![]() ![]() ![]() The new tank was now designated as the "P 40" and it was in this end form that the type survived prior to the Italian Armistice. This endeavor eventually produced a gasoline-fueled engine outputting at 420 horsepower. ![]() The 75mm short-barreled gun was then upgraded to a more potent 75mm long-barrel 75/34 main gun.©Īfter the diesel engine failed to impress, the Italian Army settled on a gasoline-fueled version, forcing Ansaldo engineers back to the development board which served to delay the program. The originally selected engine became a diesel-fueled installation of 330 horsepower. The turret was affixed to a hull superstructure and the design was, more or less, of a highly conventional nature with long-running tracked sides - though decidedly Italian in general appearance. ![]() The selected armament became a short-barreled 75mm 75/32 main gun and this was set within a traversing turret emplacement. The primary designation for this new tank was initially "P 75". Recent fighting in the North African campaign showcased the drastic limitations of the Italian tanks then in service, prompting the Italian Army to entertain other options. In 1940, the Italians began design work on a new 25-ton, " heavy" class infantry support tank intended to operate alongside the "M" family of medium tanks then in service. A little more than 100 P 26/40 tanks were produced before the war's end, with many of these seeing service under the German Army following Italy's surrender in 1943. Despite its adequate qualities by Italian tank standards, the P 26/40 was generally outclassed on many levels at this stage of the war by the crop of German, Soviet, British and American tanks taking center stage. She fit decent armor protection (among the best for an Italian tank) as well as a 75mm main gun. The type was classified in Italian nomenclature as a "heavy tank" regardless of its operating weight - generally a departure from both German and Allied tank classifications of the time. The Carro Armato P40 (more formally Carro Pesante P26/40 for "Heavy Tank P40") was one of the more impressive Italian tank designs of World War 2. ![]()
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