FIAT 3000 (Carro d-assalto 3000 / L.5 Series) IMPLEMENTED

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The Fiat 3000 was the Italian version of the successful French-based Renault FT-17 light tank.

The Redesign
The Fiat 3000 was a highly-modified Italian version of the French FT-17. Modifications included (but were not limited to) side skirt armor and a redesigned turret. It became the first tank of note to be produced on Italian soil and formed the backbone of the foundation of Italian armored corps leading up to World War 2. Like the French and American systems, the Fiat 3000 had a pronounced "hull-up" appearance. The turret sat atop a superstructure and all facings were given angled surfaces. The driver was situated in the forward hull with a vision port and hinged rectangular door at face height while the commander/gunner took up his position in the traversing turret. External mufflers were fitted along each side of the engine compartment. When applied with the side skirt armoring, the Fiat 3000 showcased four distinct mud chutes along the skirt sides. Make no mistake, the Fiat 3000, like the Renault FT-17 before it, was a small vehicle - appearing as something akin to a child's riding toy when seen in person - as opposed to the imposing tank forms we are accustomed to seeing today.

The first-run Fiat 3000s were fitted with a 50-horsepower gasoline engine providing a top speed of 13 miles per hour. Armament was rather modest and consisted of a pair of 6.5mm machine guns. Operating weight was listed at 5.5 tons. The Model 21 was made ready in time for actions in Libya in February of 1926. Some were eventually exported to Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia) and Albania as well as Lithuania. In 1935, the Fiat 3000 was put into action once again, this time against Ethiopia in the counter-insurgency role.

Roles In WW2
Some Fiat 3000s were known to have deployed to Greece in 1940 and may also have been used in the East African campaign of 1941. The Fiat 3000 did become the last Italian tank to face off against the Allied forces driving up Italy before the Italian surrender. Of the two Fiat 3000 companies encountered there, one was used as fixed defensive gun positions in an attempt to halt, harass and slow down the Allied advance. The other company operated in a more conventional battlefield role.

Armament
1x 37mm cannon or 2 x 6.5mm machine guns
and as secondary a 6mm machine gun