Carro Armato Celere Sahariano

Carro Armato M Celere Sahariano (M16/43)
Type	Medium tank
Place of origin	Italy
Service history
Used by	Kingdom of Italy
Production history
Designer	Ansaldo
Produced	1943
No. built	1 (complete spring 1942)
Specifications
Mass	16 tonnes
Length	5.8 m (19 ft)
Width	2.8 m (9 ft 2 in)
Height	2.0 m (6 ft 7 in)
Crew	4
Armour	30 mm (1.2 in) front, 25 mm (0.98 in) sides
Main armament	1 × 47 mm 47/40 L40 then Cannone da 75/34
Secondary armament	2 × 8 mm Breda 38 machine guns
Engine	SPA gasoline 275 hp (205 kW)
Power/weight	17.19 hp (12.82 kW)/tonne
Suspension	Torsion bar[1]
Operational range	300 km (190 mi)
Maximum speed	55 km/h (34 mph)

The Carro Armato M Celere Sahariano (Italian for "Saharian Fast Medium Tank") or M16/43 was a prototype medium tank developed by the Kingdom of Italy during World War II to match the speed and firepower of contemporary British cruiser tanks encountered by Italian forces during the Western Desert Campaign.^{[citation needed]} The project was cancelled following the expulsion of Axis forces from North Africa in May 1943. Had it entered service, the tank's designation would likely have been M16/43: "M" for Medio, "16" representing the vehicle's weight in metric tons and "43" being the planned year of introduction.^[2]