Full Name Carro Armato Medio 15/42
Class Heavy Vehicle
Movement 5
Armor Value 4
Vs Infantry (RNG / FPR) 5/6
Vs Vehicle (RNG / FPR) 6/5
Traits
Period 1943-1945
Theaters of Service
  • Southern Europe

Based on Fiat-Ansaldo's earlier M13/40 and M14/41 tanks, the 15-ton Carro Armato M15/42 was the last Italian medium tank produced during World War II. Designers developed it in response to Italian Army requirements for a stopgap until the heavier P26/40 was ready for production. It was slightly longer than its precursors, featured a new engine, drive, and thicker armor. It mounted a longer-barreled 47 mm (L/40) gun in a fully-rotating main turret, and carried three 8 mm Breda 38 machine guns. A crew of four operated the vehicle, and it could attain a top speed of 24 mph. Production of the tank began in January 1943, after Italy had lost its African possessions. After the armistice of Cassibile on September 8, 1943, Italian formations equipped with the M15/42 fought German troops moving to disarm them in Rome. Germany thereafter confiscated all remaining M15/42s (90 of which had been produced through mid-1943). Under the Germans, Fiat-Ansaldo produced an additional 28 vehicles. In German service, the M15/42 fought mostly in Yugoslavia, with 85 tanks being stationed there by December 1944.

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