Documenting the Italian political and military actions of World War Two
The Autoblinda 40 and Autoblinda 41 armored cars had their origins in a requirement for a high performance car for use by the Italian colonial police in the new Italian colonies in Africa. The Italian cavalry branch also had a requirement for a new armored car at about the same time so the two were merged to produce a new vehicle design that appeared in 1939.
During WWII, the CV33 was quickly outclassed by the Allies. A newer model was developed known as the CV 35 (L3/35) which increased its proficiency, but not enough to be effective.
Originally designated the Fiat-Ansaldo 8 T, the M 11/39 was developed for infantry support in 1937 and mounted a 37 mm gun in a sponson and powered by a 125 HP Fiat SPA 8T V-8 engine with a maximum speed of 20 mph. The M11 armor was relatively thin and only designed to protect against 20mm fire.
This tank was first accepted for service in March, 1940, with a production rate of 22 per month. Although the M 13/40 was designated as a medium tank, it was more in step with a light tank.
The L6/40 was designed to replace the CV 33 tankette, but it was already obsolete by the time it entered service with the Italian Army. The L6/40 was used in North Africa, Russia and Italy. A flamethrower version was developed but never entered production
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