L3/33
Carro Armato L3/33 | |
---|---|
![]() Flamethrower variant of L3/33 (CV-33) atThe Tank Museum,Bovington | |
Type | Tankette |
Place of origin | Italy |
Service history | |
In service | 1933–1945 |
Used by | Italyandothers |
Wars | Austrian Civil War,Second Sino-Japanese War,Second Italo-Abyssinian War,Spanish Civil War,Slovak–Hungarian War,Invasion of Albania,Anglo-Iraqi War,World War II,Chinese Civil War |
Production history | |
Designer | Ansaldo |
Unit cost | 89,890 lires in 1933 |
Produced | 1933–1935 |
No.built | 1,200 L3/33; 1,300 L3/35 |
Variants | L3/35, L3 cc, L3 Lf, |
Specifications | |
Mass | 2.7 t (2.7 long tons; 3.0 short tons) |
Length | 3.03 m (9 ft 11 in) |
Width | 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) |
Height | 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) |
Crew | 2 (commander and driver) |
Armour | 6–12 mm (0.24–0.47 in) |
Main armament | 1 × 6.5mm machine gun |
Engine | FIAT-SPA CV3 water-cooled 43 hp (32 kW) |
Suspension | bogie |
Operational range | 110 km (68 mi) |
Maximum speed | 42 km/h (26 mph) |
TheCarro Veloce 33(CV 33) orL3/33was atanketteoriginally built in 1933 and used by theItalian Armybefore and duringWorld War II.It was based on the imported BritishCarden Loyd tankette(license-built by Italy as the CV 29). Many CV 33s were retrofitted to meet the specifications of theCV 35in 1935. In 1938, the CV 33 was renamed the "L3/33" while the CV 35 became the "L3/35s."
The original CV 33 carried a two-man crew protected by 12 mm of welded armour and was armed with a single 6.5 mmmachine gun.
The L3/33 saw action in China, Spain, France, the Balkans, North Africa, Italian East Africa, Italy, and Russia.
Variants[edit]
L3/33 CC[edit]
The L3/33 CC (Contro Carro, literally "Anti Tank" ) was based on the L3 tankette. A small number of L3/33s and 35s had their 6.5mm machine guns replaced by aFucile Controcarri S Mod.39 (20 mm)anti-tank gun, creating an ad-hoc tank destroyer platform. Arriving too late to see action in Libya before the Axis retreat of the area, they saw only limited action in Tunisia in late 1942.[citation needed]
L3 Lf[edit]
Development of the "L3 Lf" (Lancia fiamme,"flamethrower" ) flame tank, based on the L3 tankette, began in 1935. The flamethrower nozzle replaced one of the machine guns, and the flame fuel was carried in an armoured trailer towed by the vehicle.[1]Later versions had the fuel carried in a box-shaped tank mounted above the L3's engine compartment. The vehicle weighed 3.2 tons, and the armoured trailer carried 500 L (110 imp gal; 130 US gal) of fuel.[2]It had a range of 40 m (130 ft), though other sources report a 100 m (330 ft) range.[2]They were fielded in North Africa, although there is no record of them being involved in combat there.[3]
The L3 Lf saw action in theSecond Italo–Abyssinian War,Spain,France,Russia,the Balkans,Italian North AfricaandItalian East Africa.
Artillery tractor[edit]
Footage exists of an unarmed, open-topped, artillery tractor based on the L3.[4]This could be used to tow a tracked trailer, as could the L3, as well as light artillery pieces, including a 100mm mountain howitzer. This vehicle does not appear to have entered production. Further analysis[original research?]of the footage however revealed the open-topped vehicle as to the "Ansaldo Light Tractor Prototype" (1931).[5] In the video, the "Ansaldo Light Tank Prototype (1931)"[6]also appears. These vehicles were the predecessors of the L3/33, as those were the "stepping stone" from the Carro Veloce 29 to the Carro Veloce 33.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-177-1451-03A%2C_Griechenland%2C_italienischer_Panzer.jpg/220px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-177-1451-03A%2C_Griechenland%2C_italienischer_Panzer.jpg)
Operators[edit]
Austria:36 delivered in 1935.[7]
Afghanistan
Bulgaria:14, known asAnsaldo-Fiat,received in 1934.[8][9]
Republic of China
Croatia:theUstashe Militiareceived 6 Italian tankettes in 1941 while theArmyreceived 10 from Hungary in 1942.[10]
Hungary:theRoyal Hungarian Armyreceived 30 in 1934.[11]
Iraq
Italy
Nicaragua
Spain
Albania
In the 1930s, theKingdom of Romaniaintended to strengthen its armored forces and contacted multiple nations to attempt acquisitions. One of the countries contacted was Italy, who offered to present the CV 33 in 1935. However, the presentation never took place and Romania acquired vehicles from other countries[12](seeRomanian armored fighting vehicle production during World War II).
Survivors[edit]
One example of the L3/33 is on display in theAustralian War MemorialinCanberra,Australia.It is believed this example was captured by British and Commonwealth troops in North Africa in 1940 or 1941.[13] There is also a flame thrower variant on display atThe Tank Museumin Bovington. There is also an example on a plinth at 305 Corps HQ at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan. A former Chinese Nationalist operated example, captured by the Communists in 1949, is on display at the Chinese People's Revolution Military Museum in Beijing. One example captured by theYugoslav PartisansduringWorld War IIis on open display of theBelgrade Military Museumin Serbia.
At least one example was in running order in 2014.[14]
See also[edit]
Comparable vehicles[edit]
- Germany:Panzer I
- Italy:L3/35
- Japan:Type 94
- Romania:R-1
- Poland:TK-3andTKS
- Soviet Union:T-27•T-37A•T-38
- Sweden:Strv m/37
- United Kingdom:Light Tank Mk VI
Notes[edit]
- ^"Flame-Throwing Tank Practices For War"Popular Mechanics,August 1937
- ^abForty 2006, p 73
- ^CV-33 accession recordThe Tank Museum
- ^Vehicules a chenille Ansaldo
- ^"Ansaldo Light Tractor Prototype - Tanks Encyclopedia".25 June 2019.
- ^"Ansaldo Light Tank Prototype 1931 - Tanks Encyclopedia".20 February 2020.
- ^Mahé, Yann (June 2010). "Le Blindorama: L'Autriche, 1919 - 1938".Batailles & Blindés(in French). No. 37. Caraktère. pp. 4–5.ISSN1765-0828.
- ^Zaloga 2013,p. 33.
- ^Boisdron, Mathieu (December 2010). "Le Blindorama: La genèse de la force blindée bulgare 1935 - 1943".Batailles & Blindés(in French). No. 40. Caraktère. pp. 4–7.ISSN1765-0828.
- ^Mahé, Yann (April 2011). "Le Blindorama: La Croatie, 1941 - 1945".Batailles & Blindés(in French). No. 42. Caraktère. pp. 4–7.ISSN1765-0828.
- ^Zaloga 2013,p. 10.
- ^Moșneagu et al. 2012,p. 161.
- ^Italian tankette arrives in CanberraABC News. Retrieved 2015-08-25
- ^"TANKETTE e CARRO ARMATO ITALIANO DELLA 2^G.M. A TERNAVASSO (TO) 28 - 6 - 2014. - YouTube".YouTube.
References[edit]
- Forty, George (2006).The Complete Guide to Tanks and Armoured Fighting Vehicles.Hermes House.ISBN978-1-84681-110-4.
- Moșneagu, Marian[in Romanian];Boțoghină, Iulian-Stelian; Manolescu, Mariana-Daniela; Stoica, Leontin-Vasile; Șoitariu, Mihai-Cosmin (2012).Armata română și evoluția armei tancuri. Documente (1919–1945)[The Romanian Army and the Evolution of the Tank Weapon. Documents (1919–1945)](PDF)(in Romanian). Pitești, Romania: Editura Universității de Stat din Pitești.ISBN978-606-560-252-6.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2021-01-19.Retrieved2021-08-30.
- Zaloga, Steven J. (20 April 2013).Tanks of Hitler's Eastern Allies 1941–45.New Vanguard 199. Osprey Publishing.ISBN9781780960203.
External links[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- L3/33 (CV 33), L3/35 (CV 35) Tankettesat archive.org version of wwiivehicles