L6/40 tank

Carro Armato L6/40
Restored L6/40 of Kubinka Tank Museum
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	Italy
Service history
In service	1940–1944, postwar to the early 1950s
Used by	Italy Nazi Germany Italian Social Republic Independent State of Croatia
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Ansaldo
Designed	1939
Manufacturer	Fiat
Produced	1939–1944?
No. built	419 (402 before the armistice and 17 afterwards) [1]
Variants	Command tank, flame tank, ammunition carrier, Semovente 47/32
Specifications
Mass	6.8 tonnes (7.5 short tons; 6.7 long tons)
Length	3.78 m (12 ft 5 in)
Width	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Height	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)
Crew	Two (commander/gunner and driver)
Armour	6–40 mm (0.24–1.57 in)
Main armament	20 mm Breda 35 with 296 rounds
Secondary armament	8 mm Breda 38 machine gun with 1,560 rounds
Engine	SPA 180 4,053 cc four-cylinder 70 hp (52 kW)
Suspension	Bogie
Operational range	200 km (120 mi)
Maximum speed	42 km/h (26 mph) road

The L6/40 was a light tank used by the Italian army from 1940 through World War II.^[2][3] It was designed by Ansaldo as an export product, and was adopted by the Italian Army when officials learned of the design and expressed interest.^[3] It was the main tank employed by the Italian forces fighting on the Eastern Front alongside the L6/40-based Semovente 47/32 self-propelled gun. L6/40s were also used in the North African campaign.^[3]

The official Italian designation was Carro Armato ("armored vehicle", i.e. "tank") L6/40. This designation means: "L" for Leggero ("light"), followed by the weight in tons (6) and the year of adoption (1940).