M15/42 tank
< M15
| Carro Armato M15/42 | |
|---|---|
Carro Armato M15/42 on display at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur | |
| Type | Medium Tank |
| Place of origin | Kingdom of Italy |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1943–45 |
| Used by | Kingdom of Italy Italian Social Republic Nazi Germany |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Ansaldo |
| Designed | 1942 |
| Manufacturer | Ansaldo |
| Produced | 1 January 1943 - post September 1943 |
| No. built | Disputed. 333 produced before and after the armistice according to Cappellano (including 85 command units) see production paragraph |
| Variants | Command tank, Semovente 75/34, Semovente 75/46, Semovente 105/25 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 15.5 tonnes |
| Length | 4.92 m (16 ft 2 in) |
| Width | 2.20 m (7 ft 3 in) |
| Height | 2.40 m (7 ft 10 in) |
| Crew | 4 (commander, radio operator, driver, gunner/loader) |
| Armour | 50 mm frontal armour 25 mm side armour |
Main armament | 47 mm / L40 gun 111 rounds |
Secondary armament | 3 × 8 mm Breda 38 machine guns |
| Engine | SPA 15TB M42 petrol 11,980 cc V8 water cooled 192 hp/2,400 rpm |
| Suspension | Two 4 wheel bogies, semi-elliptic leaf spring |
Operational range | 200 kilometres (120 miles) |
| Maximum speed | 38 km/h (24 mph) |
The Carro Armato M15/42 was the last Italian medium tank produced during World War II. It was based on the earlier M13/40 and M14/41 medium tanks, and was built with the lessons from the North African Campaign in mind. The tank was meant to be a stopgap until the heavier P26/40 tank could be produced in numbers.: 14 It did not serve in North Africa, the theatre in which it was intended to operate, but served in Italy and in Yugoslavia with the German Wehrmacht.