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 Italy was not among the first to enter the game of armoured
vehicles, which is no surprise, considering that much of that countries fighting was done in the alpine regions on the border to
Austria-Hungary. But with that in mind, the Italian effort is still quite
impressive. In 1917 the Italians started developing their own tank, which - by chance and not by design - came out as a A7V-clone, although better in performance than it's teutonic
counterpart. The Italians also imported a small number tanks from France: the Schneider CA.1 and the Renault FT17. They soon realized that the Schneider was a
dud, and instead decided to manufacture a simple copy of the FT17. In the process of setting up the production - done by FIAT, assisted by Ansaldo and Breda -, the tank was given a large number of improvements and
redesigns, and out came something that was actually better than the vehicle it started out to
copy!
Among the improvements was a double barreled 6.5mm MG and a more powerful motor mounted in a
lower, traverse position. This and the fact that it was lighter than the FT17 resulted in, among other
things, a much improved speed. (It was three times as fast as the FT17.) I think it is safe to say that during the early 20-ies, this, the FIAT 3000, was one of the very best tank in the world.
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All the extensive redesigns resulted in many
dealys, which led to that the first prototype was not completed until 1920, with the first tanks entering service not until 1923. But the FIAT 3000 then soldiered on in both the Abyssinan and Libyan
wars, but by then it had been upgunned and had it's suspension much improved. The last FIAT:s were used in the fighting in Sicily in 1943, but only as a stopgap
measure, as by then it was obsolete. But it's long service is a testimony to the soundness of
the design.
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shows the first variant - "Fiat Tipo 3000 Modello 1921" - and is made out of a resin kit by Cromwell. It's basically a very god
kit, but I've added a number of improvements: a longer exhaust shroud, cross braces on the top of the
tail, new barrels with cooling fins - made out of the springs to the steering assembly on the Airfix Mk 1-, a
better, lower mantlet, new handles out of copper wire, and also the bar holding the towing schackles on the front was substituted for copper wire.
Click on the thumbnails for more views of it:
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