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L3/33

Tankette used by the Italian Army before and during World War II

Summary

Tankette used by the Italian Army before and during World War II

Field	Value
name	Carro Armato L3/33
image	Carro Veloce CV33 front-left 2017 Bovington.jpg
image_size	300
caption	Flamethrower variant of L3/33 (CV-33) at The Tank Museum, Bovington
origin	Italy
type	Tankette
<!-- Type selection -->	is_vehicle	yes
is_UK	yes
<!-- Service history -->	service	1933–1945
used_by	Italy and others
wars
<!-- Production history -->	designer	Ansaldo
unit_cost	89,890 lires in 1933
production_date	1933–1935
number	1,200 L3/33; 1,300 L3/35
variants	L3/35, L3 cc, L3 Lf,
<!-- General specifications -->	weight	2.7 t
length	3.03 m
width	1.4 m
height	1.2 m
crew	2 (commander and driver)
<!-- Vehicle/missile specifications -->	armour	6 –
primary_armament	1 × 6.5mm machine gun
engine	FIAT-SPA CV3 water-cooled
engine_power	43 hp
suspension	bogie
vehicle_range	110 km
speed	42 km/h

Austrian Civil War
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
Spanish Civil War
Second Sino-Japanese War
Slovak–Hungarian War
Invasion of Albania
Second World War
- Anglo-Iraqi War
Chinese Civil War

The Carro Veloce 33 (CV 33) or L3/33 was a tankette originally built in 1933 and used by the Italian Army before and during World War II. It was based on the imported British Carden Loyd tankette (license-built by Italy as the CV 29). Many CV 33s were retrofitted to meet the specifications of the CV 35 in 1935. In 1938, the CV 33 was renamed the "L3/33" while the CV 35 became the "L3/35s."

The original CV 33 carried a two-man crew protected by 12 mm of welded armour and was armed with a single 6.5 mm machine gun.

The L3/33 saw action in China, Spain, France, the Balkans, North Africa, Italian East Africa, Italy, and Russia.

Variants

L3/33 CC

The L3/33 CC (Contro Carro, literally "Anti Tank") was based on the L3 tankette. A small number of L3/33s and 35s had their 6.5mm machine guns replaced by a Fucile Controcarri S Mod.39 (20 mm) anti-tank gun, creating an ad-hoc tank destroyer platform. Arriving too late to see action in Libya before the Axis retreat of the area, they saw only limited action in Tunisia in late 1942.

L3 Lf

Development of the "L3 Lf" (Lancia fiamme, "flamethrower") flame tank, based on the L3 tankette, began in 1935. The flamethrower nozzle replaced one of the machine guns, and the flame fuel was carried in an armoured trailer towed by the vehicle. Later versions had the fuel carried in a box-shaped tank mounted above the L3's engine compartment. The vehicle weighed 3.2 tons, and the armoured trailer carried 500 L of fuel. It had a range of 40 m, though other sources report a 100 m range. They were fielded in North Africa, although there is no record of them being involved in combat there.

The L3 Lf saw action in the Second Italo–Abyssinian War, Spain, France, Russia, the Balkans, Italian North Africa and Italian East Africa.

Artillery tractor

Footage exists of an unarmed, open-topped, artillery tractor based on the L3. This could be used to tow a tracked trailer, as could the L3, as well as light artillery pieces, including a 100mm mountain howitzer. This vehicle does not appear to have entered production. Further analysis of the footage however revealed the open-topped vehicle as to the "Ansaldo Light Tractor Prototype" (1931). In the video, the "Ansaldo Light Tank Prototype (1931)" also appears. These vehicles were the predecessors of the L3/33, as those were the "stepping stone" from the Carro Veloce 29 to the Carro Veloce 33.

Operators

Austria Austria: 36 delivered in 1935.
Kingdom of Afghanistan
Kingdom of Bulgaria: 14, known as Ansaldo-Fiat, received in 1934.
Republic of China
Independent State of Croatia: the Ustashe Militia received 6 Italian tankettes in 1941 while the Army received 10 from Hungary in 1942.
Kingdom of Hungary: the Royal Hungarian Army received 30 in 1934.
Kingdom of Iraq
Kingdom of Italy
Nicaragua
Francoist Spain
Kingdom of Albania

In the 1930s, the Kingdom of Romania intended to strengthen its armored forces and contacted multiple nations to attempt acquisitions. One of the countries contacted was Italy, who offered to present the CV 33 in 1935. However, the presentation never took place and Romania acquired vehicles from other countries (see Romanian armored fighting vehicle production during World War II).

Survivors

One example of the L3/33 is on display in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia. It is believed this example was captured by British and Commonwealth troops in North Africa in 1940 or 1941. There is also a flame thrower variant on display at The Tank Museum in Bovington. There is also an example on a plinth at 305 Corps HQ at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan. A former Chinese Nationalist operated example, captured by the Communists in 1949, is on display at the Chinese People's Revolution Military Museum in Beijing. One example captured by the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II is on open display of the Belgrade Military Museum in Serbia.

At least one example was in running order in 2014.

Notes

References

[https://books.google.com/books?id=79oDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1933+plane+%22Popular+Mechanics%22&pg=PA216 "Flame-Throwing Tank Practices For War"] ''Popular Mechanics'', August 1937
Forty 2006, p 73
[http://www.tankmuseum.org/ixbin/indexplus?IXSESSION=1&IXDB=&IXSPFX=templates%2Fsummary%2Ftvod%2Fb&IXFPFX=templates%2Ffull%2Ftvod%2Ft&IXMAXHITS=12&IXACTION=summary&_IXtext=Please+enter&_IXbov_entry_number=E1951.43 CV-33 accession record] [[The Tank Museum]]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhoOhJLr60o Vehicules a chenille Ansaldo]
(25 June 2019). "Ansaldo Light Tractor Prototype - Tanks Encyclopedia".
(20 February 2020). "Ansaldo Light Tank Prototype 1931 - Tanks Encyclopedia".
Mahé, Yann. (June 2010). "Le Blindorama : L'Autriche, 1919 - 1938". Caraktère.
Boisdron, Mathieu. (December 2010). "Le Blindorama : La genèse de la force blindée bulgare 1935 - 1943". Caraktère.
Mahé, Yann. (April 2011). "Le Blindorama : La Croatie, 1941 - 1945". Caraktère.
[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-25/italian-two-man-tankette-arrives-in-canberra/6723518 Italian tankette arrives in Canberra] ABC News. Retrieved 2015-08-25
"TANKETTE e CARRO ARMATO ITALIANO DELLA 2^G.M. A TERNAVASSO (TO) 28 - 6 - 2014. - YouTube".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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