GM Otter Light Reconnaissance Car Mk.I in Italian Service

Kingdom of Italy/Italian Republic (1944-1950) Armored Car – Unknown Number Operated The GM Otter Light Reconnaissance Car Mk.I, also known as the Car, Light Reconnaissance, GM, Mk.I, was a Canadian reconnaissance armored car that was utilized by the Esercito Cobelligerante Italiano (English: Italian Co-Belligerent Army) after 1944 and, subsequently, by the Esercito Italiano (English: Italian …

Autoblinda AB41 in Polizia dell’Africa Italiana Service

Kingdom of Italy (1941-1943) Medium Armored Car – At Least 40 in Polizia dell’Africa Italiana Service The AB41 medium armored car was an Italian reconnaissance vehicle developed from the AB40, an armored car developed by FIAT-SPA and Ansaldo in the request of the Polizia dell’Africa Italiana or PAI (English: Police of Italian Africa) from 1937 …

Autoblinda AB41 in Regio Esercito Service

Kingdom of Italy (1941-1943) Armored Car – 667 Built Thank you to Pigly.com for supporting Tank Encyclopedia. In 1937, the Italian Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army) realized that the Lancia 1ZM armored cars in service in the reconnaissance units since 1915, still employed in the Italian African Colonies and in the Spanish Civil War, even …

Lancia 1ZM

Kingdom of Italy (1916) Armored Car – 120 Built First Series Lancia 1ZM with armored guards over the front and rear wheels. Source: Pinterest The need for a new armored car Italy was one of the pioneers of armored cars with several designs and vehicles made before the outbreak of the First World War, such …

Monti-FIAT

Kingdom of Italy (1941) Heavy Armored Car – 1 Built The Autoblindo Monti-FIAT armored car was a vehicle built in Africa Orientale Italiana or AOI (Eng: Italian East Africa). It was constructed by the Officine della Compagnia Monti (Eng: Workshops of the Monti Company) of Gondar in Ethiopia for the troops of the Regio Esercito …

Autoblinda AB43 ‘Cannone’

Kingdom of Italy (1943-1945) Heavy Armored Car – 1 Prototype Built The AB43 ‘Cannone’ (Eng: Cannon) was a prototype version of the AB armored car series armed with an anti-tank variant of the standard 47 mm support gun of the Italian infantry. It was meant to improve the anti-tank and support features of the ‘AB’ …

Autoblinda AB43

Kingdom of Italy (1943-1954) Armored Car – 102 Built By late 1941, the crews of the AB41 armored cars had reported many problems and issues with the vehicle. In order to solve these and to provide the Regio Esercito (Eng: Italian Royal Army) with a long-range reconnaissance armored car suitable for use in the desert, …

Autoblinda ‘Ferroviaria’

Kingdom of Italy (1942-1945) Railway Armored Car – 20 Converted The AB series armored cars were the main reconnaissance vehicles of the Italian Royal Army during the Second World War, with over 700 being produced between 1940 and 1945. Used on all the fronts of the war, after 1943, 120 were also used by the …

Autoblinda AB42

Kingdom of Italy (1942) Armored Car – 1 Prototype Built In 1941, the Regio Esercito (Eng. Italian Royal Army) realized that the performance of its modern AB41 armored cars was not able to meet the operational demands of the African Campaign. It was therefore decided to modify the AB41 to better adapt it for use …

Autoblinda AB40

Kingdom of Italy (1940) Armored Car – 24 Built (with Model 40 Turret), 435 Built (with Model 41 Turret) The AB40 armored car was the most innovative reconnaissance vehicle of the Regio Esercito (Eng: Royal Italian Army) developed before the Second World War. FIAT and Ansaldo collaborated to respond to two requests for new armored …

Lancia 1ZMs in Tianjin, China

Kingdom of Italy (1932-1943) The tiny concession of Tianjin (written as Tien-Tsin or Tientsin in many period sources) in China was one of several small Italian possessions in the area and was run by Italy between 1901-1947. Italy had been granted the territorial concession in the Xinchou Treaty (also known as Boxer Protocol) on the …