Carro Armato M14/41, M13/40

Italian medium tanks Carro Armato M14/41 and M13/40.
History, development, service, specifications, statistics, pictures and 3D model.

Carro Armato M13/40
Carro Armato M13/40 in North Africa.

Carro Armato M14/41, M13/40
Type: Italian medium tanks.

History:

The Carro Armato M13/40 had been the successor of the M11/39 (just 100 built) and it was required for the Italian army in January 1940, and it was operating from September 1940 in North Africa.

The M13/40 which in fact had an identical chassis similar to the M11/39 however a remodeled hull of riveted design ranging in thickness from 6 mm (0.24 in) to 42 mm (1.65 in). The driver had been placed at the front of the hull on the left, with the machine-gunner to his right; the second handled the dual Modello 38 8-mm (0.315-in) MG’s plus the radios. The 2-man turret was at the center of the hull, employing the commander/gunner on the right and the loader on the left side, along with a two-piece hatch protection within the turret roof. Main armament made of 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 had been installed co-axial with the main gun along with an identical weapon was placed on the turret roof for anti-aircraft defense. Totals of 104 rounds of 47-mm and 3,048 rounds of 8-mm (0.315-in) ammunition had been held. The power plant was at the rear of the hull, its power being transmitted to the gearbox at the front of the hull using a propeller shaft. Suspension on every side was made up of 4 double-wheel articulated bogies attached to a pair of devices every one carried on semi-elliptic leaf springs, with the idler at the rear; there were three track-return rollers.


 

The M13/40 had been manufactured by Ansaldo-Fossati at the amount of approximately Sixty to Seventy tanks monthly, as many as 799 being manufactured. The Carro Armato M13/40 had been widespread action in the Western Desert by the Italian army but was cramped, turned out to be pretty unreliable operating, and it was vulnerable to take fire whenever hit by anti-tank shells.
Numerous tanks had been taken by the British military right after being left behind by their crews and afterwards supplied to the British 6th Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) and the Australian 6th Cavalry Regiment at the beginning of 1941 while tanks had been in a really limited availability within the Allied units. The Australian regiment had 3 squadrons of taken tanks which they named Dingo, Rabbit, and Wombat. In order that they weren’t attacked by Allied soldiers, white kangaroos were displayed on the sides, glacis as well as turret rear.

The Carro Armato M14/41 was basically the M13/40 equipped with a stronger diesel-powered power plant which was backed up with air filters developed to deal with the tough circumstances of the desert.
Manufacturing came to 1,103 of these tanks, which had a comparable specification to the M13/40 besides a rise in speed to 33 km/h (ca. 21 mph) as well as in weight to 14.5 tonnes.

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


Animated 3D model Carro Armato M13/40


Specifications for Carro Armato M13/40

Specifications:

Carro Armato M13/40Specification
Typemedium tank
Engine SPA 8 TM40 V-8 diesel with 125 hp at 1,800 rpm
Gearbox 4 forward, 1 reverse
Crew total4
Turret crew 2 (Commander is additional gunner)
Length 16 ft 2 in (4.92 m)
Width 7 ft 3 in (2.23 m)
Height 7 ft 10 in (2.39 m)
Weight14.3 tons
Maximum speed 20 mph (32 km/hr)
Cross-country speed?
Fuel consumption per 100 milesc. 70 liter
Fuel180 liter
Road radius125 miles (200 km)
Cross-country radius?
Vertical obstacle 2 ft 8 in (0.80 m)
Trench crossing 6 ft 11 in (2.10 m)
Fording depth 3 ft 3 in (1.00 m)
Turning circle?
Gradient70 °

Armor:

Carro Armato M13/40mmangle
Turret front3716 °
Turret side2522 °
Turret rear2522 °
Turret top1485 °
Superstructure front3011 °
Superstructure side2590 °
Superstructure rear1490 °
Superstructure top1490°
Hull front30round
Hull side250 °
Hull rear2520 °
Hull bottom690 °
Gun mantlet37round

Armament and Equipment:

Carro Armato M13/40Specification
Main armament 4.7cm Ansaldo 47/32 gun
Rounds104
Traverse 360° (by hand)
Elevation-15° to +25°
Max effective range HE 3,800 yds; AP 1,100 yds
Secondary armament 1 x 8mm Breda Model 38 machine gun with 120 rounds coaxially to gun; 1 x 8mm Breda Model 38 machine gun wit 120 rounds on turret roof; 2 x 8mm Breda Model 38 machine guns with 2,592 rounds in the right front hull (traverse 28°left to 28 °right, elevation -15° to +23°)
Radio Centro Radio (only in a view vehicles)
Telescopic sight type unknonwn


Penetration mm at 30° armor plates of the gun:

RangeAPC
100 yds55 mm
500 yds43 mm
1000 yds29 mm
1500 yds23 mm
2000 yds-
Muzzle velocity 2,000 ft/s (610 m/s)
Shell weight 3.25 lbs (1.47 kg)

Production:

Carro Armato figures
M13/40from June 1940 until end of the year and again in 1942
M14/41from mid 1941
M15/42 (with longer gun) from March 1943 until Italian surrender September 1943 (last 28 manufactured 1944 under German control)
Combat delivery September/October 1940 in North Africa, M14/41 from late 1942 in Tunisia
Price per tank?
Total production figure c. 2,052 (799 M13/40, 1,103 M14/41, c.150 M15/42)

Service statistics of all Carro Armato variants:

YearAvailableProductionLosses
before 1939---
1939---
1940-235?
1941?376?
1942?852?
1943?561?
1944?28?
194568 (1.1.)-?
Total- 2,052?


References and literature

Panzer und andere Kampffahrzeuge von 1916 bis heute (Christopher F. Foss, John F. Milsom, Colonel John Stafford Weeks, Captain Georffrey Tillotson, Richard M. Ogorkiewicz)
Krieg der Panzer (Piekalkiewicz)
Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two (P.Chamberlain, H.L.Doyle)


Oval@3x 2

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