''Carro Armato'' (armored vehicle) was the Italian Army's designation for tanks from 1938. This would be followed by a letter and a series of numbers. The letter would be either L, M or P meaning light, medium, and heavy tank respectively. The official Italian military
tank classification
Tank classification is a taxonomy of identifying either the intended role or weight class of tanks. The classification by role was used primarily during the developmental stage of the national armoured forces, and referred to the doctrinal an ...
differed from contemporary classifications in other countries. The numbers would follow the pattern of X/Y where X would be the weight in
tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
s and Y the year of adoption (i.e. the L6/40 weighs 6 tonnes and was adopted in the year 1940). The following are some Carro Armatos that entered service:
* Carro Armato L5/21:
Fiat L5/21 light tank
* Carro Armato L5/30:
Fiat L5/30 light tank
* Carro Armato L6/40:
Fiat L6/40
The L6/40 was a light tank used by the Italian army from 1940 through World War II. It was designed by Ansaldo as an export product, and was adopted by the Italian Army when officials learned of the design and expressed interest. It was the main ...
light tank
* Carro Armato M11/39:
Fiat M11/39
The Carro Armato M11/39 was an Italian medium tank first produced prior to World War II. The M11/39 saw service in Africa and Italy (1939–1944). The official Italian designation was Carro Armato (armoured vehicle) M11/39. The designation for ...
medium tank
* Carro Armato M13/40:
Fiat M13/40
The Carro Armato M13/40 was an Italian World War II tank designed to replace the M11/39 in the Italian Army at the start of World War II. It was the primary tank used by the Italians throughout the war. The design was influenced by the British Vi ...
medium tank
* Carro Armato M14/41:
Fiat M14/41
The M 14/41 was a four-crew medium tank that served from 1941 in the Royal Italian Army. The official Italian designation was Carro Armato M 14/41. The tank was first employed in the North African Campaign where its shortcomings quickly became ap ...
medium tank
* Carro Armato M15/42:
Fiat M15/42 medium tank
* Carro Armato P40:
Fiat P26/40 heavy tank
NOTE: The
L3/33
The Carro Veloce 33 (CV 33) or L3/33 was a tankette originally built in 1933 and used by the Italian Army before and during World War II. It was based on the imported British Carden Loyd tankette (license-built by Italy as the CV 29). ...
and the
L3/35
The L3/35 or Carro Veloce CV-35 was an Italian tankette that saw combat before and during World War II. Although designated a light tank by the Italian Army, its turretless configuration, weight and firepower make it closer to contemporary tanke ...
tankettes
A tankette is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle that resembles a small tank, roughly the size of a car. It is mainly intended for light infantry support and scouting. were designated "Fast Tank" (''Carro Veloce'') and were initially known as the CV-33 and the CV-35.
External links
{{portal, Tanks
Italy's vehicle history
Tanks of Italy
Italian Army