M15/42 tank
| 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 , Semovente da 20/70 quadruplo |
| 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. 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.