Carro Armato M14/41, M13/40
Italian medium tanks at WW2

Carro Armato M13/40

Carro Armato M14/41, M13/40
Type: Italian medium tanks.
History: The Carro Armato M13/40 was the sucessor of the M11/39 (only 100 build) and was ordered for the Italian army in January 1940 and was in service from September 1940 in North Africa.
The M13/40 which had a similar chassis like the M11/39 but a redesigned hull of riveted construction varying in thickness from 6 mm (0.24 in) to 42 mm (1.65 in). The driver was seated at the front of the hull on the left with the machine-gunner to his right; the latter operated the twin Modello 38 8-mm (0.315-in) machine-guns as well as the radios. The two-man turret was in the centre of the hull, with the commander/gunner on the right and the loader on the left, and with a two-piece hatch cover in the turret roof. Main armament comprised a 47-mm 32-calibre gun with an elevation of + 20° and a depression of -10°; turret traverse was 360°. A Modello 38 8-mm (0.315-in) machine-gun was mounted co-axial with the main armament and a similar weapon was mounted on the turret roof for anti-aircraft defence. Totals of 104 rounds of 47-mm and 3,048 rounds of 8-mm (0.315-in) ammunition were carried. The engine was at the rear of the hull, its power being transmitted to the gearbox at the front of the hull via a propeller shaft. Suspension on each side consisted of four doublewheel articulated bogies mounted on two assemblies each carried on semielliptic leaf springs, with the idler at the rear; there were three track-return rollers.

Carro Armato M13/40 in North Africa.

The M 13/40 was built by Ansaldo-Fossati at the rate of about 60 to 70 vehicles per month, a total of 799 being produced. The tank was widely used in North Africa by the Italian army but was cramped, proved to be very unreliable in service and was prone to catching fire when hit by anti-tank projectiles.
Many vehicles were captured by the British army after being abandoned by their crews and subsequently issued to the British 6th Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) and the Australian 6th Cavalry Regiment early in 1941 when tanks were in a very short supply on the Allied side. The Australian regiment had three squadrons of captured vehicles which they called Dingo, Rabbit, and Wombat. So that they were not engaged by Allied units, white kangaroos were painted on the sides, glacis and turret rear.

Two Italian tanks in the RAC Tank Museum, Bovington Camp, Dorset (UK): in front the small Carro Veloce Tankette and behind a Carro Armato M13/40 or M14/41.

The Carro Armato M14/41 was essentially the M13/40 fitted with a more powerful diesel engine which was equipped with air filters designed to cope with the harsh conditions of the desert.
Production amounted to 1,103 of these vehicles, which had a similar specification to the M13/40 except for an increase in speed to 33 km/h (20 mph) and in weight to 14.5 tonnes.

Users: Italy, Germany (22 M13/40 and one M14/41 confiscated after the Italian surrender).

US troops inspect an abandoned Carro Armato M14/41 of the Centauro Armored Division in Tunisia's Kasserine Pass during the spring of 1943.

3d model of Carro Armato M13/40

This 3d model is a current element of the WW2 game WW2 Total. The data for production, movement and combat of the Axis and Allies units are here !