L3/33

Carro Armato L3/33
Italian L3/33 (CV-33), Flamethrower variant at The Tank Museum, Bovington
Type	Tankette
Place of origin	Italy
Service history
In service	from 1933
Used by	Italy, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Hungary, Nationalist Spain, Nicaragua, Iraq, and others
Wars	Austrian Civil War, Second Sino-Japanese War, Second Italo-Abyssinian War, Spanish Civil War, Slovak–Hungarian War, Invasion of Albania, Anglo-Iraqi War, and World War II
Production history
Unit cost	89.890 lires in 1933
Produced	1933–1935
Number built	~ 2,000–2,500
Variants	L3/35, L3 cc, L3 Lf,
Specifications
Weight	2.7 tonnes
Length	3.03 m (9 ft 11 in)
Width	1.4 m (4 ft 7 in)
Height	1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)
Crew	2 (commander and driver)

Armour	6–12 mm (0.24–0.47 in)
Main armament	1 × 6.5 mm machine gun
Engine	FIAT-SPA CV3 water-cooled 43 hp (32 kW)
Suspension	bogie
Operational range	110 km (68 mi)
Speed	42 km/h (26 mph)

The Carro Veloce CV-33 or L3/33 was a tankette originally built in 1933 and used by the Italian Army before and during World War II. It was based on the imported British Carden Loyd tankette (also license-built by Italy as the CV-29). Many CV-33s were retrofitted to meet the specifications of the CV-35 in 1935. In 1938, the CV-33 was renamed the "L3/33" while the CV-35s became known as "L3/35s."

The original CV-33 carried a two-man crew protected by 12 mm of welded armour and was armed with a single 6.5 mm machine gun.

The L3/33 saw action in China, Spain, France, the Balkans, North Africa, Italian East Africa, Italy, and Russia.

Variants

L3 Lf

The "L3 Lf" (Lancia fiamme, "flamethrower") flame tank was another variant of the L3 tankette. Development began in 1935. The flamethrower nozzle replaced one of the machine guns, and the flame fuel was carried in an armoured trailer towed by the vehicle.^[1] Later versions had the fuel carried in a box-shaped tank mounted above the L3's engine compartment. The vehicle weighed 3.2 tons, and the armoured trailer carried 500 litres (110 gallons) of fuel.^[2] It had a range of 40 yards, though other sources report a 100 meters (330 feet) range.^[2] They were fielded in North Africa, although there is no record of them being involved in combat there.^[3]

The L3 Lf saw action in the Second Italo–Abyssinian War, Spain, France, Russia, the Balkans, Italian North Africa and Italian East Africa.

L3/33 in Greece.

Survivor

One example of the L3/33 is on display in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia. It is believed this example was captured by British and Commonwealth troops in North Africa in 1940 or 1941.^[4]

Notes

↑ "Flame-Throwing Tank Practices For War" Popular Mechanics, August 1937
1 2 Forty 2006, p 73
↑ CV-33 accession record The Tank Museum
↑ Italian tankette arrives in Canberra ABC News. Retrieved 2015-08-25

References

Forty, George (2006), The complete guide to tanks and armoured fighting vehicles, Hermes House, ISBN 978-1-84681-110-4

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to L3/33.

L3/33 (CV 33), L3/35 (CV 35) Tankettes at wwiivehicles.com

World War II armoured fighting vehicles of Italy

Tankettes	L 2/29 L 3/33 L 3/35 L 3/38

Light tanks	L 5/21 L 5/30 L 6/40 Renault R35 (French)

Medium tanks	M 11/39 M 13/40 M 14/41 M 15/42 SOMUA S35 (French)

Heavy tanks	P 26/40

SP guns	Semovente da 47/32 Semovente da 75/18 Semovente da 75/34 Semovente da 75/46 Semovente da 90/53 Semovente da 105/25

Armoured cars	Lancia 1ZM AB 40 AB 41 AB 43 Lince AS.42

Armoured trucks	AS 37 Fiat 626 NM Fiat 665 NM Renault UE Chenillette (French) SPA Dovunque 35

Half-tracks	Breda 61

Experimental	Semovente da 20/70 quadruplo Semovente da 149/40 Vespa-Caproni Armored Car Carro Celere Sahariano P 40/43

Interwar tanks

List Category

Tankettes	L3/33 L3/35 Carden Loyd Morris-Martel T-27 TKS Type 92 tankette Type 94 tankette Type 97 Te-Ke Tančík vz. 33 AH-IV

Light	H35 R35 Fiat 3000 Leichttraktor Light Tanks Mk I–V Light Tank Mk VI Light Tank Mk VII M1 Combat Car M2 Light Tank Panzer I Panzer II LT vz. 34 LT vz. 35 LT vz. 38 T1 Light Tank T7 Combat Car T-18 T-19 T-26 T-37 T-38 7TP Type 95 Ha-Go Vickers 6-Ton Vickers-Carden-Loyd Light Amphibious Tank

Medium	Char D1 Char D2 Grosstraktor Medium Mk I Medium Mk II Medium Mk III Panzer III T-24 T-28 Type 97 Chi-Ha Type 97 Chi-Ni Type 98 Chi-Ho

Cavalry, Cruiser or Fast	AMC 34 AMC 35 AMR 33 AMR 35 BT tank Cruiser Mk I Cruiser Mk II Cruiser Mk III SOMUA S35

Infantry	FCM 36 Infantry Mk I, Matilda Renault R35 T-26 Type 89 I-Go

Heavy	Char B1 Neubaufahrzeug SMK T-35 T-100 Type 95 Heavy Tank Vickers A1E1 Independent

Super-heavy	FCM F1 Char 2C T-42

Armoured Carriers	UE Chenillette Bren Gun Carrier

History WWI Interwar WWII Cold War Tank

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