WWI gave birth to the new sort of weapons - tanks.

Many decades will pass and numerous concepts will be invented and forgotten.
It's not much different from biological evolution and the constant predator-prey interactions.

Interwar logic of tank design

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Lessons from the WWII were relatively simple. One single vehicle could not be suitable for all the roles. There should be some sort of an assault gun, that would be used as an infantry support vehicle, something like Sturmgeschütz. And there should be some sort of a heavy tank, to engage with other tanks and withstand the hits, something like Char 2C. End once the lines are broken, there should be some sort of vehicle that would act as some sort of cavalry + pillbox.

Now we are coming to the second question, how this light tank should look like?
There were two concepts: Germany was involved in the development of Panzer I during the 30's. It was a relatively large vehicle, about 4m long.

SSSR had T27, that was a clone of Carden Loyd tankette.
Those vehicles were much smaller, similar in size to the Smart car, about 2.5 to 3 meters long.

The advantage over the German design was obvious. A smaller tank could be much lighter without compromising the armour. Such vehicle could also have a smaller engine and the smaller crew (usually 2 men). And it would be so nimble and mobile that it could be used on mountainous terrain.

Little Italian Tankette

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Italians are the masters of designing small but potent things, like the espresso or the Fiat 500.

When it comes to tankettes, they couldn't resist and came up with the Carro Veloce series.
There were 3 versions of this vehicle:

• L3/33, with riveted armour, 5-10 mm thick
• L3/35, with bolted armour, 6-12 mm thick
• and the rare L3/38, very rare and easily distinguishable from the previous versions due to the different suspension system.

Photo from the Millitary Museum in Belgrade. Don't miss the exhibition inside as well!

Armament was modest, but according to the purpose of this vehicle: 7.92 mm, 2x8 mm (just because 2 machineguns are way cooler than one). Some of them were also converted to flamethrowers.

In war

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Our little tankette started got its baptism of fire during the war between Italy and Ethiopia. It performed well if it was used properly.

During the Spanish civil war, L3 alongside with the Panzer I was the main tank of the Nationalist front. Although with the similar armour as T26 had, it was simply outgunned. While the Panzer I or L3 could use armour piercing bullets and damage T26 at the extremely short ranges *(less than 100m), T26 had a 45 mm gun. And that gun was capable to destroy both of them from 2000 m.

In North African campaign L3 came against the Matilda. Yes, it was suicidal...

In Yugoslavia, those tankettes had some interesting life. They were mainly used in Dalmatia against the Partisans. Those were as dangerous as the Dalmatian girls. Maybe even less... Anyway, in ambush, Partisans managed to capture 2 of them together with the Italian driver who changed the side and fought together with the Partisans until the war ended. In that name, Bella Ciao. Once the partisans got them, they made a hell of a job. They were used in a simple but effective way. The villages held by Ustasha would be stormed with L3, that were just an ordinary sight and patrolled on daily basis. Caught by the surprise, guards on the checkpoints would be soon overwhelmed and the Partisans would get the pillbox where it was needed.
A lot of L3 were captured during the Battle of the Neretva and the first Partisan tank unit was formed (12 tanks in total).

Some poor L3 served on the Easter front. Should I mention that the majority of them was lost?

In conclusion and how to win 5 SBD

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Tankettes were relatively successful as the shock weapon in some special operations. For scouting, they lacked the firepower. For the infantry support, they lacked everything. Are we going to see them again - YES! There are some small drone tanks operated remotely used by SWAT teams.

Tell me what is the exact model of L3 presented on the photo: /33, /35 or /38. The first correct answer will earn you 5 SBD!

Hint