M13 / 40 ( Italian. Carro armato M13 / 40 ) - Italian medium tank from the Second World War . By weight, it belonged to light tanks , but according to the Italian tank classification it was considered average. Developed by Fiat-Ansaldo in 1938-1939 . He became the most massive Italian tank of the Second World War: during serial production in 1940 - 1942 , 799 vehicles were produced. It was actively used by the Italian troops in 1940 - 1943 , and after the capitulation of Italy, a small number of vehicles were used by the troops of Great Britain and Germany .
| M13 / 40 | |
|---|---|
 Tank M13 / 40 in the exposition of the tank museum in Bovington ( Great Britain ) | |
| Carro armato M13 / 40 | |
| Classification | medium tank |
| Combat weight, t | 14 |
| Layout scheme | classic |
| Crew , pers. | four |
| Story | |
| Manufacturer | Ansaldo |
| Years of production | 1940 - 1942 |
| Years of operation | 1940 - 1945 |
| Number issued, pcs. | 799 |
| Main operators |     |
| Dimensions | |
| Case length, mm | 4923 |
| Width, mm | 2200 |
| Height mm | 2375 |
| Booking | |
| Armor type | rolled steel |
| The forehead of the body, mm / deg. | 45 |
| Board of the case, mm / hail. | 25 |
| Body feed, mm / deg. | 25 |
| Bottom, mm | 14-18 |
| Roof of the case, mm | 15 |
| Front of the tower, mm / deg. | 45 |
| Mask guns , mm / hail. | 45 |
| Board turret, mm / deg. | thirty |
| Tower feed, mm / deg. | thirty |
| The roof of the tower, mm | 14 |
| Armament | |
| Caliber and brand gun | 47 mm type 47/32 |
| Gun type | tank |
| Barrel length, calibers | 32 |
| Ammunition guns | 104 shots |
| HV angles, deg. | −10 °… + 20 ° |
| Angles GN, hail. | 360 ° |
| Machine guns | 3 × 8 mm Breda 38 (3048 rounds) |
| Mobility | |
| Engine type | V-shaped 8- cylinder diesel liquid cooled (SPA 8 TM40 V-8) |
| Engine power, l. with. | 125 at 1900 rpm |
| Speed on the highway, km / h | 32 |
| Cruising on the highway , km | 200 |
| Specific power, l. s./t | 17.7 |
| Suspension type | blocked, on balancers and semi-elliptical springs |
| Ground pressure, kg / cm² | 0.92 |
| Breakable wall, m | 0.8 |
| Overcoming ditch, m | 2.1 |
| Overcoming ford , m | 1.0 |
In the Western, and especially in English-language literature, Italian tanks of this type, as well as their further modifications, are often referred to as Fiat M13 / 40 , which is not entirely correct, since their main producer was the Ansaldo concern (factory in Genoa ) in collaboration with the Fiat Concentrator which supplied for these tanks engines, transmissions, chassis.
Content
History
This tank was designed to eliminate all the flaws that the previous model M11 / 39 had . By the time the model M11 / 39 was launched into mass production, it became clear that a tank with a similar layout was unsuccessful. Not only was the 37-mm cannon mounted in the hull and not in the turret, but it was also extremely weak for a tank similar to the Soviet T-26 or British Vickers Mk E. It was especially difficult for the gunner, who was also charging at the same time. All this required a serious revision of the layout of the tank in favor of the classic version with a twin-gun turret. However, the Italian industry was not able to master the new tank and in order not to reduce production rates, the M11 / 39 had to be substantially reworked, leaving the majority of the tank, in particular the hull, and the undercarriage, virtually unchanged. The first prototypes were presented in the fall of 1939 .
The updated machine M13 / 40 received more powerful armor and forced up to 125 hp. diesel. The gun was transferred from the hull to a new two-seat turret, which made it possible to use it more efficiently, besides, a more powerful 47-mm gun, based on the Cannone da 47/32 anti-tank gun, was used instead of the 37-mm gun. Spark machine guns, on the contrary, was moved to the right front of the case, in the turret in the gun mask appeared the third machine gun. There was a place for the radio station, which was not in serial M11 / 39. The number of crew has also increased: now it consisted of four people (driver-mechanic, gunner-radio operator, gunner-commander of the gun and loader).
In general, in terms of armament and even booking, this tank was almost equal to many light and medium tanks of the main Italians' opponent, Britain, used in Africa in 1940-1941. Of the significant drawbacks of these machines, we can distinguish a weak mechanical part, the absence of special filters, in view of which the engines are clogged with sand. This fact speaks for itself. Once Rommel organized a shooting competition between German tanks Pz. III and Italian M13 / 40. Four tanks were advanced from each side. However, only one Italian tank arrived at the competition site. The rest are simply out of order along the way. Also a significant drawback of the M13 / 40, especially in the early stages of the African campaign, was the presence of radio stations only from commander vehicles. Having entered the battle and having no means of communication, the Italian tankers were not able to respond quickly to the changing picture of the battle. From command vehicles, the rest of the signals were transmitted only with the help of flags and only outside the battlefield.
Combat use
North Africa
Already the first production tanks of this model began to enter the forces of Italian Libya in the group of General Valentino Babini. Here they took part in the invasion of Egypt , however, most of them were lost in late 1940 and early 1941 during Operation Compass , when British forces drove the Italians out of Egypt. During 1941–42, becoming the only more or less serious tank force of the Italians, M13 / 40 was used during the siege of Tobruk and in the first battle of El Alamein . In this case, the Italians have lost a lot of these machines. Nevertheless, by the end of 1941, the M13 / 40 tanks were, if not the backbone of the armored forces of the Axis countries in North Africa, then certainly a good half of them, which, naturally, could not have a positive effect on the overall quality of Italian-German armored vehicles. However, there was nothing to choose Rommel from, supplies from Germany were relatively limited, and Italy could not produce enough machinery.
Already in 1942, the replenishment of the troops began with an updated version of the average Italian tank M14 / 41 , which was not radically different from the “thirteenth”. Gradually, the number of M13 / 40 in Libya began to decline, and not only because of combat losses. Italians and Germans began to experience difficulties with the supply of fuel, lubricants and spare parts, as well as ammunition. After the second battle of El Alamein in October-November 1942, the Italians and Germans, during their retreat to Tunisia, had to throw a lot of faulty equipment.
Greece and Yugoslavia
During the invasion of Greece in October 1940, the Italians used their then-newest M13 / 40 tanks, with which the Chentauro division was equipped. However, they did not help the Italians too much. The unexpected stubborn resistance of the less-armed Greeks caught the Italians off guard and several dozen tanks were lost. Only after the intervention of the Allies of the Italians, the Germans, the seizure and occupation of Greece became possible. Already acting together with the Germans, in April 1941, Italian troops began to invade the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . The Chentauro division, advancing from the territory of Albania, soon broke through the fragile defense of the Yugoslavs and successfully operated in Montenegro. Its success was partly due to the actions of the 4th Tank Battalion with M13 / 40 tanks. Having lost half of the vehicles, the battalion secured the offensive of the tank division against Podgorica.
This tank could not affect the course of the battles in the war, because they were released relatively few and much was lost, especially in battles in Africa. These machines under the designation PzKpfw M13 / 40 735 (i) were used by the Germans against the forces of allies in the Italian and Balkan theaters of operations.
M13 / 40 based machines
Carro Comando M13 / 40
Commander machine based on the linear M13 / 40. Notable for the lack of a tower and the installation of an additional radio station. Issued 30 copies.
Semovente da 75/18
Light-weight self-propelled artillery , armed with a 75mm Obice da 75/18 cannon in a fully armored wheelhouse. Created in 1940 . The M40 version was built on the chassis of the M13 / 40 tank from 1940 to 1941. In total, from 1941 to 1944, 467 units of all modifications were built.
Famous tank crews who fought on the M13 / 40
- Pascucci, Luigi Arbib (1909–1942) - lieutenant, commander of a tank platoon of the 132nd tank division . Chevalier of the gold medal "For Military Valor" (posthumously).
- Salvatore Zappala (1893–1942) - lieutenant colonel, commander of a tank battalion of the 133rd tank division . Chevalier of the gold medal "For Military Valor" (posthumously).
- Bruno Galas (1919—1941) - sergeant, driver-mechanic of the 132nd tank division . Chevalier of the gold medal "For Military Valor" (posthumously).
Literature
- M. Kolomiets, I. Moschansky. Armored vehicles of France and Italy 1939-1945 - M .: Model-designer, 1998. - (Armored collection No. 4/1998).
- F. Jowett, S. Andrew. The Italian army of 1940-1944 African theater of war. - 2003.
Links
- Carro Armato M13 / 40 and M14 / 41. Medium tank . Aviarmor .
- Carro Armato M13 / 40 . Armored Encyclopedia .
- Italy's ... Carro Armato M13 / 40 medium tank (Eng.) . World War II Vehicles .
- Carro M13 / 40 (eng.) . Comando Supremo .