Lancia 1Z
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The Lancia 1Z was a light military
truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
produced by Italian manufacturer
Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...
between 1912 and 1916. From a mechanical standpoint, it was closely related to the 1913 35 HP Theta
passenger car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...
. It was Lancia's first military vehicle.


Development and service history

At the outbreak of the
Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...
of 1911, the
Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...
, whose motorisation had only begun a few years before, was chiefly equipped with
Fiat 15 The Fiat Tipo 15 is a light military truck produced by Fiat Veicoli Industriali. Introduced in 1911, the Tipo 15 was used by the Royal Italian Army in the Italo-Turkish War and in the First World War. It was also produced in the Soviet Union a ...
trucks. After a positive experience on the field, the army handed out additional procurements contracts of trucks for tactical and logistical use, to both Fiat and other manufacturers. One of them was Lancia, which developed the 1Z and began deliveries in 1912, in time for the vehicle to see war service on the harsh terrains of
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
. Production and army use continued into the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. In 1916,
Ansaldo Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. is an Italian power engineering company. It is based in Genoa, Italy. The absorbed parent company, Gio. Ansaldo & C., started in 1853. It was taken over by Leonardo S.p.A. In 2011, Leonardo S.p.A. sold 45% stake in An ...
and Lancia jointly built an armored car on the 1Z chassis, named '' Automitragliatrice Lancia Ansaldo 1Z''. These were the Royal Italian Army main armored vehicle and were used in
riot control Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irration ...
and later in the war to quickly exploit infantry breakthroughs. An improved type, the ''Lancia Ansaldo 1ZM'', was produced in 1918. In 1915, Lancia introduced the
Jota Jota may refer to: __NOTOC__ * Iota (Ι, ι), the name of the 9th letter in the Greek alphabet; * (figuratively) ''Something very small'', based on the fact that the letter Iota (lat. i) is the smallest character in the alphabet; * The name of the ...
truck, which used the same 4.5-litre engine but had a dedicated chassis; production of the 1Z truck subsequently ended during 1916.


Self-propelled artillery

In 1917 the 1Z truck was selected as the carrier for Cannone da 75/26 A.V. guns to form self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery; designated Autocannone da 75/27 C.K., the weapon system consisted of an anti-aircraft gun permanently installed in the bed of a partially armored 1Z. The
pintle mount A weapon mount is an assembly or mechanism used to hold a weapon (typically a gun) onto a platform in order for it to function at maximum capacity. Weapon mounts can be broken down into two categories: static mounts and non-static mounts. Static ...
ed 75/26 A.V. (''Anti Velivolo'', anti-aircraft) was based on the 75/27 Mod. 1906
field gun A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances ( field artille ...
modified for use in the anti-aircraft role. The initial order of 50 guns was later halved to 25, to form six mobile batteries (''Autobatterie'') which were delivered in summer 1918; the experiment was short lived, as the weapon did not prove satisfactory in the field and the guns were soon dismounted to be used in static positions. The Italian artillery arm also used the 1Z as a gun platform in a
self-propelled artillery Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...
role carrying 75/27 Mod. 1911 guns portee-style. Six batteries were formed in late 1918, and from 1920 to 1928 were assigned to the
horse artillery Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving, and fast-firing artillery which provided highly mobile fire support, especially to cavalry units. Horse artillery units existed in armies in Europe, the Americas, and Asia, from the early 17th to t ...
branch.


Specifications

The 1Z was powered by the ''Tipo 61'' 4,940 cc
side valve A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...
, monobloc inline four-cylinder engine delivering at 2,200 rpm. The chassis was a conventional
ladder frame A vehicle frame, also historically known as its ''chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism. Until the 1930s, virtually every car had a ...
with
solid axle Solid is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being liquid, gas, and plasma). The molecules in a solid are closely packed together and contain the least amount of kinetic energy. A solid is characterized by structural ri ...
s on semi-elliptic
leaf spring A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, elliptical spring, or cart spring, it ...
s; brakes were on the transmission and on the rear wheels. The transmission was a ''Tipo 105'' 4-speed
manual gearbox A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear changes ...
with a multi-plate dry
clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
. Main differences from the
Theta Theta (, ; uppercase: Θ or ; lowercase: θ or ; grc, ''thē̂ta'' ; Modern: ''thī́ta'' ) is the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet, derived from the Phoenician letter Teth . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 9. Gr ...
's mechanicals were wider
axle track In automobiles (and other wheeled vehicles which have two wheels on an axle), the axle track is the distance between the hub flanges on an axle. Wheel track, track width or simply track refers to the distance between the centerline of two wheels ...
s, and tyres and metal disc wheels more suited to military use. The vehicle had a top speed of and could carry 2.2 tons of cargo.


Notes and references


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 1Z Military trucks of Italy Military vehicles introduced in the 1910s World War I military equipment of Italy World War I vehicles Vehicles introduced in 1912