Fiat L6/40

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Carro Armato L 6/40
Fiat L6/40
General characteristics
Crew	2 (commander/gunner and driver)
Length	3.78 m (12 ft 5 in)
Width	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Height	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)
Weight	6.8 tonnes
Armour and armament
Armour	6 mm to 30 mm
Main armament	20 mm Breda 35
Secondary armament	8 mm Breda 38 machine gun
Mobility
Power plant	SPA 180 four-cylinder 70 hp (52 kW)
Suspension
Road speed	42 km/h (26 mph)
Power/weight	hp/tonne
Range	200 km (125 mi)

The Fiat L6/40 was a light tank used by the Italian army from 1939 and on through World War II. The official Italian designation was Carro Armato L 6/40.

1 Description
2 Development
3 Extended specification
4 See also
5 References

[edit] Description

The L6/40 was a conventional light tank design of riveted construction on a modified Carden-Loyd chassis. A single-man turret in the center mounted a single Breda Modello 35 20 mm main gun and a Breda Modello 38 8 mm coaxial machine gun. The driver sat in the front right of the hull. Armor was 6 to 30 mm in thickness.

[edit] Development

A further development of the Fiat L3 light tank, the L6 went through a number of prototypes during the late 1930s. The first was armed with a sponson-mounted 37 mm main gun and a machine-gun armed turret. A later version featured a turret mounted 37 mm gun and yet another version had only twin 8 mm machine guns. Ultimately, the production configuration, named Carro Armato L6/40, was put into production in 1939, with 283 finally produced.

A flamethrower variant was developed in which the main gun was replaced by a flamethrower with 200 l of fuel. A command-tank variant carried extra radio gear and had an open-topped turret. Most successful of the variants was the Semovente 47/32, in which the turret was removed and a 47 mm antitank gun installed in the hull. A final version late in the war carried no main gun and a single 8 mm machine gun. It was used alongside the Semovente 90/53 in order to carry extra ammunition, as the Semovente itself only carried 6 shells.

[edit] Extended specification

Obstacle clearance:
- Water fording: 0.8 m (2 ft 8 in)
- Gradient: 60%
- Vertical obstacle: 0.7 m (2 ft 4 in)
- Trench: 1.7m (5 ft 7 in)
Armament
- Ammunition: 296 rounds of 20 mm and 1,560 rounds of 8 mm
- Elevation and Traverse: -12° to +20° through 360° of rotation

Italian armoured fighting vehicles of World War II
Light Tanks and Tankettes
L3/35 \| Fiat L6/40
Medium Tanks
Fiat M11/39 \| Fiat M13/40 \| Fiat M14/41 \| M15/42
Heavy Tanks
P 40
Armoured Cars
AB 40 \| AB 41 \| Lince scout car
Self propelled guns
Semovente 47/32 \| Semovente 75/18 \| Semovente 75/34 \| Semovente 90/53 \| Semovente 105/25 \| Semovente 149/40
Italian armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II