M13/40 tank

Carro Armato M13/40
M 13/40 at the El Alamein War Museum
Type	Medium tank
Place of origin	Kingdom of Italy
Service history
In service	8 July 1940–1948
Used by	Kingdom of Italy Nazi Germany [1] Australia United Kingdom Kingdom of Egypt
Wars	World War II 1948 Arab-Israeli War
Production history
Designed	26 October 1939
Manufacturer	Ansaldo
Produced	July 1940 to late 1941
No. built	740[2])
Variants	M14/41, M15/42
Specifications
Mass	14 t (31,000 lb)
Length	4.915 m (16 ft 1.5 in)[3]
Width	2.280 m (7 ft 5.8 in)[4]
Height	2.370 m (7 ft 9.3 in)[4]
Crew	4 (commander, radio operator, gunner, driver)
Armour	Front: 30 mm (1.2 in)[3] Sides/rear: 25 mm (0.98 in)[3] Floor/roof: 6–14 mm (0.24–0.55 in)[3] Turret front: 42 mm (1.7 in)
Main armament	1 × 47 mm cannone da 47/32 anti-tank gun 104 rounds[5]
Secondary armament	4 × 8 mm Breda mod. 38 machine guns (1 × coaxial, 1 × AA, 2 × in hull) 2,808 rounds[5]
Engine	SPA 8 T M40 11,140 cc V8 Diesel engine 125 hp (93 kW)[3]
Suspension	Semi-elliptic leaf springs
Ground clearance	41 cm (16 in)[3]
Operational range	200 km (120 mi)
Maximum speed	31.8 km/h (19.8 mph) on road[3]

The Carro Armato M13/40 was an Italian World War II tank designed to replace the M11/39 in the Royal Italian Army at the start of World War II.^[6] It was the primary tank used by the Italians throughout the war. The design was influenced by the British Vickers 6-Ton and was based on the modified chassis of the earlier M11/39.^[6] Production of the M11/39 was cut short in order to get the M13/40 into production.^[6] The name refers to "M" for Medio (medium) according to the Italian tank weight standards at the time, 13 tonnes was the scheduled weight and 1940 the initial year of production.