Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Panzer Aces No.22

The Autoblinda AB 41 was developed in 1939 to mitigate those needs and supply the Regio Esercito and Polizia Colonial with an armoured vehicle that was to be deployed in their new north African colonies. The Ansaldo Fossati company was chosen for the construction of the armoured body and the turret, while the mechanical section and chassis was made by Fiat-SPA. The first two prototypes were shown to the Duce and his High Command on May the 15th, 1939 in Rome's Mechanization Studies Center. After satisfactory results in the testing period, the first production vehicles were ordered with the official title of AB 40. The first units were built in march. 1941. having twin machineguns mounted on the turret. In a later version. titled AB 41, the turret was replaced by the same one mounted in the L 6/40 light tank. The Autoblinda AB 41 was a fast, light and highly manoeuvrable car with a maximum on-road speed of 76 Kph and 40 kph cross-country.

No comments: