Carro Armato L6/40

The Italian Fiat-Ansaldo-designed L6/40 light tank was a further development of the L3/35 light tank, featuring a one-man turret in the centre mounting a single Breda Modello 35 20 mm (L/65) main gun and a Breda 38 8 mm coaxial machine gun. The driver sat in the front right of the hull. The riveted armour was six to 40 mm in thickness, which was roughly equivalent to Allied light tanks of the late 1930s. It had a top speed of 26 mph. The L6/40 became operational in 1940, and participated in the Balkans Campaign; invasion of the Soviet Union (it was the main Italian tank employed on the Eastern Front); the latter stages of the North African campaign; and in defence of Sicily and Italy in 1943. Although a good light tank for its size and an improvement over the tankettes that were common within the Italian Army, it was already obsolete by the time of its introduction. Italy used it for reconnaissance, and its armament was effective against any light vehicles it might encounter. However, due to a lack of an effective Italian medium tank, it was often employed in a combat role for which it was unsuited. Nevertheless, it was used in limited numbers in Southern Europe after the September 1943 armistace, including examples captured by the Germans and by the Independent State of Croatia. Fiat-Ansaldo produced 283 examples from 1939 to 1944.