Carro Armato Celere Sahariano
| Industry | Defense, Armored vehicles |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Kingdom of Italy |
| Products | Military tanks, including Carro Armato M Celere Sahariano prototype |
The Carro Armato M Celere Sahariano, translated as "Saharan Fast Medium Tank," or M16/43, was an Italian medium tank prototype developed during World War II by the Kingdom of Italy. It was designed to rival the speed and firepower of the British cruiser tanks encountered during the Western Desert Campaign.Template:Fix/category[citation needed] The development was terminated after Axis forces were driven out of North Africa in May 1943. Had it entered service, the designation M16/43 would have reflected its classification: "M" for Medio (medium), "16" indicating its approximate weight in metric tons, and "43" representing the intended year of introduction.[1]
Development
At the start of 1941, the Italian Army commissioned Ansaldo to design a low-profile tank weighing between 15 to 16[convert: needs unit name] tonnes, capable of countering the faster A-13 series tanks such as the British Crusader tank. The project commenced in June 1941 with Ansaldo constructing a wooden mock-up mounted on an M14/41 medium tank chassis. The design featured sloped armour plates forming a glacis to improve protection. Consistent with other Italian tanks of that era, the armour was riveted rather than welded and generally thinner compared to foreign counterparts. Various engines were trialed on this chassis, including petrol aircraft engines, before development ceased. At cancellation, a 275 hp (205 kW) gasoline engine was under evaluation. The prototype incorporated an elongated turret derived from the M14/41, equipped initially with a 47 mm 47/40 L40 gun—a turret type that was also adopted on the M15/42 tank. Plans existed to upgrade the armament to a 75 mm cannon in production models.
Significantly, the Sahariano introduced a torsion bar suspension system—the first for an Italian tank—offering improved robustness and speed over earlier leaf spring bogie suspensions used in previous designs.[2] Ansaldo drew inspiration for this suspension from British tanks encountered in North Africa and a captured Soviet BT-5 tank from the Spanish Civil War. By project termination, the vehicle resembled British cruiser tanks but featured a notably lower silhouette, enhancing concealment and reducing vulnerability.
The prototype did not proceed to mass production due to diminished demand for desert-specific tanks. Although only one unit was completed, it saw use in defending the Italian mainland before being scrapped following Italy's armistice in 1943. Multiple factors led to abandoning the project: simultaneous development of the heavier Carro Armato P 40; challenges of introducing a new model amid Italy’s weakened industrial capacity; potential licensing options for foreign tanks like the Czechoslovak T-21 medium tank; and most critically, Italy’s loss of its North African colony in Libya, which eliminated the strategic necessity for a fast desert tank.[3]
Notes
- ↑ Carro Celere Sahariano Archived 2012-12-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Riccio & Pignato 2010, p. 120.
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
References
- Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).