| Carro Armato L3/35 | |
|---|---|
 L3/35 displayed at theSouth African National Museum of Military History (without machine guns). | |
| Type | Tankette |
| Place of origin | Kingdom of Italy |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1 October 1935 – 1944 |
| Used by | Kingdom of Italy andothers |
| Wars | |
| Production history | |
| Produced | 1935–1938 |
| No. built | 1,200 L3/33; 1,300 L3/35 |
| Variants | L3/33, L3/38, L3 cc, L3 Lf, |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 3.2 tonnes (3.1 long tons; 3.5 short tons) |
| Length | 3.17 m (10 ft4+3⁄4 in) |
| Width | 1.4 m (4 ft7+1⁄8 in) |
| Height | 1.3 m (4 ft3+1⁄8 in) |
| Crew | 2 (commander and driver) |
| Armour | 6–14 mm (0.24–0.55 in) |
Main armament | 2 × 8 mm (0.31 in) machine guns |
| Engine | FIAT-SPA CV3water cooled 43 hp (32 kW) |
| Suspension | bogie |
Operational range | 125 km (78 mi) |
| Maximum speed | 42 km/h (26 mph) on road |
TheL3/35, also known as theCarro Veloce CV-35, was an Italiantankette that saw combat before and duringWorld War II.[1] It was one of the smallest tanks that faced combat.[citation needed] Although designated a light tank by the Italian Army, its turretless configuration, weight andfirepower make it closer to contemporary tankettes. It was the most numerous Italianarmoured fighting vehicle and saw service almost everywhere the Italians fought in the Second World War but proved inadequate for modern warfare, having too thin armour and weak armament of only machine guns. It was cheaply produced but because of its light armaments and armour it was reserved for mostly colonial, policing, reconnaissance, and supply duties. Its low production costs contributed to its successful deployment in theSecond Italo-Abyssinian War,Spanish Civil War and theGreco-Italian War, where it provided reliable support to Italian infantry and disrupted enemy lines.[1][2]
The L3/35 was developed from theCarden Loyd Mark VI tankette, four of which were imported fromBritain in 1929.[3] The first vehicle developed by the Italians from the Carden Lloyd tankette was designated CV-29; "CV" being an abbreviation ofCarro Veloce (Italian: "fast tank") and "29" as the year of adoption. Only twenty-one CV-29s were built.[4]
In 1933, a new design was built jointly by theFiat Company ofTurin and theAnsaldo Company ofGenoa. This vehicle was introduced as theFiat-Ansaldo CV-33. About 300 CV-33s were built.[2]
In 1935, a slightly improved model of the CV-33 was introduced and designated CV-35. The primary differences were that the armour was bolted rather than riveted and the single 6.5 mm machine gun was replaced with twin 8 mm machine guns.[2] Many older CV-33s were retrofitted to meet the specifications of the CV-35. In 1938, the vehicles were redesignated L3/33 ("L" forLeggero or 'light') and the L3/35.
In 1938, a further development of the L3 design was designated L3/38. The L3/38 hadtorsion bar suspension and two versions of a single mounted 13.2 mm machine gun.[3]
Italy retrofitted at least 12 L3/35s to meet the specifications of the L3/38. The converted L3/35s with the L3/38's torsion bar suspension saw limited service in September 1943 until June 1944. These L3/38s versions of the L3/35s were armed with a single 13.2 mm Breda M31 machine gun.[citation needed]
The L3/35 was a lightly armoured two-man vehicle typically armed with twin 8 mm machine guns, though variants were developed with other armament.[2] Other than the number and type of machine guns, the differences between the L3/35 and the L3/33 were few. Both featured riveted and welded construction.
The commander/gunner sat on the left and the driver sat on the right. The engine was mounted transversely in the rear.[1] A circular radiator was mounted behind the engine. The transmission went to the front to the final drive. The Vickers-Carden-Lloyd type suspension had two three-wheelbogies on leaf spring and a single unsprung wheel on each side. The top run of the tracks ran on anacacia rail.[1]
Between 2,000 and 2,500 L3 tankettes were built in different models and variants for theRoyal Italian Army (Regio Esercito) and for other users.[2] Twenty L3/33 tankettes were sold toChina. Other L3 tankettes were sold toAfghanistan (unknown number),Albania (unknown number),Austria (72),Bolivia (14),Brazil (23),Bulgaria (14),Croatia (10),Hungary (1 CV-33 and 150 CV-35s),Iraq (16),Nationalist Spain, andVenezuela (2).[2] Many foreign buyers substituted other machine guns as the main armament. The Hungarians added a raised commander's vision cupola to 45 of the L3s they acquired. Each Hungarian CV was equipped with an improved machine gun system: a tilting shield allowing greater lateral and vertical aiming, and two high-firerate Gebauer machine guns. From mid-1942, Hungarian CVs were used only for training, with each new tank driver practicing 150km during their training.[5] In 1937, the Brazilian Army ordered 18 L3/35 tankettes, designatedAuto Metralhadora de Reconhecimento[6] which remained in active service until 1945 when some units were resold to theDominican Republic. Venezuela bought two units in 1934 for evaluation in infantry support operations, because of several incidents on the border with Colombia, like other weapons acquired from the Italian mission they did not survive past World War II.
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In addition to seeing action in theSecond Italo-Abyssinian War, theSecond Sino-Japanese War, theSpanish Civil War, theSlovak-Hungarian War, and theAnglo-Iraqi War, the L3 was used almost everywhere that Italian troops fought duringWorld War II.[1] L3s were found on theItalian/French border,North Africa,Italian East Africa, theBalkans,USSR,Sicily, andItaly.[2]
The combat performance of the L3s during theinterwar period was poor. On at least two occasions during theItalian invasion ofEthiopia,L3s were put out of action by massed infantry attacks. In theSpanish Civil War, L3s of theCorps of Volunteer Troops (Corpo Truppe Volontarie, or CTV) were totally out-classed by theT-26 andBT-5 tanks provided to theRepublican forces by theSoviet Union. The L3s were not a factor inthe brief war betweenHungary andSlovakia in 1939.[citation needed]
On 10 June 1940, whenItaly entered World War II, theRoyal Italian Army (Regio Esercito) possessed only about one-hundredM11/39 medium tanks in two tank battalions. L3 tankettes still equipped all three Italian armoured divisions, the tank battalions in the motorized divisions, the light tank squadron group in each "Fast" (Celere) division, and numerous independent tank battalions.
On 22 March 1941, two Iraqi L3s were reported to have been put out of action nearFallujah during theAnglo-Iraqi War.
More than 40 captured L3 tankettes were used by the Greek Army during theGreco-Italian War, fought from 1940 to 1941, and were used to equip the19th Mechanized Division, although they did not take part in combat with the latter. After theinvasion of Yugoslavia andGreece in April 1941, L3 tankettes were also captured by theYugoslav andGreek resistance forces. From 1941, some L3 tankettes were given to the Italo-Germanpuppet government of theIndependent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, or NDH).
Though numerous, Italy's tankettes proved to be outclassed from the start and also proved to be of low tactical value. They were vulnerable to the BritishBoys anti-tank rifles.[7] Other than those used for occupation duties in the Balkans and elsewhere, few L3s remained in front line service past the end of 1940. After theItalian armistice with the Allies in 1943, L3 tankettes were used byGerman Army forces and by the pro-NaziNational Republican Army of theItalian Social Republic. Hungarian L3s had by this point been issued to theGendarmerie.
L3/35s also joined theChinese Nationalist Army fighting against theJapanese Imperial Army during theSecond Sino-Japanese War and the Communists during theChinese Civil War.
The L3/35 appeared in several variants including an anti-tank variant and a flame thrower variant.
The "L3 cc" anti-tank (controcarro) was an L3 with aSolothurn 20 mmanti-tank rifle mounted in place of its normal machine gun armament. Only a few were so modified, and they saw action only in North Africa.[1]
The Solothurn rifle could penetrate up to 18 mm of armor at 300 m (328 yards) which was effective against lightly armoured vehicles.[8]
Development of the "L3 Lf" flamethrower (lancia fiamme)flame tank began in 1935. The flamethrower nozzle replaced one of the machine guns, and the flame fuel was carried in an armoured 500-litre (133 US gallons) fuel trailer towed by the vehicle. Later versions carried another 60 litres of fuel in a box-shaped tank mounted above the L3's engine compartment. The vehicle weighed 5 metric tons.
The L3 Lf saw action in Abyssinia, Spain, France, the Balkans, North Africa, and Italian East Africa. From 1936 each CV/L3 company had a single L3 Lf platoon.[9]
The basic L3 platform was also employed as acommand vehicle using the Marelli RF1 CA radio in platoon and company command vehicles. The L3 was considered too small to be effectively employed as a regimental level command radio vehicle so this task fell to the later and slightly largerL6/40 CR (Centro Radio = Radio Center).[9]
The few L3Passerella (bridge layer) vehicles constructed were assigned to units at Armoured Brigade levels. The 7-meter-long (23 ft) bridge was stripped down into sections on a trailer towed by the L3 itself for travel. On arriving at the combat zone, this bridge was assembled on the front of the tank, suspended by cables from two small cranes located over the crew's superstructure. The crew laid the completed bridge over the obstacle from within the vehicle. A L3Passerella crew took seven minutes to lay out this bridge.[10]
A singleSavoia-Marchetti SM.82 aircraft was modified to carry a L3/33 recessed under the fuselage for experiments withairborne armour.[11]
Unarmedarmoured recovery vehicle with a rear tow bar, did not progress beyond theprototype stage.[11]
Tank destroyer with a47 mm L/32 gun mounted in the hull, based on the L3/35. At least one built but did not enter service.[11]
Tank built by Fiat-Ansaldo in 1937 on the L3/33 chassis with a redesigned hull and a 20 mm gun in a rotating turret. Did not enter serial production.[11]
On 8 August 1937, Major General García Pallasar had received a note from GeneralísimoFrancisco Franco which expressed the need for aPanzer I armed with a 20 mm gun. Although originally forty Italian L3/35 tankettes were ordered with the original armament exchanged for the 20 mmBreda Model 35 instead, this order was subsequently cancelled after it was thought that the adaptation of the same gun to the German Panzer I would yield better results.[12]
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan: at least one seen in use by Taliban in working condition.[13]
Kingdom of Afghanistan: some later modified with SovietKPV machine guns.[14]
Austria: 36 CV-35s of the first batch of production, delivered in March 1937.[15]
Brazil: 18 armed with twin-Madsen machine guns and 5 armed with a 13.2 Breda heavy machine gun.[6]
Kingdom of Bulgaria
China
Kingdom of Italy
Iraq[16]
Nazi Germany
Greece
Kingdom of Hungary
Spain
Venezuela (the 2 examples were the first armoured vehicles used by its army).svg)
Ethiopian Empire: captured tanks during theSecond Italo-Ethiopian War.
| External image | |
|---|---|
 Model of the tank with model soldier in comparison |
