Main Menu

Italy's Autoblinda AB 40, AB 41, and AB 43 armored cars

AB 41	AB 41	AB 41	AB 41, on patrol through a village in North Africa
AB 43

Design

The requirements for and new armored car for the Italian Colonial Police and the Italian Cavalry were combined into one specification.⁵

The four wheel steering did cause problems for the Autoblindas.⁵ There were two drivers in the crew as there were positions in the front and the rear that could drive the Autoblinda.⁵

Wheels

The Autoblindas could be outfitted with extra wide sand tires for used in North Africa.⁵

There were also kits that could allow the Autoblindas to ride on railroad tracks.⁵ These could be changed in 30 minutes by the crew.⁵ These were primarily used in anti-partisan patrols in the Balkans.

Production

Production started in 1940 with the AB 40.⁵ These were the most produced Italian armored car in World War II.⁵

AB 40: 24
AB 41: 550
- Manufacturer: Ansaldo²
AB 43:

Variants

AB 40: Initial production model. Few were built. Initially had two MGs in the turret, one of which was facing to the rear.⁵
AB 41: Turret from L6/40 was used. Was 4-wheeled drive. One vehicle in 4 had mounting for AA machine gun on turret roof. Used in North Africa, Soviet Union, Italy and Hungary.
AB 43: This was to mount a 47 mm gun but was never put into production.
??: One that had no turret and was used as a command vehicle or artillery observation post.
Panzerspähwagen AB41 201(i): 37 (57⁵) confiscated from Italian Army in September 1943.^2,5 20 (120⁵) more were produced.^2,5 Later models had a new motor installed and were called the AB41/43.² This had a 108 HP engine, could go 81 kph, and go 350 km.²

		AB 40	AB 41	AB 43
Crew	4	4^1,5	4^2,3,5
Physical Characteristics
Weight		15,344 lb 7.38 tons¹ 7,500 kg¹	16,576 lb 7.4 tons⁵, 7.5 tons^2,3 7,518 kg⁵	16,732 lb
Length w/gun	17' 3.5"	17' 1"¹ 5.2 m¹	17' 1.5"³, 17' 2"⁵ 5.2 m^2,3,5
Length w/o gun
Height	8' 1"	7' 11"¹ 2.48 m¹	7' 11.5"³, 8'⁵ 2.48 m^2,3,5
Width	6' 5"	6' 4"¹ 1.92 m¹	6' 4"⁵, 6' 4.25"³ 1.92 m^2,3,5
Ground clearance
Ground contact length
Ground pressure
Turret ring diameter
Armament
Main		20 mm¹, 2: 8 mm	20 mm Bred modello 35 AA 20 mm Breda modello 35 anti-aircraft⁵ 20 mm modello 35 L/65²	47 mm
Secondary
MG		2: 8 mm MGs¹	2: 8 mm modello 38²
MG - coaxial	8 mm Breda modello 38		8 mm (0.315") modello 38 air cooled MG⁵
MG - rear	8 mm Breda modello 38		8 mm (0.315") modello 38 air cooled MG⁵
Side arms
Quantity
Main			456²
Secondary
MG			1,992²
Side arms
Armor Thickness (mm)		9¹	17⁵
Hull Front, Upper			9@23°²
Hull Front, Lower			9@45°²
Hull Sides, Upper			9@30°²
Hull Sides, Lower			9@0°²
Hull Rear			9@20°² & 9@40°²
Hull Top			6@90°²
Hull Bottom			6@90°²
Turret Front			18@16°² Mantlet: 18 round²
Turret Sides			9@20°²
Turret Rear			9@16°²
Turret Top			6@90°²
Engine (Make / Model)	SAP Abm 1, water cooled Ansaldo¹		SAP Abn⁵ SPA Abm 1^2,3 5 liters²
Cylinders	6¹		6^2,5, I-6³
Cooling			Water^3,5
Net HP	80¹		80³, 88² @ 2,700 rpm²
Transmission			6 forward, 4 reverse^2,5
Fuel type	Gasoline¹		Gasoline^2,5
Octane
Capacity
Performance
Traverse			360°, hand.²
Max Speed	49 mph	49 mph¹ 78 kph¹	49 mph^3,5 78 kph^2,3,5	56 mph
Cross Country	24 mph		24 mph³ 38 kph³
Road radius	248 miles	248 miles¹ 400 km¹	248 miles^3,5 400 km^2,3,5	334 miles
Turning Radius
Elevation Limits			-10° to +20°²
Fording depth	2' 4"		2' 4"³ 0.7 m³
Trench crossing
Vertical Obstacle	1'		1'³ 0.3 m³
Suspension (Type)
Wheels each side
Return rollers each side
Track length
Tires	4
Track width
Track centers/tread

Sources:

The Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles - The Comprehensive Guide to Over 900 Armored Fighting Vehicles From 1915 to the Present Day, General Editor: Christopher F. Foss, 2002
Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two, Peter Chamberlain and Hilary Doyle, 1999
The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, Chris Bishop, 1998
-
World Encyclopedia of Armored Fighting Vehicles, Jack Livesey, 2006