mid-to-late 1930s, the Junkers engines that Lancia produced under license were not powerful enough to compete with the new trucks of other companies, which made the ‘Ro’ truck series become less competitive.
The new engine, dubbed Lancia Tipo 102, was mounted on the new Lancia 3Ro (factory code Serie 464) heavy-duty truck. The prototype was presented at the 10th Milan Motor Show on 28th October 1937. The new truck was bodied by Officine Viberti of Turin, now a leader in the sector and a valuable partner of Lancia. The prototype had an innovative drop-shaped radiator grille, inspired by that of the Lancia Augusta sports car. However, this would not be used on the first vehicle series.
The Lancia 3Ro prototype at the 10th Milan Motor Show. It had a modern bodywork and a Viberti trailer. Source: Archivio Lancia
Production began in late 1937, while sales of the new vehicle began in 1938. It replaced the Lancia Ro and Lancia Ro-Ro on the production lines. Initially, two models were offered by Lancia in 1938. A civilian one with factory code Serie 464 and a military one, Serie 564. These codes were rarely used even if some sources, for the sake of clarity, define the models as ‘Lancia 3Ro 464’ and ‘Lancia 3Ro 564’.
A Lancia 3Ro poster. On the bottom, the writing says ‘Lancia & Company Automobiles Factory of Turin, S.A. Corporation’. Source: Archivio Lancia
The first version of the civilian model retained a fairly rustic bodywork in order to keep the cost low, speed up production, and make it competitive on the Italian civilian market.
Name
From 1906 to 1919, Lancia & Co. vehicles received very simple names, consisting of the horsepower delivered by the engine (Lancia 12HP, etcetera).
In 1919, Vincenzo Lancia’s brother, Giovanni, a scholar of classical languages, suggested to his brother to use the ancient Greek alphabet for the names of his cars. They first appeared during that year: the Lancia Lambda was the first, and then the previous models were renamed Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and so on. The Lambda made its debut at the Paris and London Motor Show in 1922.
Brochure for a Lancia Lambda of the 8th Series. Source: minumy.net
In the same period, the prefixes ‘Di’ and ‘Tri’ began to be adopted to represent evolutions or simply similar vehicles. The last Lancia car to adopt the Greek letters was the Dilambda, the prototype of which was presented at the 1929 New York Motor Show.
Truck names likewise received the same name treatment. The ‘Jota’ series had several variants: Dijota, Trijota, Tetrajota, Eptajota, etc. Between 1929 and 1930, Vincenzo Lancia decided to switch to the Latin language, using old place names to baptize his cars: the Lancia Augusta, Aprilia, and Ardea were the most popular. In 1931, some of these cars received ‘ad hoc’ French names when Lancia tried to sell them on the French civil market, with mixed success.
For the trucks, strangely enough, the Italian businessman preferred to maintain the Greek alphabet with the new series of trucks, the ‘Ro’ ones. ‘ϱ’ was the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. However, strangely enough, Lancia decided to use different nomenclature for these trucks, naming the second Ro-Ro instead of ‘Diro’, and the third one 3Ro and not ‘Triro’.
Design
Chassis
The steel frame consisted of two straight spars connected by five welded and two bolted cross sections. The two bolted ones supported the engine. At the ends of each spar was a towing hook, while the rear cross-section received the hinged hook to tow trailers or artillery pieces.
Some military trucks were equipped with a winch with a capacity of 9.5 tonnes, with a 31.5 m long cable. This hydraulic winch was operated by the truck’s engine thanks to a Power Take-Off (P.T.O.) system. When necessary, the driver stopped the vehicle, would shift out of gear on the gearbox, engage the handbrake, and, via a manual override, connected the engine’s flywheel to a second driveshaft that operated the winch’s gearbox, which regulated the speed of the cable.
The Lancia 3Ro NMSP chassis. The 135 liters tank is behind the cab. Only the five welded cross sections are visible. On the last one, the hinged hook (number 1) is visible and the two towing hooks on the sides. The transmission shaft, leaf-spring suspensions and brake pulleys are also visible. Source: Manuale di Uso e Manutenzione Lancia 3 RoThe Lancia 3Ro chassis seen from above. Source: Aldo Mario Feller
The 4.8 m long, 2.3 m wide, and 0.65 m tall loading bay was built out of wood, with 2.5 cm thick planks, for an area of 10.34 m² and an internal volume of 6.72 m³. The civilian Lancia 3Ro, weighing 5.5 tonnes, was approved by law to carry 6.5 tonnes of cargo, for a total weight of truck and cargo of 12 tonnes. However, the maximum transportable cargo came to almost 10 tonnes. The military version, with an empty weight of 5.61 tonnes and a payload capability approved by law of 6.39 tonnes, could carry 32 fully equipped soldiers on two side benches or almost 42 sitting on the floor. Other possible loads were military vehicles, such as the series L3/33, L3/35, or L3/38 fast tank (~ 3.2 tonnes), L6/40 light reconnaissance tank (6.84 tonnes), a Semovente L40 da 47/32 (6.82 tonnes) self-propelled gun, or even 7 horses.
A Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 during the loading operation of a Semovente L40 da 47/32 in Tunisia. With a length of 3.82 meters and a width of 1.92 meters, the L40 fit perfectly in the 3Ro’s cargo bay. Source: pinterest.comAn L3 tank climbing the ramps to be loaded on a Lancia 3Ro, probably in the Balkans. Source: pinterest.com
Engine and Suspension
The Lancia 3Ro stood out with its new diesel engine, designed and produced by the Turin company. The Lancia Tipo 102 diesel, 4-stroke, direct ignition, 4 valve, 5-cylinder in-line water-cooled engine, with a capacity of 6,875 cm³, delivered 93 hp at 1,860 rpm, leading to a maximum speed on road of 45 km/h. It had a 135 liters tank behind the cab. The fuel tank was connected to a license-built Bosch pump that injected the fuel in the chamber thanks to license-built Bosch injectors. The lubricant oil tank had a capacity of 10.5 liters.
The left side of the Lancia Tipo 102 5-cylinder in-line diesel engine. Source: Archivio LanciaThe right side of the Lancia Tipo 102 5-cylinder in-line diesel engine. Source: Archivio Lancia
It had a range of 530 km on-road, with an approximate consumption of 1 liter of fuel each 3.9 km on-road. The off-road range was 450 km, with an approximate consumption of 1 liter of fuel every 3.3 km.
The fuel tank cap, curiously placed on the right side of the upholstered bench. Source: facebook.com @Autocarro Lancia 3RO – Scala 1/35
Initially, the engine had an inertial starter connected to a crank. Some vehicles produced during the war and almost all the post-war Lancia 3Ros were equipped with electric starters. On some Lancia 3Ro produced before 1946, the inertial starter was substituted by electric ones later on.
Semi-elliptical steel leaf springs were used on all four wheels. A trick Soviet soldiers used to stop Axis vehicles during the great Russian retreat was to dig holes in the roads. With temperatures below -30° degrees, the leaf spring suspensions of the trucks would break when they hit such a hole, stopping the vehicle in place. The Lancia 3Ro and a few other models of Axis vehicles did not have this problem, probably due to the quality of the steel with which they were manufactured.
The engine compartment on a Lancia 3Ro Serie 564. The original Lancia Tipo 102, in excellent condition, is clearly visible. Source: facebook.com @Autocarro Lancia 3RO – Scala 1/35
The rear-wheel drive was connected to a gearbox with 4 forward and 1 reverse gears and two-stage reductor, for a total of 8 forward and 2 reverse speeds. It had a single dry plate clutch, as on the Lancia Ro and Ro-Ro. It was built under license after a German Maybach model and was located behind the cab for ease of maintenance.
The Lancia 3Ro had expansion shoe-type brakes. The brakes were composed of tie rods that acted on the brake shoes and moved two servo conical pulleys. These used force from the transmission when the brake pedal was pressed. This meant that, in the event of a brake system failure whether the vehicle was moving or stationary, the brakes would be locked in place by the brake shoes. This system would be abandoned in favor of a hydraulic system after the war.
The brake system of the trailer was pneumatic, powered by a compressor connected to an air tank of the ‘Triplex’ type mounted on the truck. After the war, the 3Ro received new arrangements for towing 12 tonnes instead of the 10 tonnes authorized for the civilian variant. This increased the maximum weight of the loaded truck and the loaded trailer to 24 tonnes. On the military model, it was not uncommon to see vehicles carrying material for a total of almost 10 tonnes in the loading bay.
Thanks to the power of the engine, fully loaded trailers could be towed by fully loaded Lancia 3Ros even on steep roads, where other heavy-duty trucks, such as the FIAT 634N, were forced to stop. The pulley brake system worked very well on downhill slopes, braking the enormous mass of the fully loaded truck and trailers.
One of the Lancia 3Ro’s problems was the rear axle, which was composed of two load-bearing axle shafts. This meant that, in case the axle shafts broke, the Lancia would get stuck and it was very difficult to move it. Fortunately, this problem was rarely encountered and, after the war, this was replaced with a better-performing system. Civilian models produced with this axle were sometimes modified independently by the owners, replacing the axle shafts with stronger ones from other heavy trucks, such as FIAT 666Ns or Isotta Fraschini D80s.
The electrical system was a 6 volt one in the first 1,611 Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 vehicles produced, then replaced by a 12 volt system in the following models. It was linked to the Magneti Marelli D90R3 12/1100 dynamo produced by Magneti Marelli of Sesto San Giovanni. This was used to power the two front lights, the license plate and dashboard lighting, the windscreen wipers, and the horn. On the Serie 464, the 12 volt system was mounted from the start.
Prototype of the Lancia 3Ro NMSP Serie 564 at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione. It had Pirelli Tipo ‘Celerflex’ solid tires. Source: italie1935-45.com
Artillery-type forged steel rim wheels could mount various types of tires produced by the Pirelli company of Milan or the French Michelin company. These were 270 x 20” tires on the 564 MNP and Pirelli Tipo ‘Celerflex’ solid tires with a 285×88” diameter on the 564 MNSP.
For sandy soils, the Lancia could use Pirelli Tipo ‘Sigillo Verde’ tires. These, thanks to their wide profile, offered good flotation on loose sand.
The vehicle was also tested with rubberless tires before the war. This is because of the lack of rubber due to embargoes placed on Fascist Italy after the Ethiopian War. During its operational life, the Lancia 3Ro was often equipped with Pirelli Tipo ‘Raiflex’ tires for sandy grounds and produced with Rayon (Raion in Italian) synthetic fibers (RAI-flex for Raion) in order to save on rubber.
Bodywork
The main bodyworker for Lancia Veicoli Industriali trucks was Officine Viberti of Corso Peschiera 249 in Turin. This partnership began with the Lancia Ro model. This Turinese company was less than 800 m from the Lancia plant in the Borgo San Paolo district in Via Monginevro 99. It was easy for Lancia to deliver the truck frames to Viberti, which bodyworked them. Officine Viberti thus became the unofficial Lancia coachworker.
The brand of the Officine Viberti factory. This brand is visible on the sides of the Viberti civilian cab. Source: Officine Viberti
Officine Viberti was founded by Candido Viberti in 1922; he had previously been employed by another company. After a collaboration with the Ceirano car company, in 1928, he moved his company to the Borgo San Paolo district. In that period, the company abandoned car bodyworks and began to bodywork trucks for ‘special’ use (coaches, buses, trailers, and semi-trailers).
In 1932, Candido Viberti bought the Società Anonima Industriale di Verona or SAIV (English: Industrial Limited Company of Verona) and started the production of fuel or liquid carriers in parallel. In the same period, Viberti became a valuable partner of Lancia Veicoli Industriali, for which it bodywork the majority of the civilian trucks and all the military ones.
Also thanks to this collaboration, Officine Viberti grew. From just 150 workers in 1928, the firm reached 800 workers in 1935, and then 1,517 workers and 263 employees in 1943. This was also partly due to the continuous requests from the Royal Italian Army not only for truck bodywork but also for trailers, semi-trailers, etcetera.
The Officine Viberti plant in Corso Peschiera 249, Turin, in the 1950s. Now this building is a residential house block. Source: museotorino.it
Officine Viberti equipped the civilian 3Ro trucks with wooden cargo bays covered with thin metal sheets, but some customers sometimes asked specifically for only wooden ones or only metal sheet ones. Other special cargo bays could be added on the Lancia 3Ros, such as a tilting dump-truck cargo bay, a van-style bay, cold storage, transport of perishable materials, or live animals.
In the late 1930s, due the enormous amount of work entrusted to the company, occasionally there were delays in the construction of truck bodywork (not only the Lancia ones). Thus, many customers that had ordered a truck that they needed immediately purchased ‘naked’ chassis from Lancia. They then privately got them bodied by Carrozzeria Orlandi of Modena, Cab, Zagato of Rho, near Milan, Carrozzeria Esperia in Pavia, or even Carrozzeria Caproni of Milan and Carrozzeria Zorzi. This made some vehicles quite different and with lots of differences from the ones bodied by Viberti.
A Lancia 3Ro with Carrozzeria Esperia cab and wooden plank cargo bay. Source: pinterest.com
For the bus versions, these vehicles were fitted out by companies such as Carrozzeria Garavini of Turin, Carrozzeria Macchi of Varese, Orlandi or, the most popular and common, Officine Viberti.
After the war, due to the bad financial situation and the poor state of the infrastructure of Officine Viberti, many trucks were subcontracted by Viberti. The coachwork of the Lancia 3Ro was done by other companies, such as Caproni or other brands with just some small workshops with a few workers.
For the Lancia 3Ro, Officine Viberti offered a whole range of cabs and loading bays. There were the ‘short cabs’ with two seats for truckers that had no need to make long journeys. In some vehicles, the seats were substituted with a single upholstered bench for three men.
Lancia 3Ro Serie 464 coachworked by Officine Viberti with a short cab of the first series and metal sheet cargo bay with higher walls and overhead storage rack. Source: italie1935-45.com
The ‘long cabs’, about 300 mm longer, had a single upholstered bench for three people and, behind the backrest, a berth. This cab came with many small modifications. The customers could request to equip the rear part with small windows with curtains or without windows. The Lancia 3Ro was the third European truck to have the provision for a berth, after the Italian FIAT 634N heavy duty truck (that could even have 3 berths if requested), its main rival on the Italian civilian market, and the French three-axle Renault AFKD super heavy duty truck (10 tonne payload) produced after 1936.
The berth was often made of wood between two sheets of molded steel, although some customers opted for the simpler solution of having the entire berth made of wood. Some owners asked for two berths, one on top of the other, with no exterior differences between single-berth cabs and two-berths cabs.
However, the Lancia 3Ro was the first truck that could permit one of the drivers to sleep while the other was driving. The FIAT and Renault vehicles only allowed the use of the berths when the vehicle was stationary.
Lancia 3Ro Serie 464 with Officine Viberti coachwork. It has a 1st series long cab and a heavy trailer produced by Viberti. The cargo bay and trailer had metal sheet walls. It was delivered to the Zanaboni Autotrasporti of Villanterio near Pavia. Note the marking ‘3Ro’ on the vertical hood, requested by the owner. Source: Camion Lancia
Another modification of the Officine Viberti long cab was the one used in the fuel carrier variant. Instead of a berth in the rear part of the cab, it was separate and there was a compartment to store some refueling tools and tubes with doors on the cab’ sides. This modification could probably be done on other types of trucks as well. Usually, the owner of a ‘long cab’ Lancia 3Ro that needed to travel long journeys carried only a second driver so, when one of the two was sleeping on the berth, the second one could drive. It was common that, when both the two drivers were tired, one slept on the upholstered bench, which could be used as a second berth.
The first cab versions featured a vertical front grille with an exposed radiator, vertical one-piece hood sides, single-line vertical air intakes and almost vertical windshield, all inspired by the previous Lancia Ro and Ro-Ro.
A Lancia 3Ro with Viberti’s short cab and a curious third headlight on the radiator grille, probably requested by the customer. The truck was used by the delivery company Maggiorano, which operated between the provinces of Turin, Asti, and Milan. Source: italie1935-45.com
In 1939, Officine Viberti introduced a new, more modern and elegant bodywork to increase aerodynamic performance, along with a drop-shaped radiator grille, like the Lancia Augusta luxury car. This model also had angled windscreen and more rounded shapes, exactly as the Lancia 3Ro prototype. The same thing was done by FIAT for its FIAT 634N in the same period. This new bodywork also had a short and long variant.
Lancia 3Ro with Officine Viberti long cab of the 2nd series. The cargo bay was made of wooden planks. Source: Lancia
Another detail that not all cabs had was an overhead storage rack. The black square with a yellow or white triangle painted inside meant the truck could tow a trailer and warned drivers in its vicinity to be careful. If the rectangle was upright, the truck was towing a trailer. If it was horizontal, the trailer was not present. The triangle was only required by law on civilian vehicles.
All the Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 military trucks were bodied only by Officine Viberti.
The Officine Viberti military cab. It was definitely more rustic than the civilian ones to speed up production and save money and raw materials. The waterproof tarpaulin placed instead of lateral windows is clearly visible on the right drawing. Source: Officine VibertiLancia 3Ro Serie 654 cargo bay drawing. Like the cab, it was a rustic one, made of wood, openable only on the rear side. Source: Officine Viberti
Civilian Versions
The truck had a length of 7.40 m and a width of 2.5 m. Its weight was 5.5 tonnes and its payload capability was 8 tonnes meaning it could theoretically weigh up to 13.5 tonnes fully laden. This was even though the maximum weight allowed by Italian laws for these types of vehicles at the time was 12 tonnes. Thus, the permitted carried weight was a more modest 6.5 tonnes. The new Lancia’s engine guaranteed a maximum speed of 45 km/h that was enough for the 1930s standards, although by the standards of the 1940s this would have been a rather slow vehicle.
Lancia 3Ro of the 1st series with Officine Viberti short cab. Source: pinterest.comA Lancia 3Ro of the second series, converted with Officine Viberti short cab and side-dump-truck cargo bay made of sheet metal. Source: Centro Storico FIAT
The total production of Lancia 3Ro Serie 464 was 1,307 vehicles produced until late 1941. The civilian version was homologated to tow two-axle trailers with a maximum payload of 10 tonnes.
In general, Italian truckers really appreciated Lancia’s new vehicle, which was fast, sturdy, powerful but, above all, very economical. The other Italian heavy trucks in the market at the time were the FIAT 634N, the Isotta Fraschini D80, the FIAT 666N, and the ALFA Romeo 800 (the last two entered service in 1939).
Lancia 3Ro vs other Italian Heavy Trucks
Truck model
Lancia 3Ro Serie 464
FIAT 634N
FIAT 666N
ALFA Romeo 800
Isotta Fraschini D80
Unloaded weight
5,500 kg
6,360 kg
5,770 kg
5,000 kg
5,500 kg
Maximum payload
6,500 kg
6,140 kg
6,240 kg
7,000 kg
6,500 kg
Engine power
93 hp at 1,860 rpm
75 at 1,700 rpm
110 hp at 2,000 rpm
108 hp at 2,000 rpm
90 hp at 1850 rpm
Maximum speed
45 km/h
37 km/h
56.8 km/h
37 – 49 km/h
34 km/h
Range
530 km
400 km
465 km
500 km
380 km
The 3Ro was competitive with the first two trucks. The FIAT model 634N entered service in 1931 and was really heavy, at 6.36 tonnes, and permitted the transport of only 6.14 tonnes of cargo and had some problems when fully loaded on mountain roads due to the 80 hp engine. The FIAT 666N was modern and powerful but had a lower cargo payload. The Isotta Fraschini compared similarly in some aspects, as the truck had the same weight and payload capacity as the Lancia, but had a higher fuel consumption and higher costs due to a more refined structure. Only the wealthiest truckers or companies could afford such a vehicle.
Regarding the competition between 3Ro and ALFA Romeo, the ALFA vehicle was far better due a lighter weight of just 5 tonnes, which permitted a payload of 7 tonnes and a more powerful engine that guaranteed a top speed of 49 km/h with reductors. The problem was the absence of a berth for long journeys. The same issue existed with the FIAT 666N. It weighed 5.77 tonnes and could load 6.24 tonnes of cargo with a maximum speed of 56.8 km/h. The main problem with these last two vehicles was a series of laws passed in the Kingdom of Italy in 1937 that outlined the main characteristics required for all future civilian or military trucks. The Lancia 3Ro, fortunately, avoided being covered by the new laws, probably because the project was already almost finished in 1937.
This new law was passed for three main reasons:
Firstly, Italy was a rapidly growing nation with numerous companies producing dozens of different models of trucks. Standardization would lead companies to produce vehicles very similar to each other and with common parts, increasing the production capacity.
Secondly, there was also the problem of embargoes placed on Italy and the policy of autarky, or the aspiration of Italian leaders to be economically independent from foreign countries. Unified truck standards would certainly have helped to avoid wasting resources. An example was wheel rim size. After 1935, due the embargoes placed for the invasion of Ethiopia, Italy had little rubber with which to produce tires. If all the trucks had the same rim diameters and sizes, the companies that produced tires produced one-size tires adaptable on all trucks.
Thirdly, and probably the most important reason, was the unification of civilian and military truck standards, which meant that, in case of war, civilian trucks could be requisitioned for war needs.
With Regio Decreto (English: Royal Decree) N° 1809 of 14th July 1937, the so-called Autocarri Unificati (English: Unified Trucks) were born. For heavy trucks, the maximum weight did not to exceed 12,000 kg, of which at least 6,000 kg had to be of payload, with a diesel engine with a minimum road speed of 45 km/h. The ALFA Romeo 800 and FIAT 666N were the first trucks designed under the Regio Decreto N° 1809 rules.
This led Italian truckers to be reluctant to purchase this type of truck (the Autocarri Unificati rules also applied to medium trucks), as it was clear that, within a few years, the Kingdom of Italy would enter the war and, therefore, that FIAT 666N and ALFA Romeos would surely be requisitioned first. So, despite their better features, Italian truckers preferred to continue buying Lancia 3Ro or less performing vehicles that theoretically would not be requisitioned in case of war.
The Italian heavy duty trucks produced before the war, the competitors of the Lancia 3Ro. From top left clockwise: the FIAT 634N 2nd Series on FIAT’s Lingotto plant’s roof, the prototype of the ALFA Romeo 800 outside the ALFA plant of Milan, Isotta Fraschini D80, and the last one, the FIAT 666N with Officine Viberti’s cab. Sources: pinterest.com, italie1935-45.com, Lancia, Archivio Pasquale Caccavale with modification by the author
The Italian truckers nicknamed the Lancia 3Ro the ‘Lancia Trairò’, a pun between the Italian word ‘Traino’ (English: Towing), pronounced ‘Trài·no’, and the name of the vehicle, which in Italian is pronounced ‘Lancia Tré-Rò’.
Starting in 1940, fenders were painted white because of the regulations imposed by the so-called darkening laws. These rules dictated that motor vehicles and bicycles had to travel with their headlights partially covered to avoid being spotted by enemy planes that flew almost undisturbed in the Italian skies at night. The white band on the mudguards and on the hood made it possible to notice the few vehicles that were allowed to drive around at night.
A Lancia 3Ro Serie 464 produced after 1939 with Officine Viberti’s long cab. The white bands on the mudguards and on the hood are clearly visible. Source: italie1935-45.com
The diagonal stripe painted on the radiator grille indicated the type of transportation license. If red, it was for the owner’s account, if white, for other individuals.
Special Variants
Like the Lancia Ro, the Lancia 3Ro was available in many special versions for civilian and army needs. It was produced as a standard duty truck, fuel or non-flammable liquid carrier, animal carrier, bus, and recovery truck.
Lancia also developed a methane gas-powered version of the Lancia Tipo 102, the 102G. It was used mainly in the bus versions (Factory code Serie P566), but a small series of standard Serie 464 were also equipped with this engine type and sold to companies that traded methane gas.
One of the Lancia 3Ro Serie 464 with methane gas engine. It was delivered to the Smercio e Applicazioni Metano Società Anonima of Turin, as painted on the Viberti short cab door (together with the phone number of the company). Turin, March 1940. Source: italie1935-45.com
The version with a water or fuel tank was adopted for the Serie 464 and for the Serie 564, produced by Officine Viberti, with a capacity of 5,000 liters. It was mainly used in North Africa to transport fuel or water. A trailer with the same capacity produced by Officine Viberti could be attached to it, for a total of 10,000 liters. A civilian variant was also equipped with a Società Anonima Industriale di Verona fuel tank. These versions had an impressive fully loaded weight of more than 15 tonnes, about 6 tonnes for the empty truck, trailer of unknown weight, and 10 tonnes of water or other liquids.
Lancia 3Ro with long cab and tank produced by Officine Viberti and a Viberti trailer. This particular truck, with a total capacity of 10,000 liters of fuel, was used by the Lancia Veicoli Industriali plant in Turin to refuel freshly produced trucks. The white lines on the fenders were painted to operate during the night. Source: italie1935-45.comA civilian 2nd series Lancia 3Ro with Viberti-SAIV fuel tank. Source: italie1935-45.com
Some Lancia 3Ros received some strange and relatively unknown special bodyworks. To give an example, in 1948, the Municipality of Pavia ordered an unknown number of Lancia 3Ros for the transportation of garbage bins. Is not clear if the Pavia Municipality asked for a specific model or if it was a decision taken by Lancia, but the vehicles that Lancia delivered were on the 3Ro P3 variant, specially developed for bus bodyworks. These became the first Lancia trucks with cab-forward configuration, 7 years before the appearance of the first ‘official’ cab-forward Lancia Veicoli Industriali’s truck, the prime mover Lancia Esatau A that entered in the market in 1955.
One of the Lancia 3Ro PL3 converted for the transportation of garbage bins for the Pavia Municipality, ready to be delivered. The cab was a Viberti one. Source: Camion Lancia
After the war, at least one Lancia 3Ro PL3 was converted into a food truck. Nothing is known about it, but it was probably converted from an old bus in the late 1950s or early 1960s. However, it seems it is a strange and curious homemade version.
A Lancia 3Ro PL3 (also seen on the plaque of the radiator grille) converted into a food truck, probably from a former bus. Source: forum.camperonline.it
Another interesting garbage variant of the Lancia 3Ro appeared in a scene of ‘Ladri di Biciclette’, an Italian film of 1948. In these scenes, at least 2 Lancia 3Ros of the Municipality of Rome that were used by dustmen are clearly visible. These particular vehicles had a rounded bodywork produced by an unknown workshop.
One of the Lancia 3Ro converted into a garbage truck for Rome’s municipality appeared in the film Ladri di Biciclette (English: Bicycle Thieves). Source: Ladri di Biciclette
Officine Viberti also produced a small series of 3Ro Serie 464 with a towing hook and winch, meant to be used as recovery trucks. Some of these were used by the Trucchi company in the Turin countryside.
A Lancia 3Ro recovery truck with Officine Viberti’s early model short cab and overhead storage rack. It was produced in 1939 for the company Trucchi. Source: Centro Storico FIAT
Bus Versions
In 1939, Lancia Veicoli Industriali proposed the lowered chassis Lancia 3Ro P (P for Passo – Wheelbase), factory code Serie 266 and Lancia 3Ro PL (Passo Lungo, English: Longer Wheelbase) for the civilian market. These were 7,860 mm long compared to the 7,400 mm of the standard series.
Lancia 3Ro P bodied by Carrozzarie Macchi-Baratelli with a trailer. This particular model was used as a standard articulated bus and entered service in 1941. Source: Fondazione NegriLancia 3Ro P bodied by Officine Viberti. This vehicle was used as an intercity coach. Source: italie1935-45.com
These versions of the Lancia 3Ro were designed to tow a trailer in order to increase the passenger capacity. The Lancia 3Ro P, bodied by Officine Viberti, carried 32 passengers plus the driver, with the trailer taking the capacity to over 50 people. In 1940, 78 Lancia 3Ro P chassis rolled off the assembly lines, almost all bodied by Officine Viberti.
Bus on Lancia 3Ro P2 chassis with coachwork by Carrozzeria Garavini of Turin for the Società Biellese Autolinee (English: Biella Bus Company), here in front of Garavini’s workshop. Source: italie1935-45.com
In 1942, Lancia Veicoli Industriali proposed a cab-over chassis version of the Lancia 3Ro called P3 (and P3L for the long wheelbase version), code Serie 466, of which 142 were produced. In parallel, a conventional engine forward chassis called Lancia 3Ro P2 (and P2L) was introduced. In total, 611 Lancia 3Ro were produced of the three Passo Lungo variants between 1939 and 1950.
A Lancia 3Ro 3PL with coachwork by Officine Viberti, utilized by the coach company that connected Lucca to Castelnuovo di Garfagnana in Tuscany. Source: Officine VibertiAnother Lancia 3Ro P3 working as a city bus in 1948. Source: Centro Storico FIAT
Military Versions
The military model was only bodied by Officine Viberti. The following versions were produced: troop transport, animal or equipment transport, tractor for heavy artillery pieces (mainly 90 mm anti-aircraft cannons and 149 mm howitzers), quadruped carrier variant for cavalry divisions, mobile workshop, fuel and liquid carrier, ammunition carrier, tank transporter, and also truck-mounted artillery for a wide range of artillery pieces.
A Lancia 3Ro NMP Serie 564 in its standard cargo truck configuration. This is a colorized photo of the Lancia 3Ro manual printed by the Royal Army in 1941. Source: Manuale di Uso e Manutenzione per Autocarro Pesante Lancia 3Ro
Rear and front view of two different Lancia 3Ro NMP, license plate ‘Regio Esercito 102155’ and ‘Regio Esercito 72012’. On the two vehicles, the tires were of the Pirelli Tipo ‘Raiflex’ type. Sources: italie1935-45.com
This model differed from the civilian version by having a length of 7.25 m and a width of 2.35 m, a wooden cargo bay, and 2 horizontal bars to protect the vertical radiator. On the upper bar, a white line was factory-painted, on which, after delivery, the army license plate was painted in red and black.
Other differences were an inertia starter motor under the radiator grille, doors with fixed windows, acetylene headlights on the sides of the windshield, a wooden floor, and only the rear side of the cargo bay openable.
The Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 was delivered starting in 1938, one year after the Serie 464 went into production. A prototype was produced and presented to the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione (English: Motorization Studies Center), the military department which examined new vehicles, in early 1938. After testing, it was quickly accepted into service in the Italian Regio Esercito as the Lancia 3Ro MNP (for Militare; Nafta; Pneumatici – Military, Diesel, Tires) version with standard tires and the Lancia 3Ro NMSP (for Militare; Nafta; SemiPneumatici – Military, Diesel, Solid Tires) with solid rubber tires. Apart from the difference in the type of tires, which changed the vehicle’s performance, the truck models were identical.
Each truck probably cost more than 65,000 Lira. This was the price for the earlier military variant of the Lancia Ro. In 1938, Lancia Veicoli Industriali planned that its maximum production rate would be 150 heavy-duty trucks (Ro and 3Ro) per month.
The unloaded weight was 5.61 tonnes for the Lancia 3Ro MNP and 5.89 tonnes for the Lancia 3Ro MNSP. The maximum speeds were 45 km/h for the MNP and 41.7 km/h for the MNSP.
According to Lancia sources, a total of:
Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 Production
Year
Number
1938
177
1939
657
1940
2,646
1941
3,162*
1942
1,643
1943
1,205
1944
51
1945
1
Total
9,542
Notes
* Maximum production rate of 260 Lancia 3Ros per month
After three different bombing raids of the Lancia plant in Turin, in October 1942, production of the Lancia 3Ro was entrusted to the Lancia Veicoli Industriali plant in Bolzano, in the Trentino Alto Adige region, where it remained until the end of the war.
During the war, first the Royal Army and then the Germans and the Italian Social Republic requisitioned most of the civilian Lancia 3Ro Serie 464 to reuse them for military purposes. These are easy to identify due to their civilian-style cabs that differed from the military ones.
A Lancia 3Ro Serie 464 with a Officine Viberti long cab in service with the Regio Esercito in Corsica. It was requisitioned from a private owner or from the Lancia plant to be quickly repainted, replated and put in service with the Italian Royal Army. Source: italie1935-45.com
One of the main special variants was the Autofficina Mobile Modello 1938 (English: Mobile Workshop Model 1938). As the name suggests, these were standard Lancia 3Ro trucks equipped with tools and spare parts to repair Italian vehicles. These mobile workshops, composed of two trucks, one with machinery tools and the second with spare parts, were assigned to the Italian divisions and followed them on the front. After any battle, the damaged vehicles were transported to the rear lines, where the mechanics of the mobile workshops could repair them. The Lancia 3Ro were modified into mobile workshops by Officine Viberti but the number of vehicles converted was really limited. The Italian Royal Army preferred to use different vehicles, such as the old Lancia Ro. Apart from the prototype based on a Serie 564 MNSP, it seems that very few were produced. The few workshops produced remained in service after the war until the first years of the 1950s.
The Autofficina Mobile Modello 1938 on Lancia 3Ro NMSPs. The vehicle on the left was the spare parts carrier, while the one on the right was the one in which the machinery tools were transported. Source: Officine VibertiLancia 3Ro NMSP license plate ‘Regio Esercito 81715’ in working position at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione during test. Source: italie1935-45.com
For operations in Africa, the Lancia 3Ro Tipo Libia (English: Libya Type) was created, even if it was probably produced in small numbers. It essentially was a standard Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 with the cab left open and without a windshield, windows, and roof. It had a water tarpaulin to protect the driver and vehicle’s commander. Another characteristic feature was the cargo bay’s walls, which were shorter than the standard 650 mm ones. It had a different radiator grille and it probably also had a fuel tank with more capacity to extend the range.
Lancia 3Ro Tipo Libia blueprint. Source: Semicingolati, Motoveicoli e Veicoli Speciali del Regio Esercito Italiano 1919-1943
Another vehicle was the Lancia 3Ro fuel carrier or non-flammable liquid carrier. It was used mainly in North Africa as a fuel carrier. Its tank could carry a total of 5,000 liters of fuel or water. The liquid carrier truck could also tow a tank-trailer produced by Viberti or SAIV with the same capacity as the truck.
The Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 water carrier with tanks produced by Officine Viberti. The trailer was on a standard Rimorchio Unificato Medio also produced by Viberti and with the same capacity of the truck’s tank. Source: Archivio Viberti
The fuel carrier variants were also extensively used by the Italian Regia Aeronautica (English: Royal Air Force) and Italian Regia Marina (English: Royal Navy) to refuel planes and warships.
Two Lancia 3Ro fuel carriers during a refueling operation. In the background, two Spica-class torpedo boats are visible. Unfortunately, it is impossible to identify to which Italian Army branch the trucks belonged to because the license plates are unreadable. Source: David Zambon
For the transport of water or fuel, the Serie 546 could be equipped with two removable 2,000 liters tanks loaded on the cargo bay. These tanks did not require any modification to be fitted to the vehicle and were easy to remove, allowing the transport version to be even more versatile.
A Standard Lancia 3Ro NMSP, probably at the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione of Rome, loaded with a 2,000 liters tank. Source: italie1935-45.com
An example was converted into a mobile command office and donated to German Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, commander of the Deutsches Afrikakorps or DAK (English: German Africa Corps) in 1941. Unfortunately, not much is known about this variant. However, the Desert Fox did not appreciate its characteristics and, after a short use of the Lancia, changed vehicles and used an AEC ‘Dorchester’ 4×4 Armored Command Vehicle captured from the British forces.
The Lancia 3Ro NM mobile command office in a depot, probably the Officine Viberti one in Turin. It had Pirelli Tipo ‘Sigillo Verde’ tires. Source: instagram.com @Forza Italiana
Some Lancia 3Ros were modified by the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in Sestri Ponente near Genoa as ammunition carriers. These vehicles received box-shaped metal ammunition racks. Two different versions were created. The prototype had a single box of large dimensions, for a total of 210 90 mm rounds placed on the rear part of the cargo bay, permitting 8 gun crewmembers to take a seat on the front section. It was presented in March 1941, but the series models were slightly modified. The series variant had eight separate boxes with a total of 216 rounds. Between the boxes, placed on the sides of the cargo bay, a small corridor remained. There, a total of eight seats for soldiers were positioned.
These ammunition carriers were created to transport rounds for the Italian 90 mm Autocannoni (English: 90 mm Truck-mounted artillery) groups that were used in North Africa. A total of 64 Lancia 3Ro ammunition carriers were ordered by the Regio Esercito. It is not known if all were delivered.
One of the ammunition carrier variants that could transport 210 rounds for the 90 mm Cannone da 90/53 Modello 1939 anti-aircraft gun. Source: fondazioneansaldo.com
Gasoline Version
During the war, a gasoline version of the engine was developed. This version was renamed Lancia Tipo 102B (B for Benzina – Gasoline). This engine was modified to work with cheaper and more available gasoline and delivered 91 hp. The majority of the 52 Lancia 3Ro produced for the Germans between 1944 and early 1945 were equipped with petrol engines. The Lancia Esarò (factory code Serie 627) medium truck, a ‘light’ version of the Lancia 3Ro developed in 1941, received an identical engine but with lower horsepower, the Tipo 102B, delivering 80 hp, coupled to the same transmission as the Lancia 3Ro. In 1946, 12 unfinished Lancia Esaròs received the Lancia Tipo 102 diesel, but giving out only 81 hp. In total, 398 Lancia 3Ros with petrol engines were produced during the war.
The lighter Lancia Esarò. Source: wikipedia.com
Trailers
The Lancia 3Ro, in both military and civilian versions, could also tow two-axle trailers of the Rimorchi Unificati (English: Unified Trailers) type. These were produced under the same rules as the Autocarri Unificati. The Rimorchio Unificato Medio (English: Medium Unified Trailer) had a length of 4.585 m, a width of 2.15 m, a height of 1.75 m, an unloaded weight of 2.1 tonnes and a payload capacity of 5.4 tonnes for a total weight permitted by law of 7.5 tonnes. The Rimorchio Unificato Pesante (English: Heavy Unified Trailer) had a length of 6.157 m, a width of 2.295 m, and a height of 1.920 m. Its unloaded weight was 3.3 tonnes and had a payload capacity of 10.7 tonnes, for a total weight of 14 tonnes.
These trailers had twin wheels, a compressed air braking system connected to the cabin by flexible cables, a spare wheel, openable sides and, curiously, the triangular trailer connector could be mounted on the front or on the rear side in order to tow the trailer from both sides. These Rimorchi Unificati were produced by the ubiquitous Officine Viberti, Società Italiana Ernesto Breda per Costruzioni Meccaniche (English: Italian Company Ernesto Breda for Mechanical Constructions) or more simply Breda, Officine Meccaniche Umberto Piacenza (English: Umberto Piacenza Mechanical Workshops) of Cremona, Carrozzeria Orlandi of Modena, Carrozzeria Strafurtini, Carrozzeria Bartoletti of Forlì, and Sauro.
Before the war, the maximum weight of the Lancia 3Ro truck and trailer fully loaded was not to exceed 22 tonnes, 12 tonnes of the truck, and 10 tonnes of the trailer. After the war, the maximum came to 24 tonnes, 12 tonnes each.
During the war, Officine Viberti and Carrozzeria Bartoletti developed two different variants of Rimorchi a Ralla Unificati Grandi per Trasporto Carro M13 (English: Large Slewing Bearing Unified Trailers for M13 Tank Transport), more simply known as the Rimorchi Unificati da 15T (English: 15-tonne payload Unified Trailers) developed for tank transport.
Carrozzeria Strafurtini and Officine Viberti also developed a particular type of trailer that was discarded by the Italian Royal Army after long tests due to difficulties in production. This delayed the start of production of the Rimorchi Unificati da 15T, for which the Viberti ones won the contract. In fact, the Viberti trailer was accepted in service only on 24th March 1942.
The Viberti trailers had a payload of 15 tonnes and were designed specifically to be towed by heavy trucks for the transport of medium tanks and self-propelled guns. These two-axle trailers had a 5.7 m length, 2.4 m width, height of 2.02 m, and an unloaded weight of 3.75 tonnes, with a maximum total weight of 18.75 tonnes.
Lancia 3Ro Serie 464 of the first series with an Esperia short cab and Orlandi medium unified trailer. It was used by Trasporti Vanzetta de Santis transport company of Bolzano. Source: italie1935-45.comA civilian-origin Lancia 3Ro Serie 464 with Viberti‘s short cab and metal sheet cargo bay towing a Rimorchio Unificato Viberti da 15T with a Carro Armato M13/40 loaded on. The crew of the tank is resting on the cargo bay. Under the radiator grille, the electric ignition is visible. Unfortunately, the unit’s name is not readable. North Africa, date unknown, but probably 1941. The tank was of the VIII Battaglione Carri M13/40 of the 132° Reggimento Fanteria Carrista assigned to the 132ª Divisione Corazzata ‘Ariete’. Source: David Zambon
It could carry any tank of the ‘M’ series (M13/40, M14/41 or M15/42) and any self-propelled gun on their chassis (Semovente M40, M41 or M42 da 75/18) for a total weight of loaded truck and loaded trailer of almost 30 tonnes. Even if not fully loaded, the Lancia 3Ro could tow even 2 or three trailers at the same time. In fact, it was possible to correct the turning radius of the trailers to allow several trailers to be towed together by a single truck.
The Lancia 3Ro was probably also capable of towing the Rimorchio Porta Carri Armati P40 (English: P40 Tank Trailer), with a length of 13.6 m, a width of 2.76 m, a height of 0.5 m, an unloaded weight of 10.26 tonnes and a payload capacity of 30 tonnes. The Italian Regia Aeronautica (English: Royal Air Force) and Italian Regia Marina (English: Royal Navy) also used some Lancia 3Ro to tow some airplane trailers or to transports bombs or torpedoes to the airfield.
A Lancia 3Ro with short cab and metal sheet cargo bay produced by Officine Viberti of Turin towing a Reggiane Re. 2000 fighter aircraft. The total weight of the unloaded aircraft was 2.08 tonnes. Source: Archivio Govi
Service
Brief Operational Service
The Lancia 3Ro, in civilian and military variants, had great off-road capabilities. In North Africa, due to these characteristics, it earned the nickname ‘Re del Deserto’ (English: King of the Desert).
An example of the great off-road performance of the Lancia 3Ro heavy duty truck. This unloaded Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 is climbing a high-angle hillside while towing a Rimorchio Unificato Viberti da 15T. Only a few truck models during the whole duration of World War Two had similar off-road characteristics. Photo taken somewhere near Sollum, June 1942. Source: David Zambon
The Lancias were assigned mainly to the autoreparti pesanti (English: heavy vehicles units) assigned to logistic units and usually transported ammunition, food, and other supplies from ports (for North Africa) or railway stations (for the Russian and Balkan fronts) to the front line, which could be several hundred kilometers away.
The 34° Autoreparto Pesante (English: 34th Heavy Vehicles Unit), assigned to the 2° Autoraggruppamento (English: 2nd Motorized Group) deployed in the Soviet Union, had the task of connecting the battlefront with the rear line. When it arrived from Italy, it had a total of 3,160 trucks and, in a few months, from 1st July 1942 to 31st December 1942, it lost 883 trucks, 28% of the total, to various causes.
A Lancia 3Ro and a FIAT-SPA 38R light lorry advancing in the African Desert near Sidi el Barrani in 1940. Source: Archivio Centrale dello Stato
Each Italian division had some heavy-duty trucks to tow the artillery pieces or the tanks of the division. The exact number of heavy-duty trucks changed for each division type. An armored division had a theoretical number of 246 heavy-duty trucks, which theoretically increased to 258 in June 1942. In 1942, an Italian motorized division had in service a theoretical number of 861 trucks (light, medium, and heavy), prime movers, and staff cars. The 101ª Divisione Motorizzata ‘Trieste’ (English: 101st Motorized Division) had 61 heavy duty trucks of all variants during the same year. An infantry division in North Africa had a theoretical organic strength of 127 heavy trucks, 28 SPA Dovunque medium trucks, and 72 FIAT-SPA TL37 light prime movers.
A Lancia 3Ro Series 464 of civilian origin helped to cross a muddy road on the Eastern Front by a captured Soviet agricultural tractor. 1942. Source: Archivio Centrale dello StatoLancia 3Ro of a convoy marching towards the front, 25 kilometers from Stalino (now Donetsk) in Ukraine in spring 1942. In the foreground are some Soviet civilians.
During the Second World War, many Lancia 3Ros were abandoned during the catastrophic Axis retreats in the Soviet Union and North Africa. Sometimes, these were fully operative trucks abandoned for lack of fuel or other parts. The Allied troops, particularly the British, reused them due to their robustness, power, and load capacity. There were trucks captured and reused by the Soviets in the Soviet Union as well.
Lancia 3Ro in the hands of the British 7th Armoured Division in the North African desert. The new proprietors renamed it ‘Tiny Tim’. Source: o5m6.de
On the Russian front, the Lancia 3Ro was mainly used for the transport of materials of the Alpine divisions of the Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia (English: Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia) that was then renamed ARMata Italiana in Russia or ARMIR (English: Italian Army in Russia). In this campaign, it proved to be a reliable vehicle. Even during the harsh Russian winters, the engine was reliable and performed well in very low temperatures that did not allow other Italian and German vehicles to move.
Some Italian veterans claim that the Soviet soldiers usually destroyed all the logistical vehicles that they captured from the Axis troops during the Don Offensive and the subsequent retreat from Russia, ramming over them or shooting them with tanks. Eventually, however, they began to appreciate the qualities of some vehicles, putting the Lancia 3Ro and FIAT 626 that they were able to capture back into service, while destroying the Opel Blitz and FIAT 634N, which they considered performed less well.
A Lancia 3Ro plated ‘Regio Esercito 82260’ of the Gruppo Battaglioni Camicie Nere ‘Leonessa’ of the 5ª Divisione di Fanteria ‘Cosseria’ on the Eastern Front. In front, two Italian and two German officers. 1942. Source: Come il DIamante
In North Africa, the Lancia was one of the most common heavy duty trucks of the Italian Royal Army, used for all tasks.
Due to the delay in the delivery of tank trailers, they were often used to tow tanks that were damaged or had mechanical failures. This task put strain on the trucks due to the sheer size of the tanks.
German, Partisan, and Repubblica Sociale Italiana Service
After 8th September 1943 and the armistice with the Allies, Lancia Veicoli Industriali stopped production until Germans entered the Bolzano and Turin plants, transforming them into ‘War Auxiliary Factories’. The production was quickly resumed and the Lancia 3Ros were built for the Germans and kept the same bodywork until order 7967/8153. This order, dated 5th April 1944, provided for the delivery of 100 trucks with the Einheits (English: Unity) cabs.
Lancia 3Ro with Einheits cab. It was probably powered by a Lancia Tipo 102B petrol engine. Source: italie1935-45.com
This cab, designed by the Germans, was made of hardboard planks on a parallelepiped wooden frame. It was very easy to mass produce, cheap, and adaptable to many Italian trucks, such as the FIAT 626, the SPA TM40, and the Lancia 3Ro.
Standard Lancia 3Ro heavy duty truck and a FIAT 666NM in German Service, probably in Eastern Europe. Source: pinterest.com
According to German sources, the German Army Luftwaffe, Wehrmacht, and Kriegsmarine branches, but also the Todt Organization and Polizei units put back into service a total of 772 Lancia 3Ro between January 1944 and February 1945. These numbers are far more than the production declared by Lancia in the same period, 52 were produced between 1944 and 1945.
Lancia 3Ro P used by a Luftwaffe unit after the Italian Armistice. Somewhere on the Eastern Front, 1944. Source: italie1935-45.com
It can be assumed that the German sources were in error, and 772 did not represent the vehicles that were newly delivered by Lancia Veicoli Industriali, but trucks that had previously belonged to the Italian Regio Esercito or private companies and were requisitioned or captured by the Germans. All Lancia 3Ros were assigned to units under the command of the Oberkommando Sud-Est, commanding the Balkans, and Oberkommando Sud-Ouest, commanding Italy.
A Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 captured from the Germans and reused by the Partisans in April 1945 to liberate the city of Turin. A 7.7 mm Breda-SAFAT medium machine gun was placed on the cab’s roof. The car near the truck was a FIAT 1100 armed with a Breda Modello 1930 light machine gun. Some Turin citizens that have risen against the Nazi-Fascist forces in the city are also present. Source: Archivio della Città di TorinoLancia 3Ro previously in service with the German Kriegsmarine (shown on the license plate WM -7881), probably during the partisan parade after the Great Partisan Uprising of 25th to 28th April 1945 in Piazza del Duomo in Milan. It has the name of the Partisan brigade that captured it, the Brigata ‘Remo Servadei’, created from a battalion of the 81ª Brigata Garibaldi volante ‘Silvio Loss’. One of the Partisans sitting on the roof, on the left, is armed with a Villar Perosa light machine gun, a relic of the First World War. Source: affariitaliani.it
During the German occupation, 10 gas-powered Lancia 3Ro GT (GT for Gassificatore Tedesco – German Gasifier), factory code Serie 564 GT, were also produced. These trucks were like the ones produced with the Lancia Tipo 102G engine, but were instead equipped with a German-built gasifier and the Einheits cab.
Some were retained by Lancia Veicoli Industriali, which used them to connect its plants of Turin, Bolzano, Cismon del Grappa, and Padova. The drivers transported men, materials, and information to supply the various Italian Partisan units from Piemonte to Trentino Alto Adige regions and vice versa.
One of the Lancia 3Ro GT used by Lancia Veicoli Industriali, used to transport materials from its plants. It had an Einheits cab. On the side, the writing ‘LANCIA & C. TORINO’ and the number 26. Source: Camion Lancia
Some units of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana or RSI (English: Italian Social Republic), the Italian Fascist Republic created in late September 1943, and some Partisan brigades also used the Lancia 3Ro during the bloody civil war that broke out in northern Italy between 1943 and 1945. The Repubblica Sociale Italiana had its regular army, called Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano or ENR (English: National Republican Army), and its military police, the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana or GNR (English: National Republican Guard).
In Turin, in April 1944, not only the workers but the managers of the Turin plants made a deal with the Partisans to supply the fighters with lubricants, fuel, spare parts, financial assistance and, in some cases, also some entire vehicles. The numbers of vehicles delivered are not known. There were no new Lancia 3Ros supplied because they were being produced in Bolzano, but spare parts for such vehicles may have been delivered to the Partisans from the Turin plant.
A Lancia 3Ro of the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ exits the Caserma Luigi Riva in Via Cernaia, Turin. On board are the coffins of some of the militiamen who died in the previous days, during a firefight with the Partisans. Source: spazioinwind.libero.it
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ (English: Armored Group), one of the better-equipped units of the RSI, had a total of 60 Lancia 3Ros in its ranks during its operational life. All were produced before the Armistice. Some other units were equipped with Lancia 3Ros, such as the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ (English: 1st Black Brigade) of Turin, the 36ª Brigata Nera ‘Natale Piacentini’ (English: 36th Black Brigade) of Lucca, and the Comando Provinciale GNR (English: Provincial Command of GNR) of Piacenza. The vehicles of these units were also produced before the Armistice.
Armed and Armored Versions
Autocannone da 100/17 su Lancia 3Ro
The Lancia 3Ro heavy duty truck was also extensively used for truck-mounted artillery vehicles, such as the Autocannone da 100/17 su Lancia 3Ro (English: 100 mm L.17 truck-mounted artillery on Lancia 3Ro chassis). This was a standard Lancia truck modified by the workshops of the 12° Autoraggruppamento Africa Settentrionale (English: 12th North African Motorized Grouping). The cab was modified, removing the roof and windshield and adding a support in the center of the cargo bay, on which a Obice da 100/17 Modello 1914 gun was mounted. It was also equipped with two 50-round racks behind the cab and optionally a 8 mm Breda machine gun for anti-aircraft defense. In total, only 16 were converted. The first four were assigned to the 14ª Batteria Autonoma (English: 14th Autonomous Battery) that supported the 132ª Divisione corazzata ‘Ariete’ (English: 132nd Armored Division), but they were destroyed by friendly fire on 1st December 1941.
An Autocannone da 100/17 su Lancia 3Ro in firing position in the Libyan desert. Source: o5m6.de
The last 12 produced, assigned to another three batteries, were assigned to the Raggruppamento Celere Africa Settentrionale (English: North Africa Fast Regroupment) in early 1942. In January 1943, the surviving vehicles were assigned to the 136ª Divisione Corazzata ‘Giovani Fascisti’ (English: 136th Armored Division) until their total destruction.
Autocannoni da 47/32 su Lancia 3Ro and Lancia 3Ro armed with Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935
A Lancia 3Ro of the 4ª Divisione fanteria ‘Livorno’ armed with a 20 mm Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935. On the truck’s right, a FIAT 634N is armed with a machine gun and, in the background, are another two Lancia 3Ros, one armed with a machine gun. Source: Archivio Centrale dello Stato
Another two guns mounted in North Africa on the Lancia 3Ros were the Cannone da 47/32 Modello 1935 support gun and the Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 anti-aircraft gun. Usually, the Lancias were left unmodified and these guns were loaded in their cargo bays thanks to the 11 m² area, which could accommodate the gun, the gun crew and some ammunition. The Autocannoni da 47/32 su Lancia 3Ro used by the IV° Battaglione Controcarro Autocarrato ‘Granatieri di Sardegna’ (English: 4th Motorized Anti-Tank Battalion) were modified, removing the cargo bay’s sides and mounting the guns on a 360° traverse support.
An Autocannone da 47/32 su Lancia 3Ro in North Africa. The cannon, seven soldiers, and some wooden crates are loaded into the huge cargo bay. Source: Istituto Luce
Autocannone da 90/53 Lancia 3Ro
The only officially produced autocannoni on Lancia 3Ro chassis were the ones armed with the powerful 90 mm Cannone da 90/53 Modello 1939. They were modified by the Ansaldo-Fossati Plant in Genoa to mount the powerful 90 mm anti-aircraft gun.
These autocannoni were developed for anti-aircraft and anti-tank purposes and 120 were converted, 30 on the Lancia 3Ro chassis and 90 on the Breda 52 chassis.
A Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 with ‘Regio Esercito 112939’ registration plate ready to be converted in an Autocannone da 90/53, probably outside the Ansaldo-Fossati plant. Source: army1914-1945.pl
These vehicles were assigned to 12 Groups with 2 batteries each, used in North Africa and Southern Italy. These vehicles had some problems caused by the heaviness of the gun and the recoil stress. In order to deal with these, the chassis was reinforced and manual jacks were adopted to lift the vehicle off the ground.
Autocannone da 90/53 Lancia 3Ro in North Africa in 1942. Source: Gli Autoveicoli Tattici E Logistici dell’Esercito Italiano fino al 1943 Tomo II
The increase in weight of the vehicle decreased the already moderate speed of these heavy trucks and the manual jacks forced the crew to exert a high physical effort and increased the times to get ready to fire and to leave the fire position, especially in dangerous situations.
GNR Armored Vehicles
The armored variants were improvised vehicles. All of the known ones were produced in workshops by Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana units.
The most famous one was the Lancia 3Ro Blindato of the 36ª Brigata Nera ‘Natale Piacentini’, modified by Arsenale di Piacenza (English: Arsenal of Piacenza). This was an armored truck equipped with a Cannone-Mitragliera Scotti-Isotta-Fraschini da 20/70 Modello 1939 on a 360° rotating turret, an 8 mm Breda Modello 1937 medium machine gun in a spherical support in the cab and two 8 mm Breda Modello 1938 medium machine guns in spherical supports on the sides.
The Lancia 3Ro Blindato of the 36ª Brigata Nera ‘Natale Piacentini’. Source: pinterest.com
It was only used in anti-partisan operations, first in Piacenza and then in Turin’s countryside. This armored truck became more known after the events of 25th April 1945, when there was a great Partisan insurrection. All the Italian Partisans of Northern Italy entered the main cities, such as Milan, Turin, and Genoa, occupying the main buildings and principal infrastructure, preventing German sabotage and waiting for the Allied arrival. The Lancia 3Ro Blindato, together with other vehicles full of Fascist militias, tried to reach Valtellina to surrender to Allied forces.
On 26th April, the 36ª Brigata Nera joined a convoy of Republican forces (178 trucks, 4,636 soldiers, and 346 female auxiliaries) that was moving to Como. From Como, the brigade and the Lancia 3Ro Blindato moved to Menaggio to escort Benito Mussolini to Merano. During the night of 26th to 27th April, a column of German Luftwaffe FlaK units arrived in Menaggio, which, along with the Italian vehicles, resumed the march to Merano, with the Lancia at the head of the column.
Inside of the armored behemoth, together with the crew, were transported Benito Mussolini, his lover Clara Petacci, and some military and political Fascist leaders.
On the same day, the column was stopped on the highway that runs along Lake Como at a checkpoint of the 52ª Brigata Garibaldi ‘Luigi Clerici’ (English: 52nd Partisan Brigade). The partisans only allowed the German trucks and FlaK cannons to continue, so Mussolini, dressed as a German soldier, got into a German Opel Blitz, which turned onto the road to Merano. The armored truck was then involved in a firefight between the Fascist and Partisan forces. During the skirmish, it was damaged and abandoned.
Other armored vehicles on the Lancia chassis are less known and only few details are known. The first one was used by the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in Turin. It was armed with a Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 on the cargo bay and had armored plates on the sides. The second one was used by the 630ª Compagnia Ordine Pubblico (English: 630th Public Order Company) of Piacenza. The only thing that is known about this vehicle is that it was armored. Nothing is known about the service or fate of these two vehicles.
Post-War Lancia 3Ros
In late 1945, the Bolzano plant and probably also the Turin one resumed the production of the Lancia 3Ro, both for the civilian market and for the army.
A Lancia 3Ro NT produced starting from an incomplete military model in 1945. It had Pirelli Tipo ‘Raiflex’ tires and civilian Officine Viberti short cab, but with a military engine compartment and a civilian cargo bay with metal sheets. The side windshields were substituted with waterproof tarpaulins. Source: italie1935-45.com
Initially, very different models grouped under the factory code Serie 564 NT and commercial name Lancia 3Ro NT. They first came off the assembly line in early 1946. These vehicles were hybrids between Serie 464 and old German production Serie 564. This was because, after the war, the warehouses of Bolzano contained dozens of incomplete trucks or parts for the military versions. In order to not waste time, they restarted production of trucks with these parts diverted for the production of civilian versions. These odd vehicles had military chassis, gasoline engines replacing the diesels, and elongated axle shafts, since the civilian version was wider than the military version (2.5 m instead of 2.35 m). In these vehicles, even for the civilian trucks, only the windshield was mounted. The side and rear windows were rarely mounted, substituted by waterproof tarpaulins or transparent materials. This was done because little glass produced at the time was delivered with priority to the construction companies that were rebuilding buildings in Italian cities.
Lancia 3Ro NT just rolled off the production line in July 1945. It has a Officine Viberti long cab without lateral windows and the second type radiator grille. The rear tank was produced by Viberti-SAIV for non-flammable liquids. The coating is opaque because, at that time, the only coatings available were military ones. Source: Camion Lancia
In 1946, a new model came out, the Lancia 3Ro C (C for Conformità – Conformity), factory code Serie 564C. It had an electric starter, a new servo-braking system of more modern conception and a ‘full floating’ rear axle instead of the load-bearing axle shafts. It was followed after a year by the Lancia 3Ro C2 (factory code Serie 564C/2) with reinforced tires.
Lancia 3Ro C produced in 1948, coachwork by Carrozzeria Orlandi of Modena and used by the private transport company Borgondo Autotrasporti of Vercelli. Source: italie1935-45.com
The Lancia 3RO C2 with Officine Viberti’s long cab and with new tires. The cargo bay was modified for sheep transport. It had only one tire on the rear axle due to the light payload. Behind it is a medium unified trailer also modified for sheep transport and with single tires. The truck had two headlights under the bumper, probably a particular request of the customer. Sources: Camion Lancia and italie1935-45.com
In the table below are the total production numbers of Lancia 3Ro trucks in all variants. These numbers come from the Lancia Archives, in which it was not specified which company bodyworked the vehicle. In the Serie 564, the Lancia 3Ro converted into ammunition carriers and Autocannoni are also counted.
Lancia 3Ro
Model
Lancia 3Ro Serie 464
Lancia 3Ro Serie 564
Lancia 3Ro MB
Lancia 3Ro GT Serie 564 GT
Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 NT
Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 C
Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 C/2
Production Years
1937 – 1945
1938 – 1948
1943 – 1944
1943 – 1944
1945 – 1946
1946 -1947
1947 – 1948
Number of vehicles produced
1,307
9,491
398
10
1,302
1,884 in total
Engine
Lancia Tipo 102, 5-cylinder, diesel, 93 hp
Lancia Tipo 102, 5-cylinder, diesel, 93 hp
Lancia Tipo 102B, 5-cylinder, petrol, 91 hp
German-built Gasifier
Lancia Tipo 102, 5-cylinder, diesel, 93 hp
Lancia Tipo 102, 5-cylinder, diesel, 93 hp
Maximum speed
45 km/h
45 km/h
44.8 km/h
40 km/h
45 km/h
45 km/h
Lenght
7.40 m
7.25 m
6.50 m
6.50 m
7.255 m
7.255 m
7.52 m
Empty weight
5,500 kg
5,545 kg
5,300 kg
5,300 kg
5,450 kg
5,450 kg
Payload capacity
6,500 kg
7,365 kg
6,700 kg
6,700 kg
6,600 kg
6,600 kg
Max trailer weight
10,000 kg
over 10,000 kg
10,000 kg
10,000 kg
12,000 kg
12,000 kg
The Lancia 3Ro C versions remained in production until 1948, bodied mainly by Officine Viberti along with Orlandi and Caproni. The military versions were only bodied by Officine Viberti. In mid-1947, the Lancia Esatau, factory code Serie 846, came into production. This new powerful vehicle developed on the basis of the Lancia 3Ro entered production to replace it. It was equipped with a 122 hp Lancia engine and had a top speed of 58 km/h.
The Lancia Esatau with long cab and iron cargo bay produced by Officine Viberti in 1949. Source: Ufficio Storico FIAT
This vehicle did not receive the attention that was hoped for due to poor power, range, and overall costs.
In Italy, after the war, the Azienda Recupero Alienazione Residuati or ARAR (English: Company of Recovery and Alienation Survey) was entrusted with the task of reconditioning and selling military vehicles confiscated from the enemy or abandoned by the Allied armies on Italian territory after the Second World War. This led many truckers at the time to prefer to buy cheaper second-hand military trucks (of any nationality) at lower prices than a new expensive vehicle.
Lancia 3Ro Serie 464 in van configuration produced for the Gondrand Traslochi moving company of Rome. Source: Camion Lancia
Some of the reconditioned vehicles sold by the Azienda Recupero Alienazione Residuati were Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 which were sold to companies, the Italian Police Corps, and private customers that used them, in some cases, until the early 1970s.
Lancia 3Ro used by private individuals in the 1950s. It had a Officine Viberti-style civil long cab produced probably by another workshop. The engine compartment was of the first type, so it was probably converted from a Serie 564 into a civil truck by the ARAR. Source: Italian Trucks
The father of the author of the article, who became a mechanic specializing in repairing truck brakes in 1975, recounted he had the opportunity to repair Lancia 3Ros in his early years of work in the city of Turin. Obviously, the 3Ro was totally obsolete after more than 30 years of service, but it was still adequate for carrying out secondary jobs, such as working as a snow plow vehicle or service truck for the Municipality of Turin, which used it to transport food in case of natural disasters, to transport the gigantic Christmas tree that was put in the center of the main square of Turin every year, and to transport the masons of the municipality to construction sites.
Surprisingly, when the Esatau was presented, many truckers preferred the old Lancia 3Ro to the Esatau, and Lancia was forced to produce them for another year and a half, until 1948. The early Esatau models were then upgraded with more powerful engines and other small modifications that lowered the overall costs. The first variant of Lancia Esatau and its military version, called Lancia 6Ro, were quickly replaced by other heavy-duty truck models with more powerful engines and overall better characteristics.
Lancia 6Ro with short cab and wooden plank cargo bay produced by Officine Viberti after the war. Source: pinterest.com
The last 3P and 3PL buses based on the Lancia 3Ro came off the assembly line of the Lancia plant in Bolzano in 1950. That year, the Lancia 3Ro definitively disappeared from the sales catalog of Lancia Veicoli Industriali. The Lancia 3Ro remained in service with the new Esercito Italiano (English: Italian Army) until 1964 as a medium truck, maintaining a high mobility and load capacity, outclassing even modern US-built vehicles produced in the 1950s.
Lancia 3Ro towing Cannoni da 90/53 Modello 1939 and carrying troops in the Via dei Fori Imperiali during a parade in Rome after the war. Source: italie1935-45.com
Lancia 3Ro compared to other Lancia Veicoli Industriali vehicles produced post-war
Model
Lancia 3Ro Serie 464 C and C/2
Lancia 3Ro Serie 564
Lancia Esatau Serie 864
Lancia 6Ro Serie 864 M
Lancia Esatau Serie 864 A
Production Years
1946 – 1948
1938 – 1948
1947 – 1953
1949 – 1958
1955 – 1957
Number of vehicles produced
1,884
9,491
3,894 (all variants)
1,527
1,252
Engine
Lancia Tipo 102, 5-cylinder, diesel, 93 hp
Lancia Tipo 102, 5-cylinder, diesel, 93 hp
Lancia Tipo 864, 6-cylinder, diesel, 122 hp
Lancia Tipo 864, 6-cylinder, diesel, 122 hp
Lancia Tipo 864, 6-cylinder, diesel, 132 hp
Maximum speed
45 km/h
45 km/h
53 km/h
53.8 km/h
51.9 – 58.9 km/h
Lenght
7.255 – 7.52 m
7.25 m
8.3 m
7.76 m
7.35 m
Empty weight
5,450 kg
5,545 kg
6,580 kg
6,300 kg
7,400 kg
Payload capacity
6,550 kg
7,365 kg
7,420 kg
5,700 kg
6,600 kg
Max trailer weight
12,000 kg
over 10,000 kg
14,000 kg
14,000 kg
18,000 kg
Conclusion
The Lancia 3Ro was one of the best heavy-duty trucks produced in the Kingdom of Italy between the late 1930s and late 1940s. Although there were vehicles with superior features, the Lancia was the perfect combination of power, cargo capacity, and, most importantly, cost. It was one of the trucks preferred by Italian truckers for its ease of driving and low fuel consumption. It continued to be produced after the war and saw service for many years after.
With its military variants, it proved to be almost unstoppable, being used on all fronts with very few complaints from the military truck drivers, who used it for every task. Even opposing armies appreciated it, and when they managed to capture one in good condition, they immediately put it back into service with a new coat of arms.
Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 in green camouflage.
Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 in standard desert camouflage.Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 in service with the Italian Army in the Balkans.Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 in North African desert, 1940.Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 in Lybia in 1941.Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 in North Africa in 1942.Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 loaded.Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 in German Service.Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 with Einheits cab in German service.Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 with Einheits cab in three tone camouflage.Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 converted in mobile workshop.Autocannone da 90/53 su Lancia 3Ro in firing position.
Lancia 3Ro Blindato.
Lancia 3Ro Serie 564 specifications
Dimensions (L-W-H)
7.25 x 2.35 x 3 m
Weight, empty
5.61 tonnes
Payload capability
6.39 tonnes
Crew
3 in the cab
Propulsion
Engine: Lancia Tipo 102 diesel, 5-cylinder, 6,875 cm³, 93 hp at 1,860 rpm with 135 liter fuel tank
Autocannone da 20/65 su Dodge WC-51 of the III° Reparto Celere of Milan in November 1947. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Italian Republic (1945-Early 1950s)
Truck-Mounted Artillery – Unknown Number Modified
The Autocannone da 20/65 su Dodge WC-51 was the last truck-mounted self-propelled gun modified by the Italians after the Second World War. A few were produced and used by the Corpo degli Agenti di Pubblica Sicurezza (English: Corps of Public Safety Officers), which was renamed Polizia di Stato (English: State Police) after 1947. It was used as a public order vehicle in urban operations.
It is perhaps one of the least famous Italian-produced autocannoni, probably in large part because it entered service after the war and its service is poorly documented. In Italian, ‘Autocannone da 20/65 su Dodge WC-51’ means Truck-mounted 20 mm L.65 on Dodge WC-51 [chassis].
An Autocannone da 20/65 su Dodge WC-51 of the I° Reparto Celere parked alongside another Dodge in a square during a political rally, Rome, late-1940s. Source: reddit.com
Context
The Corpo degli Agenti di Pubblica Sicurezza (English: Public Safety Agents Corps) was the main Italian police corps, alongside the Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali (English: Royal Carabinieri Corps), between 1851 and December 1922. When Benito Mussolini came to power and disbanded the corps (most police officers joined the Carabinieri), substituting them with Fascist militias.
There were a total of 16 Fascist militias, such as the Milizia Confinaria (English: Border Militia) with border police duties, Milizia Artiglieria Contraerea (English: Anti-Aircraft Artillery Militia) with the task of defending Italian airspace, Milizia ferroviaria (English: Railway Militia) with the task of supervising railways, Milizia portuaria (English: Harbor Militia) tasked with the supervision of the ports and maritime domains, Milizia della Strada (English: Street Militia) in charge of traffic, etcetera.
Another important corps was the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana or PAI (English: Police of Italian Africa), which was in effect a military corps. It was created in 1936 and was under the direct command of the Italian Ministry of the Colonies.
On 10th June 1940, the Kingdom of Italy entered the Second World War alongside the Axis powers. After a series of defeats, on 25th July 1943, the Italian king, Vittorio Emanuele III, had Mussolini arrested, but maintained an alliance with Nazi Germany.
In August, the new Italian head of government, Marshal of Italy Pietro Badoglio, began negotiations for an armistice with the Allies. This was signed by his delegate on 3rd September 1943 and made public only on 8th September 1943 at 19:42 (Rome time zone).
The German reaction was immediate. The same day, they initiated Fall Achse (English: Operation Axis), which led to the complete occupation over a few days of the Italian territory not yet occupied by the Allies. This was accompanied by the killing of 20,000 Italian soldiers and the capture of over a million other Italian soldiers, as well as a war booty of almost 1,000 armored vehicles and tens of thousands of artillery pieces and other materiel.
The head of government, Pietro Badoglio, along with King Vittorio Emanuele III, their families, and some politicians and generals, reached the allied positions in Brindisi, southern Italy, during the early morning of 9th September. In early 1944, a new government was created in Salerno and was composed of a total of six anti-fascist political parties.
During this period, in the territories freed by the Allied forces, the Italian Government needed to govern and maintain public order. With the legislative decree n. 365 of 2nd November 1944, issued during the lieutenancy of Umberto II di Savoia (son of the king who, in the meantime, had retired to private life), the ‘Corpo delle Guardie di Pubblica Sicurezza’ was established again with the status of a military corps.
Two Willys MB used by a fast-intervention unit of the Milan police. The vehicles are painted in an Olive Drab camouflage scheme. The old US coat of arms are clearly visible, even though the Italians tried to remove them. The number 777 was the police number in Milan. Source: polizianellastoria.com
The Polizia dell’Africa Italiana was disbanded when Rome was liberated by US soldiers in early June 1944. Its police officers, guns, and vehicles were delivered to the Corpo delle Guardie di Pubblica Sicurezza in November, together with staff cars, trucks, and motorcycles of different origins. These were Italian civil and military ones, some captured from the Germans or vehicles donated by the Allied powers.
After the war, the inevitable judgment fell on the Kingdom of Italy. It had to abandon its colonies and cede territory to France and Yugoslavia. According to the clauses of the Treaty of Paris, the army could have a maximum of 185,000 soldiers, 200 tanks, and could not have long-range artillery pieces.
One of the first units of the Partisan Police. The vehicle is a FIAT 500 in poor condition. Bolzano, August 1945. Source: polizianellastoria.it
Because of the constant risk of a pro-Communist coup d’état, especially in the period of 1945 to 1950, the British and US authorities allowed Italy a significant margin to maneuver. In fact, the Corpo delle Guardie di Pubblica Sicurezza and the Copro del Carabinieri Reali were not affected by the organizational or equipment restrictions.
Furthermore, shortly after the end of the Second World War, Italy and Communist Yugoslavia clashed over the sovereignty of territories on the border between the two countries. The British and US leniency allowed the Italian Government to equip its public duty corps as a military corps with heavy armored cars, automatic cannons, mortars, and even light and medium tanks.
The fears of the Allies were not unfounded. The Italians were not confident in the initial temporary government. Many were in favor of the monarchy, some wanted to become a Soviet-backed nation, while others, after years of oppression from the Fascist government, no longer trusted the institutions.
After 5 years of war, 2 of which were on Italian territory, it was easy to find weapons and explosives on the black market. This allowed organized crime to be well equipped. Also, during demonstrations, protesters often took guns with them for self-defense, as Italian police, during the first years of the Italian Republic, clashed with demonstrators with violence, often shooting at them.
In southern Italy, banditry, for many a problem from the past, returned, especially in Sicily, where, in 5 years, 21 policemen and 12 other soldiers and Carabinieri lost their lives. Between 1948 and 1960, a total of 90 protesters and 6 policemen were also killed during strikes. In addition to these internal problems, the eastern border with Yugoslavia was threatened with attacks by independent units of Yugoslav criminals.
After the end of the war, members of the 16 Fascist militias, now dissolved, flocked to the new policed corps. They were joined by personnel from the former PAI, former Polizia Ausiliaria Partigiana (English: Partisan Auxiliary Police), the dissolved Polizia Repubblicana, and members of the Italian Co-Belligerent Army, all with a military education. Former members of Fascist units formed after the signing of the Armistice and particularly faithful to Mussolini and his ideologies, such as the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana (English: Republican National Guard), the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano (English: Republican National Army), and the Black Brigades were forbidden from joining the new police force.
In 1946, the secessionist movement in Trentino Alto Adige (a region in the northeast of Italy) wanted to join Austria. The social and political tension in the region was very high and clashes broke out, which resulted in several deaths and injuries. On 22nd August 1946, in Turin, former Partisans took up arms again and entrenched themselves outside the city and in some buildings, without shooting. In their opinion, the state was too forgiving of former soldiers and Fascist higher-ups who had committed war crimes.
Quickly, the revolt flared up throughout central and northern Italy and arrived in Rome, where clashes between police and Partisans resulted in gunfights with deaths and injuries. In October 1946, in the industrial cities of northern Italy, violent clashes broke out in the streets, with protesters demanding higher wages and better working conditions.
In 1945, the Polizia Stradale (English: Street Police) was formed to ensure compliance with traffic regulations and the Polizia Ferroviaria (English: Railway Police) to enforce public order across the rail network.
A parade of the Polizia Stradale equipped with Willys MBs and FIAT 1100s. Source: pinterest.com
In 1946 and 1947, the Reparti Celeri (English: Fast Departments) of the police were formed. There were the I° Reparto Celere (English: 1st Fast Department) in Rome, II° Reparto Celere (English: 2nd Fast Department) in Padova, and III° Reparto Celere (English: 3rd Fast Department) in Milan. In Italy, these units are, to this day, depending on the context, but often derogatorily, called ‘Celerini’.
These units had the task of intervening quickly where there was a need for public order, for help after natural disasters, or in case of a clash with a foreign army or organized guerrilla. For this reason, they were positioned at strategic points of the Italian peninsula. The one in Padova was near the border with Yugoslavia, the one in Milan was in the center of northern Italy and could intervene in a few hours throughout the north and north-west, and the one in Rome was used to intervene near Rome, but also as a defense unit in case of an attack or coup d’état in the capital of Italy.
During the following years, other Reparti Celeri were created in Turin, Bologna, Genoa, Florence, Naples, Reggio Calabria, Bari, Palermo, Catania, and Cagliari, in order to allow quick intervention across the Italian peninsula. Within the Mobile Departments, in 1949, the Reparto Speciale Paracadutisti della Polizia di Stato (English: Special Parachute Department of the State Police) was created and stationed in Cesena.
It was composed of volunteer police officers and former members of the dissolved 185ª Divisione paracadutisti ‘Folgore’ and 184ª Divisione paracadutisti ‘Nembo’ (English: 185th and 184th Parachute Divisions). The unit was created to quickly deal time with serious and unexpected disturbances of public order.
On 2nd June 1947, the Italians went to the polling stations to vote in a referendum on whether to remain a monarchy or become a republic. Although not with an overwhelming majority, the republic option won and the Kingdom of Italy became the Repubblica Italiana (English: Italian Republic). During the same period, the names of the police corps were changed. The Corpo delle Guardie di Pubblica Sicurezza became the Polizia di Stato (English: State Police) and the Corpo del Carabinieri Reali became the Arma dei Carabinieri (English: Arm of Carabinieri).
In 1948, the Reparti Mobili (English: Mobile Departments) of the police were created. These units were quite similar to the Reparti Celeri, with the only difference being that they were less well equipped.
There were a total of twenty Reparti Mobili stationed in the bigger cities of Italy and where the possibility of a revolution was larger, such as the I° Reparto Mobile in Turin and the XX° Reparto Mobile in Cesena. These units were rarely used by the Italian governments until the mid-to-late 1950s when the fear of coups had diminished and the army was finally becoming well equipped.
Willys MBs, Dodges, and GMC 3-axle trucks used by the I° Reparto Celere of Rome in 1948. The upper number on the windshield was the vehicle number, while the lower one was the emergency number in Rome. The vehicles also have an interesting lightning bolt painted on the windscreen. Source: polizianellastoria.it
Each Reparto Mobile consisted of a command and service company, an 81 mm mortar platoon, a transport platoon, and two mobile companies with a command platoon, a machine gun squad, and three mobile platoons with 3 rifle squads each. Finally, there was an armored company with a command squad, a motorcycle platoon, and two armored car platoons.
In total, each unit was composed of 17 officers, 57 non-commissioned officers, 406 policemen, 12 armored cars, and an unknown number of other vehicles. Some departments were then divided into nuclei (the equivalent of platoons) and sottonuclei (equivalent to squads) or detached companies, which were often deployed to other cities close to the headquarters in order to speed up interventions.
These units still exist in Italy, even if their employment is limited and their staff has drastically changed. By the late 1950s, the Polizia di Stato returned to being a simple police and public security corps. Today, there are 15 Reparti Mobili, with a total 4,633 police officers, that usually intervene with public order duties during student or worker strikes. Their usual equipment does not go further than a police IVECO Daily truck with protected windscreens and headlights.
Design
Truck, Cargo, 3⁄4-ton, 4×4, Weapons Carrier WC-51
The Truck, Cargo, 3⁄4-ton, 4×4, Weapons Carrier WC-51 was a light military utility truck developed by Dodge in late 1941 from previous ½-ton trucks. The acronym WC does not stand for ‘Weapons Carrier’, but was a general Dodge model code: ‘W’ for 1941, and ‘C’ for a half-ton payload rating. Even if this code was initially used for the ½-ton trucks from which the vehicle was derived, the code was kept for the more powerful WC-51 and WC-52.
Dodge WC-51 with trailer and antenna support. US Camp, 1943. Source: dodgewc51.over-blog.com
The WC-51 and WC-52 differed. The Dodge WC-52 had the powerful Braden MU-2 winch driven by the Power Take-Off (PTO) and a towing payload of 3,400 kg, mounted on the front bumper. To accommodate it, the WC-52 was built on a 20 cm longer chassis than previous models.
In total, 123,541 trucks were built without a winch as WC-51s and 59,114 with a front winch as WC-52s, a total of 182,655 weapon carriers, troop transports, or cargo vehicles. The total production run of these vehicles was 255,195 units when also considering ambulances, Gun Motor Carriages, and other variants.
During the Second World War, the Dodge WC-51 and WC-52 were provided under the Lend-Lease Act to other Allied powers. The Soviet Union received 24,902, 10,884 to Britain, 3,711 to China, 3,495 to the Free French forces, and about 1,200 to Brazil and other Latin American countries.
The WC-51 was a total redesign from the earlier 1⁄2-ton models, but it shared many components with these. The main differences were the jeep-shaped bodywork, a 1.64 m track width compared to 1.56 m of the 1⁄2-ton models, and a shorter 2.49 m wheelbase instead of the 2.95 meters of the earlier models. The tires were also changed. The previous 7.50 × 16” (19 x 60.5 cm) were substituted with the bigger 9 x 16” (22.8 x 60.5 cm), giving better off-road capabilities to the new 3⁄4-ton trucks.
The Dodge WC-51 had left-hand drive, with 2 seats in the open-topped cab without doors. The driver’s seat was on the left. The spare wheel was also placed on the left. The windshield could be lowered to the front, on the engine hood, allowing the vehicles equipped with guns to have a full 360° of traverse.
The cargo bay had two lateral benches where eight fully equipped soldiers could be seated. Alternatively, 800 kg of cargo could be loaded. An M24A1 gun mount was optionally mounted on the cargo bay to arm the vehicle with a 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm Browning machine gun or 57 mm M18 recoilless guns. After the Second World War, it was used during the Korean War or was donated to many allied United States nations.
Two Dodge WC-51 and a Willys of the 3° Reparto Celere of Milan, full of police officers waiting for action. Source: polizianellastoria.it via L’Unità
In Italy, after the war, the Azienda Recupero Alienazione Residuati or ARAR (English: Company of Recovery and Alienation Survey) society was entrusted with the task of reconditioning and selling military vehicles confiscated from the enemy or abandoned by the Allied armies on Italian territory by the Italian Government of National Unity after the Second World War.
The police had the possibility of buying hundreds of those vehicles after 1945, mainly Willys MB jeeps and Dodge ¾-ton trucks. Many other vehicles were also acquired, such as US GMC 353 and Dodge T-110 trucks, German Opel Blitz, British CMPs, and the ubiquitous FIAT and Lancia trucks. Some of these vehicles were also delivered to the Polizia di Stato by the Allied armies in 1945 when they left Italian territory, since it was costly to repatriate them.
FIAT 666NM and FIAT 626NM trucks lined up in Bolzaneto near Genoa, the headquarter of the IV° Reparto Mobile in 1950. most, if not all, of the vehicles were recovered by ARAR. Source: polizianellastoria.it
Between 1945 and the early 1950s, Willys MBs were the most used vehicles by the Italian police force. These were fast and always ready to transport a small police unit anywhere. In case of major law and order problems, the Dodge WC-51s and WC-52s, which could carry up to 10 police officers on board or some detainees, were also used.
A Willys and a Dodge WC-51 of a reparto celere quickly intervening during the late 1940s. Source: polizianellastoria.it
The Dodge ¾-ton trucks were nicknamed ‘Jipponi’ (English: Big Jeep) by the Italian units, since the bodywork was similar to that of the Willys Jeeps, even if they were light trucks.
The police units used the ¾-ton trucks produced by Dodge mainly as ready-to-use police cars, but also in other roles. Today, all police cars are equipped with radios to contact the police station at any time. In the 1940s and 1950s, radios were too large and heavy to be carried by all vehicles, and some Dodges were transformed into radio centers. Radio equipment was mounted on the loading bay, just behind the cabin, as were a radio transceiver station of Italian or American production and an antenna to stay in touch with the police station.
These vehicles were rarely used, mostly during demonstrations or natural disasters, in order to request reinforcements or make reports. Most of the WC-52 models were assigned to disaster relief units because of their powerful winches. Others were employed as armed trucks, mounting 8 mm Breda Modello 1937 or Modello 1938 machine guns on a pintle mount or 20 mm automatic cannons.
A Dodge WC-51 or -52 of the Italian police armed with a Breda Modello 1937. Source: flickr.com
Engine and Suspension
The vehicle was powered by a Chrysler T-214 L-head, 6-cylinder, in-line petrol 3,772 cm³ engine delivering a gross power of 92 hp and a net power of 76 hp at 3,200 rpm. The carburetor was a Zenith Model 1929.
Dodge WC-51 engine. Source: tankograd.com
It offered a maximum speed of 85 km/h. The 135-liter tank offered an on-road range of 440 km, with a fuel consumption of 1 liter every 2.25 km.
The manual gearbox had sliding gears, with 4 forward and one reverse gears. It had a single dry disc clutch with hydraulic drum brakes. The suspensions consisted of leaf springs on the front and rear axles. The front leaf spring suspensions were coupled to Monroe telescopic shock absorbers. The 6 Volt electric system was connected to the front and rear headlights, dashboard and horn.
Dodge WC-51 chassis. Source: tankograd.com
Main Armament
The autocannone’s main gun was the Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65, mainly the Modello 1939 version, but at least six vehicles in service in Padova were also equipped with the Modello 1935 version.
The Breda gun was a gas-operated automatic cannon chambered for the powerful 20 x 138 mm B cartridge, the same as used by the German FlaK 30 and FlaK 38 AA guns, the Swiss Solothurn S-18/1000 anti-tank rifle and the Finnish Lahti L-39.
Its theoretical rate of fire was 500 rounds per minute, but the practical one was about 220 rounds per minute due to the 12-round feed strips that were loaded manually.
It had a muzzle velocity of 830 m/s with anti-aircraft rounds and a bit faster for the armor-piercing rounds. Its maximum firing range was 5,500 m, while the practical range was 2,000 m in the anti-aircraft role and about 3,000 m against ground targets.
The Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 in transport configuration. Source: feldgrau.info
The Modello 35 mounting had a -10° depression and +80° elevation, while the Modello 1939 had a depression of -10° and an elevation of +90° thanks to its manual aim. The gun used 12-round feed strips loaded from the left side. This made the loading slower, because it was not equipped with large-capacity magazines like the 60-round drum magazine of the Oerlikon 20 mm autocannon or the 20-round box magazines of the German 2 cm FlaK guns. The loader had to manually load each strip.
The Modello 1939 was the fixed gun version produced during the Fascist regime, made mainly for the Milizia della Difesa Territoriale (English: Militia for Territorial Defense), the equivalent of the British Home Guard during the Second World War.
The Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1939 with its fixed mounting. Source: feldgrau.info
The 72 kg heavy automatic cannon was mounted on a particularly shaped trunnion that offered 360° traverse and simplified the use of the gun. The guns used by the III° Reparto Celere in Milan were probably taken from the Arsenale di Torino (English: Turin Arsenal), which had overhauled and returned to service hundreds of armored vehicles, artillery pieces, and machine guns after the war. The II° Reparto Celere in Padova probably took these from the MLI Battaglione Carristi Autieri (English: 1051st Tank Driver Regiment) in Padova, which overhauled hundreds of pieces of military equipment as well.
The Modello 1935 was the towed variant of the automatic cannon. It was lower than the Modello 1939 and equipped with a seat and aiming wheels. It was the most produced variant and was the most used by the Regio Esercito during the Second World War. It was also used on the cargo bay of medium trucks as an anti-aircraft portée, using chassis such as the FIAT 626NM and FIAT-SPA 38R. The latter was tested in 1938 the Autocannone da 20/65 su FIAT-SPA 38R that was never officially adopted by the Regio Esercito but was modified by the soldiers on the battlefields to defend themselves from enemy aircraft attacks.
One problem with the Italian autocannone was the removal of the water-proof tarpaulins that protected the cargo bay from rain. When not in use, the 20 mm Breda’s breech and barrel had to be covered by small waterproof tarpaulins.
The ammunition was transported in metal boxes placed in the cargo bay’s floor. It was common practice for crews to transport more ammunition within crates loaded in the cargo bay or wherever there was sufficient space. More ammunition was transported by supply vehicles and ammunition carriers, probably Utility Truck ¼ t 4×4 Willys MBs.
Ammunition
The gun fired the 20 x 138 mm B ‘Long Solothurn’ cartridges, the most common 20 mm round used on 20 mm guns of the Axis forces in Europe, such as the German FlaK 38, Finnish Lahti L-39 anti-tank rifle, and Italian automatic cannons.
It could fire various types of rounds, although it is not clear exactly which types of rounds were used by the Polizia di Stato. After the Second World War, lots of different stocks of ammunition were used by the Italian troops. Italian 20 mm shells produced before 1945, German-made 20 mm bullets captured or abandoned on Italian territory and returned to service with Italian units, or 20 mm ammunition produced in Italy after the war could all have been available.
Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 ammunition
Name
Type
Muzzle Velocity (m/s)
Projectile Mass (g)
Penetration at 500 meters against an RHA plate angled at 90° (mm)
The Autocannoni su Dodge had a crew of 4 or 5: commander, driver, gunner, and one or two loaders. The driver was on the left side of the vehicle. The vehicle’s commander, generally an officer, sat on the right side. The gunner and one or two loaders sat on the benches on the cargo bay’s sides. In some cases, these had foldable backrests.
The vehicles could also transport some police officers on the benches and employed to maintain public order and to protect the vehicle from strikers.
The crew members were all armed with pistols, but probably, in some cases, they could also transport carbines or submachine guns for self-defense, even if in photographic evidence, none of the crew members are armed with these types of guns.
Italian Police Dodges loaded with police officers for a parade. The Autocannone could transport a total of 6 soldiers in the cargo bay, even with the cannon mounted. Source: polizianellastoria.it
Operational Use
On 27th November 1947, the Minister of the Interior, Mario Scelba, removed the Prefect of Milan, Ettore Troilo, a former Partisan with clear Socialist tendencies. This act unleashed protests through the entire city and the government was forced to deploy the police departments, which at the time were not well seen by the population due to their violent actions during demonstrations, even peaceful ones.
Minister Scelba was a promoter of a hard-line approach against leftists. After initially opening police ranks to former Partisans, Scelba changed plans. He tried to identify all those who, in his opinion, were dangerous Communists. He forced leftist former Partisans and left-leaning police officers to resign through continuous harassment and non-stop transfers from one city to another.
An Autocannone da 20/65 su Dodge WC-51, plated ‘POLIZIA 7474’, and a Carro Armato M13/40 of the IIª Serie in front of the Milan Police Headquarters during the clashes of November 1947. The vehicle had the backrests and the windshield up and the automatic cannon covered by a tarpaulin. The photo shows the situation of the Italian police in the post-war period. They wear a mix of British helmets, Italian tank crew helmets (used also by the police officers), Regio Esercito hats and uniforms, and Italian tank crew uniforms. On the other side of the street, some barbed wire obstacles and a light tank are visible. Source: polizianellastoria.it
On this occasion, the Corpo delle Guardie di P.S. was deployed in Milan together with the Army. It deployed in force despite the climate of extreme tension that many journalists had defined as a “coup d’état clime”. Barbed wire was placed together with autocannoni and tanks in some streets to prevent attacks from the protesters.
Luckily not a single shot was fired and there were no injuries during the demonstrations, a very rare occurrence, as the workers’ demonstrations often ended with deaths and injuries. Thanks to the political intervention of Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi and Secretary of the Partito Comunista d’Italia or PCI (English: Communist Party of Italy) Palmiro Togliatti, the situation returned to normal within a few days.
The same vehicles from another angle. In front is a FlaK 30 automatic cannon with its towing trailer. The marking ‘REPARTO CELERE’ on the M13/40 is clearly visible, while the Dodge had an unreadable marking on the side. Source: Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano Volume III
Some Dodge WC-51’s armed with 20 mm automatic cannons were positioned to defend the police headquarters in Milan, together with Carri Armati L6/40s and a Carro Armato M13/40. Fortunately, they did not have to intervene.
On 14th July 1948, Palmiro Togliatti, General Secretary of the Italian Communist Party and former Deputy Prime Minister of Italy, was shot at by Antonio Pallante, a strongly anti-communist fascist student. A general strike broke out all over Italy. At first, the worst was feared, as Togliatti was seriously injured after being shot at three times. In some cities, during the protests, armed former Partisan and revolutionaries occupied factories and other industrial and political strongholds.
The Polizia di Stato was deployed in all the squares of the main cities of the peninsula. In order to avoid a bloodshed, the government kept the Army in its barracks, but was ready to intervene.
In Genoa, Livorno, Naples, Rome, Taranto, and in the cities of the north, violent gun fights broke out, which left 14 dead and 204 wounded, many of them police officers. In Genoa, on 15th July, the demonstrators got the better of the police officers, some of whom were disarmed and taken prisoner. The fiercest demonstrators created railway and telephone blockades that paralyzed the country. In Milan, in Piazza Duomo, the situation had become uncontrollable.
Italian strikers in Milan in November 1947. Source: facebook.com @I Maestri del Socialismo
The Autocannoni da 20/65 su Dodge WC-51s were deployed in the square but, despite this, the demonstrators showed no fear and were ready for a battle. In the afternoon, however, news that cyclist Gino Bartali, much loved by Italians, had won the Tour de France, changed the fate of Milan. Incredibly, as some journalists described, the tense situation suddenly turned into joy and the demonstrators began to rejoice together with the police. Togliatti survived his wounds and remained active in politics until his death in 1964.
On 12th March 1949, the Reparti Celeri of the police were again deployed in Bologna, Milan and Rome to quell protests against the Italian government’s adhesion to the US sponsored Marshall Plan. Even during these events, the State Police proved to be up to the task and there was a limited number of injured. In Milan, the Dodges did not have to intervene ever again.
An issue that the previous Fascist government had ignored was the agricultural problem. Most of the cultivated land in Italy was in the hands of landowners who exploited the laborers, making them work hard and paying them very little. During the Fascist period, any kind of protest was forbidden and the few that took place in the countryside were viciously repressed, the instigators deported, and was never reported in the media.
After the war, however, the situation changed. The salaries of laborers decreased due to the post-war crisis. In 1946 and 1947, farm workers began large strikes in Emilia Romagna and throughout southern Italy, where most of the farmland was located.
In 1946, Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi proposed a law, the ‘Lodo De Gasperi’, which required large landowners to compensate the laborers for the damages suffered during the war and forced them to hire unemployed laborers. On 7th January 1948, however, a commission issued a ruling that granted the peasants of Friuli (a region of Italy) only one third of what was provided by the law at the national level.
Police officers deployed in a farm during the De Gasperi Crisis. They were armed with MAB 38/44 submachine guns. Source: polizianellastoria.it
This led to a popular uprising that, fortunately, did not claim any victims. After some demonstrations and rallies in the squares during the first days, some peasants attacked some of the landowners’s residences.
The police were immediately called to intervene and the Dodges WC-51s were deployed, fearing that the laborers could become violent or barricade themselves in the residences or in the farms with guns. It did not come to that. All the laborers were cleared out and, in the few residences they did manage to enter, only some food was stolen.
An Autocannone da 20/65 su Dodge WC-51, probably of the II° Reparto Celere, on a farm during the clashes with the laborers. It is plated ‘Polizia 1572’, does not have backseats, and the gun seems to be a middle ground between a Mod. 35 and Mod. 39. All the police officers in the cargo bay are wearing Italian tank crew helmets. Source: polizianellastoria.it
In 1950, the Italian Parliament passed Law no. 841 of 21st October, also known as the ‘Legge Stralcio’. It was financed with the money from the Marshall Plan. The law proposed, through expropriation, the distribution of land to farm workers, making them small entrepreneurs and no longer subject to the large landowners.
The same autocannone while entering a farm during some clashes. Source: polizianellastoria.it
In the summer of 1953, the reparti celeri were deployed to the border with Yugoslavia, at the height of the political crisis over the city of Trieste. This location was under Anglo-American rule and claimed by both Italy and Yugoslavia. Milan’s and Padova’s Autocannoni da 20/65 su Dodge WC-51 were involved in these actions. On 5th November 1954, a detachment of the II° Reparto Celere of Padova was the first Italian unit to enter Trieste.
Six Autocannoni da 20/65 su Dodge WC-51 on parade. These were all of the Modello 1935 pedestal and were in service with the II° Reparto Celere. Source: polizianellastoria.it
The exact number of Dodge WC-51 Autocannone built is impossible to determine, they could range from 6 vehicles (only 2 license plates are known) up to several dozens. From the black and white photos, it is possible to deduce that the few modified vehicles were painted in amaranth, a reddish-rose shade of red, with white bumpers and wheels, and the word ‘POL’ for Police on the rear left bumper.
The amaranth color was chosen after the war as the livery for all police vehicles. This decision was made for two reasons. First and foremost, at the time, there were no police sirens and a red vehicle was very visible on city streets. Second, this particular shade of red covered very well the military camouflage paints previously used on former military vehicles. Each police unit then used a specific shade of amaranth, as they were painted by private companies that were given the contract.
Two Dodges WC-51s, one WC-52, and four Willy MBs of a reparto mobile in the late 1940s. The amaranth color scheme is clearly visible. Source: reddit.com
It is possible to speculate that the windshield support also had the marking ‘Reparto Celere’, as on other vehicles used by the celere departments.
Conclusion
The Autocannone da 20/65 su Dodge WC-51 was the last autocannone produced by the Italians, shortly after the war. It was produced in small numbers and used only by the Italian police which, due to the restrictions on the Italian Army of the Peace of Paris, was used as a paramilitary unit to maintain the peace and order in the Italian territory.
Information about these vehicles is scarce. They were only rarely photographed in moments of maximum tension between the Italian state and population in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
There is no police or army documentation on this vehicle and it is also rarely mentioned in the most authoritative military history books covering Italy. Because of its rarity, most Italian military history enthusiasts are unaware of its existence.
Autocannone da 20/65 su Dodge WC-51 of the III° Reparto Celere of Milan in November 1947. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Autocannone da 20/65 su Dodge WC-51 specifications
Dimensions (L-W-H)
4.24 x 2.11 x ~2.5 m
Total Weight, Battle Ready
3 tonnes
Crew
5 (driver, commander, gunner and 2 crew members)
Propulsion
T-214, 3,772 cm³, 76 hp at 3,200 rpm
Speed
Road Speed: 85 km/ Off-Road Speed: 50 km/h
Range
440 km
Armament
Cannone-Mitragliera Breda 20/65 Modello 1935 or Modello 1939
Armor
//
Production
unknown
Sources
Gli Autoveicoli da Combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano Volume III, Tomi I and II – Nicola Pignato – Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito https://polizianellastoria.wordpress.com/
Autoblinda AB41 of the Gruppo Corazzato 'Leonessa' in its standard Kaki Sahariano Chiaro monochrome camouflage. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Italian Social Republic (1943-1945)
Medium Armored Car – At Least 30 Operated
The AB41 was an Italian medium armored car jointly developed by FIAT and Ansaldo for the needs of the Italian Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army) and for the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana (English: Police of Italian Africa) the Italian Colonial Police. During the war, it was mainly employed by the Regio Esercito, which used more than 500 AB41s of the 667 produced until 1945.
After the Italian armistice of 8th September 1943, the armored cars, as the rest of the Italian armored fighting vehicles, were captured by the Germans. The Germans reused them in the Balkans, France, and Italy itself, while a few were recovered by the newly founded Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano (English: National Republican Army) and the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana (English: National Republican Guard) of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana (English: Italian Social Republic).
An AB41 of the Gruppo corazzato ‘Leonessa’ during a training, probably in Piemonte in Summer 1944. Source: I Carristi di Mussolini – Il Gruppo Corazzato “Leonessa” via Elvezio Borgatti, Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa”s veteran
Context
After the fall of Tunisia in May 1943, the Italian Fascist Government began to fragment due to the loss of public support caused by the continued military defeats and the hardships civilians had to endure.
On 25th July 1943, the King of Italy Vittorio Emanuele III alongside some Royal Army officers and Fascist politicians took over control of the country. Benito Mussolini was arrested on charges of having dragged Italy into the war.
For more than two months, the Kingdom of Italy continued the war fighting the Allied powers, but under a new Monarchical government with Marshal Pietro Badoglio as prime minister.
In late August, Badoglio initiated negotiations for an armistice with the Allies. On 3rd September 1943, the Cassibile Armistice was signed and it went into effect at 19:42 on 8th September 1943.
Italian troops were taken by surprise by the Armistice announcement and were left without orders while the German troops expected these actions and quickly activated Fall Achse (English: Operation Axis). Between 8th to 23rd September 1943, German soldiers managed to kill 29,000 Italian soldiers and captured more than a million others. In addition, the Germans captured over 1.3 millions of rifles, machine guns and submachine guns, 17,058 mortar, anti-tanks, anti-aircrafts and field artillery pieces, 16,631 trucks, cars and motorcycles, and 977 armored fighting vehicles.
During Fall Achse, on 12th September 1943, a group of German Fallschirmjäger performed a daring action, Fall Eiche (English: Operation Oak), freeing Mussolini from prison. On 23rd September 1943, with German backing, he created, in the German-occupied Italian territories, the Repubblica Sociale Italiana or RSI.
Design
The Medium Armored Car AutoBlindo Modello 1941 (English: Armored Car Model 1941), or more simply AB41, was the most produced Italian armored car model during the war with 667 built. It was arguably one of the best-armored cars produced during the Second World War.
The AB41 was armed with a 20 mm Cannone-Mitragliera Breda 20/65 Modello 1935 automatic cannon produced by Società Italiana Ernesto Breda per Costruzioni Meccaniche (English Italian Ernesto Breda Company for Mechanical Constructions). Secondary armament consisted of two 8 mm Breda Modello 1938 medium machine guns, one coaxial and one in a spherical support on the rear of the vehicle.
It was developed as a long range reconnaissance vehicle and had an operational range of 400 km thanks to the 195 liters of petrol and a maximum velocity on roads of 80 km/h. The AB41 had a double driving position, one at the front and one at the rear, allowing the armored car to be driven by two different drivers that could take the control only by lowering a lever. This permitted this fast armored car to quickly disengage from an enemy skirmish in narrow mountain roads and village roads. had an all-drive and all-steering wheels system, giving the vehicle excellent off-road performance.
The crew was composed of a commander/gunner, front driver, rear driver, and machine gunner/radio operator. The AB41 was also equipped with a powerful 60 km range radio with a 7 meters fully extended antenna on the left side.
Operational use
Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano
The Regio Esercito, which had ceased to exist on 8th September, was replaced by the new Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano or ENR . The Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano had some AB41 armored cars in its ranks.
An AB41 of the 31° Reggimento Fanteria Carrista supporting the 118. Jäger-Division, September 1943. The tires were Pirelli Tipo ‘Raiflex’. Source: bundesarchiv.com
The first action of these armored cars for the RSI was in September 1943, when the ENR had not yet officially been created. Tank crews of the 31° Reggimento Fanteria Carrista (English: 31st Tank Crew Infantry Regiment), loyal to Benito Mussolini, took part in the actions of the 118. Jäger-Division (English: 118th Light Infantry Division) in Podgorica (modern-day Montenegro). These armored cars were the survivors of the XL Battaglione Bersaglieri Corazzato.
Another photo, probably of the same armored car supporting the 118. Jäger-Division in Albania. Source: bundesarchiv.com
The armored cars were then assigned to the Plotone Autoblindo (English: Armored Car Platoon) and used in escort and patrol roles.
Gruppo Corazzato ‘San Giusto’
Four AB41s were used by the Gruppo Squadroni Corazzati ‘San Giusto’ (English: Armored Squadrons Group). These armored cars were delivered by the Germans in Gorizia and were assigned to the Plotone Autoblindo of the Squadrone Comando (English: Command Squadron. The AB41s were used by the unit to escort columns of military trucks or in anti-partisan operations.
An AB41 of the Gruppo Squadroni Corazzati ‘San Giusto’. It had Pirelli Tipo ‘Libia’ tires and a particular three-tone camouflage. Source: I Mezzi Corazzati Italiani della Guerra Civile 1943-1945 – Paolo Crippa shared by Enrico di Fazio via Stefano di Giusto
On 31st May 1944, two armored cars were destroyed in a partisan ambush near Dobraule di Santa Croce. A FIAT 665NM Scudato armored personnel carrier was also destroyed in this engagement. The last two AB41s were still in service on 8th April 1945, when the last existing documents of the unit mention the armored cars in its ranks. One was deployed at Ruppa to help the local garrison, while the last one was subject to problems, probably lacking a trained crew, and was left in storage at the unit’s headquarters in Mariano del Friuli.
Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani
The Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani or RAP (English: Anti-Partisans Group) was created in summer 1944 in Turin. It consisted of four Battaglioni ‘Arditi’ (English: Arditi Battalions – Arditi in Italian literally means ‘The Daring [Ones]’). The 1° Battaglione had Bersaglieri (Italian assault infantry) and the 2° Battaglione had Alpini (mountain troops). There were also an artillery group, a cavalry group, and an engineer battalion. This unit had the task of fighting the partisans in the valleys near the city of Turin. The Partisans had managed to increasingly strike at valuable targets during the night. They also contacted factory workers with the aim of organizing strikes and protests.
In late 1944, the unit was equipped with an AB41 delivered by the German Aufstellung-Süd (English: Lineup-South). It was taken from the Deposito di Caselle (English: Caselle Depot) and assigned to the Compagnia Esplorante (English: Reconnaissance Company) of the Group. On 2nd November 1944, the RAP, together with the AB41, participated in the assault on the city of Alba, which was occupied by a substantial Partisan force.
The AB41 armored car of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani lined up with soldiers and the Semovente L40 da 47/32 of the unit in Piazza Castello in Turin on 23rd March 1945. It had an interesting three-tone camouflage and a Repubblica Sociale Italiana flag painted on the side, near the opened door. Source: … Come il Diamante, I Carristi Italiani 1943-’45
The fate of the RAP’s armored car is unknown. It was probably present during the fight against the Partisans in Cisterna d’Asti on 6th April 1945 where the unit lost its L6/40 due to a mechanical failure and a Lancia Lince captured intact by the Partisans. Some sources claim that the AB41 was destroyed in that fight, while others claim that during that action against the Partisans, only an AB41 was damaged and it was one of the ‘Leonessa’.
During the Partisan uprising in the city of Turin, the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani was deployed to defend the city and their L3 light tanks were used, but nothing is known about the armored car.
The surviving vehicles of the unit left Turin the night between 27th and 28th April 1945, reaching Strambino Romano where they surrendered to US troops on 5th May.
Some damaged vehicles were left in the barrack of Via Arsenale in Turin, the unit’s headquarters.
Other ENR Usage
The Nucleo Esplorante (English: Reconnaissance Squad) of the Plotone Cavalleria da Combattimento (English: Combat Cavalry Platoon) of the Raggruppamento ‘Cacciatori degli Appennini’ received an unknown number of armored cars, some sources claim six, of which one was probably an AB41, while the others were of German origin. The 27° Deposito Misto (English: 27th Mixed Depot) in Verona had 2 AB41s, but their service is unknown.
Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana and Camicie Nere
On 23rd September 1943, together with the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano, the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana or GNR was also created. This was, theoretically, a military police corps but, in fact, acted as a second-line army countering the actions of partisan units.
On 26th June 1944, the Corpo Ausiliario delle Squadre d’Azione delle Camicie Nere (English: Auxiliary Corps of the Action Squads of the Black Shirts), better known as the ‘Camicie Nere’ (English: Black Shirt) or ‘Brigate Nere’ (English: Black Brigades), were constituted and put under the control of the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana. These units were assigned to each city to maintain public order and to counter partisan actions.
These second-line units, due to the lack of vehicles and the desperate situation of the Axis troops in the last years of war, were equipped with few armored vehicles.
Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ (English: Armored Group) was an exception. In fact, this GNR unit, first based in Brescia and, from January 1944, in Turin, was the largest of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana between 1943 and 1945. It grouped as many as 18 AB41s in its ranks in the 18 months of its existence. Some sources claim that the ‘Leonessa’ also had some AB43s, but there is no photographic evidence of this.
An AB41 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ of the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana in the Lamarmora Barrack in Turin. It had Pirelli tipo ‘Artiglio’ tires but the spare wheel was a Pirelli Tipo ‘Libia’ for sandy soils. The photo was taken in early to mid-1944 when the armored cars were in Kaki Sahariano monochrome camouflage. A SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta light armored personnel carrier is parked to the right of the AB41. Source: Paolo Crippa via Elvezio Borgatti, Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa”s veteran
On 25th February 1945, the unit still had 12 armored cars in service. It is not known if this refers only to the AB41s or to all the armored wheeled vehicles, including the Carrozzeria Speciale su SPA-Viberti AS43.
The 18 armored cars were recovered from various military depots from late September 1943 to January 1944. They were used in the various detachments of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in Emilia, Lombardia, Romagna and Piemonte. The AB41s deployed in Lombardia were used to escort columns of supply trucks from Milan to Bergamo and Brescia and to patrol the Valtellina roads to prevent Partisan ambushes and sabotage.
Another photo of an AB41 in the Lamarmora barrack in Turin getting ready for a night patrol. It had a Pirelli Tipo ‘Libia’ spare wheel. Note the ‘m’ with lictorian beam and the GNR abbreviation. Source: … Come il Diamante, I Carristi Italiani 1943-’45
In Piacenza, the 3ª Compagnia of the ‘Leonessa’ arrived on 2nd January 1945, with 7 officers, 113 NCOs and soldiers, an M15/42 medium tank, an L6/40 light tank, 3 L3 light tanks, 2 AB41s, and 10 armored personnel carriers. The unit was tasked with defending the few oil wells of the Azienda Generale Italiana Petroli or AGIP (English: General Italian Oil Company) and supported anti-partisan operations in Val Trebbia and in the Piacenza Apennines. In February, the 4ª Compagnia, with 2 AB41s, was also sent to Piacenza as a reinforcement for the 3ª Compagnia.
One of these armored cars was deployed at Valleia, together with a platoon of the 4ª Compagnia, under the command of Sub-Brigadier Nazzarri. This unit was forced to retreat in late-February, joining the garrison of Gropparello. In Gropparello, 24 soldiers of the 3ª Compagnia of the ‘Leonessa’, together with the soldiers of the platoon from Valleia, were surrounded by partisans. These attacked the medieval castle where the Fascists had barricaded themselves with a 47/32 cannon, forcing them to surrender. When the soldiers surrendered on 2nd March 1945, the Partisans captured the AB41 and an armored personnel carrier.
An AB41 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ during a training in Summer 1944. It had the Pirelli Tipo ‘Libia’ tire for sandy soils and the GNR coat of arms on the sides, frontal fenders, and rear hatch of the turret. Source: … Come il Diamante and I Carristi Italiani 1943-’45, I Carristi di Mussolini – Il Gruppo Corazzato “Leonessa” dalla MVSN alla RSI via Elvezio Borgatti, Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa”s veteran
On 4th March 1945, some reinforcements arrived in Gropparello and the Partisans were forced to run away and the vehicles were recaptured. On 20th April 1945, the general order to retreat further north was received, and all the garrisoned cities were abandoned with the help of trucks escorted by an AB41, bringing the remnants of the unit to Piacenza.
From 15th April 1945, the garrisons farthest from Piacenza were evacuated to avoid partisan attacks. The only AB41 of the ‘Leonessa’ in working condition in the Piacenza region was deployed to escort the trucks that transported the soldiers to Piacenza. The armored car was commanded by Legionnaire Medoro Minetti.
At some point between 16th April to 20th April, the armored car was attacked by a US ground attack plane. The armored car hid itself in a bomb crater on the road and the Allied plane, after a brief attack, returned back from where it came. When the airplane disappeared, the armored car restarted its journey, but when coming out of the crater, the differential broke. The armored car was then towed by a truck to Piacenza, where the mechanics had to inform Legionnaire Minetti that the damage was not repairable in Piacenza because of a lack of spare parts.
On 23rd April 1945, when the Fascist forces left Piacenza, Minetti left the city on board his armored car, towed by the other AB41 of the ‘Leonessa’. It arrived in San Rocco al Porto where it waited for three days to be loaded in a ferry that transported the armored car on the other side of the Po River. On the night of 25th and 26th April 1945, Legionnaire Minetti received the order to return to Piacenza with his armored car. He reached the city, now towed by a Lancia 3Ro heavy duty truck, at 07:00 on 26th April.
In the province of Turin, where the majority of the armored cars (10) were deployed, some AB41s supported dozens of Italian or German anti-partisan operations in the Val di Susa. They supported the attack on De Gaulle’s Free French forces, which tried to occupy the 3,130 m high Batteria dello Chaberton fort on Mont Chaberton.
In March 1944, an AB41 of the ‘Leonessa’ was used, together with about 500 soldiers of the Battaglione ‘Debica’ of the Italienische Waffenverbände der SS (English: Italian SS Weapons Units), against the Partisan’s IV Brigata Partigiana ‘Pisacane’ (English: 4th Partisan Brigade) in the Valle Lucerna, near Pinerolo.
On 21st March 1944, an AB41 commanded by Second Lieutenant Valerio Cappelli, with driver Equilio Cerri, and radio operator Mario Bonomi, and 50 militants of the ‘Leonessa’ were deployed in Val Chisone and Val Pellice on anti-partisan duties. During a patrol, the Partisans managed to separate the armored car and a medium tank (the only two vehicles of the patrol) from the rest of the soldiers using an explosion. The vehicles were then attacked with hand grenades and improvised explosive devices thrown from above. The AB41 was hit and fell, ending up in a creek. The three crew members died in the incident.
After March 1944, the 1ª Compagnia and 2ª Compagnia, deployed in Turin, operated almost every day against the Partisan brigades in the sector, breaking through their roadblocks towards the Valle d’Aosta and Valle di Susa.
Between 10th and 18th May 1944, an AB41 commanded by Second Lieutenant Raffaele Cocomello was deployed during Operazione Habicht, an anti-partisan operation between Val Susa, Val Chisone, and Valle del Sangone. The armored car was under the orders of Oberstleutenant Weiss, the commander of the SS-Polizei-Regiment 15 (English: 15th SS Police Regiment), and was used as a liaison and escort vehicle.
The first public appearance of the unit was on 23rd May 1944, when some vehicles of the ‘Leonessa’, including at least one AB41, participated in a parade from the Porta Nuova train station to Piazza Castello, Turin’s main square together with other Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ equipment.
On 28th May 1944, a vast anti-partisan operation in the area north of Turin started, called Operation Hamburg, and the ‘Leonessa’ took part in it. A company-seized force of the Gruppo Corazzato, with two tanks and two armored cars (models not specified), were deployed.
In June 1944, the continuous arrival of volunteer soldiers and the recovery of armored vehicles allowed the reorganization of the two companies. The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ was now composed of the 1ª Compagnia Carri (English: 1st Tanks Company) equipped with tanks, 2ª Compagnia Autoblindo (English: 2nd Armored Car Company) equipped with armored cars and autoprotette (equivalent for English: armored personnel carriers), and the 3ª Compagnia Arditi (English: 3rd Arditi Company) with infantry.
A company-seized force with 5 tanks of the ‘M’ series and 10 AB41s was used to reoccupy Asti and Val d’Ossola in Autumn 1944. In the same period, an AB41 was detached to Novara, where it was assigned temporarily to the Brigata Nera ‘Cristina’ that extensively used the vehicle in anti-partisan actions.
A propaganda film of Italian Istituto Luce showing Fascist and Italian SS soldiers from the 29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (italienische Nr. 1) (English: 29th SS Mechanized Division Division (Italian No. 1)) during on 1st June 1944. It also shows one of the six PaK 40 anti-tank gun of the Brigata SS Italiana (English: Italian SS Brigate) of Pinerolo.
The AB41 shown in the video was from the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ as the coat of arms on the turret rear suggests.
In the book ‘…Come il Diamante, I Carristi Italiani 1943-45’ the authors Marco Nava and Sergio Corbatti mention that this video was taken during Operazione ‘Nachtigall’ (English: Operation Nightingale) anti-partisan operation.
Between 29th July and 20th August 1944, two AB41s and some tanks were used in an anti-partisan operation between Val Susa, Val Chisone, and Valle del Sangone, called Operazione ‘Nachtigall’. An AB41 was used against a roadblock in Perrero on 7th August 1944 created by the Partisans to block the road for the Germanasca Valley to the ‘Leonessa’ units supported by the Kampfgruppe ‘Celebrano’ of the 29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (italienische Nr. 1).
The AB41 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ used near Perrero during Operazione ‘Nachtigall’. Source: … Come il Diamante, italie1935-45.com and I Carristi Italiani 1943-’45
From 5th September to 15th September, Operazione Straßburg took place. When the operation was completed, an AB41 was placed at the town hall of Viù, near Germaniano in Val di Susa. The armored car had been immobilized by the launch of improvised explosive devices and the wounded and terrified crew had barricaded themselves inside. Only the intervention of the Italian SS allowed the soldiers to be evacuated and hospitalized, but the car could not be repaired.
A platoon from the 1ª Compagnia of Turin, with 2 AB41s and three M14/41 medium tanks from the 2ª Compagnia, were used during the reoccupation of Alba, near Cuneo, on 2nd November 1944.
On 21st February 1945, two AB41s, 2 M13/40 medium tanks, and some armored personnel carriers took part in an anti-partisan operation in the Villanova d’Asti region. The last major clashes between the ‘Leonessa’ and the Partisans took place in March 1945.
One of these actions, started on 6th March 1945, had the objective of reoccupying the towns of Cisterna d’Asti and Santo Stefano Roero, captured in the previous days by the Partisans that also sabotaged the Genoa to Turin railway.
In Santo Stefano Roero, between 8th and 9th March, a column composed of a platoon of the 1ª Compagnia Carri and two platoons of the 3ª Compagnia Arditi equipped with a SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta and one AB41 (in the book 1^ Brigata Nera “Ather Capelli”: Una documentazione writer Marco Nava mentions the presence of two AB41s of the unit, maybe one was of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani).
Some units from the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani with a Lancia Lince scout car, about 80 militiamen of the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ (English: 1st Black Brigade), a company of the Battaglione Ordine Pubblico (English: Public Order Battalion) of Turin, the Compagnia Arditi Sciatori (English: Arditi Skiers Company), and 25 soldiers of the Distaccamento ‘Umberto Cumero’ of the Xª Divisione MAS (English: 10th MAS Division) for a total of about 350 soldiers and auxiliaries was ambushed by about 1,000 Partisans. The partisan units were: 6ª Divisione Autonoma Alpina ‘Asti’ (English: 6th Alpine Mountain Division) with three brigades, Divisione Matteotti ‘Tre Confini’ (Matteotti Division) composed of socialist Partisans with five brigades, and 103ª Brigata Garibaldi ‘Rolandino’ (English: 103rd Garibaldi Division) composed of communist Partisans.
The AB41 commanded by Lieutenant Fossati was the leading vehicle of the column, followed by a FIAT 666NM truck with a trailer full of militiamen, Lieutenant Berneschi’s SPA-Viberti AS43 Autoprotetta, and some more trucks full of soldiers and a Lancia Lince scout car of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani.
The bullets pierced one of the AB41’s tires, while the FIAT 666NM behind was set alight, with many of the soldiers on board killed. Lieutenant Fossati was wounded by a ricocheting bullet as he got out of the armored car trying to repair the pierced tire. In the afternoon, with the help of some artillery pieces of the RAP which had arrived from Turin, the two towns were occupied by the Fascist forces. In the fighting on 8th March, 9 Fascist soldiers were killed and 32 were wounded, while the Partisans suffered only minor losses.
On 23rd March 1945, the AB41s took part in the last Fascist parade in Turin’s streets. They shared the fate of the Fascist troops in the city. After 24th April 1945, some tanks were deployed to protect strategic points in the city, while the armored cars were used to patrol the streets and as a reserve to launch counterattacks. On 26th April 1945, the Partisans attacked the city, occupying the town hall, the railway stations, some manufacturing plants, and the Prefecture of Turin, which was protected by two M13/40 tanks and an AB41.
Tanks and armored cars in the city were used to counterattack the Partisan forces. Around 18:00 the same day, 4 tanks, 3 armored cars (models unknown), a platoon of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’, and one of the I Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ attacked and recaptured the barracks on Cernaia Street, the headquarters of the Black Brigade. The intervention of an ‘M’ series tank and an AB41 armored car made it possible to regain control of the town hall and free Podestà (Major) Michele Fassio. For the rest of the night, two armored cars (again, the models are unknown) and 5 tanks continued to patrol the part of the city still in Fascist hands. It was clear that it was impossible to repel the Partisans, so the Fascist command in Turin decided to resist to the bitter end, hoping for the arrival of Anglo-American troops to surrender to them.
On 27th April 1945, an armored car escorted a truck of the 1ª Brigata Nera ‘Ather Capelli’ to the Casa Littoria, the headquarters of the Italian Fascist Party of Turin, at Carlo Alberto Street number 10. There, a group of Avanguardisti of the ‘Fiamme Bianche’ (English: White Flames) had barricaded themselves in for unknown reasons. The Avanguardisti were 14 to 18 years olds who voluntarily joined the RSI troops but, being too young, were not assigned to front line units. The armored car (of unknown model) managed to provide adequate supporting fire, helping evacuate all the young men from the building, escorting them to safety at the Caserma Cernaia barrack.
The situation worsened by the minute so, at 01:40 on April 28th 1945, all the surviving Fascist forces in the city, about 5,000 soldiers, gathered in Piazza Castello and fled towards Lombardia to gather at the “Ridotto Alpino Repubblicano” (English: Republican Alpine Gathering). The protection of the column of trucks was entrusted to the tanks and armored cars of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’. The column reached Valtellina and waited with about 10,000 more men until 5th May 1945, when they surrendered to Anglo-American troops.
Two of the Gruppo Corazzato’s armored cars were captured by the Partisans in the Caserma ‘Cavalli’ barrack on 1st May 1945, along with a medium tank and a P26/40.
Other GNR Units
Two AB41s were deployed to Brescia and then, on 26th April 1945, they reached Bergamo, where the Batteria Leggera Motorizzata (English. Light Motorized Battery) was deployed. One of the two armored cars broke its rear axle shaft and it was impossible to repair it in a short time, so it was set on fire by its crew. The surviving armored car (which some veterans claim was an AB43) joined the column that had to reach Valtellina from Bergamo, where all the forces still faithful to Mussolini would form the last resistance to the Allied forces. During the night march (in order to avoid Allied air attacks) the AB lost the rest of the column and reached Como, where it was blocked and captured by the Partisans.
The Comando Provinciale della Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana (English: Provincial Command of the GNR) in Varese had in its ranks an AB41 armored car recovered somewhere in its territory by the commander of the Compagnia Comando (English: Company Command), Captain Michaud. Used to escort convoys, in September 1944, it was meant to be used in an anti-partisan operation in Val d’Ossola, but it was unable to because of a mechanical failure, brought back to Varese for repairs, and then given to another GNR unit.
The AB41 and a medium tank of the ‘M’ series inspected by some officers of the Comando Provinciale della Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana. Source: Paolo Crippa via Nicola pignato
In the first months after September 1943, the Battaglione ‘M’ ‘9 Settembre’ (English: ‘M’ Battalion 9th September), one of Mussolini’s most loyal units (they fought after 9th September 1943 along with the Germans), had in its ranks an AB41. During its operations with the Bansen Battalion of the 2. Regiment of the Panzergrenadier-Division Brandenburg, another 5 AB41 armored cars were put in service with this unit. The unit was used by the Germans as an anti-partisan unit in the rear of the Gustav Defensive Line.
Afterward, it was sent to the rear of the Ortona, where it carried out more anti-partisan activities. Before the transfer to the province of Macerata, the Battalion was formally disbanded from the Brandenburg Division and officially accepted in the Republican Army of the RSI with the denomination of I° Battaglione ‘M’ Camicie Nere ‘IX Settembre’ (English: 1st M Black Brigade Battalion). In the Marche region, the unit established its headquarters in Camerino and carried out some counter-partisan operations together with Kampfgruppe Hettinger of the 3. Regiment of the Panzergrenadier-Division Brandenburg.
One of the AB41s of the I° Battaglione ‘M’ Camicie Nere ‘IX Settembre’ during a training exercise in the Marche region. It had a German-style camouflage and Pirelli Tipo ‘Artiglio’ tires. The soldier standing near the armored car is armed with a German MG42. Source: I Mezzi Corazzati Italiani della Guerra Civile 1943-1945 – Paolo Crippa shared by Attilio Viziano via Carlo Cucut
After the breakthrough at Cassino, the unit withdrew and, passing through Pesaro and Castrocaro, reached Val d’Aosta on 20th September. After a short operational period, the Battalion followed the destiny of the Brandenburg Division, on which it still depended, and fought for the defense of the Reich in East Prussia until January 1945. The armored cars were destroyed by Allied ground attack planes near Vittorio Veneto during the return to Italy on 29th and 30th April 1945.
The same armored car in the same training exercise. The German-style camouflage is difficult to see while the German-style identification number ‘752’ is visible. The soldiers were armed with Moschetto Automatico Beretta Modello 1938 Submachine gun and Carcano Modello 1891/1938 Cavalleria. Source: I Mezzi Corazzati Italiani della Guerra Civile 1943-1945 – Paolo Crippa shared by Attilio Viziano via Carlo Cucut
The Brigata Nera Mobile ‘Attilio Pappalardo’ (English: Mobile Black Brigade) of Bologna had four AB41s assigned to the Compagnia Corazzata ‘Tupin’ commanded by Captain Cortonesi. During 1944, the streets of Emilia Romagna were crossed weekly by German and Italian convoys heading to the front and were threatened by attacks and ambushes. The brigade kept the roads safe and had the reputation of being the most ruthless Black Brigade in Italy.
In late summer 1944, 2 AB41s of the Black Brigade, under Cortonesi’s command, were deployed in Novara to act as personal bodyguards of Prefect Vezzalini. On 25th April 1945, the part of the ‘Tupin’ (in Emilian dialect Mouses) deployed in Novara tried to reach Como with 2 AB41s and a truck. They attempted to reach Mussolini’s column of vehicles towards Valtellina, but were blocked by Partisans on a narrow mountain road.
Camouflage and Markings
The AB41s of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana in some cases received some particular camouflages. The Gruppo Corazzato ‘San Giusto’ covered the original Kaki Sahariano Chiaro (English: Light Saharan Khaki) monochrome scheme of its armored cars with medium brown and dark green wavy stripes.
The Raggruppamento Anti partigiani covered its armored car with a similar three-tone scheme but with different types of stripes and with a small flag of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana on the superstructure’s side.
The Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ AB41s were painted in Kaki Sahariano Chiaro until mid-1944 when they were repainted with a three-tone camouflage scheme with dark green and reddish brown spots. The coat of arms was the red ‘m’ intersected by a lictorian beams and with the acronym GNR painted in red. These were applied on the superstructure’s sides, turret rear, and front fenders. When they received the new camouflage scheme, the coat of arms were covered in some vehicles.
The AB41 of the Comando Provinciale della Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana received unusual dark green and reddish brown spots painted on the original khaki camouflage.
Some of the AB41s of the I° Battaglione ‘M’ Camicie Nere ‘IX Settembre’ received a German-style splintered scheme with defined outlined three-tone camouflage. It can be noticed in a few photos, for example, the one of the soldier with the MG42 in front of the armored car. The colors were probably the original Kaki Sahariano Chiaro and gray-green with brown stripes. The numbers on the turret were painted in red with white outlines.
Another photo of the AB41 of the I° Battaglione ‘M’ Camicie Nere ‘IX Settembre’ with splintered with defined outlined three-tone camouflage. The commander is scanning the horizon in search of Partisans. Source: I Mezzi Corazzati Italiani della Guerra Civile 1943-1945 – Paolo Crippa shared by Attilio Viziano via Carlo Cucut
In a photo of 28th March 1944, Lieutenant Colacino, commander of the I° Battaglione ‘M’ Camicie Nere ‘IX Settembre’ poses near an AB41 in the Marche region. The vehicle was painted in standard Kaki Sahariano Chiaro. This makes us presume that not all the armored cars were painted with a German-style camouflage even if we do not have the certainty that this armored car belonged to the unit.
The photo of the AB41 with Lieutenant Colacino in Sarnano on 28th March 1944. Source: … Come il Diamante, italie1935-45.com and I Carristi Italiani 1943-’45
Conclusion
The AB41 medium armored car was a great reconnaissance vehicle that demonstrated its performance also with poorly trained and equipped troops of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana that used it almost exclusively in anti-partisans and escorting operations. The majority of the AB41 armored cars in service with the RSI were recovered from Regio Esercito and were slowly repaired to be used by the new Fascist units loyal to Benito Mussolini.
Autoblinda AB41 of the Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani in its three tone camouflage.Autoblinda AB41 of the Gruppo Corazzato ‘Leonessa’ in its standard Kaki Sahariano Chiaro monochrome camouflage. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
AB41 specifications
Dimensions (L-W-H)
5.20 x 1.92 x 2.48 m
Total Weight, Battle Ready
7.52 tons
Crew
4 (front driver, rear driver, machine gunner/loader, and vehicle commander/gunner)
Propulsion
FIAT-SPA 6-cylinder petrol, 88 hp with 195 liters tank
Speed
Road Speed: 80 km/h
Off-Road Speed: 50 km/h
Range
400 km
Armament
Cannone-Mitragliera Breda 20/65 Modello 1935 (456 rounds) and Two Breda Modello 1938 8 x 59 mm medium machine guns (1992 rounds)
The Autoblinda AB41 number '10' of the 1ª Compagnia of the Battaglione ‘Romolo Gessi’ of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana with Pirelli Tipo 'Libia' tires. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
Kingdom of Italy (1941-1943)
Medium Armored Car – At Least 40 in Polizia dell’Africa Italiana Service
The AB41 medium armored car was an Italian reconnaissance vehicle developed from the AB40, an armored car developed by FIAT-SPA and Ansaldo in the request of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana or PAI (English: Police of Italian Africa) from 1937 to 1939.
The AB41s of the PAI were used mainly in North Africa by the Battaglione ‘Romolo Gessi’ and in Italy by the Colonna ‘Cheren’.
The AB41 plated ‘Polizia dell’Africa Italiana 508’ the seventh armored car of the AB41 model. It was probably taken in the early days of September 1941 in the Libyan desert. Source: pinterest.com
Context
In 1936 the Corpo di Polizia Coloniale (English: Colonial Police Corps) was created after a reorganization of the Police Corps operating in Libyan territory, to garrison the Italian governorship in Ethiopia and the colonies of Africa Orientale Italiana or AOI (English: Italian East Africa). The new corps was under the command of the Italian Ministry of Colonies, then renamed the Ministry of Italian Africa. That was the first case in Italy that an armed force was under a civil ministry.
Created by Regio Decreto n. 1211 (English: Royal Decree) of 10th June 1937, its ranks and its tasks were well defined. It was to be a civilian corps militarily organized, and forming part of the armed forces of the state, with functions of political police, judicial police, and administrative police.
Men of the motorized corps of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana lined up with Moto Guzzi motorcycles, Moto Guzzi TriAlce (armed with Breda Modello 1937 medium machine gun in anti-aircraft support), several Lancia 3Ro heavy-duty trucks, and some SPA light lorries. Benito Mussolini, General Cavallero, and senior officers of the Regio Esercito are inspecting them. Libya, 9th September 1941. Source: Istituto Luce
The Corpo di Polizia Coloniale (it changed name on 15th May 1939) had an organic strength of 6,344 soldiers consisting of 87 officers, 368 NCOs, 1,475 Italian police officers, 4,064 Eritrean police officers, and 350 Somali police officers. At the beginning of the war, there were also a total of 735 Libyan police officers present. The African soldiers were called Àscari della Polizia (English: Police Àscari). Àscari (singular Àscaro) is an Italian word from the Arab عسكري or ʿaskarī’ meaning “soldiers”.
The command of the unit was in Rome, the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana school was in Tivoli about 30 km from Rome, the Ispettorato per l’Africa Orientale (English: East Africa Inspectorate) was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the Ispettorato per la Libia was in Tripoli.
A total of 61 battalions were created in Caserma Pantanella in Via Degli Orti in Tivoli that were then assigned to 6 bases in Addis Ababa, Asmara, Benghazi, Gondar, Mogadishu and Tripoli and 5 special units, such as the Squadrone Azzurro (English: Blue Squadron) with 11 Italian police officers and 11 Somali police officers which were tasked with escorting the Governor of Somalia.
The Polizia dell’Africa Italiana school was inaugurated in Tivoli on 1st December 1937 and soon acquired great prestige in international military circles.
Future officers were required to know at least two foreign languages, with the options including Amharic (the most common Ethiopian language), Arabic, English, French, German, Somali and Tigrinya (spoken primarily in Eritrea and Ethiopia).
The first battalion to come out of the school was sent to Somalia and was renamed 1° Battaglione ‘Antonio Cecchi’ (English: 1st Battalion) in honor of Antonio Cecchi, a famous explorer killed on 26th November 1896 in Somalia by local tribesmen.
After the first battalion, six others were formed, all named after famous Italian pioneers in Africa: Luigi Amedeo di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi, Giuseppe Giulietti, Eugenio Ruspoli, Gaetano Casati, Vittorio Bòttego, and Romolo Gessi respectively.
Units of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana equipped with AB41s
1° Battaglione ‘Luigi Amedeo di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi’
2° Battaglione ‘Giuseppe Giulietti’
3° Battaglione ‘Eugenio Ruspoli’
4° Battaglione ‘Gaetano Casati’
5° Battaglione ‘Vittorio Bòttego’
6° Battaglione ‘Romolo Gessi’
The government of the German Reich, after receiving flattering reports from the German consular authorities in Italian East Africa about the high level of training of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana, sent the Chief of the Deutsche Polizei, General Ritter Von Epp, on a courtesy visit to Tivoli. He was so impressed by the visit that he urged Berlin to ask the Ministry of Italian Africa to allow a refresher course for 180 German police officers, which took place in the first half of 1939.
German officers pass Polizia dell’Africa Italiana’s troops lined up in Italy after a successful training. The AB40 plated ‘Polizia dell’Africa Italiana 501’ is clearly visible with a striped ‘Imperiale’ Camouflage scheme and prototypes features. Source: italianiinguerra.wordpress.com
The PAI was greatly appreciated by the foreign press in Argentina, the United States, and many European countries. Very praiseworthy were the articles published by the British newspapers Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph.
After the defeat of Italian troops in Africa Orientale Italiana, even after the British victory, in Eritrea, the police officers of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana forces were reformed with the Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali (English: Royal Carabinieri Corps) in the ‘Eritrea Police Force’ under British control.
The Police Headquarters in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, was entrusted to the Italian African Police, transformed into the Gruppo Autonomo Guardie di Pubblica Sicurezza dell’Eritrea (English: Eritrean Autonomous Group of Public Security Guards). Over one hundred officers, NCOs, and guards remained in place, including numerous Àscari della Polizia, who fought against the widespread banditry in the now former colony. It was only on 15th September 1952 that the Corps was dissolved.
Propaganda posters for the enlistment of the Corpo di Polizia dell’Africa Italiana with some AB41s. Source: Polizia dell’Africa Italiana
Design
In mid-1937 the Corpo di Polizia Coloniale issued a request for a new model of armored car. In the same period, the Regio Esercito also issued a similar request. In response, FIAT and Ansaldo, the two companies that started the project, decided to jointly do only a vehicle to meet all the demands.
The first prototypes of what would become the AutoBlindoMitragliatrice Modello 1940 (ABM40) and then AutoBlindo Modello 1940 (AB40) were ready in May 1939. One was for the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana and the second for the Regio Esercito.
In September 1939 it was tested in Africa by the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana police officers for 13,000 km in AOI. The PAI prototype, previously plateded ‘Polizia Coloniale – 501’, was then sented to Tivoli and was later replated ‘Polizia dell’Africa Italiana – 501’.
The evaluation was positive and Ansaldo only made small modifications on the production vehicles.
The AB40 prototype in Africa in 1939. In front of it, its crew. Well visible the ‘Polizia Coloniale -501’ registration number. Source: forumfree.it
Already in late 1939 it was clear that the three-machine guns of the AB40 were not an adequate armament for an armored car, so it was decided to produce a turret with improved firepower for use on the same chassis. The Torretta Modello 1941 (English: Turret Model 1941), the same used on the L6/40 light tank, was chosen. This vehicle with a new turret was the Autoblinda AB41.
The AB41 Medium Armored Car was the most produced armored car of the Italian industry during the Second World War, with a total of 667 produced from 1941 to 1945. It was armed with a Cannone-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65 Modello 1935 20 mm L/65 automatic cannon that could deal even with light tanks. The engine was more powerful than the ones mounted on the AB40, the new FIAT-SPA ABM 2, 6-cylinder petrol engine developing 88 hp.
The AB41 prototype at the Ansaldo-Fossati plant in Sestri Ponente, near Genoa. It was plated ‘Regio Esercito 126B’. Source: italie1935-45.com
Operational use
Polizia dell’Africa Italiana – North Africa
The first Italian unit to use AB armored cars in the North African Campaign was the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana, which used the first 9 AB41s which arrived in Libya in September 1941 in the 6° Battaglione ‘Romolo Gessi’, together with an AB40. The ten armored cars had registration plates between ‘Polizia dell’Africa Italiana 501’ (the AB40 prototype modified and put again in service) to ‘Polizia dell’Africa Italiana 510’ and were assigned to the 1ª Compagnia (English: 1st Company).
The AB41 of the 1ª Compagnia of the 6° Battaglione ‘Romolo Gessi’ of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana lined up in Nettunia before September 1941 when they were deployed to Libya. Source: pinterest.com
These ten armored cars were assigned, together with three AB41s and a Autoblindo TL37 (arrived on the same days) of an experimental armored car platoon of the Regio Esercito, to the Raggruppamento Esplorante del Corpo d’Armata di Manovra or RECAM (English: Scouting Group of the Mobile Army Corp). None of the 13 armored cars were equipped with radios.
The ninth AB41 of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana, the number ’10’ plated ‘Polizia dell’Africa Italiana 0510’. Photo taken during the armored car’s maintenance. It had a particular right-hand-fixed radio antenna and some combat damage. It had a white line painted on the front armor, between the towing hooks and the written ‘O va o la Spacca’ (English: We either win or we fall) painted over the driver’s hatch, characteristic of the first PAI’s armored cars. Source: Istituto Luce
During the first actions in Egypt against the British, the armored cars of the 6° Battaglione ‘Romolo Gessi’ were protagonists of a friendly fire incident on 13th September, when German aircraft mistook the armored cars for British vehicles. PAI’s Major Salvatore Diamante got out of his armored car and, under enemy fire and together with PAI medic Lieutenant Aldo Alberini, went to recover the wounded from the burning armored cars, managing to save some men.
The same armored car during the same maintenance. Apart from the engine parts on the armored car’ side, the fixed radio antenna and the number 10 with a white underline on the vehicle’ side are visible. Source: Istituto Luce
A part of the PAI Battalion was then sent to Tripolitania and was converted into a mixed company, while a part, commanded by Major Diamante, remained on Egyptian soil to fight the British troops. This PAI unit was not very lucky and, shortly after, Major Diamante was surrounded by British troops. With only two AB41 armored cars, those of Diamante and that of Brigadiere Timoteo Marini, and a few remaining motorcyclists, the Major fought until his ammunition ran out and he was captured.
The AB41 number ‘8’ plated ‘Polizia dell’Africa Italiana 508’ (on the superstructure’s side and on the 20 liters can the number ‘8’ is written) and is visible the same motto, ‘O la va o la Spacca’ as the first photo it has the first type of radio antenna mounted on the right side. Source: pinterest.com
For the rest of the campaign, the PAI employed the 4ª Compagnia (English: 4th Company) with 7 AB41s, probably with two platoons of 3 armored cars and a command AB41. This unit was created in October 1941, along with the 3ª Compagnia della Polizia dell’Africa Italiana, with a total of 10 armored cars. Another company was created in July 1942 with 14 AB41s, but was never shipped to Africa and remained on the Italian mainland, taking part in the defense of Rome in September 1943.
Three Àscari della Polizia, an Italian Polizia dell’Africa Italiana police officers, and a PAI AB’s crewmember posing with their personal Moschetto Automatico Beretta Modello 1938As and Beretta Modello 1934 pistol in front of the first Polizia dell’Africa Italiana’s AB41 plated ‘Polizia dell’Africa Italiana 502’. It had Pirelli Tipo ‘Libia’ for sandy soils and the radio antenna of the first type on the right side (in the photo is visible only the antenna support). Source: pinterest.com
Worthy of mention is also the activity of Brigadiere Vittorio Ciani of the Polizia Dell’Africa Italiana, Guardia Giulio Gambino, and Guardia Rosario Orlando, respectively radio operator, driver, and rear driver of the command armored car of one company (probably the 4ª Compagnia) of the 6° Battaglione ‘Romolo Gessi’. On 23rd November 1941, during a battle against British troops, their armored car captured 18 prisoners (including an officer) and three light lorries (or armed trucks) under intense enemy fire.
The Polizia dell’Africa Italiana’s armored car number ‘2’ in the North African desert together with PAI’s motorcyclists. Source: disciplinaedonore.it
Having been instructed by the armored car commander to disarm the prisoners, Brigadiere Ciani got out of the armored car and disarmed the enemy soldiers under intense fire, then remained out until two other armored cars of the company arrived. The armored cars towed the captured vehicles and transported the prisoners back to base. Meanwhile, Guardia Orlando supplied the vehicle commander with ammunition clips and, at the same time, handled the prisoners alongside Brigadiere Ciani.
The commander of the AB41 number ‘2’ scanned the battlefield with his binoculars. In this photo, the Italian flag is clearly visible on the side, it covers in part the black underline under the number ‘2’, this means that the photo was taken after 13th September 1941. The frontal homemade 20 liter can supports were visible as in the previous photo. Source: pinterest.com
Three days later, they participated, with the same armored car, in an intense fight against British troops and armored vehicles. Since their armored car was advancing with the front driver (Guardia Giulio Gambino), Brigadiere Ciani was unable to assist in the fight, so he dismounted the rear machine gun of the armored car, harnessed it and opened the upper part of the armored door and used it effectively against the British troops, while Guardia Orlando supplied him and the vehicle commander with ammunition clips.
The AB41 was subsequently hit by a round to the fuel tank and fuel sprayed into the crew compartment, soaking the soldiers inside. Orlando’s attempts to block the fuel spill were unsuccessful.
In spite of this serious problem, the crew held their position and continued to fire with all weapons. A second bullet penetrated the engine compartment and hit the engine, causing a fire in the armored car. Miraculously, Brigadier Ciani, Guardia Gambino, the commander, and Orlando escaped the flames. Orlando was the last one out, as he tried to put out the flames and save part of the equipment until the last moment. The three soldiers were awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valor.
The same AB41 number ‘10’ of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana, probably during a patrol in Via Balbia on the Libyan 1,800 km long coastal road that went from the Tunisian border to the Egyptian border. Source: pinterest.com
Some AB41s, some belonging to PAI Lieutenant Giovanni Onofri, PAI Vice-Brigadier Giuseppe Patelli, and Brigadiere Francesco Spagnoletti, attacked some tanks during the same fight. They suffered some losses, but knocked out some British tanks. Lieutenant Onofri’s AB41 was directly hit in the turret, wounding his head and jamming the 20 mm cannon. The armored car continued the battle and did not retreat until the rear machine gun also jammed.
The third Polizia dell’Africa Italiana’s AB41 numbered ‘4’ and plated ‘Polizia dell’Africa Italiana 504’, probably during the same maintenance of the AB41’s number ‘10’. Source: Istituto Luce
On 3rd December 1941, a British force composed of truck-mounted artillery attacked a column of the 6° Battaglione ‘Romolo Gessi’ during a break. The soldiers of the PAI, after a brief moment of chaos, resumed control of the situation, managing to counterattack, and forced the British troops to retreat. The Italian losses amounted to a few vehicles that were all recovered and most likely returned to service.
The Polizia Dell’Africa Italiana was employed in the North African campaign until 14th December 1942 in Tunisia. In total, 105 Italian personnel died during the fights while the foreign police officers who died were unknown. The total of AB41s lost in Africa by the PAI is unknown, though the number was probably fewer than 50.
AB41 of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana‘s 6° Battaglione ‘Romolo Gessi’ in Barce, Tunisia on 13th November 1942. Note the Italian flag painted on the side and the front together with a Savoia Cross painted white and partially covered by the front 20-liter cans. It was the number ‘14’ of an unknown company and had Pirelli Tipo ‘Artiglio’ tires for continental soils. Source: pinterest.com
Polizia dell’Africa Italiana – Italy
German and Italian troops in Tunisia surrendered in May 1943.
In spite of this, the School of Tivoli continued to train new recruits. In the spring, a new light armored unit, the Colonna ‘Cheren’ commanded by Colonel Nicola Toscano was initially destined to Tunisia with new vehicles, such as Camionette SPA-Viberti AS42.
The unit included the 1° Battaglione ‘Luigi Amedeo di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi’, 3° Battaglione ‘Eugenio Ruspoli’, and 5° Battaglione ‘Vittorio Bòttego’.
The unit, composed of about 1,300 soldiers, of which 444 vehicle crews, was equipped with 12 L6/40 reconnaissance light tanks, 14 AB41 medium armored cars, 2 Camionette SPA-Viberti AS42 ‘Sahariane’, and 12 guns consisting of small cannons and machine guns.
Police armored car crew, police officers, and Polizia dell’Africa Italiana motorcyclists posing in front of an AB41 near Rome. It was plated ‘Polizia dell’Africa Italiana 0886’. Source: pinterest.com
On 25th July 1943, with the fall of Mussolini after the Italian king’s coup d’état, the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana was relied upon because it was considered absolutely devoted to the monarchical institution and not to Fascism.
General Maraffa, supreme commander of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana ordered his units to return to active duty in Rome. There was a fear that there would be a reaction by fascist militias after the fall of Mussolini, but this reaction did not come. On 28th July, the Italian-African police force was regularly active in the capital.
After the fall of Mussolini, a new monarchical government was created. Marshal of Italy Pietro Badoglio led it and almost immediately tried to secretly reach a peace agreement with the Allied powers.
On 3rd September 1943, an armistice was signed in Cassibile, in Sicily, which was already under Allied control. This armistice was made public only five days after, on 8th September.
On 8th September there were 1,581 troops of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana in Rome, and at the time of Badoglio’s announcement, no communication had been sent to the command of the Italian African Police, which remained without orders, like most of the Italian armed forces.
Police officers of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana posing on an AB41 (the same as before, plated ‘Polizia dell’Africa Italiana 0886’) in Rome, before the Armistice. Source: disciplinaedonore.it
At 8:00 pm, the Rome Army Corps command asked the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana to urgently send a unit to Porta San Paolo. From there, they were again sent towards the fuel depot of Mezzocammino, on the Via Ostiense. However, the unit was stopped by a group of German paratroopers who tried under various pretexts to convince Lieutenant Barbieri’s unit to turn back when at some point gunfire was opened.
The company managed to break through the encirclement and return to the city with several casualties on the ground and abandoning some armed trucks, and maybe also some of its armored vehicles.
Their most important task of the night was to escort the King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III di Savoia, the royal family, and the Prime Minister, Pietro Badoglio, who had to flee down the Via Tiburtina where they found US soldiers who welcomed them.
For some time, the unit did not enter the field. The German ambush had created much turmoil and some units were unable to make contact with the others.
Meanwhile, the 3. Panzergrenadier Division (English: 3rd Mechanized Infantry Division) and some units of the 26. Panzer Division (English: 26th Armored Division) overcame the fuel depot, destroyed the resistance of the Caserma della Cecchignola and advanced further north towards the Tiber River. On the Magliana bridge, however, the unit was confronted by some battalions of the 21ª Divisione di Fanteria ‘Granatieri di Sardegna’ (English: 21th Infantry Division) that put up a strenuous resistance. Towards midnight, however, the reserve battalion of the division was called to intervene to drive back the Germans.
The reserve battalion was the II Battaglione commanded by Major Costa. His unit left from the Tre Fontane area a few hundred meters from the frontline, went around the battlefield crossing the Tiber in another point, and went behind the V Caposaldo (English: 5th Stronghold) to provide support and to retake the lost positions.
When it reached the Magliana Station, Lieutenant Costa’s battalion encountered a unit of the Italian Africa Police that positioned themselves on the highway and joined the battle, probably with some armored cars, tanks, and camionette.
On the early morning of 9th September 1943, other police officers of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana joined the fight and with some Bersaglieri (Italian assault infantry), the students of the academy of the Arma dei Carabinieri Reali (English: Arm of Royal Carabiners), and the Italian Granatieris with the support of some armored cars, were able to attack and force the German forces in the Magliana area to retreat.
A few hours later, they themselves were forced to retreat some hundred meters north to create another line to block the German troops. During this other attack, the 1° Battaglione of the PAI was totally destroyed, some Italian armored cars were destroyed, and the other units also suffered heavy losses.
The PAI officers and the other soldiers were forced to retreat further north towards the Ostiense Fort, organizing defenses with about 500 soldiers of the 21ª Divisione di Fanteria ‘Granatieri di Sardegna’. The defenders managed to hold out firing with their rifles and some machine guns for over an hour until the Germans were able to bring a mortar and began to bomb the Italian defenses.
When the last armored car was destroyed by mortar grenades, the Germans attacked with flamethrowers, forcing the last soldiers to flee. Some nuns from a nearby orphanage provided the surviving police officers and soldiers with civilian clothes for the escape while a priest organized the surrender of the fort at 11.00 am. In 36 hours, the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana had lost 56 personnel.
With the constitution of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana or RSI (English: Italian Social Republic), the role of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana became increasingly difficult. The Commander, General Maraffa, a fervent monarchist, refused to swear allegiance to the new Fascist state, and was therefore arrested and deported to Germany to the Dachau concentration camp, where he died two months later, in 1944.
In 1944, in the SS prison at Via Tasso in Rome, Colonel Nicola Toscano, commander of the Colonna ‘Cheren’, and his colleague Colonel Elviro Scalerà, who were part of the Clandestine Military Front of the Resistance, were also arrested. Both were set to be shot on the morning of 4th June 1944, but they were saved during a mass escape from the prison where they were being held.
The Polizia dell’Africa Italiana continued to provide law and order services in Rome even under the Repubblica Sociale Italiana. The Repubblica Sociale Italiana‘s attempt to reform the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana finally failed when it was decided to incorporate it into the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana (English: Republican National Guard), the Military Police of the RSI. The Polizia dell’Africa Italiana was officially dissolved by the Fascist authorities in March 1944. At least 8 AB41 armored cars of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana survived to the clashes after the Armistice were reused by Repubblica Sociale Italiana forces but their exact destiny is unknown. Maybe they were recovered from the 1ª Divisione Corazzata Legionaria ‘M’ (English: 1st Legionary Armored Division) in the days after the Armistice (some of their units were deployed near the PAI barracks between 12th and 13th September 1943.
In the south, however, under Allied control, the remaining units of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana, served regularly as a service of order, until the final dissolution on 9th March 1945.
Conclusion
The AB41 was an adequate armored car even if it had some flaws. In its reports, the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana was very flattering over the AB41. In North Africa and Italy they were used in a similar way as the Regio Esercito‘s ABs, with similar results. During the war, it was the most numerous armored car in service with the Italian units in all the fronts of war. The Polizia dell’Africa Italiana operated them only in North Africa and Rome. The PAI was satisfied with the armored car that in the first stages of the war was also capable of knocking out light tanks.
The Autoblinda AB41 number ’10’ of the 1ª Compagnia of the 6° Battaglione ‘Romolo Gessi’ of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana with Pirelli Tipo ‘Libia’ tires. Illustrations by the illustrious Godzilla funded by our Patreon Campaign.
AB41 specifications
Dimensions (L-W-H)
5.20 x 1.92 x 2.48 m
Total Weight, Battle Ready
7.52 tons
Crew
4 (front driver, rear driver, machine gunner/loader, and vehicle commander/gunner)
Propulsion
FIAT-SPA 6-cylinder petrol, 88 hp with 195 liters tank
Speed
Road Speed: 80 km/h
Off-Road Speed: 50 km/h
Range
400 km
Armament
Cannone-Mitragliera Breda 20/65 Modello 1935 (456 rounds) and Two Breda Modello 1938 8 x 59 mm medium machine guns (1992 rounds)
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Kingdom of Italy (1941-1944)
