The Museums Italian Armoured Car Collection |
Ansaldo-Lancia 1ZM
The Lancia-Ansaldo 1ZM armored car is possibly one of the most distinctive vehicles ever made, courtesy of the highly unusual miniature one-man turret on top of the wide main turret. Design work on a new armored car for the Italian Army had begun before the First World War, as the vehicles in hand were either worn out or obsolete. The design for the 1ZM was based on the successful Lancia 1Z truck chassis but refitted with an armored body by the firm of Ansaldo. The first orders for these vehicles was placed by the Army in April 1915. Development continued during the production of further orders with the top turret being eliminated in the 3rd Series. The 1ZM saw action right from the start being deployed almost as soon as they arrived with the Army in 1915. They would go on to see active service from the Balkans to North Africa during and after WW1 and well into the interwar period.
Examples were sent or sold to various other countries, including Austria and Afghanistan, and with the outbreak of Civil War in Spain, the 1ZM would see combat there as well.
Despite being obsolete before the Spanish Civil War, the vehicles stayed in service well into the Second World War and some examples were even in use by the Germans until 1945.
Fiat Terni Tripoli
The Fiat Terni Tripoli was a late war design. It was smaller than the Lancia IZ and better suited for colonial service. The name alone suggests where the intended use was for this vehicle, Tripoli, in the Italian colony of Libya. Like many other Italian armored cars of the era, it sported very odd looking geometrical pattern camouflage schemes which were very effective against the pale backgrounds often found in the desert. The Fiat Terni came too late to see service in WW1, though it would be used for colonial duties in Libya, and some were used in WW2, where they were hopelessly outclassed by Allied vehicles and anti-tank weapons.
Calisi War Car
Designed right at the end of World War One, the Calisi War Car was a patent filing by Adriano Calisi and is remarkable not for being an armored car, but one of, if not the first, design for a mobile bridging equipment on a wheeled vehicle.
Pavesi Autocarro Tagliafili
The development of the Pavesi Autocarro Taglifili (wire cutting machine by Pavesi) began in 1915 and is an unusual machine. Built not on tracks but a type of patented wheel with feet, sometimes referred to contemporarily as a ‘track-laying wheel’. The machine was based on the Army’s 5 tonne Pavesi tractors but with a large armored body fitted to it. Initially, it was fitted with just a single, open-topped turret. On the front of the machine were two large vertical wire cutting blades powered by the engine which, when tested, effectively cut through a thick fence of barbed wire.
The Tagliafili machine would, therefore, be used to lead troops through wire barriers to the enemy. Problems with the first prototype led to some additional development, including a second turret and an extension made to the body. Despite this work, the design was not adopted by the Army and it never progressed beyond the prototype stage.
Fiat Ansaldo
AB 40
The Autoblinda 40 was built in small numbers in 1940. Armament consisted of two 8 mm machine guns in a turret. During production a need for heavier armament was envisioned and so the AB 40 was redesigned as the AB 41 which was the same vehicle except for a new turret with a 20 mm autocannon. Most of the 24 AB 40s that had been built were then converted to AB 41s.AB 41
The Autoblinda 41 (named after its first year of production, 1941) was a further development of the machine gun armed AB 40. Made with an all-riveted construction, the AB 41 had four-wheel drive and a four wheel steering system that proved troublesome. The spare wheels fitted to its sides were free to rotate, thus helping the vehicle over rough terrain and allowing it to drive over higher obstacles.
AB 41 Ferroviaria. It could also be fitted with wheels that would allow it to run on railway tracks and some were modified further to better serve in this role, with the addition of sand boxes and rail guards to deflect objects from the rails. This version was designated
It had six forward gears and four reverse gears, with a driving position at the front and one in the rear, so two crew members were drivers. Overall the AB 40/41 family was well thought out, with a top speed of over 70 km/h (45 mph), good armour (15 mm on the front plates) and good road and cross-country performance, but there were some examples of poor detail design like difficult access to the powerplant, an unprotected fuel tank, one-man turret, exposed traverse gear and lack of an interior bulkhead separating the engine and crew compartments. Nevertheless, the AB 41 was considered a good vehicle and one of the best armoured cars of its era.[7] Its chassis was later used as a basis for the SPA-Viberti AS.42. About 550 vehicles were built in all. The Italians planned to upgrade the AB 41 with a 47 mm anti-tank gun as the AB 43, but those plans were disrupted by the Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943.
AB 43
Lancia 1Z
Lancia 1ZM
Autoproetto S,17
The Lancia-Ansaldo 1ZM armored car is possibly one of the most distinctive vehicles ever made, courtesy of the highly unusual miniature one-man turret on top of the wide main turret. Design work on a new armored car for the Italian Army had begun before the First World War, as the vehicles in hand were either worn out or obsolete. The design for the 1ZM was based on the successful Lancia 1Z truck chassis but refitted with an armored body by the firm of Ansaldo. The first orders for these vehicles was placed by the Army in April 1915. Development continued during the production of further orders with the top turret being eliminated in the 3rd Series. The 1ZM saw action right from the start being deployed almost as soon as they arrived with the Army in 1915. They would go on to see active service from the Balkans to North Africa during and after WW1 and well into the interwar period.
Examples were sent or sold to various other countries, including Austria and Afghanistan, and with the outbreak of Civil War in Spain, the 1ZM would see combat there as well.
Despite being obsolete before the Spanish Civil War, the vehicles stayed in service well into the Second World War and some examples were even in use by the Germans until 1945.
Fiat Terni Tripoli
The Fiat Terni Tripoli was a late war design. It was smaller than the Lancia IZ and better suited for colonial service. The name alone suggests where the intended use was for this vehicle, Tripoli, in the Italian colony of Libya. Like many other Italian armored cars of the era, it sported very odd looking geometrical pattern camouflage schemes which were very effective against the pale backgrounds often found in the desert. The Fiat Terni came too late to see service in WW1, though it would be used for colonial duties in Libya, and some were used in WW2, where they were hopelessly outclassed by Allied vehicles and anti-tank weapons.
Calisi War Car
Designed right at the end of World War One, the Calisi War Car was a patent filing by Adriano Calisi and is remarkable not for being an armored car, but one of, if not the first, design for a mobile bridging equipment on a wheeled vehicle.
Pavesi Autocarro Tagliafili
The development of the Pavesi Autocarro Taglifili (wire cutting machine by Pavesi) began in 1915 and is an unusual machine. Built not on tracks but a type of patented wheel with feet, sometimes referred to contemporarily as a ‘track-laying wheel’. The machine was based on the Army’s 5 tonne Pavesi tractors but with a large armored body fitted to it. Initially, it was fitted with just a single, open-topped turret. On the front of the machine were two large vertical wire cutting blades powered by the engine which, when tested, effectively cut through a thick fence of barbed wire.
The Tagliafili machine would, therefore, be used to lead troops through wire barriers to the enemy. Problems with the first prototype led to some additional development, including a second turret and an extension made to the body. Despite this work, the design was not adopted by the Army and it never progressed beyond the prototype stage.
Fiat Ansaldo
AB 40
The Autoblinda 40 was built in small numbers in 1940. Armament consisted of two 8 mm machine guns in a turret. During production a need for heavier armament was envisioned and so the AB 40 was redesigned as the AB 41 which was the same vehicle except for a new turret with a 20 mm autocannon. Most of the 24 AB 40s that had been built were then converted to AB 41s.AB 41
The Autoblinda 41 (named after its first year of production, 1941) was a further development of the machine gun armed AB 40. Made with an all-riveted construction, the AB 41 had four-wheel drive and a four wheel steering system that proved troublesome. The spare wheels fitted to its sides were free to rotate, thus helping the vehicle over rough terrain and allowing it to drive over higher obstacles.
AB 41 Ferroviaria. It could also be fitted with wheels that would allow it to run on railway tracks and some were modified further to better serve in this role, with the addition of sand boxes and rail guards to deflect objects from the rails. This version was designated
It had six forward gears and four reverse gears, with a driving position at the front and one in the rear, so two crew members were drivers. Overall the AB 40/41 family was well thought out, with a top speed of over 70 km/h (45 mph), good armour (15 mm on the front plates) and good road and cross-country performance, but there were some examples of poor detail design like difficult access to the powerplant, an unprotected fuel tank, one-man turret, exposed traverse gear and lack of an interior bulkhead separating the engine and crew compartments. Nevertheless, the AB 41 was considered a good vehicle and one of the best armoured cars of its era.[7] Its chassis was later used as a basis for the SPA-Viberti AS.42. About 550 vehicles were built in all. The Italians planned to upgrade the AB 41 with a 47 mm anti-tank gun as the AB 43, but those plans were disrupted by the Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943.
AB 43
Lancia 1Z
Lancia 1ZM
Autoproetto S,17