Italian World War 2 Tanks That Need Adding to War Thunder

Toreno

In this 7th episode of my series looking at World War 2 Tanks That Need Adding to War Thunder, we take a look at Italian tanks of the World War 2 period!  So join me as we take a look at the inital P40 Heavy Tank prototype, Italian armoured cars that didn't quite enter service and the absoulutely bewildering array of SPG or Semovente vehicles that the Italians designed and used during the war.  Support me at ⬇️ ☕Buy me a Coffee➡️ buymeacoffee.com/Toreno  Social Media ⬇️ 🦋Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/toreno.bsky.social 🌍Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Toreno4 📸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toreno170 🐘Mastodon: Toreno17@mastodon.social 🧵Threads: https://www.threads.net/@toreno170  Sources⬇️ Cappellano, F. and Battistelli, P. P. (2012) Italian Light Tanks. Osprey Publishing. Cappellano, F. and Battistelli, P. P. (2012) Italian Medium Tanks. Osprey Publishing. Ceva, L. and Curami, A. (1994) LA MECCANIZZAZIONE DELL'ESERCITO FINO AL 1943 tomo I - parte 1. Available at: https://issuu.com/rivista.militare1/docs/la-meccanizzazione-tomo1a-testo. Ceva, L. and Curami, A. (1994) LA MECCANIZZAZIONE DELL'ESERCITO FINO AL 1943 tomo II - parte 2. Available at: https://issuu.com/rivista.militare1/docs/la-meccanizzazione-tomo2b-testo. Tank Archives. Available at: https://www.tankarchives.com/. Tank Encyclopedia. United States War Department (1953) TM 9-1985-6: Italian and French Explosive Ordnance. Available at: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/TM/PDFs/TM9-1985-6-Italy.pdf. War Thunder for in-game stats. WarWheels.Net. Available at: https://warwheels.net/.  🎮 Game: War Thunder  ⬅️  Tanks featured in this episode ⬇️ Carro Comando Semoventi M41 P40/18 and P40/32 (P40 Heavy Tank prototype) FIAT AB-611 AB42 Autoblindo TL.37 Autoprotetto S.37 Lancia 3Ro Blindato Carrozzeria Speciale su SPA-Viberti AS43 Semovente da 47/32 su Scafo L3 Semovente L40 (with armoured roof) Semovente M40 da 75/18 Semovente M41 da 75/18 Semovente M42 da 75/18 Semoventi M43 da 75/34 “Bersaglieri” Semovente M42T da 105/25 Semovente 149/40 Semovente B1 Bis Semovente 105/22 M7 Semovente da 105/34 Priest Semovente Sexton da 105/22 AS-42 with 20mm Solothurn S-18/1000 anti-tank rifle Camionetta A.S.37 with 47mm gun Autocannone da 47/32 su Lancia Ro NM Autocannone da 65/17 su Morris CS8 Autocannone da 75/27 su FIAT-SPA T.L.37 Autocannone da 90/53 su Lancia 3Ro Autocannone da 102/35 su FIAT 634N FIAT-SPA Autocarro Sahariano Modello 1937 SPA Dovunque 35 with 20mm autocannon  Italian Tanks: 00:00 Italian Armoured Cars: 09:03 Italian Tracked Semovente/SPG's: 18:33 Italian Wheeled Autocannon/SPG's: 36:07 Italian Anti-Air vehicles/SPAA: 42:10  #warthunder #italy #italian #ww2 #tanks

Transcript

00:00Continuing my series on World War 2 tanks that need adding to War Thunder, we now come to Italian

00:05World War 2 tanks. And despite a large number of Italy's tanks already being in game, we still have

00:11a few unique prototypes of well known Italian tanks, and a large variety of tank destroyers

00:17and other vehicles that still need adding. So starting off with Italian tanks, Italy is actually

00:24in a pretty good place with regards to its major tanks being in game. With most of the major tanks

00:29and their variants already being added. That said, there are a few that still need adding,

00:35starting with the Carro Commando Semovente M41, which was an Italian M14-41 medium tank

00:43that was converted into a command tank for use in coordinating Semovente units.

00:49The design itself came about in early 1941, with one of the big changes being the removal of the

00:55turret and the 47mm gun, instead replacing it with a hull mounted 13.2mm breeder machine gun.

01:03Now this might not seem like a very good armament, but in game it has a penetration of 25mm at 100

01:09meters, depending on what ammunition types are used. Just 2-4mm less than the M2 Browning machine gun

01:15as used on the M2A2 at 1.0, meaning that this can still be a lethal weapon against lightly armoured

01:22targets, while also being quick firing. Though of course being mounted in the hull does mean

01:26having to turn the whole tank to engage enemies outside of its limited traverse.

01:31Armour should remain broadly the same as the regular M14-41, maxing out at 30mm for the hull front,

01:39which is not a bad amount of armour for the early tiers, while the turret's previous position has

01:43now been plated over with armour, protecting the crew inside from small calibre aircraft weapons.

01:49Of course, with the removal of the turret, the Carro Commando should be able to move faster,

01:55especially with regards to acceleration, while the original top speed of 21.7 mph or 35kmh may

02:02also be exceeded, making this a far more mobile tank, while the crew count should remain at 4.

02:09The Carro Commando Semoventi would have to be added at 1.0, much like the American M2A2,

02:15perhaps before the AS42 or L3-33CC, with this acting more like a tank destroyer than the faster M2A2,

02:24but still retaining its reasonably thick armour, making this a tough tank to take down frontally

02:29for some other 1.0 tanks, and while very different from other Italian tanks, I think it would be a

02:34cool model to have in game. Like I said earlier, most Italian tanks are already represented in War Thunder,

02:41so we will now skip over the various Italian medium tanks, and straight to the Italian P40 heavy tank,

02:48or more specifically the initial prototype of this tank, which came in two different configurations,

02:54at least with regards to the weapons. So both variants could be added, and I will refer to them

02:59as the P40-18 and P40-32. Also just to note, sometimes sources will refer to this tank as the P40,

03:06P26, P75 or P2640, the latter Italian designation being P for Passante or heavy,

03:14then 26 for the weight in tons, and then 40 for the year it was adopted, but this naming convention

03:19was dropped in August 1942, so P40 would be a more accurate designation, though the old one would

03:25remain in unofficial use for some time, and of course it's only a heavy tank by Italian standards,

03:31while most other nations would probably consider it more of a medium tank.

03:36So the P40 initially came about in August 1940, when Mussolini ordered the development of a new

03:4225 ton heavy tank, that was to be armed with a 75mm length 18 gun in one turret, and a 20mm gun in a

03:51second turret, with an additional 3-4 machine guns also to be carried, while the armour was to be 40mm

03:57thick for the front and 30mm for the sides, a 420hp engine was to be used, and a crew of five was to

04:03man the tank. Based on these requirements, three wooden mockups would be constructed,

04:09two by Ansaldo, and a third by the Army Centre for Motorisation Studies. The Ansaldo design would

04:15be chosen for further development, with this being armed with the 75-18 gun, though it was also designed

04:22so that a 75-32 gun could be fitted if required, with the 20mm gun being placed in a coaxle position,

04:29and the armour maxes out at 40mm for the front, and the diesel engine was to be used.

04:34A prototype would be made in 1941, and was ready for testing by December, which is the guise in

04:40which we will look at this tank. So as mentioned, it was initially armed with the Ibiza de 75-18 Modelo

04:4734 Houser, which in-game is fitted on the Semivente 75-18 M41, and is a bit of a mixed bag,

04:55with its two APCBC shells penetrating 39-44mm at 500m depending on which one is used, but a heat

05:03shell with 100mm penetration can also be carried, and this will likely be the main shell players use,

05:10while a HE and smoke shell round off this armament. However, as mentioned earlier, the P40 was modified to

05:16carry the longer-barrelled 75-32 gun, which was installed later on, and this has a much better

05:23performance, firing the same heat shell but at a greater muzzle velocity of 580m a second versus

05:30399m for the howitzer, while its APCBC shell penetrates 66mm at 500m, giving this gun a greater

05:38versatility against armour, while HE and smoke shells can also be carried. Lastly, two machine guns make up

05:44the secondary armament, with the requirement for a 20mm cannon seemingly being dropped by the time

05:50the prototype was constructed. Meanwhile, the armour was now improved and was now 50mm for the front and

05:5640mm for the sides, which is a great improvement over the 30mm of the M1340, though unfortunately the

06:03armour is flat sided, which makes it more vulnerable than other designs with sloped armour, while the use

06:10of rivets would increase its vulnerability in real life, though many contemporary British tanks also

06:15suffered from this weakness, and it doesn't really have any effect in game. Meanwhile, the 24 ton tank

06:20had a top speed of 24.8mph or 40kmh, again faster than the M1340's top speed, but unfortunately this

06:29was obtained using a 330hp SPA 8V 12 cylinder diesel engine, as the previously hoped for 420hp engine

06:39hadn't panned out, stifling the potential mobility of this tank, and lastly the crew was to be 4,

06:452 in the turret and 2 in the hull, the same as the M1340. In War Thunder I could see the P40 with the 75

06:5218hz being added at battery rating 2.7, and the P40 with the 7532 gun at 3.0, with both being folded

07:00between the M1542 and the production P40, plugging that gap in the Italian tech tree, while also allowing

07:07us to experience a unique Italian heavy tank before its eventual development into the ultimate P40

07:13design. So you might be thinking, well all of this is very interesting, but the tank that has been on

07:18screen can't possibly be the P40, I mean it doesn't even look remotely the same as the production P40.

07:24Well in real life the P40 prototype was successfully tested from December 1941 initially with the howitzer,

07:31which would have been able to deal with fortifications and most British tanks, then with the 7532 gun,

07:37which of course would perform better against armour. However, while the P40 had been in development,

07:42combat reports had been coming in from the North African front, while Germany had launched Operation

07:47Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. And soon the Italians began to receive reports of combat

07:53from that front, as well as reports about a new Soviet tank, the T-34. And in 1942, they would get their

08:00hands on one for testing. Following these reports and examination of the T-34, the P40 would undergo

08:07a major redesign, now being fitted with sloped armour, the even longer 7534 gun, and even a large

08:14drivers hatch like on the T-34. In this guise the P40 would be ordered into production, but only three

08:20were built before the armouredness of Cassibula, which was signed in September 1943 between the

08:27Kingdom of Italy and the Allies, resulting in the Germans confiscating much Italian equipment,

08:33including the P40s, with 101 subsequently being produced for German use, though 40 of these were

08:39produced without engines for use as fortifications on the Gothic line. The P40 was supposed to be

08:45replaced by the P43, a 30 ton tank with either the 75-34 gun or a length 25-105mm gun, as well as a

08:54maximum of 80mm of armour and a 430hp engine, but this design never progressed beyond a wooden model.

09:03So, moving on from the tanks, we can now look at Italian armoured cars, and again,

09:07most of these are already represented in game, but there are a few that could still be added,

09:12starting with the Fiat AB611, which is technically from the interwar period but wasn't covered in the

09:18Italian interwar episode. This armoured car was designed by Anseldo in 1932 and came in two variants,

09:26one with three breeder 6.5mm machine guns, two in the turret and one at the rear, and another variant

09:32with a 37mm Vickers Turney 3740 gun, the same as used on the M11 39 medium tank, giving it a penetration

09:40of 26mm at 500m or 36mm at 100m with its APHE shell. Not a great performance, but not too bad for tier 1,

09:49while two machine guns were fitted to the turret and hull rear. Armour is light, maxing out at just 15mm,

09:56but there is some sloping for the front, maximising this limited protection, though the sides are flat

10:02sided which isn't particularly great. While the top speed is 17mph of 28km now on a 56hp engine,

10:10which isn't particularly fast, especially considering this top speed is for when it's used on road,

10:15with the off road speed being even worse, and a crew of 5 manned the armoured car.

10:20In game I could see this being added at 1.3, as this armoured car, while slow and not particularly

10:26well armoured, is at least decently armed, with an okay if not spectacular 37mm gun, allowing it to

10:33take down tougher enemies than some other armoured cars can, and it would be nice to see this little

10:38known armoured car in War Thunder. In real life, these armoured cars served a limited role in the

10:431936 Italian invasion of Ethiopia, where the issues with poor off road driving quickly became apparent,

10:50and while some did survive into WWII, they weren't particularly successful due to their poor design

10:55and lack of spare parts. Moving on to the WWII period, there are a few armoured cars that still need

11:01add in, starting with the AutoBlender AB42, a prototype armoured car that was designed as an

11:07improvement to the already in game AB41. So the AB42 came from a 1942 requirement given to Anseldo and

11:16Fiat for an improved design of the AB41, that was better suited to being used in the North African

11:21Desert, while also having more armour but a reduced weight. As you can see in the picture,

11:27the AB42 on the left is smaller than the AB41, which helped to reduce the weight,

11:32while other features were also removed to save on weight and complexity,

11:36such as the dual steering system, which had allowed for the control of the AB41 from the rear of the

11:41car, which might have been useful in urban environments to escape ambushes, but was proving

11:47to not be so useful in the deserts of North Africa, while the rear machine gun was also removed.

11:52The armour also now maxed out at 22mm for the turret front, and 8.5mm for the rest of the armoured

11:59car, with this armour being more sloped than on the AB41, which helped to improve the protection

12:04while not increasing the weight. Meanwhile the main armament was the same as the AB41,

12:09being a 20mm Breeder Model 1935, with a maximum penetration of 27mm at 500m with its APIT shells,

12:18and 31mm with HVAC rams. So there's no improvement over the AB41 here, while an 8mm Breeder Model 1938

12:27was carried in a coaxial position, the rear machine gun as mentioned having been removed.

12:32The engine was also now improved, now producing 108hp and giving a top speed of 50mph or 80kmh,

12:40slightly faster than the AB41, and allowing this armoured car to get around the map even better than

12:45the AB41. Lastly, the crew complement was 3, which is one less than on the AB41, and makes the AB42 more

12:54vulnerable to being knocked out via crew losses. I think this could be added at 1.0 in a folder with

12:59the AB41, or maybe at 1.3 between the M1139 and AS4247, with its operating mostly the same as the AB41,

13:09being marginally better protected and having ever slightly better mobility, while also being more

13:14vulnerable due to the loss of one crew member, but it would still be cool for this prototype armoured car

13:19to be added to War Thunder. In real life, only one prototype was produced by the 7th of November 1942,

13:27in preparation for testing. However, around the same time, the 2nd Battle of El Alamein was being fought,

13:33and would end in an Axis defeat just a few days later, with Italian and German troops forced to

13:39retreat back to Tunisia, where they would ultimately surrender in May 1943. In light of these setbacks,

13:46and the time and resources that would be lost in converting the various factories to produce

13:50this new armoured car, it was decided to keep producing the AB41, with the prototype being scrapped

13:56in 1943, though the turret and engine were fitted to the AB43, allowing the design to live on in a

14:03sense. There would also be more armoured vehicles that were fitted with the 20mm breeder autocannon,

14:10which brings us to the rather odd looking AutoBlindo TL37 AutoProteto S37, which had the 20mm autocannon

14:19mounted in an open topped turret, with the rest of the vehicle protected by up to 8.5mm of armour,

14:25with a crew of 2-3 carried, and a top speed of 31mph or 50kmh. This would work at 1.0,

14:32maybe 1.3 at a push due to the addition of armour, and would definitely be a unique vehicle in the

14:38Italian tech tree. In real life only one prototype was made and sent to North Africa for trials,

14:44but unfortunately appears to have broken down and was captured by British troops in the autumn of 1941,

14:50so this wasn't particularly successful, though it was developed into a rather more successful armoured

14:56personnel carrier, with the Germans converting at least one of these to carry a 47mm gun, which could also be

15:02added. There was also a variant of the AB41 armoured car that was fitted with a 47mm gun in an open

15:09topped fighting compartment, greatly boosting the firepower from the original 20mm gun,

15:14whilst still retaining a good top speed of 49.7mph or 80kmh, making this a great vehicle for shoot

15:21and scoot situations and flanking attacks. The open topped nature of the fighting compartment does make

15:26the gun a vulnerable to enemy fire, but as we've seen the armour only remaxes at about 8mm anyway,

15:32so pretty much any enemy could deal with it regardless, though of course aircraft will now

15:37have an easier time of dealing with it with smaller calibre weapons, while the total crew count now

15:42appears to be free. In War Thunder, I think this could work as a premium or event vehicle, or maybe

15:48could be folded with the AS4247 on the regular tech tree, with it giving Italian players a fast and hard

15:54hitting vehicle for use in the low tiers. In real life, only one prototype was made, but like with

16:00the AB42, it was built just after the reversal of Axis Fortunes in North Africa, so it was decided not

16:06to put this vehicle into production. We then come to the Lancia 3-Row Blendato, an armoured truck that

16:12was built on the Lancia 3-Row heavy truck chassis in 1944 by the Repubblica Sociale Italiana, or Italian

16:20Social Republic, this essentially being a pro-German puppet state established in still German controlled

16:26parts of Italy. Armour as to be expected is not the best, maxing out at just 9mm, though some sloping

16:34is incorporated to maximise this protection, but overall it is still a very vulnerable vehicle.

16:40Meanwhile the armament is ok, being a 2070 Scotty Isolta Fraschini autocannon, which has a penetration of

16:4722mm at 500m or 27mm at 100m with SAP I rounds, which isn't a great performance, but should be

16:56decent enough for tier 1, and it can double as an AA gun, though its 12 round magazine could also be an

17:03issue if you don't knock the enemy out in the first few hits. On top of this, three 8mm machine guns

17:08were also carried, which can be useful against soft skinned vehicles or the occasional enemy aircraft.

17:13Understandably all of these weapons required a lot of people to man them, so 7 crew were carried,

17:20making this a fairly tough vehicle to take out via crew losses. Lastly the top speed is 25mph or 40kmh,

17:27not terribly slow but not particularly fast either, especially as this top speed will be for when

17:33travelling on road, with off road speeds being worse. In game I could see this being an event vehicle at

17:381.0 being lightly armoured and not having the best armament in the world, but it would still be nice

17:44to see this unusual armoured truck in game. In real life only a handful of these trucks were built,

17:50mainly for use against partisans, though one of these was involved in the convoy that was evacuating

17:55Benito Mussolini to Switzerland at the end of the war, though of course this was a failure and he

18:00would be captured and then executed shortly afterwards. The RSI would also build their own

18:06armoured car design, the Karod Siria Speciale Sue SPA Fiberti AS-43, though this was built only in

18:14single digit numbers. With this having a 20mm autocannon and 8mm machine gun in a fully enclosed

18:21turret, 8mm of armour, a three man crew and a top speed of 31mph or 50kmh, and this could make for a

18:30good tier 1 armoured car for the Italian tech tree. So moving on from armoured cars, we now come to

18:36Italian self-propelled guns or Semivente vehicles, and there are an absolute tonne of these that still

18:42need adding, starting with the Semivente de 4732 Sue Scaffo L3, which was a 1939 prototype SPG vehicle

18:51that was based on the L3-35 chassis, and this could work as a tier 1 tank destroyer. Looking at the

18:57armament first, it is armed with the Kanone de 4732 Modelo 35, the same as used on the Semivente L40,

19:05having a penetration of 37mm at 500m with its AP HE shell, or 41mm with its AP's BC shell,

19:14which is a decent performance for tier 1, while a HE shell can also be carried to deal with unarmoured

19:19enemies. Unfortunately, the vehicle itself has practically no armour, maxing out at 14mm for the

19:25hull front, while the gun crew only have a lightly armoured gun shield for protection,

19:30and even this was missing in the initial design, while protection from enemy aircraft is non-existent.

19:36To make matters even worse, only two crew are carried, this being a driver and gunner,

19:42making this very easy to knock out fire crew losses, while even injuries will massively reduce

19:47crew skills, making this a very vulnerable vehicle. The top speed however is ok at 23.6mph or 38kmh,

19:56allowing the vehicle to get around the map in a decent amount of time. I could see the Semivente

20:01L3 being added at 1.0 between the L3-33cc and the L40, or perhaps folded with the L40, with this being

20:10very similar to the L40, but being slightly slower and more vulnerable, but either way it would still be

20:15nice to see this prototype in game. In real life the prototype was completed and ready for testing,

20:21but ultimately was abandoned, with the efforts instead being focused on the L40, M40 and other

20:28better Semivente designs instead. So the Semivente L3 wasn't a great success,

20:34with the Semivente L40 going into production instead, though I believe the prototype for that

20:39vehicle had an armoured roof, which also might make for a good variant to have in game, while the actual

20:44production version would see some success in service, but its 47mm gun would become less effective

20:49against enemy armour as time went on, while also not being the best suited for destroying enemy

20:55fortification. However, in 1941, a Semivente with a more effective 75mm howitzer would be developed,

21:02and this would go on to be used to great effect by Italian forces. This was the Semivente M40 7518.

21:10Now you might recognise this tank destroyer because it was built in at least three major variants,

21:15the initial one on the M1340 medium tank chassis, the next on the M1441 chassis, which is the one we

21:22have in game, and then lastly on the M1542 chassis. So that means we could still get the first and last

21:29variant of this Semivente, and we will start by looking at the initial variant based on the M1340 chassis.

21:36Now there aren't too many major differences here to the one that we have in game, but the Semivente

21:41itself weighs a little less, at 13.1t vs 13.5t, while also having a less powerful engine giving a

21:48slower top speed of 19.8mph vs 20.7mph or 33.3kmh for the M41, while the roof mounted weapon was a

22:006mm machine gun instead of the 8mm of the M41. Other than this, there aren't really any other

22:06differences, with it still having a maximum of 50mm of armour, a three man crew and the 75mm

22:12Houser, which is capable of penetrating 44mm at 500m with its best APC BC shell, or 100mm with its

22:21heat shell. To differentiate the M40 and M41, I'd suggest placing them both in a folder, with the

22:28M40 being added at 1.7 without the heat shell, giving players a reason to carry on and unlock the

22:34M41 for access to the better shell, but still allowing the Semivente M40 to have some decent

22:40success in tier 1, and it would be nice for this original variant of the well known tank destroyer to

22:46get some recognition in War Thunder. In real life the M40 would only be built in small numbers,

22:52about 61 including the prototype, but was successful enough that production would continue on the

22:58improved M41 chassis, while the M40 variants would continue to fight on until the end of the North

23:04African campaign. So the Semivente M41-7518 that is already in game would become the next major variant,

23:11with 162 being built, and when the M42 medium tank replaced the M41 on the production line,

23:19it was decided to start using that chassis, resulting in the Semivente M42-7518. Again,

23:26there are some changes to this design, for example it now uses a petrol engine instead of a diesel one,

23:32giving it an improved top speed of 23.9mph or 38.4kmh, faster than the previous M40 and M41.

23:41Though the weight has now increased to 15 tons, which is not ideal. The armament as to be expected

23:48is the same as the previous Semivente vehicles, but it appears it could also fire a different heat

23:53shell, the Granata Affretto Pronto Speciale, which supposedly could penetrate 120mm of armour,

24:01however, because it has its fuse on the base of the shell rather than the nose, this often made this

24:06shell act like a HES shell, which is represented on some Italian shells in game, so this might allow

24:13us to have a different type of shell rather than just an improved heat shell. The M15 also carried

24:18a smoke concealment system, which worked by dropping one of five smoke grenades at the rear of the tank,

24:24which you can then reverse into to gain some cover. Although of course this isn't particularly great if

24:29you're detracted or if you've lost your engine, but if you are able to move quickly into reverse,

24:34you will be able to hide yourself from enemies, improving survivability. Meanwhile, the armour

24:40should be the same as the M1542, though the superstructure is now made up of one 50mm plate

24:46instead of two plates, which in real life makes it more effective, but in game doesn't seem to have any

24:52effect, and it seems to be represented as one plate on the previous Semivante vehicles anyway,

24:57while lastly the crew is still free. In game I could see the M42 being added in a folder with the

25:03other 7518 variants, probably at 2.0, maybe 2.3 at a push, as this really depends on how the EPS

25:11shell performs, as an improved heat shell would be rather welcome, but if it's added as a HES shell,

25:17I can't see it being very popular, especially with how wonky HES shells seem to be working in the game

25:22at the moment, but it would still be nice to see this final variant of the Semivante 7518 headed to

25:28War Thunder. In real life the Semivante M42 da 7518 would go into production from November 1942,

25:36with 260 being built, but didn't see much if any combat until the armistice of Casibla, when Italian

25:43forces in Rome tried to fight off German attempts to occupy the city, though unsuccessfully. After

25:50this, 55 would be built for the Germans, and was subsequently used by the Germans and the Italian

25:55Social Republic against the Allies and Italian partisans, with the partisans capturing some of

26:01these vehicles, and a few surviving to the time of the Italian Republic after WWII. So the Italians had

26:08a good vehicle that could work against tanks and enemy fortifications, and better designs would be

26:13produced as the war went on, but fortunately most of these are already in game, but there are a few

26:18modifications of these designs that could still be added. In fact, one variant that could be added

26:24extremely easily is the 7534 M43 Versa Yeri, which was actually in the game files for quite a few years,

26:33though it has since been removed. Unfortunately, it is kind of understandable why this is the case,

26:38as this semifente vehicle is basically the same as the M43 already in the tech tree, but now has three

26:45machine guns mounted at the front of the vehicle, which is unusual to be fair, but is unlikely to

26:50make much of a difference in game. I assume this was originally created as a potential premium or event

26:56tank destroyer, but was never added to being not much different to the regular variant, and thus was

27:02passed over in favour of better vehicles, but it could still be added at some point in the future.

27:08There was also a semifente variant created by the Germans after the armistice, this being the semifente

27:14M42T-10525, which as I understand it is basically a semifente M43-7546, but with the 75mm gun replaced

27:24by a 105mm gun. This would essentially operate much like the M43-10525 that's already in game,

27:32but with the armour maxing out at 95-100mm, and the gun having slightly less traverse and possibly a

27:39slower top speed or acceleration due to the larger gun. The 105mm gun would also have worse penetration

27:46than the 75mm gun, penetrating 89mm at 500m with its APC shell, or 120mm with its HEAT shell,

27:55versus 148mm for the 75mm gun, making this worse against enemy armour.

28:01In game I could see it being added at 3.0 to 3.3, probably as an event vehicle, as the gun is still

28:08pretty effective against armour, while the protection of the vehicle has been increased,

28:12allowing it to better take on enemies in straight up fights with better chances of survival,

28:17making this a fairly good improvement over the M43-10525.

28:21Lastly, for Italian tracked semifente vehicles, we have the semifente 149-40,

28:28which looks similar to the semifente M41-M that's already in game, but unlike that vehicle which is

28:34intended to fight tanks with its 90mm gun, the semifente 149 was instead armed with a canone

28:40and saldo the 149-40 model 1935 artillery gun, which is able to fire HE shells at 800m a second,

28:50with these having between 4.8 and 6.4kg of high explosive,

28:54giving a maximum penetration of around 45-50mm, which isn't the worst in the world,

29:00but the gun itself would have a fire rate of 1 round per minute,

29:04making this tricky to use in the presence of multiple enemies, making this best suited for

29:09long range shooting, which makes sense as it is an artillery weapon. It also has an elevation of 0-45

29:15degrees, which makes aiming from a hull down position rather problematic, while the traverse

29:20is 53 degrees, a little bit better than the 45 degrees of the M41-M. The vehicle itself is also

29:28rather mixed, being based on an M15-42 medium tank or P40 heavy tank chassis, and as you can see,

29:35technically doesn't have anywhere for most of the crew to sit, with the driver and commander likely

29:40sitting in the tank itself, and the gunner and at least two loaders being housed within a separate

29:45vehicle, which could be represented by a second vehicle in game, or a towed trailer perhaps.

29:50Naturally, this also makes the gun crew extremely vulnerable, as there is no armour protecting them,

29:56while the armour for the vehicle itself maxes out at 25mm, so doesn't really provide much

30:01protection in the grand scheme of things, but bear in mind it was an artillery vehicle with a range of

30:0623km, so it wasn't really expected to come under direct fire. Lastly, the top speed is 21.7mph or

30:1435kmh from a 250hp SPA petrol engine, which is an okay top speed, though not spectacular by any means.

30:23Honestly, this would best work as an event vehicle, as this probably wouldn't work very well within the

30:29regular tech tree, but would still allow for Italy to have a good artillery vehicle, and I would still

30:34like to see it added to War Thunder. In real life only one prototype was made, before being taken over

30:40by the Germans in 1943, who seemed to have tested it for themselves, before it was captured by the

30:46Americans in 1944 or 1945, either in Italy or France, and it was later moved to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds,

30:54and now survived to this day at Fort Sill. So that is the Italian built Semofente vehicles,

31:01but after the Italian invasion of France in June 1940, and France's subsequent surrender,

31:06Italy acquired many French tanks, including a small number of Char B1 Bis heavy tanks,

31:12somewhere between 8 and 20, and even one Char B1 Ter. These tanks were not used in combat by the

31:19Italians, but it was decided to produce a Semofente vehicle out of at least two captured Char B1 Bis tanks,

31:26these becoming the Semofente B1 Bis, which involved removing the turret of this vehicle and leaving

31:31it with just the 75mm Hälzer in the hull. This 75mm Hälzer is actually more powerful than the

31:37turret mounted 47mm gun, with its ABHE shell penetrating 50mm at 500m, versus the 47mm gun's 47mm,

31:48but it also has a lower muzzle velocity of 470m a second, making longer distance firing harder,

31:55while naturally being based in the hull it only has an extremely limited traverse of just one degree,

32:00though to compensate it is able to turn on the spot pretty quickly. It also has excellent armour

32:06protection, with 60mm for the front, 55mm for the sides and 50mm for the rear, making this an extremely

32:14well protected tank, while the hull roof armour is 25mm and the turret area has been plated off with

32:2060mm of armour. The original Char B1 Bis weighed 32 tons, while without the turret it weighs 28 tons,

32:28still far heavier than even the biggest Italian tanks outside of the Fiat 2000, while the original

32:34Char B1 Bis's top speed of 17.4mph could potentially be improved, or at the very least the acceleration will

32:43be faster due to the removal of the turret. It's also possible that the original 4 crew is reduced

32:49due to the removal of the turret, though I haven't seen any evidence as to whether this is actually

32:54the case. In game I could see the Semifente B1 Bis being added at 2.3 to 2.3, probably as a premium

33:01or event vehicle, as we have an extremely well protected tank that is capable of taking out most

33:07enemies that it meets, while being hobbled by its slow speed and potentially lower crew count.

33:12But this would be an extremely unique tank destroyer, playing very differently to the original Char B1

33:17Bis, and it would be nice to see this vehicle in game. In real life only 2 of these tanks would be

33:24converted, with testing taking place from November 1941 until May 1943, but neither of these vehicles

33:31were ever used by the Italians in combat and no more were converted. Now these next vehicles probably

33:37more qualify as cold war modifications, but I'm going to mention them briefly as they are based on

33:43WW2 vehicles. With the first of these being based on M7 priests that were given to the Italians after

33:50WW2, these being designated the Semivente 105-22 M7, with around 148 being delivered. However in 1958,

33:59four of these would be upgraded with longer barrelled 105mm guns, becoming the Semivente 105-34 priest.

34:08Now from what I understand, these would still fire the same shells as the M7 priest,

34:12but at a much higher muzzle velocity on account of the longer barrel, giving them around 27mm penetration

34:18with HE shells or 130mm with HE shells. The rest of the stats should be broadly the same as the

34:31regular M7 priest, bar a slightly reduced mobility from the extra weight from the longer barrel,

34:37and I could see this variant fitting in game at around 2.7, giving us a rather unique Italian

34:42modification of an existing American WW2 vehicle, and showcasing Italian attempts at upgrading these

34:49vehicles for the cold war. The Italians also received Canadian Sexton SPGs, and there appears to have been

34:56a similar conversion of these in 1961, with their 87mm 25-pounder guns being replaced by Austro-Hungarian

35:04100mm M14s, or a B-Chade de 117 Model 14 in Italian service, with these then being re-bought to 105mm and

35:14receiving a muzzle brake, becoming the Semivente Sexton de 105-22. These would again fire the same

35:20ammunition as the 105mm gun of the M7 priest, while having a top speed of 25mph or 40kmh,

35:28the maximum armour fixes are 32mm, though like with the M7 priest, the fighting

35:33compartment is completely open, leaving most of the 6 crew vulnerable to enemy tanks and especially

35:39enemy aircraft. Like with the Semivente 105-34, I could see this going at around 2.7, probably

35:46folded with that vehicle, and again this showcases Italian attempts at upgrading these aging vehicles,

35:53so that they could still provide useful service in the cold war. In real life, quite a few of these

35:57sections seemed to have received this upgrade, and these remained in service until 1975, so it seems

36:03that the Italians were very happy with this upgrade. So those were the many Italian tracked Semivente

36:10vehicles, but there were also many Italian designs that fitted various armaments onto many different

36:16types of wheeled vehicles. For example, the AS42 or Sariana was armed with a wide variety of weapons,

36:24such as 20mm autocannons or 47mm guns, with those variants already in game, but it was also sometimes

36:32armed with the Solothurn S18-1000 anti-tank rifle, which has an armour penetration of 35mm at 300m,

36:40which isn't too bad for an anti-tank rifle, while the vehicle itself has a top speed of 52mph or 84kmh.

36:46There could also be 2-4 crew, as the autocannon variant in game has 2 crew, while the 47mm variant

36:54has 3, and 4 were sometimes carried in real life, giving Gaijin some options in this regard, while

37:00naturally the armour is non-existent. This could probably be added at 1.0, being folded with the

37:05AS42 with the 20mm autocannon or the AB41 armoured car, giving us a quick vehicle at 1.0 that is easy to

37:14take down, but is also able to deal some decent damage to enemies at this battle rating, and it would

37:19make for a cool variant to have in game. Talking of unusual looking vehicles, I have to say that this

37:25Camioneta AS37 fitted with a 47mm gun and oversized tyres did catch my eye while researching

37:33Italian vehicles, and I would also like to see this added if possible. Attempts were also made to fit the

37:3947mm gun onto the Lancia 3-row truck, becoming the autocannon, the 4732 suit Lancia row NM,

37:48giving us a mobile tank destroyer vehicle with 7 crew, non-existent armour, but a decent gun and

37:55top speed of 28mph or 45kmh, allowing this to act as a quick scoot and shoot tank destroyer,

38:02and I could see this doing well at tier 1, battle rating 1.0 to 1.3. Captured British trucks would

38:08also be converted into autocannon vehicles, with Morris C8s being fitted with Italian 65mm length

38:1617 mounting guns, which could fire smoke, HE and AP shells at 348 metres a second,

38:23as well as EP and EPS heat shells with 120mm penetration, though as mentioned some of these

38:30heat shells functioned more like Hess shells due to the fuse being fitted at the base of the shell.

38:35An 8mm breeder machine gun was also mounted at the front of the vehicle, giving protection against

38:40other soft skinned vehicles. Again, like with the other truck mounted weapons, armour is non-existent

38:46for the 5 crew, though with a top speed of 40.3mph or 65kmh, it should be able to at least avoid most

38:53enemies, or get away quickly when under fire. I could see this Morris vehicle working at 1.7 to 2.0,

38:59probably folded with the 100mm armed Lancia 3 rope, giving us a faster alternative while also

39:06potentially having a faster fire rate, and it would be cool to see this conversion added to War Thunder.

39:11We then come to the Autocannone 7527 Su Fiat SPA TL37, which was a conversion of the TL37

39:20artillery tractor, now armed with a Canon Ficus Turney 7527 Modelo 1911, which could fire smoke,

39:28shrapnel, HE and AP shells with 50mm penetration at 500m, as well as heat shells with presumably 100mm

39:37penetration like with the other Italian 75mm guns. Unfortunately, armour is again non-existent for the

39:444 crew, while the original 23.6mph or 38kmh top speed is no doubt affected by the addition of such

39:51a large gun. I could see this being added at 1.7 to 2.0, maybe lower if added without the heat shell,

39:58and this gives us yet another option with regards to truck based weapons. More trucks still would be

40:04converted to take heavier weapons like the 90mm breeder, with one of these variants being in game

40:09as a battle pass vehicle, though other truck chassis were used as well, which could in theory be added

40:15to the tech tree if needed. But there were also trucks with even heavier weapons like the Autocannone

40:20de 102-35 Su Fiat 634N, which carried a 102mm Canone, Schneider and Saldo de 102-35 Model 1914,

40:32which was originally a naval gun and bears no relation to the 102mm gun carried on the P108 bomber.

40:38Luckily for us, while it can fire a HE shell, which will no doubt be deadly to most enemies,

40:44according to the NAFWEPS website, it could also fire an AP shell weighing 15kg at 750m a second,

40:53which I haven't got exact penetration figures for, but will probably penetrate over 100mm of armour,

40:59and in real life did knock out 15 Crusader tanks at over 1000m, so clearly these were very powerful

41:06weapons. They were also quick firing, with a maximum fire rate of 20 rounds per minute,

41:11or about a round every 3 seconds, though I suspect its reload rate will be a little bit slower when

41:16added in game, while the elevation and depression were somewhere between 90 degrees and minus 10,

41:22depending on which mount was used. Of course, there is no armour, and the top speed is limited to

41:2718.6mph or 30km an hour, while a crew of 6 is carried. I think this would be a very good vehicle

41:34to have in game, probably at tier 3, though the battle rating is going to be very dependent on

41:39the performance of the gun, but I think this would give us an excellent weapon for Italian players to

41:44use, and I would like to see it added to War Thunder as a priority. In real life only 7 or so trucks had

41:50these guns mounted, and they seemed to have been rather successful against British tanks,

41:54inflicting heavy losses at the battle of Bir el Gobi in November 1941, but with so few available

42:01they would be whittled down over time, with the last vehicles captured by Britain after the capture

42:07of Tobruk in November 1942. So now we come to Italian anti-air vehicles, and again there are an

42:14absolutely bewildering array of vehicles that were used in this role, but unfortunately they mostly seem to

42:20be armed with the Breeder 20mm autocannon, leading to a lot of overlap between them all. I would

42:26definitely like to see this 20mm armed AS37 added, though the cab might make forward firing awkward,

42:32but it could be added at 1.0 ahead of the AS42 already in game to compensate for this issue.

42:39I also think the SPA Devunque 35 could be another good alternative, having less of a cab to get in

42:46the way of the 20mm gun, making this a bit more useful against ground targets, while still having

42:52a good top speed of 37mph or 60kmh, and making this a decent vehicle for getting around the map at tier 1.

43:00I could go on, but honestly we are just looking at various Italian and captured cars and trucks

43:04that were all fitted with 20mm breed autocannons, all of which could be successful to different degrees

43:10in the anti-air and anti-tank role, but I frankly think most of these would have to be a very low

43:15priority for adding, as they are only really suited to tier 1, which would lead to a massive glut in

43:21very similar anti-air vehicles at this tier. So that brings us to the end of this episode,

43:26looking at Italian WW2 tanks, and I'd be interested in your views on these vehicles,

43:31and any others you would like me to cover. So I should be covering Sweden in the next episode,

43:36so hopefully you're looking forward to that and will join me for that video.

43:40Anyway, thank you for watching, I've been Torano, and I'll see you next time.

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