Autoblinda AB 40, December 1940, Libya. One of the very first units equipped with AB 40s committed in operations. It was soon replaced by the AB 41, and all machines were converted.
Kingdom of Italy (1940)
Medium Armored Car – 24 Built (with Model 40 Turret), 435 Built (with Model 41 Turret)
The AB40 armored car was the most innovative reconnaissance vehicle of the Regio Esercito (Eng: Royal Italian Army) developed before the Second World War. FIAT and Ansaldo collaborated to respond to two requests for new armored cars: the first was to replace the old Lancia 1ZM, FIAT-Terni-Tripoli and FIAT 611 armored cars in service in the Royal Italian Army; whilst the second, was to replace the Lancia 1ZM in service in the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana or PAI (Eng: Italian Police in Africa).
An AB40 of the Pinerolo Training School. Source:Pintrest
Development of the AB40
The High Command of the Royal Italian Army considered armored cars fundamental to its modern warfare doctrine, firstly in the long-range reconnaissance role and, secondly, for infantry support tasks. The Italian Army was one of the first armes to test armored cars, with the FIAT Arsenale in 1912. Later, during World War I, the Italians were positively impressed by the capabilities of the Lancia and FIAT armored cars.
In the mid ’30s, the Royal Italian Army realized that the Lancia 1ZM and FIAT-Terni-Tripoli armored cars produced during the First World War, while still moderately effective in the infantry support role, were by now poorly armed, poorly protected and with substandard off-road driving characteristics.
In 1932, the FIAT 611 was produced. This armored truck was based on the FIAT 611C chassis with a speed of 28 km/h and a range of 180 km, but this low speed and short-range did not impress the High Command and less than 50 were produced. In 1937, ten Lancia 1ZM were sent to assist the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War, where it was clear that, although still efficient as support vehicles, they could no longer carry out reconnaissance activities. In late 1937, the Royal Army decided to issue an order for the development of a new armored car for long-range reconnaissance.
In the 1930s, the PAI, the police corps in charge of the security of the Italian colonies, still used the old Lancia 1ZM, which were not very suitable for desert use, and also improvised armored cargo trucks to face the anti-colonialist groups in Libya and Ethiopia. In 1935-1936, the PAI tested some light tanks, but they were not appreciated for their short-range, which was considered unsuitable for the required tasks. In 1937, out of their own accord, the command of the PAI requested Italian companies the development of an armored car prototype for long-range reconnaissance.
History of the Prototype
FIAT and Ansaldo collaborated on the project, deciding to combine the two requests and to produce a single vehicle that would meet the needs of the PAI and of the Royal Italian Army. Thus, the AB40 was born. A first wooden model of the armored car was presented to Army officers during their visit to the Ansaldo factory in Genoa on 11 April 1938. The mockup was very similar to the final vehicle, with four-wheel drive, 4 steered wheels with independent suspension, petrol engine, armament composed of three 8 mm machine guns, and 4 crew members.
The AB40 wooden mock-up at the Ansaldo Fossati Factory of Genoa. Source: pinterest.com
After the production of the wooden mock-up, two prototypes of the armored car, then called AutoBlindoMitragliatrice, or ABM (Eng: Machine gun Armored Car), were built. There is no precise date for the construction of the first prototype, but available photos are dated 5 May 1939 and the prototype was registered as ‘Autoblinda RE’ (for the Regio Esercito). The configuration of the front armor on this first prototype and on the prototype of the armored car destined for the PAI (initially registered “Polizia Coloniale 0021”) would be the one maintained on the final model. However, the headlights were not yet in the fairings inside the superstructure and the maintenance hatches on the engine hood were without air intakes.
The ABM of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana on the left and the ABM of the Regio Esercito on the right, in the Ansaldo factory, May 1939. Source: Archivio Ansaldo
The official presentation of the two armored car prototypes for the colonial police and the army took place on 15 May 1939, on the occasion of the inauguration of the FIAT Mirafiori plant in Turin. Then, these were shown for the first time to Benito Mussolini, the Army High Command and the PAI commanders. Mussolini was very impressed by the new vehicle and appreciated its silhouette. Some Italian newspapers of the time wrote that the Duce of Italy defined the vehicle as an “example of Italian elegance”.
The two vehicles differed in some details. The colonial police version was equipped with a large headlamp fixed on the roof of the turret and had a vertical radio antenna fixed on the front right of the superstructure, a siren on the rear part of the hull and an armored plate covering the spare wheels. The version intended for the army, provisionally re-registered as “Test TO.64”, was distinguishable by the inclination of the armor at the front of the superstructure and the fact that the spare wheels were unprotected. Compared to the prototype identified in the photos of 5 May 1939, during the test in May/June 1939, the Royal Army prototype had the air intakes on the engine deck. On both vehicles, all headlights were fitted with armor. It is not clear if the prototype of 5 May 1939 and the one with the “Test TO.64” plate are the same vehicle, but the FIAT archives in Turin do not mention the production of other prototypes.
Benito Mussolini inspects the first prototype AB40, which had the spare wheel fairing protected. On the superstructure was written “Corpo di Polizia Coloniale dell’Africa Italiana” (Eng: Colonial Police Corps of Italian Africa) and underneath it is visible the coat of arms of the Royal Italian Army. Source: forumfree.it
The first prototype of the version intended for the army registered “Test TO.64”, was sent to the Centro Studi della Motorizzazione (Eng: Centre for Motorisation Studies) in Rome in June 1939 to undergo evaluation tests. The vehicle then participated in the maneuvers of August 1939 in Piedmont. It then received the rear registration plate “RE 3” on a triangular plate.
At the end of the tests, the engineers at the Centre for Motorisation Studies suggested some modifications and improvements, in particular, to simplify the shape of the mudguards and incorporate the front headlights into the front plate of the superstructure to prevent them from restricting visibility on bends. The sides of the front of the superstructure were modified, taking the example of the first version of the prototype to facilitate construction.
Tests on the prototype intended for the PAI, re-registered “Polizia Coloniale 0501”, were conducted in the operating theatre. The vehicle, sent to Africa Orientale Italiana or AOI (Eng: Italian East Africa), modern-day Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia, disembarked in Massawa in Eritrea on 3 June 1939. From there, it left for a 13,000 km test run before returning to Massawa on 12 September. Despite the difficult weather conditions, the armored car was deemed a success. It was then sent back to Italy accompanied by a favorable report containing some proposed modifications: addition of an anti-aircraft machine gun mount on the turret, replacement of the enormous fixed headlight on the turret with a smaller one which could be maneuvered by the commander, installation of a system that allowed the radio antenna to fold up on the right side of the superstructure and removal of the spare wheel protection. After receiving these improvements, the prototype, called AB6, was sent to the PAI training centre in Tivoli near Rome. In the summer of 1940, it was re-registered as “Polizia Africa Italiana 0501” and then sent to Libya.
The AB40 prototype was sent to Africa in 1939. Source: forumfree.it
The tests showed that the vehicle had excellent off-road driving characteristics and armor more than adequate for the role for which it was intended. Some modifications for speeding up production and eliminating some defects were made.
However, tests showed that the armament, composed of three medium machine guns, was not suitable for infantry support, but the imminent entry into the war and the need for new vehicles forced production to start anyway, while FIAT and Ansaldo technicians developed a new version. The thickness of the armor proved to be more than adequate to defend the crew from infantry fire and the hull proved to be very versatile and adapted to the requirements. The designers tried to modify the turret to mount a more powerful main armament. On 18 March 1940, the designation was changed and the vehicle received the name AutoBlindo Mod. 1940 or AB40 (Armored Car Mod. 1940).
A last prototype of the AB40 was produced, with the RE 116B registration plate. It can be distinguished from the earlier vehicles by the absence of a headlight on the turret, the elimination of the two rear air intakes on the turret, the adoption of new wheel rims, and the addition of a Notek headlight on the front of the superstructure. On the standard model of the AB40, the anti-aircraft gun mount and the Notek headlight were not mounted, the front fenders were shortened while a second horn was added to the right front fender.
The last AB40 prototype registered as RE 116B in the factory. Source: regioesercito.it
Mass production began in January 1941 and the first 5 AB40 pre-series (registered 117B to 121B) were completed in March of the same year. By July 1941, 17 armored cars had been delivered and another 80 chassis were waiting to be equipped with turrets.
Design
The most important specifications for the Italian designers were the off-road driving characteristics. The vehicle was built starting from the chassis of the TM40 artillery tractor (Medium Tractor Mod. 1940), a vehicle with four enormous wheels used to tow medium artillery pieces, in development since 1938 and which only entered service in 1942.
The FIAT-SPA TM40. The AB40 was based on its chassis. Source Wikipedia.it
One of the major issues with previous armored cars was the time needed to disengage from a firefight. In order to withdraw, these old armored cars had to make complex and slow maneuvers that were often not feasible in the narrow streets of African villages. The problem was solved by adding another driving position on the right side of the back of the crew compartment of the new armored car. The steering system was then modified, allowing both the front and rear drivers to steer with all four wheels.
Engine and Suspension
The vehicle was powered by a FIAT SPA ABM 1 6-cylinder water-cooled inline petrol engine giving out 78 hp. It was positioned in the rear of the hull, with a Zenith type 42 TTVP carburetor housed in the back of the engine compartment. The engine was designed by FIAT and produced by its subsidiary SPA in Turin. The AB40 had a speed on roads of 80 km/h, while the range was about 400 km. There were three fuel tanks. The main one, holding 118 liters, was placed between the floor of the crew compartment and the bottom armored plate, the secondary 57-liter tank was placed in front of the driver while the reserve one with 20-liters was mounted under the machine gun at the back. The total was 195 liters.
The AB chassis. In the foreground, the radiators, the oil tank, and the engine can be seen. The secondary petrol and the water tanks were side by side, with the rear driver position moved to the left. In the background, the steering wheel and the dashboard can be seen. The 20-liter reserve tank and the brake fluid tank are missing. The tires are of the ‘Artiglio a Sezione Maggiorata’ type. Source: Modellismopiù.com
The vehicle had four-wheel drive and all steering with independent shock absorbers on each wheel, which gave excellent off-road mobility to the armored cars. Also, the spare wheels, placed on the sides of the hull, were left free to rotate to help the vehicle overcome obstacles.
Hull and armor
The armor on the entire hull and superstructure consisted of bolted plates 9 mm thick. The turret also consisted of 9 mm thick plates on the front, sides, and back. The wheel fenders were also armored to prevent enemy fire from piercing the tires. The bottom had protection of 8 mm while the hull and turret roof received 6 mm plates.
In general, for the tasks the light armored car had to perform, the armor was more than adequate, protecting the crew from enemy infantry weapons and shrapnel. The hull of the armored car had an internal structure on which the plates were bolted. At the rear of the superstructure were the two armored access doors, divided in two parts that could be opened separately. The upper part had a slit to use the crew’s personal weapons for close defense.
On the right, the horn was placed at the front, the 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. In the ‘Ferroviaria’ (Eng: Railway) version, the support in the fairing was modified to allow two wheels to be attached on each side instead of one. 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.
Radio system
Not much is known about the radio system of the AB40 pre-series, except that it was not the same system as on the standard AB, as the antenna was mounted on the right side of the vehicle.
On the standard vehicles, the radio system model RF3M produced by Magneti Marelli was placed on the left wall of the superstructure, in the middle. After March 1941, this was installed on all vehicles of the AB series. It consisted of a transmitter and receiver placed one on top of the other. Underneath them, on the floor, the power supply was placed, while the batteries were placed in the double bottom of the floor, near the main fuel tank. There were two pairs of headphones and microphones, one usable by the front driver and the second by the rear machine gunner. On the left was placed the antenna, which rested on a ‘V’ support welded at the back of the superstructure. The mounted antenna could be lowered to be horizontal. When ‘hoisted’ up, it was 3 m high, but could reach 7 m fully extended, with a maximum range of 60 km. In fact, in order to open the upper part of the left door, it was necessary to raise the antenna by a few degrees.
RF3M radio equipment mounted on the AB series armored cars. Source: Pignato
Interior
On the front of the armored car, the front driver had, apart from the slit and the hyposcope for driving, the steering wheel, the dashboard, and, in front of the steering wheel, the 57-liter fuel tank, and brake fluid tank.
On his left was the gear lever with 6 gears, the hand brake, the intercom panel, and the control lever which, when lowered, allowed the rear driver to take control of the vehicle. On the right, at the top, there was a crank that allowed the raising or lowering of the radio antenna and a box with a spare hyposcope. The driver’s backrest could be lowered to allow him to access his position.
On the two sides, above the wheel fairings, there were two headlights with armored doors that were raised and lowered by the driver with one lever.
Behind the driver’s seat, in the turret, there was the position of the vehicle commander/gunner. There was no turret basket, but there was a support with pedals which fired the machine guns.
On the sides of the hull were the ammunition racks that occupied most of the free space. On the floor, on the right, there was a large container that held machine gun barrels and equipment.
Behind the racks, there was enough space for a couple of small containers for equipment, and one fire extinguisher on the left side.
At the back were the rear driver on the left and the machine gunner on the right. Their seats were foldable and the steering wheel was secured with a butterfly screw and was easily removable, to facilitate crew access and exit. Between the two seats were the dashboard, gear lever with four gears, hand brake, and the direction control lever. The intercom panel was between the vision slit and the machine gun ball support. Between the two crew members and the engine compartment, there was not an armored bulkhead, but two tanks. On the right one was a 57-liter fuel tank and, on the right, one for the engine cooling systems with water. The problem of the lack of a bulkhead was never solved and the risk of fire was always very high.
Under the machine gunner, was the vehicle’s power battery and to the right of the machine gun were headphones and the radio microphone.
At the back of the vehicle was the engine compartment, which was not easy to access for maintenance because it had only two access doors. Behind the engine, there was the radiator and the oil tank.
Turret
The turret of the AB40 was called Mod. 1940, was developed and produced by Ansaldo and was the same used on the L6/40 prototype, called M6T. The single-seater turret was octagonal, with one hatch on the turret roof for the vehicle commander/gunner. On the sides, the turret had three slots on the sides and one in the rear and two air intakes to avoid the risk of intoxication of the crew, as the vehicle did not have fans or smoke extractors. On the roof, there was a periscope of the tank commander next to the hatch, which allowed a view of the battlefield and could rotate 360°.
A photo of a pre-series AB40 in service with the PAI. The side of the turret is visible. Source: zimmerit.freeforumzone.com
Armament
The armament was composed of three 8 mm caliber Breda Mod. 38 machine guns. These had curved 24 round magazines placed on top. This machine gun was derived from the Breda Mod. 37 medium infantry machine gun. The maximum elevation of the machine guns in the turret was +18° while the depression was -9°. The third machine gun was positioned on the right side of the vehicle, oriented to the back, and placed on a ball mount. The rear machine gun could be dismounted and fitted on an anti-aircraft support, the same as that used on the ‘M’ series tanks, on the roof of the turret. From the photographs, however, it can be seen that only the pre-series armored cars received the anti-aircraft mount.
A Breda Model 38 machine gun mounted in an anti-aircraft position on top of the turret. In front of it is the commander hyposcope and, on the right, the searchlight used on the pre-series PAI vehicles. Source: zimmerit.freeforumzone.com
Ammunition
In total, there were 2,040 rounds of 8 x 59 mm RB Breda ammunition loaded in 85 machine gun magazines stored in wooden racks painted in white. 45 were stored on the right side of the hull and 40 on the left side.
Although hardly ever used, the M.39 AP (Armor Piercing) shells were available for the machine gun. The bullet weighed 12 grams and, with a muzzle velocity of 780 m/s, could penetrate a 16 mm RHA (Rolled Homogeneous Armor) plate at 90° at a distance of 100 m. Standard ammunition with the same muzzle velocity penetrated 11 mm at 100 m.
This armament was not ideal, especially because the magazines carried only 24 rounds, which did not allow for continued suppressing fire.
Tires
The tires used on the AB40 were produced by the Pirelli Factory in Milan, as were almost all the tires on Italian vehicles. Pirelli produced several tires for the 60 cm (24″) rims used on the TM40 transport vehicles and also AB series armored cars.
Three types of tires were used. In the African theatre, “Libia” (Eng: Libya) 9.75 x 24″ (25 x 60 cm) tires were used. For use in Europe, such as Italy and the Balkans, “Artiglio” (Eng: Claw) 9 x 24″ (22.8 x 60 cm) tires were used.
The third type was used on the “Ferroviaria” version, the wheels used were train wheels modified by FIAT to adapt them to the AB40 rim.
AB40 standard transformed in “Ferroviaria” to run on railway lines. Source: web photoAB40 standard transformed in “Ferroviaria” to run on railway lines but with road wheels fitted. Source: web photo
PAI AB40 Prototype
The PAI prototype, of which there are several photographs, was different from the standard AB40. The wheel rims were more elaborate. In order to speed up production, these were replaced by a more resistant six-spoke model. The slit for personal weapons on the side door was not installed, in its place there was only a less sophisticated slot used for the same role.
Another obvious detail was the radio antenna that was mounted on the left side. On the AB40 and the later AB40/41 hybrids, the antenna was mounted on the right side. The radio system of the prototype is unknown. The turret had four air intakes but no slots and, as on the prototypes, a fixed headlight was mounted on the roof of the turret. On the right side, near the door, was fixed the jack that on the standard models was transported inside the large box on the right side of the vehicle. The mudguards were longer and larger to protect the wheels from enemy fire. However, often, when driving off-road, the mudguards would hit obstacles and bend. In some cases, the bent part would cut the tire.
An AB40 with Pirelli “Artiglio” tires in the first type wheel rim. The Breda 38 mounted on the back of the vehicle was dismounted and mounted in the anti-aircraft machine gun support. On the door the slots are visible and next to it the jack can be seen. Source pinterest.com
AB40/41
The testing of the prototype of the armored car in Africa and the study of a Soviet BA-6 heavy armored car captured intact during the Spanish Civil War, supplied to the Spanish Republican Army by the Soviets, made the Italian High Command understand that the three machine gun armament inherited from the Lancia 1ZM was no longer suitable for the needs of modern warfare. Production was started anyway while a solution was being considered. Ansaldo quickly proposed to install a new turret, called Mod. 1941, developed for the standard version of the L6/40 light tank, on the chassis of the AB40. Due to the weight increase from 6.8 to 7.4 tons, after some time, FIAT-SPA proposed to replace the engine with an enhanced version, the FIAT SPA ABM 2 6-cylinder giving out 88 hp. This version was not immediately tested, but when it was accepted in service, the new version had some problems.
In order to produce the SPA ABM 2 engine, the company had to modify the assembly lines and this took time. For a time, the old SPA ABM 1 engine was still mounted on the chassis of the AB armored cars fitted with the Mod. 1941 turret. This version is sometimes known as the AB40/41 hybrid, although it was never officially called that. The registers of the Ufficio Autonomo Approvvigionamenti Automobilistici Regio Esercito (Eng: Royal Army Autonomous Automobile Procurement Office), which lists the vehicles produced with their registration, chassis number and engine number, mention the AB40 version as a vehicle still produced in 1941 and early 1942. According to these registers, the armored cars registered from 116B to 551B would be AB40, i.e. 435 units produced. Those registered from 552B to 784B, i.e. 232 vehicles, would be AB41s. This means that a large number of the AB40s actually had the mod.1941 turret mounted.
The FIAT SPA ABM 2 6-cylinder engine mounted on the AB41. Source: Pignato
The AB40 in action
As soon as the production order was received, FIAT started to build the assembly lines and to produce the new armored cars. 5 pre-series vehicles were finished in March 1941 and were delivered to the Armored Car Training Centre of Pinerolo for crew training. Another unknown number of pre-series vehicles, slightly modified with the addition of a searchlight on the roof of the turret and a littorio beam (symbol of the Italian Fascist Party) on the front of the hull, were sent to the Training Centre of the Italian African Police in Rome.
Polizia dell’Africa Italiana
Due to the entry into the war, the PAI did not receive many ABs, which went to the army instead.
When the African Campaign began on September 13, 1940, the PAI supported the 132ª Divisione Corazzata “Ariete” (Eng: 132nd Armored Division) of the Royal Army with motorcyclist companies. In 1941, all the armored cars it owned, 60 AB40 and AB41, were used to equip 5 Armored Car Companies and were sent to Africa.
On the first day of the war, a company with 10 old armored cars crossed the border with Egypt. After a few kilometers, almost all the vehicles were destroyed by friendly fire.
From that moment, all the PAI’s AB40 and AB41 armored cars had the Italian flag painted on the sides and on the front of the superstructure in order to distinguish them even at a distance. When they were not in use, they stayed in barracks in Benghazi and Tripoli.
AB40 registered 0501 during an exercise near Rome with the Pirelli “Artiglio” tires. Notice the soldiers armed with the MAB38A (the only model that could be equipped with a bayonet). The PAI was the first Italian corps armed with this submachine gun. Notice the headlight on the turret, the longer mudguards, like on the prototype, and the lictorian beam fixed above the plate. Source: pinterest.com
For the rest of the African Campaign, the ABs of the PAI fought alongside the units of the Royal Army. It is not clear when but, before the Tunisian Campaign, due to the losses suffered, the PAI police officers and the very few survivors were aggregated into the army units. The PAI men and some AB41 armored cars fought in Rome during the days after the Armistice of 8 September 1943.
AB40 registered 0501 of the PAI in Tripoli, winter 1941-42. Source: pinterest.com
Regio Esercito
The Royal Italian Army used AB40s only in Italy and the Balkans. In Italy, the first 5 pre-production units, one of the two prototypes and an unknown number of units were used in the Centro di Addestramento Autoblindo ( Eng: Armored Car Training Centre) of Pinerolo near Turin. There, in March 1941, the training courses of the crews on the new armored cars began. The first crews of the Royal Army that employed the AB40 and AB41 at the outbreak of the war did not have a specific training for the new vehicles but were trained to fight on the old Lancia 1ZM.
The AB40 was used extensively by the students of the training center, together with the AB41s (probably AB40/41 hybrids), after the Cassibile Armistice of 8 September 1943. Their fate remains uncertain.
In 1942, the Royal Army took from the Armored Car Training Centre 12 armored cars, 8 AB40s and 4 AB41s, which were taken to the FIAT factories in Turin, where they were modified to be used on the railways. These armored cars, nicknamed “Ferroviarie” (Railways), were used to prevent sabotage by Yugoslav partisans on the railway lines of the territories occupied by Italians in the Balkans. The 12 armored cars were replaced by AB41s in the following months.
The first pre-series AB40 produced, unarmed, used by the Centro Addestramento di Pinerolo before September 1943. Source: biturgus.com
Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana
After the Armistice, the Germans occupied the factories of FIAT and Ansaldo and also captured or requisitioned all the Italian vehicles used by the Royal Army. The confused days after the Armistice brought the Italian soldiers, left without orders and officers, to take decisions autonomously in all the occupied territories and also in Italy. Some decided to fight against the Germans, joining the Allies, others, loyal to Mussolini, continued to fight together with the Germans, and others deserted, returning to their homes or joining the partisan brigades. This led the Germans to be very suspicious of Italian soldiers. The Germans also needed to replace the vehicles they lost in battle with anything available.
On 23 September 1943, Benito Mussolini founded the Repubblica Sociale Italiana or RSI (Eng: Italian Social Republic) in the Italian territories still under fascist and German control. Many Italian soldiers still loyal to Mussolini and fascist ideology joined the RSI and joined his new army, the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano or ENR (Eng: National Republican Army). The German Army provided the new Italian Army with a few tanks and armored cars that formed the armored nucleus of the ENR. The divisions of the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana or GNR (Eng: National Republican Guard), the fascist military police, however, were forced to rearm themselves without any assistance by building improvised or rudimentary armored cars, such as the Lancia 3Ro Blindato of the XXXVI° Black Brigade “Natale Piacentini” or by searching in warehouses and stores for any vehicle still able to fight.
The Gruppo Corazzato “Leonessa” (Eng: Armored Group “Lioness”), operating in Piedmont, Lombardy and Emilia Romagna, managed to take possession of dozens of transport vehicles, which were used in anti-partisan actions and were armored, such as the SPA-Viberti AB43 armored cars. The ‘Leonessa’ also managed to employ 18 AB41 armored cars found in northern Italy. According to an unconfirmed source, some of these armored cars were recovered from the Centro di Addestramento Autoblindo di Pinerolo. However, it is not clear why the use of AB40 is not mentioned in the ranks of the “Leonessa”. Two hypotheses have been made, the first is that the AB40s were disassembled and used as spare parts because, by then, the armament was obsolete. The second hypothesis instead states that the turrets of the armored cars were replaced with Mod. 1941 turrets supplied by the SPA factory in Turin.
Conclusion
The AB40 was a revolutionary armored car for the Royal Italian Army, with some very modern features, such as double driving positions and independent suspension for each wheel. However, its armament was insufficient for the infantry support role. This deficit led FIAT and Ansaldo technicians to develop a new version, the better-armed AB41 and other vehicles on the same chassis. The few examples produced were mostly used to train the crews of Italian armored cars.
Autoblinda AB40, December 1940, Libya. One of the very first units equipped with AB40s committed in operations. It was soon replaced by the AB41, and all machines were converted.
AB40 specifications
Dimensions (L-W-H)
5.20 m x 1.92 m x 2.29 m
Total Weight, Battle Ready
6.4 tonnes
Crew
4
Propulsion
FIAT-SPA ABM 1, 6-cylinders 78 hp engine
Road Speed
75 km/h
Off-Road Speed
50 km/h
Range
400 km
Armament
3x Breda 38 by 8x59mm machine guns with 2040 round
Hull Armor
17 mm front, sides and rear
Turret Armor
22 mm front, 8.5 mm sides and rear
Total Production
3 prototype, 5 pre-series and 24 vehicles finished and delivered to the Royal Army. 435 AB41 armed with the SPA ABM 1 engine
Source:
I mezzi blindo-corazzati italiani 1923-1943. Nicola Pignato.
Gli autoveicoli da combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano. Nicola Pignato e Filippo Cappellano.
Le autoblinde AB 40, 41 e 43. Nicola Pignato e Fabio D’Inzéo.
Italian Republic (1984)
Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun – 2 Prototypes Built
The OTOMATIC was a self-propelled anti-aircraft system developed privately by the Italian OTO-Melara company, in collaboration with OTO-Breda. The name OTOMATIC is actually that of the anti-aircraft turret armed with a powerful 76 mm cannon. The turret could be mounted on a modified OF-40 tank or standard Leopard 1A2 MBT (Main Battle Tank) hull, the first produced by the OTO-Melara and the second produced under license and used by the Italian Army. It was developed as a heavy self-propelled anti-aircraft gun for use in Armored Divisions. The name is the acronym of OTO Main Anti-aircraft Tank for Intercept and Combat.
The OTOMATIC self-propelled anti-aircraft system on the Palmaria SPG hull being exposed at the Paris Air Show 1987. Source: flickriver.com
Development
The OTOMATIC project was developed by many factories. OTO-Melara was responsible for the design and construction of the prototypes. The main partners of the project were IVECO Defense Vehicles (part of IVECO-FIAT), Officine Galileo, OTO-Breda and Marittimo Aero SPA.
OTO-Melara, being a private company, designed the vehicle for the international market, but also offered it to the Esercito Italiano (EI, Eng: Italian Army).
The decision to mount the turret on the Palmaria Self-Propelled Gun (SPG) chassis, a modified version of the OF-40, was not a coincidence. This SPG, produced by OTO-Melara in collaboration with FIAT-IVECO, did not have great international success and therefore, it was hoped that creating an entire family of armored vehicles with a common hull would increase the interest of foreign armies.
In 1981, the program was presented for the first time at the Paris Air Show. Between 1981 and 1985, the first prototype was produced and tested and was presented at the Paris Air Show in 1987. In the same year, the second prototype was produced, which was tested until 1989.
In 1979, in order to outperform the German Flakpanzer Gepard and the British Marksman, the latter produced by Marconi, another Italian private company, the OTO technicians decided to mount the HEFAS 76 turret on the hull of the OTO-FIAT Palmaria Self Propelled Gun. This turret was made of welded steel 25 mm thick on all sides and 15 mm on the roof. It weighed 15 tons and was armed with a prototype version of the Cannone 76/62 OTO-Breda Super Rapido (Super Fast) naval gun which, at the time, was only a project. The cannon went into production in 1988.
The problems with modern mobile armored anti-aircraft systems are their armament, which usually consists of multiple guns of a caliber between 20 and 35 mm. The biggest downside of these weapons is long-range accuracy and the massive consumption of ammunition needed to take down an aerial target.
The OTOMATIC was designed primarily to shoot down enemy helicopters and planes before they had a chance to launch their Air-to-Ground Missiles (AGM) or Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) from a distance of more than 3 or 4 km. While the Gepard, armed with two 35 mm guns, had a 3.5 km effective range, the OTOMATIC could fire its 5 to 6 kg heavy shells (depending on the type) to ranges of 6 or 7 km. In addition to being quite precise even at that distance, a single shot could be lethal to any target even if it did not directly hit it thanks to the VTPA FB76 proximity fuze produced in France.
The OTOMATIC could also be used in other roles in addition to its anti-aircraft main purpose. Its cannon, being designed for naval use, could be used for coastal defense against lighter targets. The wide range of ammunition that could be fired from the cannon also allowed it to be used for infantry support and even to engage enemy AFVs (Armored Fighting Vehicle). In fact, the availability of armor-piercing rounds made it possible to destroy armored vehicles and Armored Personnel Carriers (APC), and even deal with IFVs and MBTs in certain situations. However, as it had the same hull armor of the OF-40 Mk.2 and Leopard 1, which were very light and vulnerable in comparison to the other MBTs of the time, with a frontal thickness of the hull of only 70 mm, while the turret reached only 25 mm, the OTOMATIC was itself vulnerable to anything larger than a Heavy Machine Gun and generally would have had to stay out of range of enemy AFVs. At the time it was designed, produced and tested, between 1979 and 1991, it had the most powerful armament of any SPAAGs available in the world.
Its light armor allowed the OTOMATIC to retain good mobility and speed, as it could reach a speed of 65 km/h when mounted on the Palmaria chassis and 60 km/h on the Leopard 1 chassis.
Unfortunately, in 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, such an expensive self-propelled vehicle was no longer of topmost priority for the armies of the world. Even the Italian Army, which had shown great interest in this powerful vehicle, could no longer finance the project due to cuts in the military budget after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The OTOMATIC remained on the international market until 1997 when OTO scrapped the prototype on the Palmaria hull and put the second one in a warehouse to rust.
In 2019, when it was thought that the second vehicle had also been scrapped, the prototype using the Leopard hull re-appeared completely restored and in working order. OTO will exhibit it in its new museum in La Spezia, near the company’s headquarters.
Between 2005 and 2013, OTO-Melara (now Leonardo-Finmeccanica) designed a new anti-aircraft turret armed with a 76 mm cannon, giving birth to DRACO, the OTOMATIC’s successor.
Radars
The OTOMATIC had 2 radars designed and produced for this vehicle by Galileo Avionica S.P.A. (now Selex ES), which had two separate tasks. The first radar, used for target acquisition, was the SMA VPS-A05, which could not track targets alone. During transport, the radars could be lowered to reduce the height of the vehicle.
The VPS-A05 had a minimum range of 500 m and a maximum of 20 km against any type of aircraft traveling at a minimum speed of 36 km/h and a maximum of 3,600 km/h, a 360° radio (scannable in 1 second) and could track 24 targets at a time.
In the early 1980s, the Israelis developed an anti-radar missile system mounted on armored vehicles with the task of hitting the radar of SAM (Surface-to-Air-Missile) batteries. In order to counter this, the OTOMATIC’s radars were designed to operate at low power, reducing the risk that it will be engaged by anti-radiation missiles and the pulse-Doppler system.
The second radar, used for target tracking, was the SMA VPG-A06 in the Ka band, which could not acquire targets alone, but could trace them and position them on the radar displays of the gunner and vehicle commander. Its tracking range was 180°, its minimum tracking radius was 75 m while the maximum range against planes and helicopters was 20 km. The minimum engagement speed was 54 km/h, while the maximum was 3,600 km/h. The radar was very precise, being able to identify the position of a 2 m size target at a distance of 10 km and trace it without any problem within an elevation of -5° to + 80°.
Right side of the OTO Main Anti-aircraft Tank for Intercept and Combat on the Palmaria hull. The two onboard radars are clearly visible. The SMA VPS-A05 is the one on the back of the turret, higher, while the SMA VPG-A06 is the one in the center and is at its lowest elevation because, when the photo was taken, the vehicle was conducting mobility tests. Source: pinterest.com
Crew
The OTOMATIC crew consisted of four soldiers. The driver, placed on the right side of the hull, had a hatch identical to that on the OF-40 and three VO/IL 186 episcopes. The other crew members were placed in the giant turret. On the left, next to a side door and below a hatch equipped with two periscopes, was the gun loader. In the center, behind the gun breech and the loading system, was the gunner, with his fixed periscopic detector. Finally, the tank commander, on the right, with a side door identical to the one by the loader and equipped with a two-axis stabilized periscope (unknown type, but probably an early version of the SFIM SP-T-694) that could be operated from the inside with a joystick and with a 360° field of view to monitor the battlefield without having to leave the vehicle.
The gunner was equipped with a sighting screen using the electro-optical sight mounted next to the gun and equipped with two joysticks, one to rotate the turret and the other to maneuver the VPG-A06 radar. The tank commander was equipped with a color screen with radar mapping and images of the panoramic telescope as well as two joysticks, one to maneuver the periscope and the second to move the turret, the cannon and open fire in the remote case the gunner is no longer able to do his tasks.
The OTOMATIC on Leopard 1A2 hull with a dummy barrel transferred to the OTO-Melara Museum in La Spezia, December 2019. Source: ANSA.it
Armament
The cannon of the OTO Main Anti-aircraft Tank for Intercept and Combat was the Cannone da 76/62 ‘Super Rapido’ OTO-Breda (sometimes mistakenly called Otobreda) with a firing rate of 120 rounds per minute. At the request of the buyer, this could have been replaced with the version of the cannon called Cannone da 76/62 ‘Compatto’ (Eng: Compact), with the firing rate reduced to 85 rounds per minute. The cannon had a traverse of -5° up to + 60° and was stabilized on two axes to allow the fire even on the move. To avoid damaging the frame, the cannon barrel had a very high recoil. A large smoke extractor was placed in the middle of the barrel to prevent the gases generated from firing from entering the combat chamber and intoxicating the crew.
The naval tower armed with the Cannone OTO-Breda da 76/62 ‘Super Rapido’ on the deck of an Italian frigate. Source: pinterest.com
Its maximum range was 20 km against land or naval targets and 9 km, theoretically, against air targets. The practical antiaircraft range was 6 or 7 km since the vehicle needed time to identify and aim at the target before opening fire. From the moment the airborne target entered the radar range, the OTOMATIC could shoot it down within a maximum of 6 seconds.
The vehicle was also equipped with 8 Wegmann-Krauss Maffei 76 mm smoke launchers, four on each side of the turret and with a machine gun pedestal, probably for a Beretta MG42/59 7.62 x 51 mm NATO mounted on the hatch of the commander.
Ammunition
The muzzle velocity of the projectiles was 910 m/s for anti-aircraft ammunition and 1,580 m/s for anti-tank ammunition.
In order to fulfill the many potential uses of this cannon, the 76 mm OTO-Breda gun can fire many types of ammunition, from Semi-Armor-Piercing High-Explosive Incendiary (SAPHEI) and High-Explosive Variable Time (HE VT) for the anti-aircraft role, to APFSDS (Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding-Sabot) and MPAT (Multi-Purpose Anti-Tank) for the anti-tank role. This is in addition to (entered into service only in the last years of the 2000s) DART, DAVIDE, C-RAM (Counter-Rockets Artillery and Mortars) and the sub calibrated Strales (42 mm) ammunition that can destroy missiles traveling at any speed thanks to a beam of laser coordinates that, with DART ammunition, can adjust the trajectory of the projectile even in flight thanks to the stabilized canard fins.
It was also possible to fire all NATO standard ammunition, such as the DM 231 Armor-Piercing, DM 241 High-Explosive and DM 248 target practice shells.
The hull of the DRACO self-propelled anti-aircraft system with (from left to right) the target practice High-Explosive round, the C-RAM round and the target practice Armor Piercing round also used by the OTOMATIC. The two practice rounds are produced by Diehl together with other ammunition of the DRACO, while C-RAM, DAVIDE and DART are produced in Italy by Leonardo-Finmeccanica. Source: ArmyRecognition.com
The amount of ammunition onboard is 100 rounds (some sources mistakenly claim 90). 25 rounds are in the ready-to-use automatic loader and in the turret basket, another 45 in the turret rear and 30 in the hull. The automatic loader is equipped with two revolver type rotating cylinders, both with 12 rounds that allow the cannon to fire all the rounds of a cylinder in just 6 seconds in the Super Rapid version and about 8.6 seconds in the Compact version. However, when the cylinder is empty, the loader has to reload it manually, taking a long time.
However, it was common practice to fire 5 or 6 rounds bursts during tests to avoid excessive ammunition consumption and not to overheat the barrel.
Fire Control System
The Fire Control System (FCS) was a modified and improved version of the LINCE, an FCS produced by OTO-Breda used on ships of the Marina Militare Italiana (Eng: Italian Navy) and by ships of other navies that use the 76 mm OTO-Breda system. Tests have shown that it is able to open fire in any weather conditions and even when the vehicle is moving at low speeds on rough terrain or when the enemy uses heavy electronic countermeasures.
The IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) system, used on military aircraft, was also integrated into the FCS, which informs the crew if the aircraft locked by the radar was friendly or belonged to the enemy. This was produced by the Italian company ITALTEL.
Officine Galileo, as on all Italian armored vehicles, had designed the coaxial electro-optical vision optics and the telemetric laser that was used by the gunner if he had to engage ground targets, without the use of radars, like a normal tank. The on-board computer was probably an early version of the TURMS OG-I4 L3 (Tank Universal Reconfigurable Modular System Officine Galileo) mounted on the Italian MBT C1 ARIETE and on the B1 Centauro wheeled tank destroyer a few years later. This had been enhanced in some of its electronic components to follow, calculate and engage 20 targets simultaneously and independently.
The FCS was also gyro-stabilized, allowing it to have the same orientation as the cannon even when the vehicle drove through rough terrain.
A Palmaria OTOMATIC opens fire in a demonstration for possible foreign buyers. The cartridges were ejected out of an opening located under the barrel. Source: Military-today.com
Hulls
The HEFAS 76 turret was mounted, in the first prototype, on the hull of the Palmaria Self Propelled Gun built by IVECO-FIAT and OTO-Melara-OTO-Breda (CIO) Consortium. This hull was derived from the OF-40 (the ‘O’ stands for OTO and ‘F’ for FIAT, the main partners of the project and ’40’ the weight when empty). The tank was the first designed by Italy after 1945 without foreign help, of which only 39 examples were produced between 1980 and 1985. It was purchased only by the United Arab Emirates Army and is still used after 34 years of service. 235 of the SPG version weres built from 1982 onwards, along with 25 single turrets. 210 were ordered by Libya, 25 by Nigeria and the 25 turrets were sold to Argentina, which mounted them on the Tanque Argentino Mediano (TAM), creating the Vehículo de Combate de Artillería (VCA).
The OF-40 Mk.2 MBT Source: military-today.com
The first SPG Palmaria produced. Source: svppbellum.blogspot.com
The OF was very similar to the Leopard 1 because OTO bought the blueprint of the German MBT and produced its own licensed version of the Leopard 1A2 for the Italian Army, also called Leopard in Italy, but nicknamed ‘Leopardino’.
The OF-40 was a vehicle developed using the Leopard 1 as a base but designed for export, especially Middle Eastern armies, with an armored vehicle of similar capabilities, but cheaper than the Leopard.
The hull was made of welded steel with a front thickness of 70 mm and side thickness of 25 mm. The wheels, suspension and tracks were identical to those of the Leopard but produced by Italian companies with 15 mm thick protective skirts.
The engine of the OTOMATIC was a licensed copy of the MTU MB 838 CA M500, 10-cylinder with a maximum power of 830 hp. 1,000 liters of diesel were stored in two 500-liter tanks in the engine compartment sides. It was capable of giving the OTOMATIC 500 km of range on roads and a speed of 65 km/h.
The Palmaria hull was ‘squarer’ than the chassis of the OF-40 and remotorized with a 750 hp engine of German origin and two 400 liters tanks. The hull of the OF-40 was taken into consideration but, for unknown reasons, it was preferred to use the re-engined Palmaria hull.
The OTOMATIC on Palmaria hull after the tests. On top of the turret is visible in addition to the radars, the commander periscope. Source: militaryimages.net
The Leopard 1A2, on the other hand, was produced by the German company Krauss-Maffei between 1965 and 1984. 4,700 of the MBT version were purchased by armies around the world due to its reliability and firepower which made it one of the best NATO tanks of the time. Its hull was produced with welded steel with the same armor thicknesses as those on the OF-40.
The engine and fuel tanks were the same. However, the maximum speed with the HEFAS 76-L1 turret (the version of the OTOMATIC turret used for the Leopard 1 hull) was reduced from 80 to 60 km/h. The gearbox was the model 4 HP-250 gearbox with four forward and two reverse gear ratios produced by the German factory Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen. The gear selection mechanism was electro-hydraulic. The Leopard 1 was fitted with a trailing arm torsion bar type suspension system. The first three and last two road wheels on each side of the vehicle were provided with dual action hydraulic shock dampers. Seven double road wheels with rubber tires were mounted on each side of the German MBT. The Leopard 1-based version of the OTOMATIC was proposed to the German Army, but it was not interested in replacing its Flakpanzer Gepard. In the early 90s, a version of the OTOMATIC based on the chassis of the American M60 Patton main battle tank was designed, but it was quickly abandoned.
The Leopard 1A2 produced by OTO-Melara in Italian Service. Source: pinterest.com
It should be noted that the version of the OTOMATIC based on the Leopard chassis differs from the OF-40 one by the lack of side skirts, which were never mounted on the Leopard-based prototype.
The rounds for the cannon that were positioned in the hull were stored in the frontal part, immediately before the gearbox, to the left of the driver.
The OTOMATIC on the Leopard hull opens fire against static ground targets during a firing test. The difference between the OF-40 and the Leopard hull are visible. Source: warthunder.com
New OTO-Breda projects
The compact design of the 76 mm cannon automatic loader on the HEFAS turret served as the basis for the design of a new naval turret for the OTO cannon. This version held 80 rounds in the autoloader cylinder instead of 50. In addition, the cannon was used to design the new DRACO ground turret, more compact and lighter than the OTOMATIC system. This turret, also armed with a 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm coaxial Beretta MG42/59 or Browning M2HB machine gun, can be used for four different roles, anti-air (aircraft, helicopter or UAV), anti-missile, against ground targets or against naval targets (up to 20 km). Thanks to the new DART, DAVIDE and Strales ammunition, which incorporate the new NA-25X radar and the updated DARDO-F shooting computers, the cannon can also lock on and eliminate Air-to-Ground-Missiles (AGM).
Thanks to its lightness, the new DRACO turret can be mounted on armored car hulls, 8×8 trucks or tanks and also as a fixed turret on a static emplacement. In 2013, a DRACO was mounted on the hull of the Italian B1 Centauro 8×8 tank destroyer. 36 rounds of ammunition can be stowed on board in the automatic loader, plus another 24 rounds in rear-turret racks. On larger vehicles or in bunkers, the amount of ammunition could be increased to 36 or 50 rounds in the automatic revolver-type loader. In recent years, OTO-Breda (now Leonardo-Finmeccanica), has been planning a fully automatic loader for naval use. This has the purpose of removing the need for some crew members to be in the proximity of the cannon and ammunition. It is probable that, as soon as this is developed in a new system, OTO will make it suitable for use on armored vehicles.
The DRACO self-propelled anti-aircraft system mounted on a B1 Centauro hull during a parade in Rome on 2 June 2013. Source: military-today.com
A product of a bygone era and errors of the Italian Army
Today, the OTOMATIC is an obsolete project. The heavy turret needs an expensive and heavy MBT hull to transport it. The range of the cannon, greater than any other cannon mounted on a mobile anti-aircraft system when it was first released, and its precision at long distances is now equaled, and in some cases surpassed by short-range anti-aircraft missiles now available, such as the Air Defense Anti-Tank System (ADATS).
The OTOMATIC has heavy armor for a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, which protects it from light infantry weapons, but it is not comparable to that of the battle tanks to which it must offer protection even on the front line. Its turret is very tall and its radars cannot be lowered or hidden inside. Helicopter and airplane carried anti-tank missiles, such as the Russian 9K114 Šturm, are capable of exceeding the 76 mm cannon in range. Its performance against flying targets at ranges of up to 6 km can today also be reached by missile systems transportable on 10-ton vehicles. The OTOMATIC, which is heavy (46 or 47 tons) and expensive ($US7.307 million in 1997) is no longer appealing to modern militaries compared to the competition.
The failure of the vehicle can also be considered from another perspective. The Soviets had also thought of putting into service a similar SPAAG, a vehicle based on a tank hull armed with the AK-176 76.2 mm naval gun and an adjustable firing rate of 30, 60 or 120 rounds per minute. The Soviets developed this gun for the navy before OTO-Breda in 1979. However, they preferred a mixed system with two 30 mm light cannons and eight 9M331 missiles, the 2K22 Tunguska. This entered in service with the Soviet Army in 1988 and is still in service as of 2020.
In 1983, the prototype using the Palmaria hull was presented to the Italian Army which showed interest, requesting and perhaps financing another prototype on the Leopard 1 hull. This MBT was, at the time, the predominant tank of the Italian Armored Divisions but, due to the high costs of designing, building and converting the new SPAAGs, an expected order for 80 OTOMATIC was canceled. About $US472 million were invested to buy 275 vehicles of the SIDAM-25, also designed by OTO-Melara based on an M113 armed with four 25 mm cannons.
In the late nineties, an anti-aircraft self-propelled gun was even created based on the hull of the Leopard 1 tank and armed with a 40/70 Bofors cannon, but it was realized that it was not a good solution. Even if the project was as innovative as it promised, with only two crewmen placed in the hull and a state-of-the-art automatic loading system, the project was already closed in 1997 in favor of missile systems and the SIDAM-25.
The OTOMATIC turret mounted on the Palmaria SPG chassis, with the sideskirts being an easy indication that this is not the Leopard hull. Illustration by Ardhya ‘Vesp’ Anargha, funded by our Patreon campaign.
OTOMATIC on OF-40 hull specifications
Dimensions
Hull 7.26 (9.63 with cannon) x 3.35 x 3.07 m
Total weight, battle ready
47 tonnes
Crew
4 (driver, commander, gunner, loader)
Propulsion
MTU MB 837 Ka-500 diesel engine 750 hp
Top Road Speed
60 km/h
Operational max. range
500 km
Armament
OTO-Breda 76/62 Super Rapido or Compatto with 100 rounds Beretta MG42/59 7.62 mm
Armor
Rolled homogeneous armor steel, 70 mm in the front, 25 mm sides and rear of the hull, 25 mm all the sides of the turret, 15 mm roof and lateral skirt
Production
2 prototypes: one on the OF-40 hull and one on a Leopard 1 hull.
Sources
Forecastinternational.com
Leonardo Finmeccanica archives of La Spezia
Italian Army White Book (1992)
Semovente M41 da 75/18, Littorio division, Sicily, August 1943.
Kingdom of Italy (1941-1955)
Self-Propelled Gun – 162 Built (M41), 66 Built (M42)
The Semovente da 75/18 was a family of Italians self-propelled guns based on the chassis of the Italian medium M13/40, M14/41, and M15/42 tanks armed with a 75 mm L/18 Ansaldo cannon in a casemate. It is the most widely produced self-propelled gun in the Kingdom of Italy during the Second World War, capable of fighting against almost all opposing armored vehicles. It was used in various roles by the Regio Esercito (Eng: Royal Italian Army) for infantry support and a tank destroyer. 288 vehicles were produced in total. It was also appreciated by the Wehrmacht, which captured several of them and put them back into service in its armored divisions.
An M40 da 75/18 in Africa 1942. To increase the range of the vehicle, crews carried jerry cans everywhere outside the vehicles. Source: wikipedia.com
Development
In 1938, the Regio Esercito realized that it had no vehicles capable of dealing with the Soviet tanks of the period, such as the BT-5 and the T-26s that were encountered during the Spanish Civil War, and a new self-propelled gun project was started. Its task was to destroy enemy tanks and infantry positions. A prototype was developed on the M6 chassis (which later became the L6/40) called the Semovente M6. The initial version was armed with a 47/32 cannon, followed by one with a 75 mm cannon. The 75 mm project was abandoned due to unclear reasons, but the 47 mm version would go on to become the Semovente L40 da 47/32.
In 1939, the Regio Esercito established its first two armored divisions, and the problem of adopting a tank destroyer into service resurfaced. It was desired to use the Cannone da 75/34 Mod. S.F., but Ansaldo’s project of mounting this 75/34 gun on the hull of a L6 tank failed.
Wooden prototype of the Semovente M6 with the 75 mm gun. Source: Pignato
With the outbreak of World War Two, the success enjoyed by the German assault cannons derived from the Panzer III and equipped with a 7.5 cm StuK 37 L/24 cannon, the StuG III, became evident. Ansaldo proposed a new project to the Army General Staff, designed by the Colonel of the Servizio Tecnico d’Artiglieria (STA or Technical Service Artillery), Sergio Berlese, in collaboration with Ansaldo technicians. This project involved the use of a 75/18 Mod. 1934 howitzer mounted in a casemate on the hull of the M13/40 medium tank. Later models used a M14/41 or M15/42 hull. Under Berlese’s supervision, a prototype was quickly built by FIAT and delivered for testing in February 1941. After firing tests, the army ordered a first batch of sixty 75/18 self-propelled vehicles to be delivered before the middle of 1941. However, these self-propelled only appeared in North Africa in January 1942.
Design of the Semovente da 75/18
The vehicle was very similar to the medium tank it was based on, with a riveted hull, the crew located in the combat compartment inside the riveted casemate at the front, and a separate engine compartment at the back. There would be some differences based on what medium tank it was based on, either the M13/40, M14/41, or M15/42. The semi-elliptical leaf spring suspension, bogies, and the tracks were the same.
The crew was reduced to three men, however. The driver was at the front on the left side, with the loader behind him. The commander sat on the right side and he also had to aim and shoot the gun besides give orders to the crew. The loader also acted as the radio operator.
Main Armament
The cannon was located in the front of the vehicle, slightly to the right, on a tilting ball support that allowed a notable 38° of traverse, 20° to the right and 18° to the left, and an elevation from -12°to + 22°. The 75/18 was a fairly modern piece of artillery, equipped with a muzzle brake punctured by small blast holes. The ammunition supply consisted of 41 rounds.
The gun was the Ansaldo Obice da 75/18 Mod. 1935, a howitzer developed for infantry support in early 1935 and had a low muzzle velocity (about 450 m/s). Although the original gun had a maximum range of 9,500 m, the lower elevation of the self-propelled version reduced the range to 7,000-7,500 m. It proved to be versatile and even deadly against many Allied tanks, such as the lightly-armored British Cruiser tanks, but also the heavier and better protected M3 Grants, M4 Shermans and Mk Vlll Cromwells using HEAT ammunition. With the EP (Effetto Pronto), the first type of HEAT rounds the vehicle could fire, it could penetrate those tanks at distances of about 700 m. The second type of HEAT rounds, called EPS (Effetto Pronto Speciale), could penetrate 120 mm of vertical armor tilted at any distance.
The Semovente da 75/18 also served as mobile artillery, providing indirect fire. These vehicles were very useful for infantry support thanks to their shrapnel, High Explosive (HE) and smoke rounds.
Secondary Armament
For close support and air defense, the crew carried their personal weapons which could be fired through two round pistol ports in the rear of the fighting compartment and by using the large hatch on top of the superstructure. A 6.5 x 52 mm Breda 30 machine gun could be mounted on a support bracket on the right side of the vehicle’s roof, in an anti-aircraft mount, and was generally kept inside the vehicle when not used. In the fighting compartment, a box with ammunition for the machine gun was present under the commander’s seat. The Semovente did not have any smoke extractors for the crew compartment. When engaging enemy targets, the crew needed to keep the upper hatch open in order to ventilate the noxious fumes from firing the gun, which caused many problems if the opposing forces fired artillery or conducted airstrikes on the Semovente’s position. To protect themselves from these circumstances, the crews onboard Semoventes began to wear infantry helmets.
Semovente M40 da 75/18 of the second battery of the DLI group of the “Ariete” Division. Note the Breda 30 machine gun mounted in the anti-aircraft position. Source: flamesofwar.com
Suspension
The suspension was of the semi-elliptical leaf spring type. On each side, there were four bogies paired on two suspension units with eight doubled road wheels in total. This model 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 tank had 26 cm wide tracks with drive sprockets at the front and idlers at the back, with three return rollers on each side.
Close-up of the suspension. Source: zimmerit.com
Interior
The radio onboard the Semovente was a Magneti Marelli RF1CA placed on the left side of the hull, under its standard 1.8 m high antenna. The inverter and four Magneti Marelli 3NF-12-1-24 batteries were on the radio’s right. Further to the right was the driver’s instrument panel.
The ammunition for the cannon was transported in three racks, two on the right (14 and 15 rounds, respectively) and one with 15 rounds on the left, immediately in front of the air filter fan and behind the driver’s seat. The loader used this rack as a seat.
The back of the crew compartment had four cumbersome filters for the air, oil and two for the fuel, the fan, an engine cooling water tank, the batteries for engine ignition, and the transmission shaft. The transmission was of the FIAT 8 F2 type with four forward gears and one reverse gear.
A blueprint of the interior space of the fighting compartment of the M40 da 75/18. On the right side was the Breda 30, the two ammunition racks, the commander’s seat, and machine-gun ammunition. On the left were the radio, the driver’s instrument panel, the other ammunition rack, and the driver’s seat. In the center was the transmission shaft. Source: warthunderforum.com
On the left side, there was a maintenance kit and a fire extinguisher. On the roof, on the left side, there was a fully rotatable periscope and an opening for the cannon’s sight.
An M40 da 75/18 abandoned in the Egyptian desert after the Battle of El Alamein. Some vehicles survived the battle but were abandoned due to mechanical failures or lack of fuel. Note all the makeshift armor mounted on the vehicle in an attempt to increase the protection, including spare track links and sandbags. Source: Military-photo.com
Differences between models
The Semovente M40 da 75/18 model, which weighed 13.1 tonnes, had the original 125 hp FIAT-SPA T8 diesel engine from the M13/40 and a frontal superstructure with a maximum armor thickness of 50 mm and 25 mm on the sides. Its maximum speed on road was 33 km/h and the range was 215 km. The more powerful M41 version weighed 13.5 tonnes and had a 145 hp FIAT-SPA T15 diesel engine with a road speed of 35 km/h and a range of 210 km. The superstructure’s armor consisted of two 25 mm welded armored plates with a combined thickness of 50 mm. The ammunition racks were the same as on the M40.
A Semovente M40 da 75/18 during a march in the African desert. Source: El Alamein Battle archive
The front of the hull was 50 mm thick, the sides were 25 mm, while the back was 11 mm thick, with 15 mm on the roof and 9 mm on the floor. The original 6.5 mm Breda was replaced in the M41 series by a more powerful 8 x 59 mm Breda 38 with a supply of 864 rounds in two wooden racks, one with 16 magazines on the left side and one with 20 on the right side, above the radio inverter. Another feature that distinguished the M40 from the M41 were the mudguards that covered the entire length of the hull in the M41 models.
On 8th May 1943, the Semovente M42 da 75/18, derived from the M15/42 hull, was delivered to units. A new base for the Italian self-propelled guns, weighing 15 tonnes with improved protection of 35 mm of armor on the hull and sides and 20 mm on the rear. The frontal superstructure armor changed to a single 50 mm plate. It also had smoke grenade launchers transported in a box in the rear of the hull. The M42 was a little longer (5.06 m compared to the 4.92 m of the M40 and M41) because the engine compartment needed to accommodate the new more powerful engine, a FIAT-SPA T15B (‘B’ stands for Benzina – Petrol) with 190 hp and its accompanying fuel tanks with a 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 39 km/h and the range was decreased to 200 km. The number of rounds carried was 44 in the usual three racks and 1,104 rounds (46 magazines) for the Breda 38 machine gun.
Production and deliveries
The production of the Semovente da 75/18 took place in the same factories that produced, in parallel, the M13/40 and the subsequent M14/41 and M15/42. The model evolved accordingly, both in terms of weight, power, speed, autonomy and protection.
Production was programmed to finish at the end of 1943, when it was planned to be replaced with more powerful models. These were at that time at the prototype phase, including the better armed Semovente M42M da 75/34 and the better armored and armed Semovente M43 da 75/46 and M43 da 105/25.
The Semovente da 75/18 was seen by the Italian High Command as a temporary vehicle before the P26/40 heavy tank could enter service and replace the M13/40 and M14/41 tanks and the self-propelled vehicles derived from their hulls. The 8th September 1943 Armistice stopped the Royal Army’s plans in their tracks.
Self-propelled guns built with the 75/18 howitzer were produced from early 1941 to late 1944. These consisted of 60 M40 da 75/18 on the M13/40 hull, 162 M41 da 75/18 on the M14/41 hull and 66 M42 da 75/18 on the M15/42 hull. These numbers could have been higher, but Allied bombings of the FIAT and Ansaldo factories and worker’s strikes hindered production.
Another M40 in the African desert, notice the two frontal 25 mm armored plates. Source: worldwarphotos.com
During the first desert combat operations in Egypt in 1942, it was observed that the self-propelled guns did not have an adequate quantity of ammunition on board. Thus, out of necessity, they were always assisted by supply vehicles. AS.37 Autocarro Sahariano were used for the transport of ammunition while, for recovery and towing, the larger Lancia 3Ro was used, capable of transporting one Semovente da 75/18 in the Mod. Bianchi trailer.
The Semovente da 75/18 in action
Regio Esercito
Tactically, the Semovente da 75/18s were delivered to the Armored Divisions primarily as divisional mobile artillery. However, the divisions also used them as tank destroyers as their tanks were not capable of destroying the better armored British tanks, such as the Matilda and Valentine, and also the US tanks in service with the British Army such as the M3 Lee and M4 Sherman.
The divisional structure consisted of two artillery groups for each armored division, composed of 2 batteries of four Semovente da 75/18s each, four command tanks for each artillery group and two more Semoventi and a Command tank in reserve, a total of 18 tanks and 9 command tanks. The production run of the M40 version consisted of 60 vehicles that were divided into 6 groups from DLI to DLVI in Roman numbers (551st to 556th)
The first two batteries delivered were IV and VI, part of the DLI group on April 30, 1941. After the crew training, the two batteries went to equip the 132ª Divisione Corazzata “Ariete” (Eng: 132nd Armored Division) on May 14, 1942, also the DLII went to equip the “Ariete”. DLIV formed on May 15, 1942, and went to arm the 131ª Divisione Corazzata “Centauro” (Eng: 131st Armored Division). DLV and DLVI, also formed on 16 May, went to the 133ª Divisione Corazzata “Littorio” (Eng: 133rd Armored Division).
DLI, DLII, DLIV, and DLVI came to the forefront on January 18, 1942, and saw use during the African Campaign but were all destroyed at El Alamein. The fate of DLV is not known, although it is presumed that it was used as a reserve in order to replace the destroyed self-propelled vehicles used in the other armored divisions.
Because of the subpar quality armor produced by Ansaldo, the crews put sandbags and spare tracks to improve protection from Allied guns. Additionally, petrol cans were often fixed to the sides of these vehicles to increase the operational range. On the M42 version, some racks were mounted directly from the factory. The water tanks were marked with white-colored crosses in order to distinguish them from the petrol ones.
When large Semovente M40 formations were sighted, British tank crews preferred to request Hawker Hurricane Mk IID (with two 40 mm anti-tank guns) strikes instead of directly engaging them. 35 self-propelled guns of DLIV and DLVI fought admirably at the Second Battle of El Alamein. On this occasion, they were all loaded with about one hundred rounds each. They fought near Hills 33 and 34, but only two Semovente M40s survived.
12 M40s of the DLI and DLII fought during the night between 4th and 5th November 1942 together with the entire “Ariete” Division, 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 enemy armored brigades which were now on the attack. They claimed to have destroyed about 30 enemy tanks, including M4 Shermans, M3 Grants, and Crusaders. The last radio message of the “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 three Semovente M40s still in action on the Fuka Road on November 6th and of the last radio message claiming “Three self-propelled guns remain, we strike back”. However, most sources speak of the total destruction of the Ariete Division in the night between November 4th and 5th with no survivors. The two surviving self-propelled guns of DLVI were lost during the defense of Fort Ridotta Capuzzo on November 9th against the Australian Army.
A map showing the position of the Italian units during the Second Battle of El Alamein. Source: AFV NEWS Volume 5 No. 6
From 6 December 1941 to May 1943, a total of 162 Semoventi were ordered on the new chassis of the M14/41 tank called Semovente M41 da 75/18. Other groups were created but only three were sent to Africa, DLVII, DLIX, and DLIII. The last two were lost due to British air attacks that sunk the ships carrying the units and were brought back to strength with additional vehicles sent in the weeks after. In October 1942, the batteries were reorganized. Three groups of 6 vehicles and a command tank divided into nine squads. Each battery now consisted of 18 Semoventi M41s and three command tanks.
At the beginning of 1943, the men and the very few armored and logistic vehicles of the surviving ‘Ariete’ and ‘Littorio’ divisions, together with the infantry of the 5° Reggimento Bersaglieri (Eng: 5th Bersaglieri Regiment) and several Semoventi of the 31° Reggimento Carri (Eng: 31st Tank Regiment) arrived in Africa from Greece, forming the ‘Centauro’ Division. Ironically, this division of the Royal Army, formed from veterans and survivors of the British onslaught, was the only one to record successes against the US Army in the rest of the African Campaign.
In January 1943, the division participated in a clash at Ousseltia, where it forced the participating Free French forces to withdraw and captured some vehicles and cannons. The ‘Centauro’ Division became part of the 5. Panzerarmee on February 23, 1943. In the Battle of Kasserine Pass, the units of the ‘Centauro’ division attacked American units armed with Sherman tanks, forcing them to retreat and captured abandoned military material. On February 23, a massive British airstrike forced the Italian-German troops to retreat and Kasserine Pass returned to American control. The ‘Centauro’ Division had very few vehicles remaining, with only thirty combat vehicles in service on March 10, 1943. These consisted of two Semoventi M41 da 75/18s, eighteen M14/40 medium tanks, and ten AB41 armored cars that went to create the Raggruppamento Corazzato ‘Piscitelli’ (Eng: Armored Grouping).
Ten days later, the Division was deployed to Gafsa and was attacked by the US Army ll Corps. The ‘Centauro’ resisted for 12 days, until March 21, when it was replaced by the 21. Panzer-Division. On 7 April 1943, the division was moved to El Guettar but, due to a lack of men and vehicles, it was merged with the 10. Panzer-Division under Italian command. The Raggruppamento Corazzato “Piscitelli” continued to fight with seventeen M14/41 tanks of the XIV battalion, ten Semoventi M41 da 75/18s of the DLVII Group and fourteen German tanks of the 21. and 15. Panzer Divisions, facing about two hundred British armored vehicles. In a clash that lasted about two hours, the Semoventi M41 da 75/18 participated in pushing back the British armored division, claiming the destruction of twenty-eight tanks with the loss of only four Italian vehicles. As of 10 April, the “Piscitelli” had only eleven M14/41 tanks, twelve Semoventi M41 da 75/18s and forty AB41s armored cars in its inventory.
The ‘Centauro’ Division was no longer mentioned in documents after April 7, 1943. On April 22, the command of the 1st German Army, part of the Afrika Heeresgruppe, decided to bring together all the surviving Italian vehicles in the Raggruppamento Esplorante Corazzato ‘Lodi’ or R.E.Co (Eng: Armored Scouting Group) which received several armored vehicles and cargo vehicles including a pair of M41 da 75/18 found in some other unit and several captured British, French and American vehicles.
Their last victorious action in North Africa was in the defense of Capo Bon, before the unit was moved to Bizerte, where five M14/41 tanks, four German Panzerkampfwagen Tiger, and six Semoventi M41 da 75/18s remained operational on 8 May 1943. The R.E.Co continued to fight, but the Allied assaults caused serious losses to the Italian-German units and, on 11 May, after having fought northwest of Boufichia, the last armored vehicle of the R.E.Co. was destroyed in battle against Allied tanks, a few days before the surrender of the Axis forces in North Africa.
A Semovente M41 da 75/18 and another Semovente in the African desert during a march to the front. Source: Flickr.com
The self-propelled guns present in Sicily during the Allied landing in July 1943 were employed by armored units operating on the peninsula: the 135ª Divisione Corazzata “Ariete II” (Eng: 135nd Armored Division) employed 94 M41 da 75/18s (10 in the Raggruppamento Esplorante Corazzato and 84 in the Reggimenti Corazzati). Other self-propelled guns were employed by the Reggimento Motorizzato Corazzato (Eng: Armored Motorized Regiment) stationed in Sardinia which did not see combat during the Second World War, the XII Gruppo Anticarro (Eng: 12th Anti-Tank Group) of the Divisione di Fanteria “Sassari” (Eng: Infantry Division) and six squadrons belonging to the Reggimento “Lancieri di Vittorio Emanuele II”.
After the Armistice on September 8, the “Ariete II” was engaged in fighting against the Germans during the defense of Rome in the days after the armistice. There were also engagements in the city of Cesano, and on the Via Ostiense leading to Rome.
At Porta San Paolo, one of the entrances to the city of Rome, at the dawn of September 10, the Italian soldiers of the 21ª Divisione fanteria “Granatieri di Sardegna”, the I Squadrone (Eng: 1st Squadron) of the Reggimento ‘Genova Cavalleria’, some units of the Divisione di Fanteria ‘Sassari’, Paratroopers of the X° Reggimento Arditi Paracadutisti (Eng: 10th Paratroopers Regiment) and lots of civilians (including the future president of the Italian Republic, Sandro Pertini) fought bravely against the German Paratroopers who wanted to enter the city. During mid-morning, eleven Semoventi M41 and M42 da 75/18s of the 4° Reggimento Carri Armati (Eng: 4th Tank Regiment) of the 8ª Brigata Bersaglieri (8th Bersaglieri Brigade) commanded by the Second Lieutenant Vincenzo Fioritto came in support of the Italian troops, fighting furiously against the German vehicles of the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division (Eng: 2nd Paratrooper Division). Fioritto was wounded in one arm by a grenade explosion, but refusing medical treatment, he urged the soldiers to continue fighting. He died shortly after. The soldiers under his command continued to fight the German soldiers until 17.00 (even though the surrender of the city was signed at 16.00) when, together with the other Italian fighters, they withdrew, joining the partisans and destroying some of their vehicles and abandoning the others which would fall into German hands.
Semovente M42 da 75/18 of the 4° Reggimento Carri Armati destroyed near Porta San Paolo on September 10, 1943. Source: Wikipedia.it
The captured self-propelled guns of the 4° Reggimento Carri Armati went to equip the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division together with other vehicles captured in Rome, such as some Camionette AS.42s, some AB.41 armored cars, and other vehicles. All the vehicles available in the Italian territory occupied by the Germans and the DLVIII group vehicles assigned to the 11ª Divisione di Fanteria “Brennero” (the only group not assigned in Italy or Libya armed with the self-propelled gun) which was captured in Albania were pressed into service with German Armored Divisions. In some cases, the vehicles were repainted and given German coats of arms and other markings.
Another M42 da 75/18 at Porta San Paolo on September 10, 1943. Behind are some AB.41 armored cars of the 8° Reggimento “Lancieri di Montebello”. Source: milesforumcommunity.net
Esercito e Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana
Some vehicles captured by the Germans were then given to some units of the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano or ENR, (Eng: Republican National Army) of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana or RSI (Eng: Italian Social Republic), Mussolini’s collaborationist army which was created in October 1943, after the Armistice, and fought alongside the Germans.
The Gruppo Corazzato “San Giusto” (Eng: Armored Group “St. Justus”) received three M42 da 75/18s for the medium tank squadron, together with a Semovente M42M da 75/34 and four medium tanks of different versions. The Raggruppamento Anti Partigiani or RAP (Eng: Anti-Partisan Group) had two M42 da 75/18s and the Gruppo Corazzato “Leonessa” (Eng: Armored Group “Lioness”) had two command tanks on M42 hulls, used to coordinate the operations of 35 M13/40, M14/40 and M15/42 medium tanks.
Italian partisans
During the strike that began on April 18, 1945 (which led to the Turin insurrection on April 25), about 12,300 workers from FIAT’s Mirafiori Turin factory occupied it by erecting barricades, digging trenches, placing machine guns and blocking entrances.
The first days of protest were calm but, on the morning of April 24, news of an impending Fascist attack arrived. The workers began to repair three armored vehicles which were in the factory to be repaired. After a few hours, they managed to find the materials and start the recovery of two M15/42s and an M42 da 75/18. At 18:00 the same day, the fascists attacked the factory with three tanks and a dozen armored cars, while the repairs on the vehicles were still underway. The workers fought tenaciously, but the tanks and an armored car (unknown models, the FIAT archives describe the enemy tanks only as “heavy”) penetrated the main courtyard of the factory, but a rain of Molotov cocktails and hand grenades made the enemy forces fall back, leaving behind a burning tank and at least three armored cars.
At 21:00, the Fascists, supported by some German soldiers, attempted a new attack, but the workers had finished building their tanks. These were supplied with ammunition and fuel. However, they were not fully repaired, missing many components. They came out of the factory at full speed, opening fire against the enemies. The Fascist and German troops withdrew, and the worker’s tanks destroyed some armored cars and a tank that tried to stop them.
They were used to defend the Porta Nuova train station of Turin from German sabotage. Other information about their service is not available, but it is known that they were paraded in Turin to celebrate the liberation of the city by the Italian partisans.
The vehicles had hammer and sickles painted on them in red to avoid friendly fire and the inscription ‘CLN’ or Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale (Eng: National Liberation Committee), the committee that organized the partisan units scattered throughout central and northern Italy.
The M42 da 75/18 repaired during the strike, photo taken before the great partisan parade in Turin. Source: fotostock.com
An M42 da 75/18 self-propelled gun was used by the 7ª Divisione Partigiana Autonoma “Monferrato” (Eng: 7th Autonomous Partisan Division) which arrived in Turin on April 25, 1943, from the north. This vehicle can be distinguished by the markings “W LA MONFERRATO” and “W STALIN” on the hull and the nickname of the division commander, “Ali”, who one night captured a tank of the ‘Leonessa’ Division without the RSI forces noticing it. However, this was probably a myth created by the partisans.
On April 27, 1945, the 7ª Divisione attacked and conquered the local government area of Turin with the support of the M42 da 75/18. The Semovente is shown in more than one picture in the center of Turin together with an L3/35 captured by the RAP or the “Leonessa” Division.
An interesting detail is that the division was “autonomous”, i.e. it was not linked to any political group, unlike the Garibaldi Partisan Brigades which were mostly composed of Communists and the Matteotti Partisan Brigades which were mostly composed of Socialists. This means that the members of the division most likely painted “W STALIN” on the transmission cover just to avoid friendly fire.
The Semovente M42 da 75/18 of the 7ª Divisione Partigiana Autonoma “Monferrato” in a street in Turin after 27th April. Source: Resistenza.it
There are no other known details of usage of the Semovente da 75/18 in Milan, Genoa, and other cities of northern Italy which were freed from the Nazi-Fascist oppression in the days between April 24 and 30. In Milan, only an M43 da 75/46 and some Italian armored cars were employed by the partisans and by the Fascists and German, while Genoa only saw the use of a couple of L3/35s.
Germany
In the aftermath of the Italian surrender in September 1943, the Germans began Operation Achse (Axis) which envisaged disarming all Italian divisions in Italy and the occupied territories. The Operation began on September 8 and ended on September 19, 1943, and led to the capture of over 800,000 Italian soldiers and the capture of thousands of vehicles and military equipment. According to Thomas Jentz and Werner Regenberg in their book Panzer Tracts No. 19-2, the Germans had captured 123 vehicles on October 1, 1943, which they renamed Beute-Sturmgeschütz mit 7.5 KwK L/18 (850)(i) sometimes mentioning the M41 or M42 or mentioning the chassis of the average tank from which they were derived: M14/41 or M15/42, for example, Beute-Sturmgeschütz M15/42 mit 7.5 KwK L/18 (850)(i). On October 5, production was restarted and a further 55 M42 vehicles were produced until 1945. The Germans, however, modified them slightly, adding another spare wheel on the back of the vehicle and welding four large teeth to the frontal wheel to avoid the track slipping. Another modification that was not made on all vehicles was the replacement of the Breda Mod. 1938 (and its ammunition) with a German MG34 or MG42.
A German captured Semovente M42 da 75/18 with a German MG belt and four additional teeth welded on the wheel to avoid the track slipping. Source: beutepanzer.ru
They were employed by 16 German divisions in Italy and the Balkans: 18 were supplied to the XI. Fliegerkorps under the command of the Luftwaffe, 25 were supplied to 15. Panzergrenadier-Division. 48 divided into groups of 6 went to arm 8 Infanterie-Divisionen: 65. Infanterie-Division, 71. Infanterie-Division, 94. Infanterie-Division, 162. ‘Turkistan’ Infanterie-Division, 305. Infanterie-Division, 334. Infanterie-Division, 356. Infanterie-Division, 362.Infanterie-Division together with other Italian self-propelled guns mostly M42M from 75/34 and L40 from 47/32.
Beute-Sturmgeschütz M15/42 mit 7.5 KwK L/18 (850)(i) from the Panzerjäger Abteilung 171 (part of the 71. Infanterie-Division) abandoned in Ausonia near Frosinone, Italy, May 1944. Source: beutepanzer.ru
Another six went to the 44. Reichs-Grenadier-Division “Hoch und Deutschmeister” and to the 5. Gebirgs-Division and five others to the Panzer-Ausbildungs-Abteilung Süd which was founded in Verona, Northern Italy, in October 1943.
Beute-Sturmgeschütz mit 7.5 KwK L/18 (850)(i) abandoned during the battles for the Gustav Line. Note that on the three-tone camouflage painted in the factory before the armistice of 1943, the coat of arms of the 71. Infanterie-Division was painted on the left and the Panzerjäger-Abteilung 171 one on the right. Above the coats of arms, it can be seen that the plate of the Royal Italian Army was covered with a layer of grey paint. On the fender, you can also see a German-made jack and on the right side of the superstructure the name of the vehicle, ‘Margarete 3’. Source: beutepanzer.ru
Others were employed in unknown numbers by a Jäger-Division, 3 assault brigades, and a company of the 12. Division Panzer SS ‘Hitlerjugend’. The remaining vehicles were kept in reserve and used to replace the losses suffered by the divisions that used them.
Beute-Sturmgeschütz M42 mit 7.5 KwK L/18 (850)(i) abandoned in an Italian road near a destroyed British M4 Sherman. Source: beutepanzer.ru
After the war
After the war, a total of 62 Semovente survived, consisting of 50 M41 da 75/18s and 12 M42 da 75/18s that were reused by the Esercito Italiano (Eng: Italian Army) from 1946 to November 1955. They began to be withdrawn in 1953 when the newer and more powerful M47 Patton arrived from the United States. In 1955, they were completely withdrawn from service but remained in reserve until 1965 when they were scrapped. 21 of them were repaired by the Turin arsenal between 1945 and 1950. All the vehicles were repainted in NATO green and received more powerful N.19 radio equipment of Canadian production.
M41 of the 28ª Divisione fanteria “Aosta” in Rome during a parade, 1948. Source: modellismosalento.itA Semovente M42 da 75/18 used after the war by the Esercito Italiano with two new radio antenna supports. It was later shown during a military exhibition restored with a desert camouflage. Wikipedia.it
Problems with the Semovente da 75/18
The Semovente da 75/18 self-propelled guns suffered from a series of problems during their time in service. Firstly, the small quantity of ammunition carried, only 44 rounds, which required the close support of vulnerable supply vehicles. The range and power of the cannon were lacking compared to the Allied self-propelled guns, such as the Priest or the Sexton, or the German Wespe, limiting its effectiveness during indirect support missions. Thirdly, they did not have a coaxial machine gun, leaving them vulnerable to infantry attacks. Fourthly, the obsolete riveted hull was weaker and heavier than a welded one. Finally, the suspension did not allow for great speed.
Semovente M40 da 75/18 with the Breda 30 machine gun in the anti-aircraft position. Photo taken in the spring of 1942 during the advance on Tobruk. Source: ComandoSupremo.com
Variants
M40, M41 and M42 Command Vehicles
The M40 command version was an M13/40 tank with the turret removed and the turret whole covered by four hatches. It was equipped with the usual Magneti Marelli RF1CA and a Magneti Marelli RF2CA radio with two inverters and eight Magneti Marelli 3NF-12-1-24 batteries. The dual 8×59 mm Breda 38 machine guns in the hull were retained, along with 1,560 rounds in five racks. A signal gun with 45 rounds was kept inside the vehicle. Each battery had eight Semovente self-propelled guns and two command tanks.
Command tank on the M40 hull used by the Italian Royal Army in Africa. Source: modellismopiù.it
This version was succeeded by the M41 command tank on the hull of the M41/41. It was armed with a 13.2×96 mm Breda Mod. 1931 heavy naval machine gun with 37 magazines. One Breda 38 machine gun with 504 rounds was mounted in an anti-aircraft position. The radio equipment remained unchanged.
The last version, the M42 command vehicle on the M15/42 hull, was meant for aerial communication and therefore equipped with the standard RF1CA station and the RF3M radio. This had a greater signal range than the RF2CA radio device. The ammunition stowage for the main machine gun remained unchanged, but the ammunition for the Breda Mod. 1931 machine gun was reduced to 20 magazines.
Semovente M40 da 75/32 and M42 75/34
Another self-propelled gun version was the M40 da 75/32, a prototype Semovente armed with a 75/32 Mod. 1937 gun with better anti-tank performance mounted on the M40 hull. This version remained a prototype and was replaced by an improved version on the M42 hull with a 75/34 cannon Mod. S.F. which needed less work to adapt for the confined space of the SPG’s hull. The longer barrel of the 75/34, along with the more powerful ammunition, increased the anti-tank performance.
M40 da 75/32 prototype with the short 75/18 barrel. Source: picclick.it
The Semovente da 75/18 on the M40, M41 and M42 hulls did show that a self-propelled gun with better armament, armor and more ammunition on board was needed. This led to the design of a new Semovente M43 hull, 10 cm lower and 20 cm wider than the M42 with the frontal armor plate 75 mm thick and with more internal space for ammunition.
One of the first M42M da 75/34 produced at the Ansaldo factory. Source: pinterest.com
Semovente M43 da 105/25
Another design, the Semovente M43 da 105/25, using the new hull, fired rounds that were more powerful than the 75 mm of the 75/18 with its 105 mm gun, but could only carry 48 shells. The German StuH 42, armed with a similar cannon, carried only 36 rounds.
One M43 da 105/25 in the Ansaldo factory with ‘continental’ camouflage. Source: pinterest.com
Even the Semovente M43 da 75/46 transported 42 rounds, but its rounds were significantly longer than those of the 75/18 howitzer. The Semovente M43 da 75/34 produced in very few numbers carried 65 rounds. They were very similar in size to the rounds of the German 7.5 cm KwK 40 tank cannon mounted on the German Panzer IV.
The M43 da 75/46 with ‘continental’ camouflage. Source: modellismopiù.it
Surviving vehicles
Out of the 288 vehicles produced, 18 Semoventi da 75/18 vehicles have survived to this day.
There are two M40 75/18s, one at the ‘Musée des Blindés’ in Saumur and the second, damaged, shown at the ‘El Alamein War Museum’ in El Alamein, Egypt.
The M40 da 75/18 at the Musée des Blindés. Source: Tank-Hunter.com
11 Semoventi da 75/18 survived, 7 used as monuments in barracks in several Italian cities such as Lecce, Rome, Maniago and Vercelli. The other four are exhibited in museums, the first at the ‘U.S. Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center’ in Fort Lee, Virginia, United States while the others are exhibited in Italy, one at the ‘Museo della OTO-Melara’ in La Spezia, ‘Museo Storico della Motorizzazione Militare’ in Cecchignola near Rome and the last M41 is exhibited at the ‘Museo di Guerra per la Pace Diego de Henriquez’ in Trieste.
The M41 da 75/18 shown as a monument in the Caserma “Scalise” in Vercelli. Obviously the barrel is dummy. Source: pietredellamemoria.it
Even 4 M42 75/18s survived the war, one of them became a monument at the “Babini” Barracks of Bellinzago Novarese, headquarters of the 4th Tank Regiment. One is on display at the ‘Museo dell’Aviazione’ in Rimini while the last two are on display in monuments against the war at Lonate Pozzolo and Bergamo.
An M42 da 75/18 repainted in the usual ‘continental’ camouflage used from mid-1943 exhibited at the Museo dell’Aviazione in Rimini. Source: pinterest.com
Only one example of a Command Semovente survived. It is an M41 on display at the ‘Museo Storico della Motorizzazione Militare’ in Cecchignola.
The Carro Comando M41 frontal view. Source: genovaest.com
Only two vehicles are still in running conditions. These are two 75/18 M41s that have been restored, one is the one at the ‘Museo Storico della Motorizzazione Militare’ and the second is the one at the ‘Museo della OTO-Melara’. The first, however, is equipped with the Canadian radio system mounted on the vehicles used after the Second World War by the Italian Army, the second, having been restored in the same factory that 60 years before had built it, was repaired and repainted in 2008.
The M41 da 75/18 restored by the OTO-Melara factory with an unusual two tone camouflage. Source: ferreamole.itThe M41 da 75/18 at the Museo Storico della Motorizzazione Militare in Cecchignola, notice the new radio antennas. Source: pinterest.com
Conclusion
The Semoventi da 75/18 were initially developed as infantry support vehicles and to support the tanks but, having proved to be able tank destroyers, they became indispensable to fight against enemy armored vehicles.
But their production failed to supply sufficient vehicles to the Italian Army. The transformation of the medium tank hulls into Semoventi could only start in 1942 with deliveries in 1943 when the African campaign was practically lost and Italy was heading towards serious internal political problems.
Nonetheless, the variants of the Semovente da 75/18 served until the end of the war with the various parties fighting in Italy and even after the war, well into the early Cold War, although their utility at the time was doubtful at best. They provided valuable infantry support and some anti-tank capabilities to the Italian Royal Army at a time when it was in dire need of competent armored vehicles.
Carro Comando from the 557th Gruppo Assalto, Sicily, January 1943. The vehicle was later sent to Tunisia, participating in the last stand of the Italo-German forces in Africa.A comparison between an M42 da 75/18 on the left and the M43 da 105/25 prototype on the right. Notice the sloped armor without tow hooks of the M43 and the absence of the radio antenna. Source: OTO production archives in GenoaA group of italian soldiers along with an M41 da 75/18 of the Vincenzo Fioritto group block the road against some German soldiers. Source: corriere della seraSemovente M41 da 75/18, Littorio division, Sicily, August 1943.Semovente M41 da 75/18 from the 4° Reggimento Carri Armati, Rome, September 1943.Beute-Sturmgeschütz mit 7.5 KwK L/18 (850)(i) from the 2nd Fallschirmjäger Division, Rome, October 1943.Semovente 75/18 M42, unknown unit, place unknown, February 1943.Beute-Sturmgeschütz mit 7.5 KwK L/18 (850)(i). All illustrations by David Bocquelet
Semovente da 75/18 specifications
Dimensions (L-W-H)
M40 and M41: 4.92 x 2.20 x 1.85 m
M42: 5.06 x 2.20 x 1.85 m
Total Weight, Battle Ready
M40: 13,1 tons
M41: 13,5 tons
M42: 15 tons
Crew
3 (commander/gunner, driver, loader/radioman)
Propulsion
M40: FIAT-SPA 8T V8 diesel, water-cooled, 125 hp with 145 liters diesel tank
M41: FIAT-SPA 15T V8 diesel, water-cooled 150hp with 145 liters diesel tank
M42: FIAT-SPA T15B V8 petrol water-cooled 190hp with 307 liters gasoline tank
Speed
M40: 33 km/h
M41: 35 km/h
M42: 39 km/h
Range
M40: 215 km
M41: 210 km
M42: 200 km or 380 km with 6 20-liter jerry cans
Armament
M40: Cannone da 75/18 Mod. 1934, 44 rounds and one Breda 30 (unknown number of rounds)
M41: Cannone da 75/18 Mod. 1934, 44 rounds and a 8×59 mm Breda 38 with 864 rounds
M42: Cannone da 75/18 Mod. 1934, from 44 rounds and a 8×59 mm Breda 38 with 1104 rounds
Armor
M40: 25+25 mm front 25 mm sides, 11 mm rear, 15 mm roof, and 9 mm floor
M41: 25+25 mm front, 25 mm sides, 15 mm rear, 15 mm roof, and 9 mm floor
M42: 50 mm front, 35 mm sides, 20 mm rear, 15 mm roof, and 9 mm floor
Total Production
M40: 60
M41: 162
M42: 66
Sources
Nicola Pignato – Semovente da 75/18.
Nicola Pignato – I mezzi blindo-corazzati italiani 1923-1943.
Nicola Pignato, Filippo Cappellano – Gli autoveicoli da combattimento dell’Esercito Italiano, vol. II (1940-1945).
Antares – La divisione Littorio ad El Alamein.
FIAT Turin Archive
Filippo Cappellano, Nicola Pignato – Il semovente italiano da 75/18 Thomas Jentz, Werner Regenberg – Panzer Tracts No. 19-2: Beute-Panzerkampfwagen
Italian Republic (1952-1989)
Main Battle Tank – 2,580 Purchased
M47 Patton shown in the Museo Storico dei Carristi in Rome. Source: metaldetector.it
The M47 Patton was designed in 1949 by the United States’ military (Detroit Arsenal, US Army, Corps of Engineers, and Corps of Ordnance) to replace the aging US tank fleet of obsolete M4 Shermans, M26 Pershings, and M46 Pattons. It never saw active combat with the US Army, but 8,576 vehicles were built and were extensively used by many nations around the world, such as France, Germany, Italy, Iran and Spain.
History
In 1948, before the Korean War, a new tank was slowly making its way through the acquisition process. The prototype was called T42. This 37.2 ton (33.8 t) tank had a turret with a thicker armor (133 mm against 102 mm) than the M46 Patton, but its 500 hp engine caused a lot of issues and its development bogged down.
At the dawn of the Korean War, the American engineers tried to quickly resolve the problem. The Detroit Tank Arsenal (DTA) took the M46 Patton hull and mounted the heavier T42 turret on it. The turret was armed with the new T119 90 mm cannon, a modernized version of the M3 gun mounted on the previous M26 and M46. The vehicle now weighed 48.6 tons (44.1 t) was provisionally called M46E2 or ‘Patton ll’. After some more modifications, it received the name of M47 Patton and went into production in June 1951, entering service in the US Army shortly thereafter. Despite having been built with the shortcomings of the US experience in Korea in mind, it was never used in action in this war. In 1955, it was replaced in frontline units of the US Army by the more powerful and modern M48 Patton.
A frame taken from a 1959 video of an M47 Patton in service in the Esercito Italiano. Notice the machine gunner position and the T80E6 early type tracks. Source: footage.framepool.com
In the Ranks of the Italian Army
Nine hundred M47 Pattons were supplied to the Esercito Italiano (EI – Italian Army) by the USA within the Mutual Defense Assistance Act, and remained in service from 1952 until the end of 1981 in all armored units, including the Carabinieri Tank Brigade.
The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a US military aid program to support its allies in the fight against the Communist bloc during the early stages of the Cold War. The program began in 1949 and lasted until the 1970s, and included the supply of military equipment on very advantageous terms. A total of $3.3 billion of surplus military vehicles were received by several European states, such as France, Spain, Belgium, Norway and Italy, which, due to their proximity to the USSR and their underdeveloped war industry in the late 1940s and early 1950s, received mostly tanks, but also war planes, submarines and warships.
When it first entered service, the M47 Patton replaced the WW2-vintage and obsolete Semoventi M41 and M42 da 75/18, M4 Shermans, and other vehicles based on the Sherman hull of the Italian Army. The Shermans were sold off to the Israelis or used as driver training vehicles until 1960 and they were then scrapped.
The 90 mm M36 gun of the Patton was much appreciated by the Italian tankmen who could now deploy vehicles capable of facing the most powerful Soviet vehicles of the time, such as the T-55. Italy then received two more batches of M47 Pattons, the first in 1962, when the Italian Army obtained another 1,000 M47s, bought at a discount price from the US Army, which was decommissioning them. Finally, in 1969, another 600 vehicles were bought from the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) which had retired them from service. After the acquisition of the German batch, the Italian Army owned 2,580 M47 Pattons, 30% of the entire M47 production. The camouflage was not changed and remained the typical US Army olive drab.
The vehicles used by Italy were provided with all three types of muzzle brakes, the early one also mounted on the M46 Patton, the mid one with two side holes, and a few later ‘T’-shaped ones used on the M48 Patton.
The three models of muzzle brakes used on the M47 Patton. Source: pinterest.com
Italian modifications
From the late ’50s up to 1960, all the Italian M47s were modified in Italian factories by removing the hull machine gun and covering the hole with an armor plate, eliminating the hull machine gunner’s seat and the 7.62 mm side rack. The hull machine gunner’s hatch was sealed by welding it to the hull and the periscope was removed. However, the emergency hatch door under the machine gunner’s seat was left. This change reduced the crew to 4 men. The Browning M1919 coaxial machine gun was replaced by an Italian-made Beretta MG42/59 7.62 mm and the 60-round rack in the hull was modified by adding more armor. Also, the radio equipment was changed and the standard radio SCR-528 was changed with the SCR-508 which was previously mounted only on the platoon command tanks. On the platoon command tanks, the radio was changed with a more powerful Magneti Marelli radio that had a 150 km range. All the tanks received 23 inch (58 cm) wide T84E1 tracks instead of the old T80E6 type used on the M46 Patton. The early type muzzle brakes were all substituted with mid type ones.
An Italian M47 Patton during training in a forest. The Italian M47s were modified by removing the hull machine gun. This is probably a platoon command vehicle, as it has painted white bands on the mudguards. Source: antoniobassetti.org
Italian M47 Patton Battalions
At the end of 1952, after crew training, the M47 Patton went to equip some Italian regiments. On 29th December 1952, the 132nd Tank Regiment “M.O. Secchiaroli” of the Armored Division “Ariete” received 315 M47 Pattons. On 1st January 1953, the 4th Tank Regiment “M.O. Pentimalli” of the Armored Division “Pozzuolo del Friuli” received 315 M47 Pattons. In mid-January 1953, the 31st Tank Regiment “M.O. Cracco” of the Armored Division “Centauro” received 315 M47 Patton.
The Divisional Scouting Battalion (Battaglione Esplorante Divisionale – BED) of the Infantry Divisions “Granatieri di Sardegna”, “Legnano” and “Folgore” received 51 M47s each.
The second batch of US-bought vehicles arrived in 1962. They equipped the Tank Battalion and the Divisional Scouting Group (Gruppo Esplorante Divisionale – GED) of the Mountain Divisions “Cremona” and “Mantova”, partly replacing the old M24 Chaffee. In total, the two divisions had 156 tanks, of which about 100 were M47 Patton.
In 1963, the entire Armored Division “Ariete” and Armored Division “Centauro” were equipped with the M47, replacing the older M26 Pershing in the Cavalry and Scouting Regiments. The older Second World War tanks in their use were later scrapped.
Some of the 1,000 ex-US tanks were not immediately modified due to a workers’ strike involving many Italian factories in 1959, including those where the tanks were converted. In those years the left-wing parties in Italy had more than 38% of the support and fearing that the striking workers might use the M47 Patton for rebel purposes, the police harshly suppressed the strikes and demonstrations.
After the strikes were quelled and normality was restored, the last M47 modifications were finished in late 1963. In mid-1964, they were put into service in other Italian regiments. The 1st Armored Bersaglieri Regiment of the 131st Armored Division “Centauro” received 157 M47 Pattons and, at last, the Cavalry Brigade “Pozzuolo del Friuli” was equipped with about 200 M47s.
At that time, the Italian tank battalions were organized in platoons with 4 tanks and a platoon command tank. A company had 16 tanks, three platoons plus a company command tank. The battalion had 51 tanks, with three companies plus three command tanks. A regiment had 157 tanks, three battalions plus 4 command tanks.
In total, an Italian Armored Division fully equipped with M47 Pattons was in possession of 315 tanks plus a Cavalry Squadron Group with 17 tanks, an Armored Cavalry Regiment with 52 tanks, three squadron groups plus commander tank and a Divisional Scouting Battalion with 51 tanks. A total of 1,901 M47 Patton were in active service in the Italian Army in 1967.
A color image of an M47 Patton, probably taken in the early ‘50s. The machine gunner’s position is still present. Source: antoniobassetti.altervista.org
After 1962, the new commander of the Arma dei Carabinieri (Arm of Carabinieri), Giovanni de Lorenzo, asked the Italian High Command to arm his Carabinieri, the military police, with these powerful tanks.
After many requests, in mid- or late-1963, the Italian Army agreed, and in 1964, part of the new M47s were supplied to the 11th Mechanized Brigade of the Carabinieri. Fifty went to arm the Brigade while another unclear quantity was supplied to the Carabinieri Vehicle Maintenance schools to familiarize the crews with these tracked vehicles. The Carabinieri crews would have followed the training course in the Training School like normal tank crews of the Italian Army and then, after the tests were finished, they would be able to operate on the Carabinieri vehicles.
Carabinieri recruits of the 7th Battalion during Exercise Polygon by River Meduna, being trained with an M47 Patton. The uniforms are from the Italian Army but the fulard and the caps they wear are of the Arma dei Carabinieri. The shell in the soldier’s hand is a DM 502, a training HE-P (High-Explosive – Plastic) shell. The tank is equipped with a ‘T’ muzzle brake. Source: armorama.com
In 1967, it was discovered that Carabinieri commander General de Lorenzo intended to stage a fascist coup in Italy to eliminate all the politicians of the Partito Comunista d’Italia (PCI – Communist Party of Italy) and the Partito Socialista d’Italia (PSI – Socialist Party of Italy), who at that time were gathering momentum in Italy.
The plan was foiled and, in order to prevent another coup, the Army requisitioned some of the Carabinieri’s tanks. Twenty remained in service until 1970, when they were sent from their headquarters in Rome to Reggio Calabria, southern Italy, due to political problems. There, violent clashes were erupting in the city between the Police and the Carabinieri on one side, and the citizens of the city on the other.
Only a few M113s were used during the months of the confrontations in Reggio Calabria. The M47 tanks were never used, but they served as a deterrent to avoid attempts by citizens to occupy the city by force.
M47 Patton tanks belonging to the Carabinieri brigade on a train bound for Reggio Calabria. Sorce: lagazzettaonline.info
Many sources, such as L’M47 Patton Nell’Esercito Italiano, state that in 1969, entire M47 Pattons were buried and some M47 turrets were mounted in special concrete boxes and used as bunkers in the fortifications of the Alpine Wall, a series of defensive lines positioned in the eastern border of Italy to defend against hypothetical attacks by the armies of the Warsaw Pact. None of the fortifications employed M47s, as it was preferred to use the obsolete M26 Pershing tanks which had a similar armament to that of the M47 Patton. Some images are available on the web that show some 90 mm M36 cannons mounted in anti-tank bunkers. These were probably mounted in the 70s.
A photo showing two Italian infantrymen next to an M36 90 mm gun of an M47 Patton in a concrete bunker. Source: associazionenazionalefantiarresto.it
In the 1970s, the Italian Army received an improved version from many Italian companies, which developed them as private projects such as OTO Melara in La Spezia, Officine Marconi and Astra, all of which made a single prototype using M47 tanks.
OTO prototype version
In mid-1967, a prototype of the M47 Patton ‘Italiano’ was started. The changes made by OTO Melara were the replacement of the 90 mm cannon with a British Royal Ordnance L7 105 mm L.52 NATO cannon on the mounts for the existing M36. The Continental AV-1790-5B petrol engine was substituted with a more efficient AVDS-1790-2A diesel engine of the M60 Patton, whilst the 1,055-liter fuel tanks were left unchanged. A heat suppressor to reduce the infrared signature was also installed. The General Motors CD-850-4 gearbox was substituted with the M60 Patton’s hydraulic gearbox, a new design of the final reduction drives. A new electrical system and a redesigned diesel feeding system with diesel filters were other modifications.
The prototype was ready in early 1968. It could carry 56 rounds, 10 in ready racks and 46 in a new armored and fireproof rack in the hull. A Fire Control System (FCS) and a computerized optical sight were also added.
The vehicle’s range was increased from 160 to 400 km (60% more) according to the tests carried out in 1968.
An M47 Patton rearmed with the 105 mm L7 cannon at the OTO-Melara factory of La Spezia, North Italy, early ‘70s. Source: OTO Melara
Marconi prototype version
Starting in 1969, Marconi also produced an upgraded version, only a prototype was built, mostly with regards to the firing systems. It added a brand new fire control system and sights and replaced the original stereoscopic rangefinder with a more efficient one made in Italy.
It was also proposed to transform the tank into a Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun (SPAAG). An Armored Recovery Vehicle (ARV) version was also proposed later, re-engined with the 525 hp General Motors 12V-71T diesel, but this was not a success.
Other prototypes
In 1967, three other factories proposed an engine upgrade of the M47. These were the FIAT Military Vehicles company with a Continental engine, the ISI Company with an MTU MB 838 CaM 500, 10-cylinder multi-fuel with a power of 820 hp, the same engine of the Leopard 1, and the Servizio Tecnico di Motorizzazione with an unidentified diesel engine.
Astra also presented upgrade projects for the turret and for the gun elevation mechanisms.
During 1968, all the four upgrade versions were homologated and presented to the Italian Army, which submitted them to rigorous trials to test the efficiency of the new engines and the stress on the frame from the 105 mm cannon gun in the OTO version.
On October 10th of the same year, the OTO prototype with the 105/52 cannon was presented to the Pakistani and Spanish delegations. Both armies wanted to modernize the M47 Pattons in service in their countries and were invited by OTO Melara in the hope of finding buyers. During the tests, the vehicle reached a maximum speed of 73 km/h and hit targets over 4,500 m away. The performance, however, did not achieve the desired results of the two delegations, which did not order any vehicles.
The Spanish produced their own version, possibly inspired by the OTO Melara project. This new tank was called the M47E2 Patton and was armed with the 105 mm L/52 Rheinmetall Rh-105 cannon of the Leopard 1 and received other small changes.
The Spanish M47E2 Patton. Source: otm-uswot.blogspot.com
The 46.8-tonne heavy tank was equipped with the M60 engine that increased the speed up to 56 km/h and, as in the OTO Melara model, the autonomy was increased to 400 km.
No vehicle was converted because the Italian Army was not interested in updating the M47 Patton preferring to buy other vehicles such as the Leopard 1, which was tested in 1970 and between 1971 and 1972, 200 Leopard 1s and 69 Leopard ARVs were acquired by Italy.
Top view of the OTO prototype armed with the 105 mm L7 cannon and the M60 engine deck. Source: reddit.com
The scrapping of the M47 tanks began in the late seventies. One hundred re-engined M47s, some from OTO Melara and others from Marconi, were given to the dictatorial regime of Mohamed Siad Barre in Somalia. They were used in the Ogaden War to balance the supply of Soviet material to Ethiopia. They were employed in the war with great success, fighting toe-to-toe with the Ethiopian T-34-85 and T-55. In the civil war that broke out a few years later, they were again employed but this time, due to a lack of spare parts, they were soon put out of use and employed in fixed positions.
A Somali child armed with a WW2-era PPSh-41. In the background, an M47 Patton is abandoned. Source: gettyimage.com
With the advent of the more modern M60A1 and Leopard 1A2, the M47 was gradually discontinued. The last vehicles were in service in the 1980s with the Armored Schools and the Brigades with less operational readiness (Aosta, Acqui, Friuli and Cremona). In Italy, the last M47 Patton was replaced from the second line units when the B1 Centauro tank destroyer entered service in 1989.
Conclusion
The M47 Patton II, produced to provide the US Army with a simple to manufacture and inexpensive tank, was replaced from US service as soon as possible in favor of much more efficient and powerful vehicles. In Italy, it was appreciated for its performances as, until 1952, the Italian Army still mostly employed tanks from the Second World War, such as the Semovente da 75/18 or the US M4 Sherman. Used until the late ‘80s, the M47 was for many years the main tank of the Italian Tank Corp before the service entry of the more powerful M60 Patton and Leopard 1A2.
An Italian M47 Patton showing the M2 Browning machine-gun and the mantlet canvas cover. An illustration by Ardhya Vesp Anargha
Sources
Rivista ufficiale Esercito Italiano 1980
L’M47 Patton Nell’Esercito Italiano – Filippo Cappellano, Fabrizio Esposito, Daniele Guglielmi
Patton: A History of the American Main Battle tank, Volume 1 by R.P. Hunnicutt
M47 specifications
Dimensions L x W x H
27 ft 11 in x 11 ft 6 in x 10 ft 1 in
(8.51 m x 3.51 m x 3.32 m)
Total weight, battle ready
45.45 tons (46.17 tonnes)
Crew
5
Propulsion
Continental AV-1790-5B 12-cylinder, 4 cycle, petrol/gasoline 810 hp
Top Speed
30 mph (48 km/h)
Operational maximum range
80 miles (129 km)
Armament
90 mm M36 (T119E1) gun in M78 mount in turret, 71 rounds
Additional Armament
2x 7.62 mm Beretta MG42/59 machine guns, 4000 rounds
1x .50 cal Browning M2 HB machine gun, 500 rounds
Armor
0.5 to 4.5 inches
(13 mm to 144 mm)
Production
2580 used by the Italian Army, about 100 modernized with a diesel engine
Data source
Patton: A History of the American Main Battle tank, Volume 1 by R.P. Hunnicutt
Kingdom of Italy (1942-1954)
Reconnaissance Car – ~200 Built
The concept behind the AS42 “Sahariana” appeared in the minds of Italian designers in 1942, when the famous British and Commonwealth Long Range Desert Groups (LRDG), with their distinctive heavily-armed and unarmored long-range vehicles, were breaking far behind Axis lines, creating havoc in refilling bases or airfields. At the same time, their large-scale reconnaissance tasks were very valuable to Allied intelligence. The Regio Esercito (Italian Royal Army) tried to emulate these units by using a project that SPA-Viberti had proposed a year before based on the chassis of the AB41 armored car, itself derived from the chassis of the FIAT-SPA TM40 medium artillery tractor.
The basic version of the FIAT-SPA TM40 artillery tractor and the AB41 armored car. These two vehicles were the basis of the AS42 design. Sources Wikipedia.it
The AS42 “Sahariana’ was a reconnaissance car, initially unarmed. However, under pressure from the Italian Royal Army’s high command, the vehicles received heavy armament. The SPA-Viberti AS42 was rapidly developed at the beginning of 1942. The prototype was presented to the army on July 9, 1942, passed all tests and was put into production in the SPA-Viberti factory in Turin as early as August 1942.
Design of the AS42
One of the first built AS42 “Sahariana” at the SPA-Viberti factory, with the pedestal for a Solothurn S18/1000 anti-tank rifle, the frontal pedestal for a Breda machine gun and Pirelli “Raiflex” type tires. The armament was supplied by the Army and was not mounted in the factory. Source: mvsn.forumcommunity.net
Exterior and Armor
Basically, the chassis of the AB41 was left intact, but the armored hull was completely remodeled, and the vehicle took a car-like shape. The front was tilted and housed a massive spare wheel and pioneer tools. Two spades were attached to the left side of the front hood, and a pickaxe on the left rear side. The mudguards were remodeled and the front ones held the tripods for the machine guns. At the front of the mudguards, two jerry cans were kept on each side for the transport of drinking water, recognizable by the white crosses painted on the side. The mudguards at the back had toolboxes on top and two perforated metal plates used for unditching the vehicle if it got stuck in the sand. On the rear of the right mudguard was the muffler, while on the left mudguard was a plate with a stoplight.
The open central combat compartment was armored on the sides and was 3.2 m long and 1.75 m wide. Armor was 17 mm all around the chassis.
The windshield had three bulletproof glass panels derived from glass made for aeronautical use. These were 12 mm thick, although their steel equivalent was significantly less. The windshield was equipped with rear-view mirrors and could be folded down.
Ground clearance was 0.35 m, with the possibility of fording 0.7 m of water.
The total weight decreased from AB41’s 7.5 tonnes to 4 tonnes in an empty AS42. Fully battle-ready, with the primary armament fixed, full tanks and full ammunition load, the vehicle reached 6.5 tonnes.
Running gear
The vehicle had 4×4 traction, but only the front wheels were steered (like on the original chassis of the FIAT-SPA TM40) and therefore the rear driving position, characteristic of the AB armored car series, was removed.
The tires used on the AS42 were produced by Pirelli in Milan, as were almost all the tires on Italian vehicles. The AS used the same tires as the AB armored cars series, the Pirelli “Libia” 9.75×24″ and “Libia Rinforzato” tires for use in the sandy soil of North Africa. The “Artiglio” 9×24″ and “Artiglio a Sezione Maggiorata” 11.25×24″ tires designed for use in Italy and Europe were later used in the Russian steppe. In 1942, new tires were studied for the new Camionette, which could also be used on AB series armored cars: Pirelli “Sigillo Verde” tires again for sandy soils and Pirelli “Raiflex” tires for use in Europe. It should be noted that due to the poor logistics of the Royal Italian Army and the almost non-existent logistics of the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano (RSI, Eng National Republican Army), AB armored cars and Camionette used any tire available. It is therefore not rare to find AB41 or AB43 armored cars with “Raiflex” tires and AS42 with “Libia” tires.
Range and Engine
By design, a total of 20 fuel jerry cans with a capacity of 20 liters each could be transported in two rows of 5 on each side of the fighting compartment. In total, each AS42 could carry 24 jerry cans, 4 of which were for water. However, due to their use in North Africa, many more jerry cans were transported, crammed in any free space to increase the range of the vehicle and of the crew. The AS42 was equipped with a tarpaulin. It provided cover from the elements from the top and the rear, but not from the sides of the Camionette. There was also a tarpaulin to cover the windshield and two smaller ones for the frontal lights. When not used, all the tarpaulins, including the folding rods that supported them, were rolled up and fastened with straps on the back of the fighting compartment.
The combat compartment of an AS42. The rear wooden bulkhead was removed to allow the engine to be seen. Notice the 145 l tank on the left and the 32 l water tank for engine cooling on the right in the engine compartment, the folded tarpaulin and the supporting rod. Source: modellismopiù.comAn AS42 with the windshield and combat compartment covered by the tarpaulin. Source: pinterest.com
The 145 liters fuel tank allowed a range of 535 km, which was increased to a total of 2,000 km with the additional 400 liters transported in jerry cans. The vehicle consumed around a liter of gasoline for every 3.7 km. The armored rear compartment was not modified. The 430 kg heavy engine was the 6-cylinder petrol FIAT-SPA ABM 2 which gave 88 hp, the same as in the AB41. Automotive performance was greatly improved, with a maximum road speed of 84 km/h and up to 50 km/h offroad.
The fuel tank was located above the engine, while the 3 liters oil tank was to the left of the engine. There were two water tanks above the engine compartment and one in the wooden bulkhead between the engine compartment and the combat compartment. The armor on the outside of this compartment was 5 mm. The engine cooling water was contained in a 32-liter tank above the engine in the front.
An AS42 without its spare wheel and with the Solothurn Anti-Tank rifle mount. Source: pinterest.com
Armament
The large volume in the open central position allowed the mounting of considerably heavy armament. Depending on the weapon, a different pedestal was situated in the middle of this open central position, which, with different attachments points, could mount one of several weapons, including a rapid-fire anti-aircraft/anti-tank Breda 20/65 Mod. 1935 gun, an anti-tank/infantry 47/32 Mod. 1935 support gun or a Solothurn S18-1000 20 mm anti-tank rifle, called Carabina “S” by the Italian soldiers.
Blueprints showing the various optional mounts for the main weapons on the AS42. The first is armed with a Breda 20/65 cannon on the Mod. 1935 mount, the second is the 47/32 cannon Mod. 1935 and the third the Solothurn S18-1000. The last picture shows the floor of the combat chamber with the central pedestal. Source: blueprint.com
Secondary armament consisted of Breda 38 or Breda 37 8×59 mm machine guns. Depending on the mission, one to three of these weapons could be mounted on supports positioned to the right of the driver and on the left and right sides of the rear part of the fighting compartment.
On several Camionettas, the secondary armament consisted of captured British Vickers K machine guns. These were famously used on LRDG vehicles throughout the North African campaign.
All the mounts for the main and secondary armament could be rotated 360°.
AS42 “Sahariana” with license plate “R.E. 794B” armed with a Breda 20/65 Mod. 1935 and a Vickers K machine-gun. It does not have the water jerry cans on the left mudguard and the wheels are of the Pirelli “Raiflex” type. Several backpacks are also attached to the vehicle, probably used for the storage of machine gun ammo, personal objects and food. Sources: Pinterest.com
Ammunition was left inside its boxes scattered in the combat compartment due to a lack of ammunition racks. For this reason, the quantity of ammunition could vary from mission to mission. In addition to the driver’s seat, the crew members that handled the weapons on board were seated on folding seats on either side of the fighting compartment (two on the right and one on the left). In some cases, the crew consisted of five or six members crammed into the little vehicle.
An AS42’s crew takes a break in the desert. Here, the tarpaulin was fixed on the side, over the jerry cans, so as not to hinder the opening and closing of the engine access ports. The front machine gun was a Breda 38 and the rear one was a Breda 37. The water jerry cans on the mudguard have a white cross on the side. Another jerry can is positioned on top of the mudguard. On the lower row of jerry cans, one has a white cross (behind the Ardito’s head) and one has black cross, probably containing engine oil or water for the cooling system. The engine compartment was open, probably to get better engine cooling in the desert heat. The Solothurn S18/1000’s barrel was supported on the windshield that lacked the rear-view mirrors. Source: pinterest.com
The Sahariana in action
From September to November 1942, the first batch of 140 vehicles was delivered to the Royal Army. This delay was caused by a bombing of the SPA-Viberti factory in Turin during the previous weeks which destroyed several AS42s.
The “Saharianas” that arrived in North Africa were used for raids in the desert, as originally planned. Its low profile allowed it to hide behind the dunes and wait for the enemy’s arrival without being seen. Its great range allowed it to pursue enemy forces for long periods and to fight LRDG teams effectively. Entering service in December 1942, the AS42 participated in the final stages of the Libyan Campaign and the entire Tunisian campaign. They were mainly assigned to the Auto-Avio-Saharan Battalions (Italian-specific battalions meant for close cooperation between aircraft and land vehicles of the army) and to the 103° Battaglione and Raggruppamento Sahariano. These last ones were divided in five Companies located in different positions. The 1st Company was in Marada, the 2nd in Murzuk, the 3rd in Sebha and in Hon (or Hun), while the 4th and 5th faced the LRDG in the Siwa Oasis and groups of French raiders commanded by Philippe Leclerc stationed in Chad.
They had a claimed kill ratio of 1:5, capturing dozens of British armed or transport vehicles. In 1943, LRDG command issued an order to attack only if there were no high numbers of Camionetta AS42 in the area. This meant the British needed aerial reconnaissance before attacking, which lowered the effectiveness of the LRDG. During the Tunisian Campaign, all the vehicles of the Auto-Avio-Saharan Battalions and 103° Battaglione Sahariano were lost in action along with the majority of the Arditi. The Arditi were an elite unit of the Royal Italian Army entrusted with the AS42. They fought bravely against the Allied troops that had surrounded them.
An LRDG Willys Jeep captured by some Arditi that are replacing a wheel. A Camionetta AS42, possibly “RE 794B”, is in the background. The AS42 is lacking the two water cans on the left fender and has a Vickers K mounted at the front. Source: pinterest.com
On April 26, 1942, the 10° Reggimento Arditi (Eng: 10th Arditi Regiment) was established, divided into three Companies. Its troops were composed of soldiers trained for the special forces of the Royal Italian Army, such as sappers, paratroopers and swimmers. They were moved into this regiment for distinguishing themselves as excellent drivers.
The three Companies were equipped with 24 Camionette AS42 each (for a total of 72 vehicles), each divided into four patrol groups with 2 officers and 18 or more soldiers armed with Carcano Mod. 91 T.S. rifles or MAB 38A submachine guns, Beretta M1934 pistols and a dagger.
Probably the AS42 “R.E. 794 B” filmed in a propaganda film of Studio LUCE on 3 April 1943. This AS has the Vickers K machine gun (distinguishable behind the 20 mm Breda barrel due to the characteristic “handle” of its magazine), lacks the two frontal water jerry cans, has a green jerry can behind the backpacks on the side, the Pirelli “Raiflex” type tires and a small Italian flag ot the front of the vehicle. Source: YouTube
After April 1943, all the Companies were active in Sicily for anti-paratrooper patrols. Between July 13th and 14th, the 2nd Company repulsed an attack by British paratroopers. On the night of July 14th, at Primosole, six Camionette fought at the Primosole Bridge over the Simeto River. The Arditi soldiers fired on their adversaries with personal weapons without using the weapons onboard due to poor visibility. Four AS42 were destroyed by mortar shells, but the 32 Arditi survivors fought along with a group of German paratroopers for another eight days. On August 13th, the surviving Camionette and their crews were moved to the Italian peninsula and taken to Santa Severa (their Headquarters) located near Rome to reorganize the Companies, replacing the fallen Arditi and destroyed vehicles.
On 8th September, the day of the armistice, the Companies were not involved in the action, but the various groups chose their fate independently. The 1st Battalion joined the Allies and was renamed as the 9° Reparto d’Assalto. The 2nd Battalion joined the new Salò Republic founded by Benito Mussolini in northern Italy on 23rd September without vehicles, ending in the Division “San Marco”, fighting the rest of the war without vehicles as assault infantry.
A Camionetta AS42 ‘Metropolitana’ without jerry cans, armed with a 47/32 Mod. 1935 gun and a Breda Mod. 1937 in Rome during a stop in the days after the armistice. Behind it, two AB41 armored cars wait to get into action against the Germans. Source: Wikipedia.it
After intense fighting against German troops in Rome between 8th and 10th September, the vehicles that were captured by the Italian Fascists and Germans went to equip an entire Company of Arditi that decided to join the Germans. This would be the “Gruppo Italiano Arditi Camionettisti” (Eng. Italian Arditi Camionette Driver Group) that served in the 2. Fallschirmjäger Division “Ramcke”. This unit fought on the Eastern Front from October 1943 until the summer of 1944 against the Red Army. The Camionette, meant for the Saharan desert, ended up fighting in the Russian frozen steppes, where temperatures reached -25° C. Of the other Battalions of the 10th Arditi, not much is known. They probably broke-up and each soldier or small group decided for themselves what they would do. Some joined the partisan resistance, others joined the Republic of Salò, others went to the co-belligerent Italian Army and others fled home to their families.
Italian soldiers (with German uniforms) on AS42 “Metropolitana” “1197B” of the 2. Fallschirmjäger Division, armed with a Breda 20/65 Mod. 1935 in the Ukrainian steppes during winter. Source: Pinterest.com
The company that fought with the “Ramcke” Division then retreated to Romania and finally to Germany in the spring of 1944. In June 1944, the Arditi were sent to Normandy to fight the Allies that had just disembarked. There, a group was captured by the Americans during the battle and the surrender of Brest, while other Arditi with their surviving AS42 fought in Belgium and Holland. They faced British soldiers in Arnhem during Operation Market Garden. After all these events, in the autumn of 1944, the survivors returned with their last AS42s to Italy and fought for the Salò Republic in the Republican National Army (Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano – ENR).
The same AS42 “Metropolitana” “1197B” the autumn before with the crew in Arditi uniform. Source: awp101.wordpress.com
The Italian Police in Africa (Polizia dell’Africa Italiana – PAI), an Italian police corp used for the security of the Italian colonies, received some AS42 that were used for patrolling and security tasks in the Italian cities in 1943, after the loss of all the Italian colonies. After the fall of the Royal Italian Army, the PAI was equipped with 15 AS42 of different versions coming from the Battaglione D’assalto Motorizzato of the Royal Italian Army. The PAI was then tasked with public safety duties. On 23 March 1943, some of these AS42 trucks, with elements of the “Barbarigo” Battalion of the XªFlottilla MAS, were involved in patrols after the partisan attack on Via Rasella in the center of Rome. On June 4, 1944, during the defense of Rome, one of the PAI’s Camionette, armed with Breda 20/65 Mod. 1935, accidentally came across an M4 Sherman on the Via Nazionale and was hit by a 75 mm shell that pierced the front on the Camionetta, destroying the front and the spare wheel of this vehicle.
AS42 “Metropolitane” belonging to the PAI with soldiers of the XªFlottilla’s “Barbarigo” battalion. The first AS is armed with a Breda 20 mm and two Breda 37. Both had an identification plate on the frontal jerry can rack with the “PAI” registration number instead of the Royal Army plate on the hull. The second AS was used as a command vehicle. It has the rear support for the tarpaulin raised up and is armed with three Breda 37. Barbarigo soldiers and PAI members are looking up at the windows of the houses to check that there were no partisans. The picture was taken immediately after the attack on Via Rasella. Source: Wikipedia.it
After the Allied capture of the Italian capital, the PAI handed over all its equipment to the State Police. Among the vehicles surrendered were 12 Camionette of the Metropolitana and Sahariana versions (with “Artiglio” and “Libia” tires).
AS42 ‘Metropolitana’ destroyed by a Sherman in Via Nazionale. Source: nevingtonwarmuseum.com
Another Italian corps that used the AS42 was the Battaglione “Barbarigo” of the Xª Flottiglia MAS, which had about twenty AS42 “Metropolitane” and AS43 taken directly from the factories. They were used in the Nettuno area against the American and Canadian forces which tried to break through the Italian lines, inflicting heavy losses.
A pair of AS42 type “Metropolitane” were built in Turin factories starting on April 25 1945 in order to defend the factories and their assembly lines from German sabotage. These Camionette can be distinguished from the others by some steel plates on the sides and on the back of the fighting compartment, about one meter in height, behind which the partisans used their weapons while being protected from enemy fire. One of these vehicles participated in the partisan parade on May 6 1945 along with another “Metropolitana” without any of these changes that was used as a command vehicle and then disarmed.
Post-war use
Seven AS42s that survived the war, were used by Italian Police departments and repainted in amaranth red (Italian post-war police color). They were employed, after several modifications, including the removal of the anti-tank guns, the pioneer tools and jerry cans, by different departments of the Italian State Police in Udine and Bologna until 1954. Some were put into service in the XI Reparto Mobile (Moving Department) in Emilia Romagna until 1954. These cars were supported by: AB41, AB43 and Lancia Lince armored cars. An unknown number of AS42s were produced for the police after the war and were delivered in January 1946.
Rome October 12th 1954, AS42 “Metropolitana” of the 20° Reparto Mobile. Source: warwheels.comAS42 of the italian Police in different parades, all armed with 20 mm Breda and 2 Breda 37 machine guns and without jerry cans. Source: warwheels.com
Camouflage
All the Camionette used in the North African campaign were painted in the traditional sand yellow or Saharan khaki colors. Those produced for use in the European theater and those of the PAI were painted with reddish-brown and dark green spots on the Saharan khaki. Those of the “Ramcke” division had the continental camouflage but, in winter and in Russia, these Camionette were covered with white lime applied with brushes to cover the continental camouflage. Later, in the summer, this was scraped away to return them to the original three-tone colors.
Variant – The FIAT-SPA AS42 “Metropolitana”
A second model, called ‘Sahariana II’ or ‘Tipo II’, more commonly, ‘Metropolitana’, entered service in Italy in 1943. It differed from the first model by the absence of the two upper rows of petrol tanks, replaced by two large boxes that held ammunition. With the remaining 14 jerry cans (4 for water and 10 for fuel), the maximum range went down to about 1,300 km. These jerry cans were almost never carried because such long ranges were not needed on the continent and the danger posed by transporting so much fuel during urban fighting.
The two perforated plates for unditching the vehicle were also removed, as they were now useless. However, the four pins that fixed them in place were retained. Two large boxes for tools were added on the upper part of the two rear mudguards. Furthermore, this version was equipped with new 11.5×24″ Pirelli “Artiglio”, “Sigillo Verde” and “Raiflex” type tires adapted to the continental terrain and temperate climate. The “Metropolitane” version seems to have not been armed with Solothurn S18/1000 anti-tank rifles. These Camionette were only armed with the 47 mm anti-tank guns and Breda 20 mm rapid-fire cannons.
One of the first AS42 ”Metropolitana” vehicles built with Pirelli “Artiglio a Sezione Maggiorata” tires. Notice the machine gun mount on the right side, the absence of the tarpaulin, new bigger toolboxes and the absence of jerry cans in the racks, no longer supplied by the factory. Source: wikipedia.it
Conclusion
The AS42 ‘Sahariana’ was designed for the transport of men and material during desert incursions. Its low profile allowed it to hide behind the dunes and ambush the enemy and its great range allowed units to chase the opposing troops for long distances. Unfortunately, it was introduced into service in the African Campaign too late and in too small numbers. It was a successful vehicle and saw significant use in both the Sahariana and Metropolitana versions. It fought in Africa, Italy, France and on the Eastern Front with good results and was used by the Italian Police after the war.
AS42 “Sahariana” armed with the 20/65 Breda Mod. 1935
AS42 “Metropolitana” armed with the 20/65 Breda Mod. 1935 and a Bred Mod. 1937 machine gun with the usual italian continental camouflage
Dimensions
5.62 x 2.26 x 1.80 m (18.43 x 7.41 x 5.90 ft)
Total weight, battle ready
6.5 tons (14330 lbs)
Crew
from 4 to 6 (depending on the main armament)
Propulsion
FIAT-SPA ABM 2, 6 cyl, 88 hp with 145 l fuel tank and 400 l in the 20 l Jerry cans (or 200l in the “Metropolitana” version)
Top speed
on road 84 km/h (52 mp/h), off road 50km/h (30 mp/h)
Range (road)
535 km (332 miles) (2000 km with 20 Jerry cans and 1300 km with 10 Jerry cans)
Armament
Breda 20/65 Mod.1935 autocannon, 47/32 Mod. 1935 cannon or Solothurn S18/1000 20 mm anti-tank rifle
From one to three Breda 37 or 38 8×59 mm machine-guns
Armor
17 mm front and sides (0.66 in), 5 mm engine compartment and floor (0.19 in). The windshield glass was 12 mm thick (0.47 in)
State of Israel (1956)
Medium Tank – 300 Converted
The M-50 was an Israeli upgrade of the United States’ famous Medium Tank M4 Sherman. It was developed in the mid-50s to keep the venerable World War 2 era tank effective and able to face other contemporary vehicles of the Arab armies of neighboring states even fifteen years after its development.
Three M-50 Degem Alephs painted in Olive Drab on parade after the Suez Crisis. The one on the left is on an M4A4 ‘small hatch’ chassis, the one on the right is on an M4 Composite ‘large hatch’ chassis (with an unusual three-piece transmission cover) and the third one, in the background, is on an M4A3 chassis with ‘large hatch’. Source: pinterest.com
History of the Project
After the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) needed to arm itself with modern vehicles and weapons. The new nation had to defend itself against the Arab armies of neighboring states which were rearming or arming themselves by purchasing modern equipment from the Soviet Union.
Immediately, many Israeli delegations set off around the world in search of military equipment and vehicles. In the early 50s, the Israeli Army had a heterogeneous M4 Sherman fleet consisting of practically every version, but the IDF High Command immediately realized that the versions armed with 75 mm were no longer able to face more modern vehicles, even the similarly venerable T-34/85.
At the beginning of 1953, an Israeli delegation was sent to France to evaluate the new AMX-13-75 light tank. This vehicle was judged favorably in terms of armament and mobility, but not in protection.
In 1953, Finland designed for Israel a version of the Sherman armed with a 75 mm cannon of Finnish production, but the project was not accepted by Israeli engineers.
After careful reflection, the IDF purchased some AMX-13-75s but realized that the 75 mm cannon would have been more effective on a medium tank hull. Not being able to find adequate armored vehicles able to replace the AMX hull on the international market, the IDF decided to improve the Sherman’s performance with this powerful cannon. Israel asked France for help in developing a prototype.
History of the Prototype
At the start of 1954, a team of Israeli technicians was sent to France and along with other French engineers took two different vehicles, an M10 tank destroyer and an M4A2 Sherman, modifying the two turrets to accommodate the AMX-13-75’s cannon, which had a bigger breech and a longer recoil. Both vehicles were called M-50, however, the development of the M-50 on the M10 GMC chassis was abandoned. Some M10 GMCs arrived in Israel without the main gun and were then converted with 17-pdr or CN-75-50 cannons and used for crew training until 1966.
One of the M-50s on M10 GMC chassis armed with the CN-75-50. Source: pinterest.com
The design of the new israeli tank continued and in 1955, the first prototype was completed with a modified gun breech, no autoloader and the MX13 telescope of the AMX-13 stretched by 40 cm to adapt it to the new turret.
In summer 1955, the first tests of the new vehicle, called the M-50, began. Firing trials took place at the Bourges tank range in France and were unsuccessful. The vehicle had balance problems and there were still problems due to the recoil of the cannon.
Only after significant work was invested in improving the gun breech and the recoil system and a new counterweight was welded to the back of the turret, in late 1955, the vehicle was accepted by the Israeli Army.
The first French prototype of the M-50 without the counterweight, different mantlet and muzzle brake. Source: the.shadock.free.fr
The turret was sent by ship to Israel, where it was mounted on a M4A4 Sherman hull. It was tested in the Negev Desert and received positive judgment from the Israeli High Command. Assembly lines were prepared to modify the standard Israeli Shermans (75) to the new M-50. The first 25 M-50s were built clandestinely in France and then sent to Israel in mid-1956. They were assigned to one armored company in time to see service in the 1956 Suez Crisis.
The second French prototype, on a M4A4 hull with the turret counterweight and new muzzle brake. The plate shows the French flag and there is no machine gun in the hull. Source: char-francais.net
Design
The M-50 was a medium tank, based on any available Sherman hulls in IDF inventory. After the Suez Crisis, the first Israeli M4 Shermans began to be modified locally. The same workshops where the Sherman tanks acquired from all parts of the world had been refurbished a few years earlier were used for the conversion.
M4A4-based M-50 Degem Aleph with T54E1 tracks equipped with duckbill connectors. Duckbill connectors were not common, but those available were mounted on vehicles to increase the track’s surface to facilitate driving on desert terrain. The hull and original turret had applique armor on the side and the first ‘split’ type commander’s cupola. The smoke launchers are not mounted and the cast transmission cover. Source: rctankwarfare.co.uk
In total, about 300 M-50s were converted for and by the Israeli Army. These tanks took part in the Suez Crisis in 1956, the Six Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973. During the last conflict, they proved to be inadequate in fighting against the more modern Soviet vehicles that the Arab countries had at their disposal, such as the IS-3M, the T-54/55 and the T-62. Between 1973 and 1976, almost all the M-50s were removed from service with the Israeli Army. Some vehicles were passed on to Chile and Lebanese militias.
Turret
The M-50 conversions used turrets with M34 and M34A1 mantlets. These had split or round commander’s cupola and a loader’s hatch. The turrets of the standard M4 Shermans (75) were modified with a new turret extension and mantlet, providing more space to accommodate the larger main armament. Starting from the first vehicles, a cast iron counterweight was welded on the back to balance the extra weight of the turret extension and of the new longer cannon.
Almost all vehicles had four 80 mm smoke launchers of French production mounted, two on each side of the turret. These were not present on the prototype. They replaced the 50 mm M3 smoke mortar mounted inside the turret. An M79 pedestal for a 12.7 mm Browning M2HB heavy machine gun was mounted on the few vehicles on which it was missing. A second ventilator was mounted on the turret counterweight and the radio system was improved, keeping the US-made SCR-538 radio, but adding a French-made radio positioned inside the turret counterweight, alongside a second antenna, not always mounted, on top.
Shot of two M-50 Degem aleph tanks based on M4A4 hulls during a parade in Jerusalem, 1961. The tank in the background had the ’round’ type commander’s cupola, welded transmission cover, and two antennas. The second has the ‘split’ type commander’s cupola, three-piece transmission cover and only one antenna mounted. The second ventilator on the counterweight of the turret and the support for the searchlight on the barrel are visible. The crew wears British uniforms and Czechoslovak tank crew helmets. Source: bukvoed.livejournal.com
Engine and suspension
The first vehicles built in France were based on M4, M4 Composite, a few M4A1 and M4A4T Sherman hulls. The M4A4T was a standard M4A4 Sherman re-engined by the French between 1945 and 1952 with a petrol Continental R-975 C4 engine with 420 hp. This engine was common in France after the war thanks to the supply of thousands of these engines by the US during the Second World War. In French nomenclature, it is known as the “Char M4A4T Moteur Continental”, where ‘T’ means ‘Transformé’ or ‘Transformed’.
Following the French example, all the Israeli Shermans were planned to be re-engined with the Continental engine and receive the needed changes to the engine deck. After the 1956 war, the Israeli workshops started to slowly convert their Shermans with the new engine and French cannon.
M-50 Degem Aleph on a rare ‘large’ hatch M4 Composite hull during the Independence Day Parade in 1957. After its use in the Suez Crisis, it was repainted in fresh US olive drab. This vehicle does not have the supports for barbed wire, smoke launchers, and searchlight. The crew wears British uniforms and Czechoslovakian helmets. The captain wears a British hat. Source: Lioness and lion of the line
By 1959, only 50 vehicles were converted but there is no indication this number included the original batch of vehicles sent by France. During the same year, the Israeli understood that the Continental R-975 C4 used on all the converted Shermans was not the best engine for this heavier Sherman version. The engine was no longer able to offer the M-50 sufficient mobility and was breaking after long drives, and making continuous maintenance and repairs by the crew compulsory.
In late 1959, an Israeli M4A3 Sherman was tested with a new engine, the US Cummins VT-8-460 Turbodiesel engine delivering 460 hp. The mounting of the new engine did not require any changes to the engine compartment of the M4A3 and only the engine deck was lightly modified with new air intakes with sand filters and the radiator was also modified to increase engine cooling.
Accepted for production, the first batch of Cummins engines arrived in Israel only in early 1960 and the first vehicles with this conversion were the M-50s produced after 1960, first seen in a parade in early 1961. From mid-1960 to July 1962, all the M-50 built, more than a hundred, were powered by this more powerful engine.
The suspension was also changed. The old VVSS (Vertical Volute Spring Suspension) with 16-inch tracks did not offer acceptable top speed and comfort for the crew. For this reason, they were substituted by the more modern HVSS (Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension) with 23-inch wide tracks to ensure good mobility even on sandy soils. After the engine change, some M-50s still used the old VVSS suspension for a period, before receiving the new model. In 1967, during the Six Days War, all the M-50s had the new Cummins engine and HVSS suspensions.
The two different variants of the M-50 were named the Mark 1 or ‘Continental’ in Israel Better known as Degem Aleph (Eng: Model A) for the Continental-engined version, and the Mark 2 or ‘Cummins’ in Israel Better known as Degem Bet (Eng: Model b) for the Cummins-engined version.
The Degem Aleph version weighed 33.5 tons, could reach a lower maximum speed and had an autonomy of about 250 km due to the petrol engine. The improved Degem Bet version weighed 34 tons, could reach a top speed of 42 km/h and had a range of 300 km. The two standard 303-liter fuel tanks positioned on the sides of the engine compartment were left unchanged, but the exhaust system was modified.
A Cummins V8 B1 Turbodiesel engine near an M-50 hull. This vehicle is currently under restoration by the Eden Camp Museum, UK. Source: Eden Camp
Hull
Like in the case of the turrets, the hulls of the M-50 were of early or mid-type construction with ‘small’ hatches and ‘large’ hatches. The transmission cover was made of three pieces on the early type hull and from one cast piece for the mid and late types. The ‘Continental’ version received a few upgrades such as the replacement of the transmission with a better French one.
All Degem Bet vehicles had holder frames for cans of fuel and water, spare wheels and tracks, and two boxes for materials on the sides of the hull, a good feature given that lots of the combat would take place in the desert. A new cover for the horn on the left side of the frontal armor plate was installed, along with two supports for barbed wire, one between the crew hatches and the second on the transmission cover. On the rear armor plate a new telephone, connected to the intercom system of the crew, was installed in order to keep in contact with the infantry that fought alongside the tank.
A prototype variant of the M-50 was built at the Tel Ha-Shomer workshops in the early or mid-60s, called ‘Degem Yud’ Degem means ‘Model’ and ‘Yud’ (in Hebrew write י) is the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The chassis of an M-50 Degem bet on the hull of an M4A3 ‘large hatch’ was lowered by 30 cm in order to reduce the height the tank. After the first tests, the project was abandoned and the prototype was probably scrapped.
The only Degem Yud built in an Israeli military depot. Source: warthunder.com
Armor
The hull armor of the M-50 was left unchanged, but the thickness varied between the different versions of the M4 Sherman used as a basis.
On the ‘small hatch’ M4A1, M4A1 Composite, M4A2, and on the M4A4, the frontal armor was 51 mm thick angled at 56°. For the ‘large’ hatch variants of the M4A1 and M4A3 (the M4A4 was never built in the ‘large’ hatch variant), the thickness was increased to 63 mm but the slope was reduced to 47° to accommodate the new bigger hatches.
Some vehicles had the World War II upgrades with additional 25 mm applique armor plates welded on the sides of the hull, increasing the armor thickness in vulnerable spots and also on the frontal glacis two 25 mm hatch guards.
The turret, with a frontal armor thickness of 76 mm, received a new gun mantlet and turret extension with a thickness of 70 mm. On the back of the turret, the addition of a cast iron counterweight significantly increased the protection, although this was probably not made of ballistic steel. As on the hulls, some M4 Shermans had 25 mm applique armor added on the right side of the turret, covering part of the crew.
M4A3 based M-50 Degem Bet during training in South Israel. Notice the new 23-inch T84 tracks, the new cover for the horn, the two barbed wire supports, and the supports for various cans on the hull sides. On the turret, notice the presence of the smoke launchers, the round type commander’s cupola, and the absence of the second radio antenna. The vehicle is equipped with the support for the large searchlight above the barrel of the cannon, and also the smallest U.S. manufactured, mounted on the turret top, rare on Israeli Shermans. The commander wears an M1 US helmet provided by France and the US Army after 1967. Source: Deviantart.com
Main Armament
The cannon of the M-50 was the same as that of the AMX-13-75, the CN 75-50 (CaNon 75 mm model 1950), also known as the 75-SA 50 (75 mm Semi Automatic model 1950) L/61.5. It could reach a firing rate of 10 rounds per minute. This cannon had a muzzle velocity of 1,000 m/s with armor-piercing rounds. The Israelis did not want to install the AMX-13 autoloader on their Shermans, as they believed it to be unreliable and would otherwise have taken up too much space inside the turret.
The CN 75-50 cannon with a first type muzzle brake never used on the M-50 Sherman. Source: strijdbewijs.htm
Above the cannon, there was a large searchlight for night operations, but due to its size, this light was easily damaged by light weapons fire. Therefore it was often not mounted on vehicles.
Close-up of the turret of an M-50. The smoke launchers are mounted and armed, while the search light is lowered. The commander’s cupola is of the ‘split’ type and there is only one radio antenna. The crew members wear US helmets provided by France and the US Army after 1967. Source: bukvoed.livejournal.com
Secondary Armament
The secondary armament remained unchanged. Two Browning M1919 7.62 mm machine guns were carried, one coaxial to the cannon and one in the hull, to the right of the driver. The anti-aircraft machine gun was the typical 12.7 mm Browning M2HB.
At an undefined time between the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, the hull machine gun and the machine gunner position were eliminated. In some cases, the spare M1919 machine gun was mounted on the turret, used by the tank commander or the loader in an anti-aircraft role.
Detail of the Browning M2HB machine gun placed on the commander’s cupola and the main gun of an M-50 during a military ceremony. Source: Lioness and lion of the line
Ammunition
The total ammunition carried consisted of 62 rounds, of which 50 were stowed in the hull in two 25-round racks, nine ready to use on the left side of the turret basket, and the last three on the floor of the turret basket.
The French cannon could fire a range of shells in 75 x 597R mm with 117 mm rimfire:
Other shells that could be fired by this gun were High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) and Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS). However, it is not certain if they were ever used by the Israeli tanks.
The first ammunition stocks were sent from France by train to Italy, where they were shipped to Israel. By 1959, the ammunition was being produced by Israeli companies.
The secondary armament ammunition capacity was 4,750 rounds for the 7.62 mm machine guns and 600 for the 12.7 mm Browning.
There were also 8 reserve smoke bombs for the smoke launchers. The crew also had access to 5 M3A1 Grease Guns with 900 .45 ACP caliber rounds. These were subsequently replaced by locally produced IMI UZI.
Finally, two boxes with a total of 12 hand grenades of different models were carried. Usually, like in the US tanks, these consisted of six fragmentation grenades, two thermite grenades, and four smoke grenades. The smoke grenades and the two incendiary ones were transported in a box on the left wall of the turret, while the other grenades were transported in another box under the gunner’s seat. Over the years, the grenades used were of French or American production models or Soviet captured ones.
The loader of an M-50 with an APC-T round during crew training in the Negev Desert. Source: Lioness and lion of the line
Crew
The crew of the M-50 consisted of 5 men, as in a standard Sherman. These were the driver and machine gunner in the hull, to the left and right of the transmission. The gunner was on the right of the turret, in front of the tank commander and the loader was operating on the left side.
Many photos show M-50 and M-51s without the 7.62 mm machine gun in the hull. At an unclear moment between the years after the Six Day War and before the Yom Kippur War, the IDF decided to remove this position in order to better allocate the limited numbers of soldiers at its disposal. As already mentioned, in some cases the Browning M1919 machine gun was mounted on the turret and used by the tank commander or the loader.
It should be noted that IDF’s MRE (Meal Ready-to-Eat) rations (Manot Krav or ‘Battle Food’) were developed for tank crews and therefore divided into groups of 5 individual rations. Only after the Yom Kippur War were these reduced to 4 individual rations.
Operational use
The first 25 M-50s arrived in Israel in mid-1956 and went to equip a company of the 27th Armored Brigade. This Brigade also had two companies equipped with M-1 ‘Super’ Shermans, one Half-tracked company equipped with M3 Half-Tracks, a Motor Infantry Battalion and a light reconnaissance battalion with AMX-13-75 tanks.
The Suez Crisis
The first use of the M-50 was between 29 October and 7 November 1956 during the Suez Crisis. The 27th Armored Brigade was sent into the Sinai Desert to engage the Egyptian forces.
The Israeli attack took the Egyptian Army by surprise. The Egyptians were counting on the fortifications erected in the Sinai Desert to defend the roads that crossed the peninsula.
The Israeli Shermans and AMX light tanks fought with excellent results against the Egyptians, which had a huge variety of armor, consisting of T-34/85s, Self Propelled 17pdr Archers, Sherman Fireflies, Sherman M4A4s refitted with the GM Twin 6-71 375 hp diesel engine of the M4A2 and M4A4 FL-10s. This last version, produced by France for the Egyptian Army, had the AMX-13-75 turret, equaling the firepower of the M-50 while also keeping the autoloader.
A destroyed and abandoned Egyptian M4A4 FL-10 after the Suez Crisis clashes of 1956. Source: Pinterest.com
The Israelis lost a few armored vehicles and captured many Egyptian depots and military bases. They took possession of about a dozen M4A4 FL-10s and many other M4A4 Shermans that were transferred to Israel, converted and put into service as standard M4A4 Shermans or M-50s.
M-50 Degem Aleph Israeli training school. This vehicle was based on a captured Egyptian M4A4 FL-10 tank. Source: Lioness and lion of the line
Between 1956 and 1967, there were many border skirmishes between Israel and its Arab neighbors. During one of these, on 6th March 1964, Major General Israel “Talik” Tal, was aboard his M-50 along with a Centurion tank. They spotted eight Syrian tractors at about 2,000 m distance, and in 2 minutes, Tal claimed five of the eight tractors destroyed by his Sherman. The other three were knocked out by the Centurion. Some days later, another Sherman destroyed an Egyptian recoilless rifle at a distance of 1,500 m.
The Six Day War
The second and biggest use of the M-50 was between 5 and 10 June 1967, in the Six Day War. At that time, the Israeli armored force was mostly relying on M48A2C2, M48A3 Patton and Centurion Mk 5, a part of which were rearmed with the 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 cannons, increasing anti-tank performance.
Jerusalem 5 June 1967, some M-1 ‘Super’ Shermans and an M3 Half-track in the foreground pass by a destroyed M-50, while, in the background, at the intersection, another M-50 , recognizable by the counterweight and spare parts on the sides. Source: grimnir74.livejournal.com
About a hundred of M-50s were sent into the desert to take part in the offensive in Sinai. Another hundred were sent to the north to take part in the offensive on the Golan Heights, while the rest remained in reserve.
In Jerusalem, very few M-50 fought because their offensive power was needed on other fronts of the war. The Israelis preferred to use the old M-1 Sherman armed with the US 76 mm cannons in the clashes against the Jordanians in the city.
At least three M-50s supported infantry assaults on Ammunition Hill and the final attack on Jerusalem’s Old City with no M-1 lost in combat and only one M-50 destroyed.
An M-50 Degem bet based on an M4A1 hull, during the Six Days War. It is opening fire against enemy troops near the Lion’s Gate of the Old City in Jerusalem, supported by some Israeli paratroopers. The lateral cartridge ejection hatch is open and the commander’s cupola is of ‘round’ type. Source: reddit.com
The Sinai Offensive
The Sinai offensive was launched at 8 am on 5 June 1967. The M-50 and the M-51 played a marginal role against the Egyptian tanks.
One of these engagements was during the Battle of Abu-Ageila, a stronghold that controlled the road to Ismailia. Consisting of three lines of trenches 5 km long and almost one km apart, they were defended by T-34/85 and T-54 tanks present in ‘hull down’ positions. Soviet 130 mm cannons were placed in Um Katef, a nearby hill, and the Egyptian reserves included an armored regiment consisting of 66 T-34/85s and a Battalion with 22 SD-100s or SU-100Ms. These were two versions of the SU-100 Soviet tank destroyer; the former was produced after the Second World War by Czechoslovakia, and the latter was a version modified by the Egyptians and Syrians to better adapt the SD and SU-100 to desert operations.
Some M-50s advancing on a road in the Sinai Desert. Source: pinterest.com
About 150 Israeli tanks were employed. The 14th Armored Brigade had over 60 M-50 and M-51 Shermans, the 63rd Armored Battalion had over 60 Centurion Mk. 5 tanks while the Divisional Mechanized Reconnaissance Battalion had an unknown, but limited, number of AMX-13s.
The Israeli attack was launched at night, under the cover of darkness. No. 124 Paratroopers Squadron attacked and destroyed the cannons on Um Katef hill as the 14th Armored Brigade Sherman tanks advanced hidden and covered by the dark and an artillery barrage that was hitting the Egyptian trenches.
The infantry, supported by M3 Half-tracks, cleaned up the trenches while the Shermans, after breaking through, supported the Centurions, which had outflanked the Egyptian positions, by intercepting the reserves that advanced for the counterattack.
During the battle fought between 4 am and 7 am, the Egyptians lost over 60 tanks and 2,000 soldiers, while the Israelis only lost 19 tanks (8 during the battle, while the other 11 were Centurions damaged in the minefields) with a total of 7 crewmen and 40 soldiers dying during the attack.
When Egyptian Field Marshal Mohamed Amer learned of the defeat of Abu Ageila, he ordered his soldiers to withdraw to Gidi and Mitla just 30 km from the Suez Canal.
The order to withdraw was received by almost all Egyptian units, which retreated in a disorganized manner to Suez, often abandoning fully functional weapons, cannons or tanks in their defensive positions.
In the afternoon of the 6th June, with the arrival of materials such as MIG fighters and tanks from Algeria, the withdrawal order was canceled, creating even more confusion in the troops that except in rare cases, continued the retreat to Suez.
Sensing the situation, the Israeli High Command ordered that access to the Suez Canal be blocked by trapping most of the Egyptian Army in Sinai.
Due to the rapid advance of those days, many Israeli tanks were left with little fuel and ammunition, for this reason, not all Israeli forces were able to move immediately towards the canal.
To give an idea of this problem, the road to Ismailia was blocked only by 12 Centurions of the 31st Armored Division which had at least 35 other Centurions with empty fuel tanks.
Another example is that of Lieutenant-Colonel Zeev Eitan, commander of the 19th Light Tank Battalion, equipped with AMX-13-75 light tanks. Since his vehicles had full tanks, he was given the task of stopping an enemy attack with his reconnaissance light tanks.
Eitan left with 15 AMX-13 and positioned himself in the dunes near Bir Girgafa, waiting for the enemy.
The Egyptians counterattacked with 50 or 60 T-54s and T-55s, forcing the AMX-13s to retreat after suffering many losses, without destroying a single Egyptian tank.
The 19th Light Tank Battalion, however, slowed down the Egyptians long enough for some M-50s and M-51s to fill up with fuel and intervene in the area. These, by hitting the heavier vehicles on their sides, managed to destroy many of them, forcing the others to retreat to Ismailia encountering the other 12 Centurions that totally destroyed them.
In Sinai, the Egyptian Army lost 700 tanks of which 100 were captured intact by the Israelis in addition to an unknown number that were repaired and put into service in the IDF in the following months.
The Israelis lost 122 tanks, of which about a third were recovered and repaired after the war.
A column of Israeli military vehicles. On the left are two M-50 Degem Bet tanks based on the M4A4 hull. On the right is an M-50 Degem bet based on an M4A3 Sherman. Source: grimnir74.livejournal.com
The Jordan Offensive
The 10th Harel Mechanized Brigade under Col. Uri Ben Ari attacked the hills north of Jerusalem on the afternoon of June 5th, 1967. Made up of five tank companies (instead of the 3 standard ones), the 10th Brigade had 80 vehicles, 48 of which were M-50s, 16 were Panhard AML armored cars and 16 were Centurion Mk. 5s armed with old 20-pdr cannons.
Their attack was thwarted by the rough terrain and mines scattered everywhere on the narrow streets of that region. The accompanying engineers had no mine detectors and mines had to be found by probing the ground for hours with bayonets and sub-machine gun ramrods.
On that day, 7 Shermans and an M3 Half-track were damaged by mines and were left nonoperational for the rest of the offensive.
During the night, all 16 Centurions got stuck in rocks or damaged their tracks and could not be assisted or helped because of the Jordanian artillery fire.
Later that night, an assault by Israeli mechanized infantry destroyed the Jordanian artillery and, the next morning, repairs began.
Only six M-50s, some M3 Half-tracks and a few Panhard AML armored cars arrived the next morning at their destination but were immediately greeted by Jordanian fire. Two Jordanian Armored Companies arrived during the night, equipped with M48 Pattons, immediately putting a Sherman out of action.
The remaining Shermans, with the assistance of others which arrived shortly after, outflanked the M48 Pattons, which were placed in fixed positions, and hit them in their sides, where their additional fuel tanks were placed.
The additional fuel tanks the Pattons carried had not been dismounted as they should have, and became an easy target to hit. After a few minutes of fighting, six Jordanian M48 Pattons were on fire. The remaining tanks retreated to Jericho, abandoning another eleven M48s along the way because of mechanical failures.
A Jordanian M48A1 Patton with three 200 liters barrels used as additional fuel tanks. Source: pinterest.com
The Ugda Brigade that fought further north was equipped with 48 M-50s and M-51s and had the task of defeating Jordanian positions in the Jordan town of Janin, defended by 44 M47 Patton tanks and the 40th Armored Brigade in reserve with M47 and M48 tanks.
After a very rapid advance throughout the day, during which Ugda forces also destroyed some artillery positions that were hitting Jerusalem and a crucial Israeli military airport, night fell and many Sherman were stuck in the small mountain roads.
Six or seven M-50s and M-51s climbed Burquim Hill. During the night of the 5th of June, among the olive groves, these found themselves face-to-face with an entire Jordanian Armored Company armed with M47 Pattons less than 50 meters away.
Under the cover darkness, the Israeli tanks attacked the Jordanian forces, destroying more than a dozen tanks for only one knocked out M-50 and no Israeli tank crew losses.
The fighting in the area was bloody for several more days. The Jordanians resisted vigorously, counter-attacking Israeli forces with all their available tanks. Although the 90 mm cannons of the M47 and M48 Patton were very effective against the Israeli Shermans, the crews operating them were not very well trained, especially in long-distance shooting.
The Israelis, in addition to superior training, were able to count on almost unlimited air support that turned out to be, both during day and night, very effective.
During the advance, an Israeli armored company had to face many M47s and M48s hidden in fixed positions. The Israelis decided to request air support, but the first wave of fighters did not find any targets because the Jordanian tanks were well camouflaged. A crew of an M-50, rather recklessly, decided to launch at full speed towards enemy positions. The Pattons immediately opened fire without hitting them once. The Sherman got close enough to hit a Patton knocking it out, before turning around and returning to Israeli lines and rejoining its company. The smoke from the burning Patton, in addition to the accurate coordinates sent by an Israeli M3 Half-track observer vehicle, which had spotted all the Jordanian tanks, made it possible to precisely bomb all the Pattons from the air and destroy them.
In the end, in the last two days of the war, the commander of the Jordanian 40th Armored Brigade, Rakan Anad, staged a counterattack by hitting Israeli supply lines.
At first, the attack launched on two different roads was quite successful, managing to destroy some M3 Half-tracks that carried ammunition and fuel for the Israeli tanks. The Israelis, who expected the offensive, however, repelled the first attacks by the Jordanian Pattons.
A small force composed of AMX-13, twelve Centurions and some Shermans of the 37th Israeli Armored Brigade went up a very narrow road (considered unusable by the Jordanians) and attacked the rear of the enemy forces by surprise. Commander Anad, along with his forces, was forced to retreat without being able to attempt any more attacks, abandoning another 35 M48 Pattons and an unknown number of M47 Pattons on the battlefield.
The Golan Heights Offensive
Due to political problems, ground attacks on Syria were not immediately authorized by Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, even though General Albert Mendler’s forces were sent to the border ready for battle.
After much pressure from the villagers living in the area, fed up with the periodic Syrian bombing, and senior army officers, after a whole night of reflection, at 6 am on 9 June 1967, Moshe Dayan authorized the attack on the Golan Heights.
From 6 to 11 am, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) bombarded Syrian positions relentlessly while the army engineers sapped the streets from below.
The advance of armored vehicles, mostly M-50s, M-51s and M3 Half-tracks, began at 11.30 am. Hundreds of vehicles lined the road behind a bulldozer.
At the top of the road, at a crossroads, the forces of Colonel Arye Biro, commander of the column, split up. Divided into two columns, they attacked the Qala’ stronghold, a hill with 360° defenses with bunkers and WW2 anti-tank guns of Soviet origin.
Six kilometers north, the Za’oura stronghold, another defensive hill, supported Qala’ with its artillery fire by obstructing Israeli vehicles and not allowing Biro’s officers to see the battlefield.
The situation confused several officers who advanced towards Za’oura convinced they were attacking Qala’.
The battle lasted over 3 hours and the information available is very confusing, as many officers died or were injured during the battle and were evacuated.
Two M-50s on the road to the Golan Heights 10 June 1967. Source: reddit.com
Lieutenant Horowitz, the officer who commanded the assault on Qala’, continued to command while injured and with the radio system of his Sherman destroyed by a Syrian shell.
During the approach, he lost many of the Shermans under his command. About twenty of them remained functional at the base of the hill.
The climb to the top was hampered by ‘dragon teeth’ (concrete anti-tank obstacles) and heavy artillery fire.
In an interview after the war, Lieutenant Horowitz said that one of his M-50s, commanded by a certain Ilan, was hit by a Syrian anti-tank cannon and set in flames during the climb.
Ilan and his crew jumped out of the tank, put out the flames, and after ordering his crew to find cover, Ilan climbed up on the burning Sherman, turned the turret, hit the anti-tank gun that had knocked out his tank, and then jumped out of the tank and sought cover.
Of the approximately twenty functional Shermans, most were hit by anti-tank guns, but the sturdy hull of the vehicle made it possible to recover and repair many after the battle.
At 4 pm, the stronghold of Za’oura was occupied, while Qala’ was occupied only 2 hours later. Only three Shermans arrived at the top of the hill, including that of Horowitz, who easily overcame the barbed wire and the trenches, forcing the Syrian soldiers to escape after throwing hand grenades from the turrets of their tanks into the trenches.
An hour after Arye Biro’s attack, the Israeli 1st Golani Infantry Brigade climbed the same road and attacked the positions of Tel Azzaziat and Tel Fakhr that were hitting the Israeli villages.
Tel Azzaziat was an isolated mound 140 m above the border, where four Syrian Panzer IV tanks in fixed positions constantly hit the Israeli plain below.
The Tank Company of the 8th Armored Brigade, equipped with M-50s, and the Mechanized Infantry Company of the 51st Battalion, equipped with M3 Half-tracks, attacked the positions and quickly managed to silence the cannons of the Syrian Panzers, but this was not the case in Tel Fakhr.
Located 5 km from the border, the two companies that attacked it with 9 M-50 Shermans and 19 M3 Half-tracks, made a wrong turn while under intense artillery fire. Instead of going around the enemy position, they ended up with all the vehicles in the center of the fortifications, under heavy anti-tank fire and in the midst of minefields which soon destroyed or knocked out all the vehicles. This forced the Israelis to attack the fortification with only infantry.
A Sherman climbs the steep roads of the Golan Heights during the Israeli offensive. Source: strijdbewijs.htm
At the end of the battle for the Golan Heights, the Israelis occupied all their targets but lost a total of 160 tanks and 127 soldiers. Although many of the tanks were recovered after the war and repaired, returning to service a few months later, these losses were much higher than the 122 tanks lost in the Sinai Offensive and the 112 in the Jordan Offensive.
On the Golan Heights, the M-50s had no difficulty dealing with the Syrian T-34/85s and against the last Panzer IVs in use. However, their limitations were seen against the Jordanian M47 and M48 Pattons and the Syrian and Egyptian T-54s and T-55s. It was shown that the CN 75-50 cannon was no longer able to deal with the most modern tanks.
After the war, the M-50s began to be taken out of active service, as it seemed that they would no longer be effective. Some may have been converted into 155 mm Self-Propelled Guns (SPGs).
The Yom Kippur War
On October 6th, 1973, at the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, the Israelis were caught unprepared by the Arab attack. They deployed all the available reserves, including 341 M-51s and M-50 Degem Bets still available. The M-50 Degem alephs had all been brought to Degem Bet standard or removed from the reserve and scrapped by January 1st, 1972.
The Golan Heights Sector
At the outbreak of the war, on the Golan Heights front, the Israelis could count on two Armored Brigades with a total of 177 Sho’t Kal tanks with 105 mm L7 cannons, against three Syrian Armored Divisions with a total of over 900 Soviet-made tanks, mostly T-54s and T-55s with a few T-34/85s, SU-100s and more modern T-62s.
On October 6th, a few hours after the beginning of the war, the 71st Battalion, composed of students and instructors of the IDF Armor School, a force of about 20 tanks including some M-50s, was sent to the front line.
On October 7th, the Syrians attacked the position held by the 77th OZ and 71st Battalion, trying to bypass the Israeli defenses. After several hours, in the afternoon, the Syrians were forced to give up their attack by withdrawing and leaving over 20 destroyed tanks on the battlefield.
Around 10 pm, the Syrian 7th Infantry Division and the 3rd Armored Division, which had night vision equipment, and also the 81st Armored Brigade equipped with the powerful T-62, attacked again.
The Israelis, deploying a total of 40 tanks, were able to withstand two different waves of the 500 tanks of the Syrian Army.
During the second attack, at 4 am, the Syrian commander, General Omar Abrash, was killed when his command tank was hit by an Israeli shell.
The loss of the general slowed down the offensive in that sector, which resumed only on October 9th. The Syrian tanks attacked the now exhausted Israeli soldiers of the 71st and 77th Battalions of the 7th Armor Brigade. After several hours of combat, the Israeli Commander, Ben Gal, had only 7 tanks left that had managed to fire hundreds of shells thanks to the crews that, hidden among the rocks, were going out to retrieve ammunition from the damaged or destroyed Israeli tanks.
A column of reinforcements directed to the Golan Heights. Pictured, the reconnaissance company equipped with a M38 Jeep and an M-50. October 6 or 7, 1973. Source: The Yom Kippur War 1973: The Golan Heights
Lieutenant Colonel Yossi Ben Hannan, who at the outbreak of the war was in Greece, arrived in Israel and rushed to the rear of the Golan Heights front where, in a workshop, he found 13 tanks that had been damaged during the fighting of the previous days (among them at least a couple of Shermans). He quickly grouped together as many crews as he could (often wounded soldiers, volunteers and even some who escaped from hospitals to fight), took command of this heterogeneous company and moved in support of the 7th Armor Brigade.
When they reached the 7 surviving tanks, a counterattack began and hit the left flank of the Syrian Army, destroying another 30 Syrian tanks.
The Syrian commander, believing that Ben Hannan’s 20 tanks were the first of the Israeli fresh reserves, gave the order to retreat from the battlefield.
After 50 hours of battle and almost 80 hours without sleep, the survivors of the 71st and 77th Battalions, who had destroyed 260 tanks and about 500 other vehicles, were finally able to rest.
The real Israeli reserves were already on their way and did not take long to arrive. Of the hundreds of tanks that the Israeli Defence Force had, some were M-50s, which were still effective at short ranges or from the sides against most of the Syrian and Jordanian tanks that they would face in the following days.
The Sinai Sector
In the Sinai Desert, the Egyptians, after crossing to the eastern bank of the Suez Canal, attacked the Israeli Bar-Lev Defensive Line. About 500 or 1,000 meters behind the defensive line were the positions of Israeli tanks, which numbered only about 290 along the whole front, of which only a few dozen were M-50 and M-51s.
The Israeli tanks made a valuable contribution during the first hours of the war, but the Egyptians consolidated their positions and deployed 9M14 Malyutka missiles, known under the NATO name of AT-3 Sagger, which decimated the Israeli tanks.
Some M-50s loaded on trucks in direction to Sinai October 7th 1973. Source: bukvoed.livejournal
Information about the use of the Shermans in the Sinai Campaign is scarce. About 220 M-50 and M-51s were employed in the battles against the Egyptians, with unsatisfactory results. The M-50s had a marginal role, as they could only effectively deal with the odd T-34/85 still used in some Egyptian armored brigades and PT-76 amphibious tanks which attempted an amphibian assault on Lake Amari. The M-50 could only damage the T-54 and T-55 on the sides, where the armor was thinner and straight. Also in this campaign, they proved to be ineffective against the T-62s and IS-3Ms and too vulnerable to infantry anti-tank weapons, such as AT-3s and RPG-7s.
Second Life
A small batch of M-50 Degem Alephs which had not been converted to HVSS suspensions were employed in fixed positions in the fortification lines built after 1967 by the IDF in the West Bank area. They were meant to defend the ‘Kibbutzim’, or settlements, founded by Israel after 1948.
The tanks went to reinforce the militia bunkers already in the area and armed with obsolete or second-line weapons, such as T-34/85 or M48 Patton MG cupolas.
In some cases, the suspensions were left and used to drag the tank to its position while the engines were removed, as was all the interior except for the turret basket. The radio system was also removed. The ammunition racks were left and the amount of ammunition stored was increased. For some vehicles, an entrance was created in the rear of the vehicle. For others, the entrance was created in the front by removing the transmission cover and part of the floor.
A M-50 used as a bunker in a fortification of the Kibbutz Hanita near the Mediterranean Sea and near the southern border with Lebanon. Once, the hull of the vehicle was entirely covered with earth and surrounded by other fortifications that have since been removed to make space for a parking lot because the nearby beach is now a tourist attraction. From this angle, the cement side walls to the entrance of the tank and the replaced engine deck are visible. Source: Israeli Sherman
After these modifications, the vehicles were put into holes in the ground and covered with earth and rocks. Only the turrets and in some cases a few inches of the hull were visible. They were accessible through trenches dug in their vicinity, which connected them to the rest of the fortifications.
The hatches were not sealed so that they could be used as emergency exits in case of danger. Some of these rusty hulls are visible in some places in Israel even to the present day. The most famous is that of the Kibbutz Hanita, on the border with Lebanon, near the Mediterranean Sea. Another is located in the city of Metula, also on the border with Lebanon, which has been painted in bright colors by some local artists and is still visible in its original position. Many others have been removed from their positions and scrapped.
Another M-50 turned into a bunker in the Israeli city of Metula. Although not visible, in this case, the transmission cover was removed and replaced with the entrance to the bunker. The tank is set up with its back towards the Lebanese border. Source: toocatsoriginals.tumblr.com
Withdrawal from Service in the Israeli Army
One of the Israeli-supplied M-50 of the Christian militias, seen in 1979 during a patrol. Source: Lebanese Civil War
Between 1974 and 1976, the remaining M-50s were fully removed from active service in Israel. The surviving M-50s had different destinations. In 1975, a total of 75 were supplied to various Lebanese Christian militias during the Lebanese Civil War which began in 1975. 35 were supplied to the South Lebanon Army (SLA), 19 were provided to the Kataeb Regulatory Forces, 40 to the Lebanese Forces, one to the Guardians of the Cedars and 20 to the Tiger Militia.
Southern Lebanon 1977, one of the thirty-five M-50 supplied to the South Lebanon Army near two old AMX-13-75s. This was an M4A4 hull based with a welded transmission cover and two antennas. The blue-grey camouflage with black stripes was applied very hastily, in fact, the spare tracks on the side of the hull were not even removed, receiving the camouflage too. The additional fuel tanks are not carried as the range required for these vehicles in the Sinai Desert was no longer necessary. Source: strijdbewijs.htm
The M-50s supplied to the Lebanese Christian Militias fought fiercely against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
Many M-50s supplied to the Lebanese Militias were old and in bad condition and the inexperience of their Lebanese crews meant that they soon ran out of spare parts and were mostly used in fixed positions by digging the hull into the ground.
Before 1982, the PLO took possession of several vehicles that were dismantled. The PLO nevertheless managed to put two of them back into service and used them to fight in Beirut, until the Palestinians also ran out of spare parts. During the Israeli invasion in 1982, one of the two M-50s was destroyed by the Israelis near the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium while the other was found sometime later by French troops (employed in the NATO mission in Lebanon) hidden inside the ruins of the same stadium.
PLO M-50 Degem Bet destroyed near the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Lebanon, 1983. Source: wikipedia.com
At least three of the seventy-five M-50 supplied to Lebanese militias, two based on the M4A3 Sherman and one on a M4A1, which had been probably damaged, had their turrets removed and had angled armor plates added on every side of the turret ring along with three machine gun mounts. The armament, according to photographic evidence, consisted of a Browning M2HB and two Browning M1919 machine guns on the sides. It is not known to which Christian militia these belonged to and it is not even known how they were employed. The most accepted hypothesis claims that they would have been employed as command tanks or Armored Personnel Carriers (APC).
M-50 based on the M4A4 hull converted into an Armored Personnel Carrier or command tank in a street in the suburbs of Beirut. Source: armorama.com
When the South Lebanon Army disbanded in 2000, the M-50s which had survived (the SLA still had spare parts) were returned to Israel to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.
However, it is not known how many returned to Israel or the operational deployment of the other 40 Shermans sent to Lebanon.
The remaining vehicles not sent to Lebanon or Chile remained in the Israeli reserve until the mid-1980s and then nine were sold to museums, three to private collectors, four turned into monuments, while the others were scrapped.
Palestinians inspecting an M-50 captured from the South Lebanon Army on 3 March 1978. Source: Libanese Civil War
Post-IDF Upgrades
A document of the Ejército de Tierra (Spanish Army) dating from November 1982, proposed to the country’s High Command the modernization of some of the vehicles in service and examined some modernizations being carried out in other nations. Among the many proposals to upgrade Leopard 1s and M48 Pattons, an interesting proposal of the Israeli NIMDA company is mentioned. The Israeli company was planning to upgrade the M-50 and perhaps also the M-51 with the installation of a new power pack consisting of the Detroit Diesel V8 Model 71T engine connected to a transmission system with mechanical clutch or to an Allison TC-570 torque converter with a modified gearbox. After conversion, the tank would have a top speed of 40 km/h and a range increase of 320 km. The new drive system would also include dust filters and an improved cooling system that could be housed in the existing engine compartment without any structural changes.
The Detroit 8V-71T with an exhaust system similar to that mounted on Chilean Shermans. Source: pinterest.com
In addition, the company proposed the adaptation of the old CN-75-50 75 mm cannon, reboring it from 75 mm to 90 mm caliber, making it similar to the French-made CN-90-F3 90 mm L/53 cannon, the same one mounted on the AMX-13-90. The gun could fire rounds at a muzzle velocity of 900 m/s and could fire the same rounds as the GIAT D921 cannon of the Panhard AML armored car: HE and HEAT-SF. It could also fire an APFSDS round designed for another French 90 mm cannon.
This project was most likely proposed to Chile in 1983, but they opted for the IMI 60 mm Hyper-Velocity Medium Support 60 (HVMS 60) cannon, which was more effective in anti-tank combat.
The CN-90-F3, proposed by NIMDA on a AMX-13-90 tank. Source: chars-francais.netChilean M-50 with HVMS 60 during training, Command tank of the Grupo Blindado Nº 9 “Vencedores”, Pampa Chaca, Arica, 1991. Source: pinterest.com
In the early ’80s, Chile asked the Israeli Military Industry (IMI) for an upgrade package for the M-50.
A prototype armed with the new HVMS 60 was built on an M-50 hull and, after positive evaluations during training in 1983, it was presented to the Chilean High Command, which accepted to upgrade their sixty-five M-50. From early 1983, this vehicle was used by Chile, which only replaced them in 2006.
Camouflage and Markings
At the birth of the first armored corps in 1948, the IDF used the Olive Drab paint on its first Shermans, left by the British in military warehouses or purchased together with the first vehicles in Europe. Until the first half of the ’50s, Olive Drab was sometimes used in more brownish shades on all Israeli Shermans, including the very first M-50 Degem Alephs.
Already in the early ’50s, however, the “Sinai Gray” was tested on some M-3 Shermans, accepted in service shortly before the Suez Crisis. At least until 1959, the M-50s coming out of the conversion workshops were painted in Olive Drab.
An M-50 Cummins based on M4A3 hull in Tiberias nel 1967 during the march to the Golan Height. In the picture you can see the searchlight covered by a tarpaulin and the two antennas (one upright and the other folded). The Sinai Gray camouflage is very yellowish, on which you can notice, above the side box, the identification plate on a black background. Unfortunately, it is impossible to identify the platoon and company of the tank, but this Sherman is the third tank of the 4th Battalion. Source: pinterest.com
By the early ’60s, all the M-50s were painted in the new Sinai Gray which, however, as can be seen in many color photos of the time, had many shades, painted even to the discernment of local commanders. The Armored Brigades stationed in the Golan Heights and on the borders with Jordan, Syria and Lebanon had a darker or brownish color, while the vehicles used in the south, on the border with Egypt, had a more yellowish shade for use in the Sinai. Obviously, over the years, these vehicles were mixed in with the various Israeli armored units or were repainted with other shades.
An M-50 Degem Bets on the hull M4A3 advances on the Golan Heights in 1967. This tank is the 2nd Platoon’s command tank belonging to the 2nd Battalion. Markings of the company not present. Source: pinterest.com
The Israeli marking system entered service after 1960 and it is still used today by the IDF, even if the meanings of some symbols are still unknown or unclear.
The white stripes on the cannon barrel identify which battalion the tank belongs to. If the tank belongs to the 1st Battalion, it only has one stripe on the barrel, if it is the 2nd Battalion, it has two stripes, and so on.
The company the tank belongs to is determined by a white Chevron, a white ‘V’ shaped symbol painted on the sides of the vehicle sometimes with a black outline. If the M-50 belonged to the 1st Company, the Chevron was pointing downwards, if the tank belonged to the 2nd Company, the ‘V’ was pointing forward. If the Chevron was pointed upwards, the vehicle belonged to the 3rd Company, and, if it pointed backward it belonged to the 4th Company.
The company identification markings have different sizes according to the space a tank has on its sides. The M48 Patton had these symbols painted on the turret and were quite big, while the Centurion had them painted on the side skirts. The Shermans had little space on the sides, and therefore, the company identification markings were painted on the side boxes, or in some cases, on the sides of the gun mantlet.
An M-50 tows a damaged M-51 (the knocked out right track is visible) along a road with a destroyed T-55 in the foreground. The M-50 belonged to the 1st Company of the 1st Battalion, while the M-51 belonged to the 3rd Company of the 3rd Battalion. Unfortunately, the platoon markings are not visible in this photo. Source reddit.com
The platoon identification markings are written on the turrets and are divided in two: a number from 1 to 4 and one of the first four letters of the Hebrew alphabet: א (Aleph), ב (bet), ג (gimel) and ד (dalet ). The Arabic number, from 1 to 4, indicates the platoon to which a tank belongs to and the letter, the tank number inside each platoon. Tank number 1 of the 1st Platoon would have painted on the turret the symbol ‘1א’, tank number 2 of 3rd Platoon would have painted on the turret the symbol ‘3ב’, and so on. The platoon’s command tank only has the number without the letter, or in rare cases, the platoon commander has א, i.e. the first tank of the platoon.
In pictures of the M-50s, these symbols are not always visible, as pictures taken during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 show many M-50s that had already been withdrawn from operational service, repainted and kept in reserve.
On some photos taken before the standardization of this system of markings, three white arrows can be seen on the sides of the vehicles in service in the Sinai, the markings of Israeli Southern Command. Others also had a number painted on the front that identified the weight of the vehicle. This was done to indicate if the tank was able to cross certain bridges or for transportation on trailers. The number was painted white inside a blue circle surrounded by another red ring.
Three Israeli M-50 Degem Aleph tanks (the first was based on M4A4 hull) on the Golan Heights. This tank was the command tank of the 1st Platoon of the 2nd Company (on the turret the symbol is ‘1א’) 4th Battalion. Above the box on the hull side you can see the plate used by the IDF to record losses in battle. Strangely, it is not on a black background). Source: pinterest.com
All seventy-five vehicles that were given to Lebanese militias were repainted in white before delivery.
A small number of the 35 Shermans delivered to the South Lebanese Army (SLA) were repainted with a blue-gray camouflage with black stripes. Some received a light blue camouflage, while others kept the white color with which they arrived from Israel in 1975. The M-50 of the SLA had the symbol of the South Lebanon Army, a hand holding a sword from which cedar tree branches (the symbol of Lebanon) came out in a blue circle, painted on the frontal glacis.
Four M-50s in Lebanon, the one on the right is on a M4A4 hull, while the other two are on M4A3 hulls. Starting from the left, the first and the third are painted in light blue, while the second and the fourth are left painted in white, as they arrived from Israel. Note the markings of the Phalangist Army of the SLA painted on the glacis. Source: facebook.com
The M-50 Degem Bets delivered to Chile in 1983 had another type of camouflage. The 85 M-51s Chile first received in 1979 arrived with Sinai Gray camouflage. The Ejército de Chile (Chilean Army) greatly appreciated the camouflage because, in the Atacama Desert, where Chilean crews were training, it was very useful. After a short time, however, they decided to switch to other paints because the dust and salt were affecting the Israeli paint (the Atacama Desert is the driest on earth because of the very high salt content). No single camouflage scheme was decided for the whole army, and it was the local commanders who chose the scheme and bought the paints.
The M-50s which arrived in Chile in 1983 were also in the classic Sinai Gray camouflage but were repainted immediately after being assigned to their units. Many of the camouflage patterns remain a mystery, but a lot of information is available about the ones used by the Regimiento de Caballería Blindada Nº 9 “Vencedores” (Eng: 9th Armored Cavalry Regiment) of the Regimiento de Caballería Blindada Nº 4 “Coraceros” (Eng: 4th Armored Cavalry Regiment) used in the north of Chile. This unit repainted some of its M-50s in a light sand yellow color and others in green-grey, similar to the Olive Drab. In the end, in 1991, all the Shermans of the Armored Group were re-painted in light sand yellow because the grey-green was covered by desert sand.
Myths to dispel
The nickname ‘Sherman’ given to the Second World War crews to their Medium Tank, M4 and now entered in the common language of video games, films or simply enthusiasts was never used, officially, by the IDF that has always called their M4 Medium Tanks as the name of its main guns, M-3 for all the Shermans armed of 75 mm M3 cannon, M-4 for all the Shermans armed with a 105 mm M4 howitzer and so on.
Consequently, the Shermans modified with the French CN 75-50 cannon took the name of M-50 Sherman.
The nickname ‘Super’ was actually used only for Sherman versions armed with 76 mm cannons. These, which also had a dozer blade, remained in very limited use through the Yom Kippur War, before being removed from service entirely. These vehicles were the only ones to receive this nickname from the IDF. These vehicles were supplied in the 1950s by the French.
The ISherman (aka Israeli Sherman) nickname is also often encountered, but it was never used by the Israeli Army to indicate any vehicle on the Sherman chassis. It probably originated from model kit producers or ill informed writers/journalists.
Chilean vehicles armed with the 60 mm cannon were never called, neither by the Chilean Army nor by the Israeli Army, M-60 Shermans. The only known name for this variant is M-50 with HVMS 60.
M-50 Degem Aleph on an M4A4 hull in 1973 without the hull machine gun and with the ‘round’ type commander’s cupola. Source: bukvoed.livejournal.com
Conclusions
The M-50 appeared as a vehicle of necessity for the Israeli Army. It was meant to make the standard M4 Shermans armed with the obsolete Second World War 75 mm M3 cannon effective enough to still be viable on the battlefield by upgunning them with more modern cannons and changing the engines.
In this period, the Arab armies were heavily rearming after the 1948 defeat and the IDF needed to have tanks capable of dealing with these more modern threats.
The M-50s proved themselves when fighting against similar vehicles of WW2 vintage, taking part in some of the crucial events that led to the continued existence of the Israeli nation. While they managed to also deal with later vehicles, such as the T-54 in some situations, by the late 60s and 1973, the M-50 was clearly obsolete.
Three M-50s of the 2nd Battalion, in the foreground the 2nd Platoon’s command tank, the last tank is the 2nd Platoon’s second. Source: pinterest.comDegem Bet during the war of 1967, Golan heights, Syria.M-50 of the South Lebanon Army with two tone camouflage scheme. Illustrations done by David Bocquelet.
M-50 Degem Bet specification
Dimensions (L-W-H)
6.15 x 2.42 x 2.24 m
(20’1″ x 7’9″ x 7’3″ ft.in)
Total weight, battle ready
35 tonnes
Crew
5 (driver, machine gunner, commander, gunner and loader)
Propulsion
Cummins VT-8-460 460 hp diesel with 606 liters tank
Top Speed
42 km/h
Range (road)/Fuel consumption
~300 km
Armament (see notes)
CN 75-50 L.61,5 with 62 rounds
2 x Browning M1919 7.62 mm with 4750 rounds
Browning M2HB 12.7 mm with 600 rounds
Armor
63 mm frontal hull, 38 mm sides and rear, 19 mm top and bottom
70 mm mantlet, 76 mm front, sides and rear of the turret
Conversions
50 of the Degem Aleph version and 250 of the Degem Bet version
Special thanks to Mr. Joseph Bauder who shared a lot of information and anecdotes about the M-50 and Israeli vehicles in general improving this article in many ways.
Italian Republic (2019)
Wheeled Tank Destroyer – 1 Prototype Built
The Centauro II MGS 120/105 is a wheeled tank destroyer built by the Consortium IVECO OTO-Melara (CIO). It will be delivered to the Italian Army, or Esercito Italiano (EI), with the name “B2 Centauro”. It is the evolution of the B1 Centauro, which was the first purposely built tank hunter 8×8 armored car in the world, armed with a 105 mm NATO ammunition-compliant cannon.
Testing the B II at Cecchignola. Source: lastampa.it
The Centauro II wheeled tank destroyer represents the natural evolution of the B1 Centauro. The B1 Centauro was designed to fulfill the needs of the Italian Army during the late Cold War years. Its main aim was that of providing greater mobility to the Italian armed forces deployed in the defense of the national territory, for hunting down Warsaw Pact tanks that would break through the NATO defense lines in a hypothetical conflict, penetrating an enemy rearguard, for anti-parachute patrols and amphibious landings off the Adriatic coast. For these requirements, the Italian Army needed different characteristics from those of the tanks used by Italy in that period, such as the M47, M60A3 Patton and Leopard 1A2. Mobility, heavy armament, and a low weight were to be the strengths of this new vehicle. The CIO, against all expectations, devised a wheeled vehicle rather than a light tank, which it presented to the Italian Army in 1986. Soon after, it entered into service in the Italian Army. Even at the time of writing (2020), the Centauro is employed by the Italian cavalry regiments, although in reduced numbers, and in the armed forces of Spain (called VRCC-105), Oman and Jordan.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the B1 no longer served the purpose for which it had originally been designed. The Centauro has since taken part in peacekeeping operations and humanitarian operations with NATO and the European Union, taking the vehicle from the severe Balkan winters to the hot climate of Somalia and the Sultanate of Oman.
Comparison between the B2 (left) and B1 (right) at Cecchignola. Source: lastampa.it
Development
The design of a prototype for an upgrade of the B1 Centauro began in 2000, with the new HITFACT-1 turret and OTO-Melara 120/44 cannon, the same as on the C1 ARIETE. It was presented at IDEX 2003 and at EUROSATORY in 2005, but was not very successful, with only 9 vehicles bought.
In December 2011, CIO signed a contract with the Italian Army and began the development of a vehicle that would replace the B1 Centauro, also wheeled but with a completely modified structure, more anti-IED (Improvised Explosive Device) or mine protection and a 120 mm cannon to optimize the Army’s ammunition logistics line. After four years of very careful planning aimed at providing excellent protection for the crew, in 2015, the B ll Centauro was born.
The rear of the B2 Centauro, notice the rear spaced armor and the anti-IED double steel plate. Source: iveco-otomelara.org
The prototype was tested intensively. It was subjected to 20 anti-mine or anti-IED tests which determined its excellent resistance to explosions. The turret and the hull were also extensively tested, with excellent results, against infantry weapons and light cannons.
Design
With a weight of 30 tons when battle-ready, the B2 Centauro does not weigh much more than the armor upgraded B1 Centauro, which comes in at 27 tons (in contrast to the 24 tons of the original B1). The B2 Centauro has been designed for the modern doctrine of Network-Centric Warfare, to serve in OOTW (Operations Other Than War) missions and for urban warfare, where a wheeled platform is far more functional than others in terms of mobility and firepower. It was designed as an improved substitute for the B1, but many lessons were also taken from the experience gained with the Freccia VBM (Veicolo Blindato Medio – Medium armored vehicle) an Italian wheeled IFV variant of the B1 Centauro, with which it shares some electronic systems. In the future, the new versions of the Freccia E1/2 will incorporate experience gained from the design of the Centauro II.
The Centauro II is the result of a close collaboration between Industry and Defense. It is a new generation armored vehicle, able to operate in every possible scenario, including traditional missions in defense of national security, humanitarian interventions to help populations following natural disasters, infantry support operations and peacekeeping missions, in short, any operation in which the armed forces that employ these vehicles are called to intervene.
Hull
The hull is divided into three parts: the front part with the engine compartment, one fuel tank and the gearbox; the crew compartment in the middle with the turret on top; and the compartment for ammunition and main fuel tanks at the rear, separated from the rest of the hull by a bulkhead with a door. This system offers greater safety for the crew, as the three compartments are separated and sealed from each other.
At the front of the vehicle, there is a sturdy trapezoidal travel lock, two headlights, the driver’s hatch equipped with periscope, one camera with IR visors, rearview mirrors and a cable-cutter.
The crew has three hatches: two on the turret, one for the tank commander and the other for the gunner, and one on the left side of the hull for the driver. Additionally, in an emergency, all crew members can evacuate the vehicle through an armored door located at the back of the hull.
The ammunition compartment in the rear of the hull, below the secondary tank, in front the door that divided the compartment from the combat chamber and on the left side the antifire tank. Source: iveco-otomelara.org
Its structure and its technological systems are able to operate even at external temperatures from -30° C to +55° C thanks to the air conditioning system integrated into the modern air filtering system.
Turret
The turret has a hatch for the commander with eight periscopes, of which two can rotate, and another hatch for the loader with five periscopes. The glass on the periscopes is made of special anti-splintering material. At the back of the turret is the ammunition compartment and outside, there is a rack where ammunition for the secondary weapon or the crew’s equipment can be placed.
The upgrades CIO installed on the Centauro II begin with the new HITFACT-2 (Highly Integrated Technology Firing Against Combat Tank) turret built by Leonardo Finmeccanica. It weighs 8,780 kg (in contrast to the 7,800 kg of the B1), is equipped with the latest generation of optoelectronics for the commander and the gunner, including the two-axis stabilized panoramic binocular periscope model ATTILA-D (Digital) independent from the turret rotation, allowing the commander to control the battlefield without having to rotate the turret. It is also equipped with an ERICA Full Format infrared camera able to spot targets at 10 km during day or night in all weather conditions.
The Centauro ll. Notice the ATTILA-D periscope rotated opposite to the cannon. Source: youtube.com
It also mounts for the gunner the LOTHAR-SD (Land Optronic THermal Aiming Resource) aiming sight with TILDE B IR camera already in use on the VBM Freccia. However, on the Centauro II, this is the updated digital version and can, therefore, share images with other vehicles or command centers. In the event of system failure, the gunner has an optical sight with 10x magnification.
Another noteworthy upgrade is the independent stabilization on three axes of the gun. This means that, even if the vehicle is moving on rough terrain, the gunner will have on his screen a clear and steady image of the target and can then shoot with good precision.
For external communication, a series of communication systems with HF-VHF-UHF-UHF LB-SAT and the SIstema di Comando, COntrollo, e NAvigazione or SICCONA (Eng. Command, Control and Navigation System) are available. These upgrades ensure maximum interoperability with other armored or infantry units and availability of information on the terrain, the environment, the climate and the operating theater in which the Centauro II operates. In total, there are six antennas on the back of the turret, one of which is an anemometer (to measure wind speeds), another one a GPS transmitter, two are jammers (C4ISTAR System), while the last two are used for communication.
The turret of the Centauro II – notice the two Jammers on the sides of the turret and the LOTHAR-SD system on the right, just below the L2R tower armed with a Browning M2HB and the MRS on the right side of the cannon. Source: lastampa.it
Armament and Ammunition
The Centauro II is equipped with a high-pressure gun of the latest generation. It can handle a firing pressure of 8200 bars (The bar is a unit of pressure, 1 Bar is equal to 0.98 atm or 100,000 N/m2). For comparison, the 120 mm Rheinmetall L44 cannon of the Leopard 2A5DK can handle a 7100 bar firing pressure, the Cannone OTO-Melara 120/44 can handle 7070 Bar, the cannon of the Russian T-90 MBT can reach 7000 bar and that of the M1A2 SEP cannon can handle 7100 bars.
The OTO Melara 120/45 LRF (Low Recoilless Fitting), which is derived from the OTO-Melara 120/44 of the C1 ARIETE, which, in turn, is derived from the Rheinmetall 120 mm L44, gives the vehicle a firepower equal to that of the most Modern Battle Tanks (MBTs), such as the M1A2SEP Abrams, Leopard 2A6, Leclerc, Merkava Mk. IV, K2 Black Panther or Challenger 2. The gun is compatible with the latest-generation NATO standard ammunition, such as APFSDS-T (Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot – Tracer) M829 ammunition (with tungsten tip) for heavily armored targets, the anti-tank APFSDS model DM 53A1, HEAT-MP-T or MPAT (Multi Purpose Anti-Tank) M830A1 against less armored, unarmored targets or helicopters, HE-OR-T (High Explosive – Obstacle Reduction – Tactical) or MPAT-OR M908 against buildings or roadblocks, M1028 ‘Canister’ against personnel or buildings, and HE (High Explosive) type DM 11 anti-personnel ammunition. In addition to these types of ammunition, the cannon can shoot ammunitions developed by LEONARDO and can also shoot PELE (Penetrator with Enhanced Lateral Effect), STAFF (Smart Target Activated Fire and Forget) ammunition or ATGM-LOSBR (Anti-Tank Guided Missiles – Line-Of-Sight Beam Riding, anti-tank missiles fired from a cannon), which several NATO states are evaluating.
The cannon has hydroelectric elevation that ranges from -7º to +16º. In order to achieve the high level of ballistic performance, the large-caliber cannon is produced with the most modern and lightest materials available. Even given the wide range of equipment on board, the Centauro II turret has a low weight, which increases the maximum speed of the vehicle and its mobility. The cannon (like its predecessor) is equipped with a ‘pepperbox’ muzzle brake which allows a reduction of the recoil and a semi-automatic electric revolver loader (which makes a loader superfluous). Thanks to the automation, the ammunition compartment at the back of the turret, which contains two six-rounds drums, can autonomously load the cannon when the type of ammunition is chosen by pushing it through a guide inside the breech and throwing the case cartridge into a basket.
On top of the turret is installed a smaller Remote Operated Weapons System (ROWS) turret, the HITROLE (Highly Integrated Turret Remotely, Operated, Light Electrical) Model L2R or “Light”. It weighs 125 kg, 150 kg or 145 kg depending on the installed armament, which can be an MG3 or MG42/59 7.62 mm machine gun with 1,000 rounds, a Browning M2HB 12.7 mm with 400 rounds or an automatic SACO Mk. 19 40 mm grenade launcher with 70 rounds. For this latest generation remote turret, detection and monitoring actions and remote fire control are performed by a modular detection system that includes a high-performance TV camera, infrared camera for night vision and laser rangefinder. The fire control system is assisted by a Computer Fire Control (CFC) with ballistic and cinematic calculation and an automatic tracker, based on Digital Signal Processing technology. The system is equipped with a gyroscopic stabilizer, and in case of malfunction, can be operated manually.
It is not clear if the Italian Army has purchased their Centauro IIs with HITROLE turrets or if, like with its predecessor, it will have the classic pintle-mounted MG 42/59 for the tank commander and loader.
The stowable ammunition adds up to a total of 31 rounds. 12 are placed in two cylinders (like those of a revolver) inside a separated compartment at the rear of the turret that, in the event of an explosion, would not damage the crew compartment. Another 19 are placed in the hull, in two cylinders of 10 and 9 rounds on the sides. The ammunition for the coaxial armament, which can be an MG42/59 machine gun (or the Rheinmetall version, the MG3) or Browning M2HB machine gun, varies between 1,250 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition to 750 rounds of 12.7 mm ammunition. In addition, there is another set of ammunition for the weapon mounted on the HITROLE Mod. L2R turret consisting of another 1,000 rounds of 7.62 mm, 400 of 12.7 mm or 70 of 40 mm ammunition, as well as an extra sixteen 80 mm smoke grenades.
The HITROLE R2L armed with a Browning M2HB. Source: pinterest.com
As with the B1, at the request of the buyer, the vehicle can be armed with the less powerful (for anti-tank combat) but still capable OTO-Melara Cannone da 105/52 LRF which fires all standard NATO ammunition. This solution carries forty-three 105 mm rounds.
Passive Defense
In order to increase the protection for the crew, a Jammer Guardian H3 system (four small round noise amplifiers, two frontal and two lateral) are used to disturb wireless communications and thus inhibit the remote activation of RC-IED’s (Radio Controlled – Improvised Explosive Device). Other passive defenses consist of eight 80 mm GALIX 13 smoke projectors positioned in two groups of four on the sides of the turret, also several RALM sensors (ie Laser Alarm Receivers) designed by Marconi, able to identify laser emissions (such as those used for rangefinding) from enemy vehicles in a 360° radius. These can determine the type of threat and automatically trigger the grenade launchers to create a smokescreen that is able to hide the vehicle also from infrared radiation sights. An acoustic signal is also sent to the on-board intercom system and the source of the light beam is sent on the display so that the crew can react quickly to the threat.
In addition to the four Jammer Guardian H3 against the RC-IED, there are two more antennas. One is a stylus, classic type and the second a cylindrical one, used to disturb the enemy’s communications. In the event of the detonation of a mine or an enemy cannon shot that blows up a wheel, the vehicle, if not severely damaged, can continue to run and move away from the combat zone. Furthermore, the tires are designed with a run-flat system, allowing the vehicle to move even if all eight wheels are perforated, though obviously reducing the maximum speed.
There are also numerous mechanisms, including fuel leak monitor, fire and explosion-proof systems. In the case of the latter system, the Automatic Fire Suppression System (AFSS) produced by the Italian company Martec uses FM-200 gas (heptafluoropropane), which despite having several negatives, can extinguish a fire in 200 milliseconds, less than a blink of an eye, has the possibility of self-diagnosis and battery disconnection system to preserve its duration. In addition, the system cannot be deactivated when the vehicle has the engine running, preventing any risk of tampering. The gas is injected into the compartments, which can then be removed by simple ventilation. There are a total of six 4-liter tanks in the engine, in the crew and in the rear compartments. The CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) system was developed by Aerosekur and features 2 filters. A BRUKER device was also installed for the detection of chemical pollutants and radiation outside the vehicle.
The prototype of the Centauro II. Source: iveco-otomelara.com.
Armor
CIO has developed three levels of protection of this vehicle. In the basic prototype version, the defense is “Type A”, which allows the alloy armor to withstand armor-piercing rounds from 30 mm guns on the front, 25 mm on the sides and 12.7 mm on the back.
With additional composite armor plates on the hull and with the replacing of other spall liner plates in the turret, the Centauro II increases its weight by 1.5 tons, but reaches “Type B” protection and becomes completely protected from 40 mm APFSDS rounds. Inside the vehicle, the plates are covered with Kevlar which, together with the spall liner plates, considerably reduces the number of splinters produced by a shell that pierces the armor.
In the future, with the experiences gained from the VBM Freccia and from the B2 Centauro vehicles tested, the consortium will develop “Type C” defenses and perhaps also “Type D” with an APS (Active Protection System) designed also for the C1 ARIETE MBT. In addition, several Italian industries are studying new ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor) with which to equip the vehicle to offer increased protection against even large-caliber HEAT shells and missiles used by modern tanks.
OTO-Melara, for one, is trying to design something similar to the British ROMOR-A armor already successfully used by the B1 Centauro in Somalia as part of European Union Training Mission in Somalia. This armor has allowed the vehicle to withstand fire from the Soviet RPG-7 and RPG-29 rocket launchers. It can also reduce the effect of the 125 mm HEAT-SF ammunition used by most of the former Warsaw Pact tanks, which are its potential opponents, by a claimed 95%.
The bottom of its hull is shaped like a ‘V’ with a double steel plate to better deflect mine or IED explosions. All the mechanical parts on the bottom of the hull are arranged so as to not cause damage to the crew in case of an explosion. Like the turret, the bottom is equipped with high-efficiency ballistic armor. For the crew, the innovation consists in having explosion-proof seats so, in the rare case that an IED or a mine severely damages the vehicle, the crew members would have a higher chance of surviving.
The ammunition racks in the hull and in the turret have been designed so that, in the event of an explosion, this will not damage the rest of the equipment or the crew (as on the M1 Abrams). Its dedicated anti-explosion systems, explosion-proof doors and pre-carved panels allow the explosive energy to discharge to the outside of the vehicle, further increasing the safety of the crew.
Engine and Driving System
The engine of the vehicle is a diesel 8V IVECO-FPT (FIAT Powertrain) VECTOR 720 hp supercharged by 2 turbochargers feeding bi-fuel, diesel or kerosene (JP-8 or F-34 NATO) a 20 liter displacement. It is equipped with a system common rail electronic injection system, which is more than 60% more powerful than the mechanical injection pump of the B1.
IVECO VECTOR V8 mounted on the B2 Centauro. Source: dieselweb.eu
At full tank capacity (520 liters of fuel), the Centauro II has an autonomy of 800 km and a top speed of 110 km/h on road. Its engine is more powerful than the IVECO MTCA V6 of the B1 by over 240 hp, though still having the same top speed. The new engine weighs 975 kg (300 kg more than the MTCA) and has a power-to-weight ratio of 24 hp/t (compared to 19 of the B1). Originally designed as an engine for buses and bulldozers, this engine meets the European laws of emission level 3 (Euro 3).
The B2 has four fuel tanks, one located near the engine, two next to the rack in the hull, and the fourth one located under the ammunition racks. The transmission is the automatic ZE ECOMAT 7HP ZF902 with 7 forward gears and one reverse, produced under license by FIAT The exhaust mounted on the right side has been designed to decrease the infrared radiation (IR) footprint by mixing the exhaust gases with cold air.
The Centauro II can overcome slopes of up to 60%, run alongside slopes of 30%, ford depths of up to 1.5 m without preparation and overcome obstacles up to 0.6 m high and trenches 2 m wide.
A photo of the prototype just finished at IVECO in Bolzano before tests. Source: esercito.difesa.it
Automation
Of the four wheels on each side, the first two and the fourth are used for steering (the last set of wheels turn in the other direction), giving a turning radius of just 9 m. The eight suspension units are McPherson models, equipped with ample traverse, and allow better off-road driving and more accurate aiming of the cannon on-the-move, combining the good dynamic behavior of the vehicle with the comfort of the crew. The tires are of the R20 14/00 type which, thanks to the CTIS system, can be calibrated with four different inflations: from standard pressure to an emergency pressure in case of minimal grip on the ground. It is also possible to mount model 415/80 R685 tires, as in the German BOXER MRAV, that increases the ground clearance from 40 cm to 45 cm.
Crew
The crew size ranges from three to four members: driver, commander, gunner and loader. In the future, when the electrical loading system will be fully automated, the crew size will drop to three at the expense of the loader. The lack of a loader will free up space that can be occupied by additional 120 mm ammunition or (hypothetically) other net-centric warfare systems.
A noteworthy improvement is the decision to adopt a system that allows the vehicle to drive with only ‘indirect’ vision through the seven cameras (of which four have infrared radiation vision) installed externally. The displays for the crew are made by Larimart S.P.A. with BMS (Battle Management System). The tank commander has 2 screens available, one with the management system and the other with the FCS (Fire Control System) and has a joystick; the gunner has a clutch and the loader has a ‘Playstation’ type joypad for the control of HITROLE Mod. L2R. The driver also has a screen with the vehicle management system on which the status of the tank is highlighted, along with the lithium battery charge, the fire fighting system, the entire observation system and a centralized system for controlling the inflation pressure of the pneumatics (CTIS).
Another photo during the test at Cecchignola. Source: esercito.difesa.it
Name
This vehicle has many names that create a lot of confusion.
In some articles in specialized magazines that talked about it before its appearance at EUROSATORY, it was called the ‘B2 Centauro’.
CIO has given it the factory and export designation of “Centauro II MGS 120/105” (the numbers indicate the calibers of the cannons that can be mounted on this vehicle).
The Italian Army that is, for now, the only expected buyer of the vehicle, calls it “Centauro II” or “B2 Centauro”. In the future, when it enters service, its name will become B2 Centauro.
Cost and Orders
The new wheeled tank destroyer was unveiled on 13th June 2016 at EUROSATORY and was officially presented to the Italian Army on 19th October of that same year at the Cecchignola military complex.
The ‘Centauro II MGS 120/105’ at the EUROSATORY 2016 in front of the LEONARDO (ex OTO-Melara) and IVECO DV building. Source: autotecnica.org.The prototype of the Centauro II presented to the Italian Army and journalists on 19th October 2016. Source: pinterest.com
The Centauro II project has so far cost the Italian Army US $592 million due to its cutting-edge systems and applied technologies, such as the brand new armor and electronic systems materials. The Italian government, on 24th July 2018, signed a contract with CIO allocating US $178 million for the modification of the prototype with some new systems and the acquisition of the first ten pre-series units called B2 Centauro 2.0. The total price to build the vehicles amounts to approximately €1.5 billion (US $1.71 billion) and includes, in addition to the 150 vehicles, spare parts and logistic support from the Leonardo Finmeccanica experts for the next 10 years. The delivery of the remaining 140 vehicles will be done in several installments (together with their payment) until 2022.
The B2 Centauro 2.0 will have several changes that will include: a new LEONARDO Swave Radio Family produced by LEONARDO with Network Enabled Capability (NEC) i.e. the ability to connect in a single information network all the forces on the battlefield: infantry, Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFVs), aircraft and ships to improve their interoperability and command by officers. The LEONARDO VQ1 (Vehicular Quad-channel Type1) used to “connect” armored vehicles to the Italian Army’s universal network. It is a four-channel radio weighing about 45 kg, capable of replacing up to 4 traditional radios while at the same time ensuring less space on board the vehicle is occupied. The VQ1 will be installed not only on the B2, but also onboard the new VTLM2 Lince and the new updated version of the C1 ARIETE.
The LEONARDO Vehicular Quad-channel Type1 radio. Source: LEONARDO
This new radio also allows the removal of the telephone on the rear of the vehicle used for infantry to communicate with the tank’s commander, as it connects with the model L3Harris AN/PRC-152A Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) adopted by the Italian Army’s infantry.
The latest generation Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) LEONARDO M426 Air-to-Surface IDentification (ASID) system was already successfully tested in 2016 on Aeronautica Militare Italiana (Italian Air Force) aircraft will also be added to the B2. This system will allow to respond to the inputs sent by the aircraft identifying itself as an ally to cancel the risk of friendly fire in Close Air Support (CAS) missions in which air forces and ground forces are called to intervene.
New Rheinmetall ROSY (Rapid Obscuring SYstem) smoke launchers have also been added. These are environmentally friendly system that in 0.4 seconds makes the vehicle invisible to Near-Infrared Radiation (NIR), Intermediate Infrared Radiation (IIR) and Long-Infrared Radiation (LIR) lenses mounted on the periscopes and gunner’s sights of modern tanks for 15 seconds, with the ability to shoot more salvos to double, triple or even quadruple this time. With conventional optics, a single salvo can hide the vehicle for 40 seconds. It can be installed to a minimum of 5 40 mm smoke grenades on each side of the vehicle for a 360° defense.
The total weight for each 5-smoke module is 10 kg plus 500 g for each grenade and approximately 2 kg for the control panel and connection cables. The ammunition types that can be fired from the ROSY are: tear gas ammunition (loaded with 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile also called o-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile commonly referred as CS gas), Red Phosphorus (RP-Smoke) and Flash-Bang.
Probable upgrades also include ATTILA-D and LOTHAR-SD optics, a new position for the HITROLE turret for a greater firing range, replacement of the 4 lateral jammers with one new antenna system to inhibit RC-IED, a new opening system for the hatches, increased driver’s view, new ‘Type B’ add-on kit to decrease the effectiveness of APFSDS ammunition, increased power of the lithium batteries and finally, the addition of a manual backup system for the rotation of the ammunition cylinders in the hull.
During 2019, vehicle tests were carried out to assess its mobility in any climate and to evaluate the efficiency of the on-board weapons. Before the COVID-19 emergency, the Army’s program was to homologate the new vehicle by early 2020 in order to produce the first 10 pre-series vehicles by the end of the year and to sign a new contract for a new version called B2 Centauro 3.0 to be produced in 40 units. Version 3.0 will differ in, according to LEONARDO programs, an upgrade to the LOTHAR-SD system enabling to guide the LEONARDO VULCANO ammunition, developed by LEONARDO for the OTO-Breda 127 mm L.54 and L.64 naval guns, but which also came into use in 2019 for the self-propelled Panzerhaubitze 2000 and M109 with 155 mm howitzers. These HEFSDS (High Explosives Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot) ammunition weigh about 20 kg (2.5 kg of explosive), and compared to traditional ammunition of the same caliber, have a much greater range against naval or land targets and, in some versions, have a guidance system that allows precision attacks.
In the future the B2 Centauro 3.0 in the first line could guide to the target these VULCANO rounds fired from the self-propelled guns placed safely in the second line to give to the Italian units a more deadly artillery fire that could avoid friendly fire and civilian victims.
The VULCANO subcaliber GLR. Source: LEONARDO
The Esercito Italiano intends to mount the same communication systems on the B2 Centauro, the VBM Freccia, the VTLM2 Lince (Veicolo Tattico Leggero Multiruolo – Tactical Light Multirole Vehicle) and the C1 ARIETE MLU (Mid Life Upgrade). This will be done in order to speed up production, save money, increase the commonality in parts of the four vehicles and above all to allow the interoperability of vehicles in the SICCONA program. This program will transmit data on the position and status of the vehicle, updating in real time the situation on the battlefield and displaying on the tank commander’s display a map with the positions of each allied vehicle present in the area of operations, its status and other useful data for cooperation.
Other armies are interested in purchasing a certain number of Centauro II, but CIO has not disclosed which countries and the quantities of vehicles to be produced. It is certain that Spain was interested in updating its 84 Centauro B1’s and some unconfirmed sources have declared that the Ejército de Tierra (Spanish Army) is interested in buying several Centauro II.
The Italian Army will use these powerful vehicles to support and then replace the now worn out B1 Centauro used by the Italian Reggimenti di Cavalleria (Cavalry Regiment) 1° Reggimento “Nizza Cavalleria”, the 2° Reggimento “Piemonte Cavalleria”, the 3° Reggimento “Savoia Cavalleria”, the 4° Reggimento “Genova Cavalleria”, the 5° Reggimento “Lancieri di Novara”, the 6° Reggimento “Lancieri di Aosta”, the 8° Reggimento “Lancieri di Montebello” and the 19° Reggimento Cavalleggeri “Guide” which have used their B1 in all the Italian Army Peace Missions from 1992 to this day.
The B2 Centauro during testing at Cecchignola. An illustration by Yuvnashva Sharma, funded by our Patreon campaign.
B1 Centauro specifications
Dimensions
8.26 x 3.12 x 3.65 m
Total weight, battle ready
30 tonnes
Crew
3-4 (driver, commander, gunner, loader)
Propulsion
Diesel IVECO FPT VECTOR 8V, 520 liter, 720 hp
Top Speed
110 km/h on road
Operational maximum range
800 km (500 mi)
Armament
120/45 LRF OTO-Melara with 31 rounds or 105/52 LRF OTO-Melara with 43 rounds
MG42/59 or Browning M2HB coaxial
HITROLE L2R RWS with different armament with a total of 2,750 rounds
Italian Social Republic (1944-1945)
Armored Truck – 2 Built
After the Italian Armistice was signed on 8th September 1943, Benito Mussolini created, on 23rd September, the Repubblica Sociale Italiana (Italian Social Republic – RSI). In Northern and Central Italy, which was controlled by the Axis, German and Italian troops had about 1,000 trucks in service, quite few considering that the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano (National Republican Army – ENR) and the Wehrmacht counted about 600,000 soldiers. On 26th June 1944, Mussolini approved the legislative decree no. 446, which had been proposed by Alessandro Pavolini, the secretary of the Partito Fascista Repubblicano (Republican Fascist Party – PFR). This order constituted the Corpo Ausiliario delle Squadre d’Azione delle Camicie Nere (ENG: Auxiliary Corps of the Action Squads of the Black Shirts), simpler known as the ‘Camice Nere’ (Eng: Black Shirt) or ‘Brigate Nere’ (Eng: Black Brigades) under the control of the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana (National Republican Guard – GNR), the fascist Military Police. The Brigades had the task of fighting in the second line against the partisan groups that carried out sabotage and ambush missions against the Axis mechanized columns. Only two Black Brigades out of 56 received factory-built armored vehicles, while the other brigades were equipped with trucks (military or civil) that they used as transport vehicles or that they armored themselves or in civil workshops.
Idreno Utimpergher, trusted man of Pavolini, was the commander of the XXVI° Brigata Nera “Benito Mussolini” (ENG: 26th Black Brigade), located first in Lucca but, after an Allied offensive, moved to Piacenza in Emilia Romagna. It was composed of over 200 men and was later renamed the XXXVI° Brigata Nera “Natale Piacentini” (ENG: 36th Black Brigade), after the first soldier from the unit that died in action against the partisans. On the order of Idreno, they armored the only working truck of the Brigade (they also had a FIAT 1500) to better engage the partisans, a Lancia 3Ro heavy truck. The transformation of the Lancia 3Ro was ready after a month of work, from September to October 1944. A Rimorchio Unificato Viberti da 15t trailer, normally used to transport tanks, was also armored with salvaged plates. It could be towed behind the armored truck and used as a troop transport.
The armored car was built by the Arsenal of Piacenza, along with another identical one which was used by the XXVIII° Brigata Nera “Pippo Astorri” (Eng: 28th Black Brigade), but the destiny of this second vehicle is unknown. In the Arsenal of Piacenza workshop, two other vehicles were armored, a Ceirano CM 47 and a FIAT 666N that was totally armored and received a turret with a Breda-SAFAT 12.7 mm aerial machine gun, used by the 630° Comando Provinciale (Eng. 630th Provincial Command of the GNR). The front of the Lancia 3Ro Blindato in Dongo, on 25th of April 1945. Note the armament of the vehicle, with a machine-gun in the front, one on the side (there was another one on the other side), and a cannon in the turret. Also, note the Viberti 15t trailer at the rear. Source: City of Dongo archive
The Lancia 3Ro
The Lancia 3Ro heavy truck was designed in 1937. It was produced from 1938 to 1948 for both the civilian market and the military and up to 1950 in the bus version. In total, 15,222 vehicles were constructed. It was produced in two plants, the Borgo san Paolo plant of Turin and the Bolzano plant.
Lancia was one of the first Italian companies to use diesel propulsion on its trucks, producing the German Junkers 2 cylinder 3,181 cm³ engines under license. This gave a power of 64 hp at 1500 rpm (the Lancia Tipo 89 mounted on Lancia Ro). A 3-cylinder version with a displacement of 4,771 cm³ gave out 95 hp was named Lancia Tipo 90 and mounted on the Lancia Ro-Ro, the predecessor of the 3Ro.
Civilian Lancia 3Ro 1st Series with long cabin. Source: pinterest.com
German engines, however, were very expensive, so Vincenzo Lancia, manager of the company, ordered his technicians to develop a new engine, the 5-cylinder inline Lancia Tipo 102 with a displacement of 6,875 cm³, giving out 93 hp at 1860 rpm.
In order to accommodate the new engine, the Lancia 3Ro’s engine hood was lengthened to accommodate the longer engine compared to the earlier licensed Junkers. Its top speed fully loaded was 45 km/h on-road. Its range, with the 135-liter tank of the basic version, was 450 km. The transmission was a license copy of a Maybach one with 4 gears and one reverse.
Engine Lancia Tipo 102. Source: pinterest.com
The civilian version was produced in two series. The 1st had a square engine compartment and vertical radiator grille, while the 2nd had a water-drop shaped radiator grille which was angled back.
There were two standard cabin types, the standard version and the ‘Lungo’ (Eng. Long) version, which, in the civilian version, had a berth behind the seats.
For the civilian versions, the cabins were produced (in a few examples) by Caproni, Cab and Orlandi. For the military versions, the cabins were produced and fitted out only by Viberti.
The Regio Esercito (Royal Italian Army) ordered the vehicle in two versions, the Lancia 3Ro MNP (Militare; Nafta; Pneumatici – Eng. Military; Diesel; Tires), with standard 270×20” tires and the Lancia 3Ro MNSP (Militare; Nafta; SemiPneumatici – Eng. Military; Diesel; SemiTires) with 285×88” rubber tires. These were used during the Second World War in all the campaigns in which the Royal Italian Army participated. Not only the military versions were used, but also the civilian ones. Due to the need for transport vehicles, the army was forced to requisition most of the trucks from the civilians.
The civilian version had a weight of 5,500 kg and a cargo bay of 7.49 m x 2.35 m, with a payload capability of 6,500 kg. The Lancia 3Ro Mnp had a weight of 5,610 kg and a payload capability of 6,390 kg, while the 3Ro MNSP had a weight of 5,890 kg and a payload capability of 6,110 kg.
The Lancia 3Ro MNP version could carry 32 fully equipped soldiers or 7 horses or over 6 tons of materials or ammunition or could tow all types of Italian artillery pieces. Lots of variants were built on the 3Ro MNP chassis, such as a tanker versions for fuel (5000 liters) or for water (one tank of 5000 liters or two of 2000) modified by the Viberti company of Turin, the mobile workshop Mod. 38, an ammunition transporter with 210 90 mm rounds, a bus variant, a command post that was used by Feldmarschall Erwin Rommel and also the famous italian Autocannoni, such as the Autocannone da 90/53 su Lancia 3Ro and 100/17 su Lancia 3Ro. The MNP could carry all the light tanks of the Italian Royal Army on the cargo bay (L3, L6/40 or Semovente L40 da 47/32). The Rimorchio Unificato Viberti 15T (Eng. Viberti Unified Trailer 15 tons) could carry medium tanks of the “M” series and all the Semovente based on their hulls.
A Lancia 3Ro MNP, the standard Lancia military truck of the Royal Army. Source: pinterest.com
Some examples were equipped with a 9.5-ton winch and a 31.5-meter-long steel cable.
The electrical system was a 6 volt one in the first 1611 Lancia 3Ro military vehicles, then replaced by a 12 volt system in the following models. It was limited to a dynamo produced by Magneti Marelli of Sesto San Giovanni, which was used to power the two front lights, the license plate and dashboard lighting, the windscreen wipers and the horn.
This excellent vehicle was still used by the Esercito Italiano (Eng. Italian Army) after the war until 1964, when it was replaced by more modern military trucks.
Design
The vehicle was dubbed “the last armored car of the Duce” and was probably on a Lancia 3Ro MNSP chassis. All the truck’s automotive components were unchanged, including the engine, gears, and transmission. The rear wheels received armor plates, and the radiator had two inclined plates with slits to allow the engine to cool. For the maintenance of the engine, there were two doors on the sides of the cabin, above the front fenders and headlights.
The vehicle received armor 9 mm thick on all sides and a cylindrical single-seater turret that could rotate 360°, which was also fitted with 9 mm thick armor. The vehicle was equipped with three entrances: two doors on the sides and a large rear door at the back that provided access for some of the crew and for the 8 men that could be transported inside the vehicle.
On the sides of the vehicle there was painted the writing “XXXVI° BRIGATA NERA NATALE PIACENTINI LUCCA” and on the doors of the cabin were painted two lions, the symbol of the Lucca city.
Armament
The vehicle was armed with three 8×59 mm machine guns (two Breda 38 and a Breda 37) and a Scotti-Isotta Fraschini 20/70 Mod. 1939 anti-aircraft/anti-tank light automatic cannon. The Breda 37 was mounted on a spherical support on the front plate, on the driver’s left; two Breda 38 machine-guns were also mounted on spherical supports located on the two sides of the vehicle. In the turret was fixed the Scotti-Isotta Fraschini 20/70 Mod. 1939 automatic cannon. The elevation of the gun was very high to allow the use of the gun against aerial targets. The number of cannon and machine guns rounds transported was unknown.
Crew
There were seven crew members. Three were sat in the cabin on seats, namely the driver, the commander/machine gunner, and the machine-gun loader that had an ammunition rack for the 20 round magazines. There were also two side machine-gunners in the body of the vehicle with a gunner in the turret and the loader. Two wooden benches on the sides of the hull seated eight fully armed and equipped soldiers (with the two machine-gunners and the loader). In addition, on the sides were wooden racks of ammunition and two fire extinguishers. The Lancia 3Ro Blindato being inspected by some civilians in Dongo, 25th April 1945. Note the Viberti trailer. Source: City of Dongo archive
Illustration of the Lancia 3Ro Blindato produced by Yuvnashva Sharma, funded by our Patreon Campaign.
A standard Lancia 3Ro for comparison
Operational Use
The vehicle was used from October 1944 up to the first months of 1945 as an anti-partisan patrol armored car. It saw action on 30th December 1944 against a partisan patrol. Between mid-February and early March, the XXXVI° “Natale Piacentini” Black Brigade was moved from Piacenza to Pinerolo in Piedmont. Around 23rd April, the brigade received an order to reach Valtellina in Lombardy.
On the 24th, the “Natale Piacentini”, now armed with this armored vehicle and a FIAT 626 truck armed with a Breda 20/65 Mod. 1935 automatic cannon in the cargo bay, had to escort a column of trucks carrying other Black Brigades towards Milan. At Vercelli, they found themselves involved in a shootout with a partisan brigade; for this reason, the surviving vehicles of the column arrived in Milan in the late afternoon. They were the last fascist vehicles arriving in the city before the insurrection of the following day.
On the morning of April 25, the partisans attacked the major cities of northern Italy still in the hands of the Germans and the fascists. At first, the XXXVI° Brigade was chosen to defend the city, but then it was realized that, thanks to its armored car, the Brigade would have been more useful to escort the Duce, Benito Mussolini, to safety in Switzerland.
On 26th April, the XXXVI° joined a convoy of Republican forces (178 trucks, 4636 soldiers and 346 female auxiliaries) that was moving to Como, where they arrived after lunch. From Como, the brigade and the Lancia 3Ro Blindato moved to Menaggio to escort Benito Mussolini to Merano. During the night of the 26th to 27th April, a column of German Flak vehicles arrived in Menaggio, which, along with the Italian vehicles, resumed the march to Merano with the Lancia at the head of the column. Mussolini, Mrs. Clara Petacci, Alessandro Pavolini and other members of the fascist party were part of the column, transported inside this armored car, along with many documents of the fascist government and Mussolini’s personal baggage. The Lancia 3Ro Blindato in Dongo, the village where Mussolini was captured by the partisans in April 1945. It is unknown when this photo was taken. Source: web photo
On the morning of the 27th, in Musso, the convoy, led by the Lancia 3Ro Blindato, with all the fascist leaders inside, was stopped on the highway that runs along Lake Como at a checkpoint of the 52ª Brigata Garibaldi “Luigi Clerici” (ENG: 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 remaining vehicles, with which the Lancia armored car remained, were moving back when, for unknown reasons, there was a clash. The vehicle fired several machine-gun bursts against the partisans, who responded with rifle fire and several hand grenades. One of these hit the vehicle, damaging one of the two front wheels, immobilizing it while it was trying to retreat. The fascist dignitaries then came out of the vehicle with weapons in hand. During this incident, the driver, Guido Taiti, and vehicle commander Merano Chiavacci were killed, while Pavolini was wounded. Pavolini, along with Idreno Utimpergher and Paolo Zerbino, were captured.
The vehicle was then captured by the partisans and taken to Milan to a foundry, where it was fixed up and placed in the village of Dongo for many years as a symbol of the victory against fascism and in the 60s it was probably demolished.
Conclusions
The vehicle was developed due to the lack of other armored vehicles in Northern Italy. Due to its poor armor, like the SPA-Viberti AS43 built in Turin for the same role, it was not meant to fight against similar vehicles, such as the British Humber armored cars or the American M8 Greyhound; its tasks were patrolling and anti-guerrilla warfare, which it carried out well. This article covered the vehicle used by the XXXVI° Black Brigade “Natale Piacentini” but there were other such vehicles built on the same Lancia 3Ro hull, but produced by other workshops and armed with different armament, such as Breda 20/65 Mod. 1935 automatic cannons, for the XXVIII° “Pippo Astorri” or Solothurn S-1000 anti-tank rifles mounted on a Lancia modified like the Carro protetto trasporto truppa su autotelaio FIAT 626. Some Lancia 3Ro were used to transport troops with armor only on the sides and on the front, like on the FIAT 665 NM Blindato. A Lancia 3Ro truck with armor in the rear cargo bay, used as a troop transport. Source: Beutepanzer.ru
Scotti-Isotta Fraschini 20/70 Mod. 1939
Three 8×59 mm machine guns (two Breda 38 and one Breda 37)
Armor
Aprx. 9 mm
Total production
1 – 5
Sources
Italia 43-45. I blindati di circostanza della guerra civile. Tank master special.
Ricciotti Lazzero “Le Brigate Nere”
“Gli Ultimi in Grigio Verde” di Giorgio Pisanò
Nico Scarlato, I corazzati Di Circostanza Italiani.
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Kingdom of Italy (1940)
