AB 41:
On patrol through a village in North Africa.
AB 43:
Design specs called for a high performance vehicle to be used by Italian colonial police. Set of driving controls on each end of vehicle.
AB 40:
Initial production model. Few were built.
AB 41:
Turret from L6/40 was used. Was 4-wheeled drived. One vehicle in 4 had mounting for AA machine gun on turret roof. Special sand tires could be fitted and there was a kit to convert it to go on railroad tracks. This included rail wheels, extra lights and a spotlight. These rail converted vehicles were primarily used in anti-partisan patrols in the Balkans. 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.
Other variants: One that had no turret and was used as a command vehicle or artillery observation post.
German Use:
Panzerspähwagen AB41 201(i):
37 confiscated from Italian Army in September 1943.2 20 more were produced.2 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 | 41 | 4: Commander/gunner/loader, 2 drivers, radioman4 42,3 |
|
| Physical Characteristics | ||||
| Weight | 15,344 lb 7.38 tons1 7,500 kg1 |
16,576 lb 7.4 tons4, 7.5 tons2,3 |
16,732 lb | |
| Length w/gun | 17' 3.5" | 17' 1"1 5.2 m1 |
17' 1.5"3 5.2 m2,3,4 |
|
| Length w/o gun | ||||
| Height | 8' 1" | 7' 11"1 2.48 m1 |
7' 11.5"3 2.4 m4, 2.48 m2,3 |
|
| Width | 6' 5" | 6' 4"1 1.92 m1 |
6' 4.25"3 1.92 m2,3, 2.33 m4 |
|
| Ground clearance | ||||
| Ground contact length | ||||
| Ground pressure | ||||
| Turret ring diameter | ||||
| Armament | ||||
| Main | 20 mm1, 2: 8 mm 2: MGs4 |
20 mm Bred modello 35 AA 20 mm modello 35 L/652 20 mm4 |
47 mm 47 mm L/404 |
|
| Secondary | ||||
| MG | 8 mm Breda modello 38, coaxial, rear hull | 2: 8 mm MGs1 8 mm MG, rear4 |
2: 8 mm modello 382 8 mm MG, rear4 |
MG, coaxial4 8 mm MG, rear4 |
| Side arms | ||||
| Quantity | ||||
| Main | 4562 | |||
| Secondary | ||||
| MG | 1,9922 | |||
| Side arms | ||||
| Armor Thickness (mm) | 91 | Front: 154 Side: 94 |
||
| 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 |
SPA Abm 12,3 5 liters2 water cooled3 |
||
| Cylinders | 61 | 62, I-63 | ||
| Net HP | 801 | 803,4 882 @ 2,700 rpm2 |
||
| Transmission | 6 forward, 4 reverse.2 | |||
| Fuel type | Gasoline1 | Gasoline2 | ||
| Octane | ||||
| Capacity | ||||
| Performance | ||||
| Traverse | 360°, hand.2 | |||
| Max Speed | 49 mph | 49 mph1 78 kph1 |
49 mph3 76 kph4, 78 kph2,3 |
56 mph |
| Cross Country | 24 mph | 24 mph3 38 kph3 |
||
| Road radius | 248 miles | 248 miles1 400 km1 |
248 miles3 400 km2,3 |
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 | ||||
| Production | 24 | 550 Ansaldo2 |
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
- Jane's World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles The Complete Guide, Leland Ness, 2002
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