Fascist Italian Equipment
While Fascist Italy was never really known for having even the most basic and functional equipment you may be surprised to find some of their weaponries are still commonly used today, both in all forms of fiction and even real life! Lack of resources and basic experience in developing these new weapons born from the first world war both resulted in a very scrapped together arsenal though thanks to some brilliant designers and ambitious manufacturers weapons on a smaller scale would sometimes overshadow even their allied equivalents in quality. Much like how Nazi weaponry can be put into four categories Italian equipment can generally fall into three.
- Barely usable garbage, often times unusable
- Shockingly effective designs that were around for longer than Benito's government lasted
- Shockingly so ahead of its time it wouldn't be revisited for decades...Which were badly thought out and poorly designed
Be aware going forward due to their constant supply and manufacturing issue Italy would constantly use either capture or gifted foreign equipment as well as weaponry left over from the first world war. While some of those have been included due to their iconic use or of especial note, most have been left out. Seriously a third of this page would have to be dedicated to Nazi stuff if we counted those.
Small Arms
Rifles and SMGs
- Carcano M1891:A cheap, easy to make rifle that despite receiving a number of updates over the years, were still based on the same basic weapon. Opinions vary depending on the model but of important note was its ammunition. Unlike other rifles the Carcano used soft round tipped ammunition, bullets that were considering horribly out of date back during WW1...While the Italians attempting to produce a more traditional rifle with the Carcano M38 they struggled to keep up with ammunition demands and ended up going back to the old ammunition. Besides imported Austria rifles and a semi-automatic rifle that was so short- lived people seem to disagree on if it was even used at all, the Carcano would end up being the only rifle used during the war. Most famous for being the rifle used to shoot JFK.
- Beretta Model38:Based on an old school semi-auto carbine of all things, this weapon would go on to be one of the best performing infantry small arm of the whole war. The weapon is most well-known for its iconic four cut muzzle break and a heat shield style barrel that helped in air cooling. It’s also known for its unique double trigger system. Essentially the system used two triggers, one firing the weapon at full auto while the other was used for single shots. While making the weapon heavier (hence why modern SMGs don’t do this) it allowed a commanding officer to take resourceful aimed shots at a distant target before immediately firing full auto if suddenly assaulted or flanked, rather than taking the time to flip a fire switch. It was also super easy to maintain as you can literally just pull the firing mechanism out of the back of that gun (that’s what the large cap on the back is for). The weapon was ultimately so successful that the Italian government attempted to save resources by asking Beretta to purposefully make the later models more shit, and even than they still managed to reach a typical SMG performance for the time. Fun fact, the final airborne drop of the war was performed by Co-Belligerent troops with the goal of preventing German retreat into far North Italy. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Allied commanders allowed these paratroopers to test every American, British and captured German weapon they had access to. After these tests they universally agreed to take their old Berettas M38s. It was also known early war as the ‘burp guns’ as Italy experimented with ten round magazines resulting in a short ‘burp’ of automatic fire.
- FNAB-43:While originally entering the designing process before the 1943 split, it would later finish designing and enter manufacturing in the RSI North. Was oddly expensive and high quality for the time which resulting in only about a 1000 being produced. Still had issues with being overly complicated and while not a BAD SMG it was basically a more expensive, slightly less effective M38 from above. Oddly enough popped up in Africa and Algeria, and we have no idea why.
- TZ-45:A last ditch style weapon produced in the final days of WW2. Very light, performed ok…Better than most last-ditch weapons! The big issue the game has was it being one of the first SMGs to use a grip safety, most likely to stop untrained conscripts from shooting their own feet off or something. This meant that after putting a new clip in, one had to keep a hand on the magazine before taking their firing hand and using that to pull back the bolt. This was VERY unnatural feeling and regular soldiers who had used traditional SMGs for years were bound to stuff it up just as a reaction. Was sold and used by the Burmese Army until 1955.
Pistols
- Beretta Modello 1934-1935: HOLY shit you guys… When we say a weapon is ‘the best of the war’ that’s more an opinion. To say that the Beretta pistol is the best pistol of the war is FACT. Hell, saying it is the best pistol period, there are some out there who would agree with that whole heartly. Light, cheap, accurate, easy to make and easy to maintain, this weapon was so beloved everyone from frontline troops to the highest-ranking officers on both sides nicked one whenever they could and only stopped being manufactured in 1993…In ITALY. Foreign versions are still being wildly manufactured today! The only real issue is may have is its use of a 9mm round but many argue that 10mm or .45 is overkill for a sidearm anyway…A ton of these were made too so they’re not exactly uncommon.
- Beretta M1942 Sosso Pistol: A prototype design that’s only on here because it was produced, but only for literally the highest-ranking people in Italy…All five of them. Benito himself got one naturally, as too did the King. Used a holster/stock hybrid along with a curved magazine which held 21 rounds! Pretty good for its size all things saying. Still, the weapon was heavy, the holster/stock was naturally not a good holster OR stock and we can’t say much for performance since it was given to people least likely to ever get into a serious firefight.
- Glisenti Model 1910:A leftover from WW1 it was more commonly used at the very start of the war. A complex system that was so easy to break it actually needed special low powered rounds that struggled to cause serious harm at anything but point-blank range. Even after this modification the left plate was prone to shaking loose after prolonged firing.
Machine Guns
- Breda Modello 30: …OH god…Here we go lads…You’re looking at one of the top five worst weapons of the war period. This thing…This thing is barely good as a club. Every seemingly terrible idea you can think of when designing a weapon was shoved into this one. I mean, where to even begin…Ok so first-off the weapon only had a clip of 20. Doesn’t seem too bad and pretty typical for the weapon category pre-war except those weapons used either a top mounted magazine or side inserted stripper clips. This allowed the reloader to quickly slap on a new magazine or stick in a new clip in just a couple of seconds keeping up a rapid rate of fire. The Breda on the other hand had an in-built magazine meaning to reload you had to push the magazine forward, reload the magazine manually with two strips, lock back into place and cock the gun. The weapon’s primary mechanisms were also exposed to the air not only making maintenance a constant issue but also requiring constant oiling and greasing. So much in fact, that you were expected to oil the firing mechanism BETWEEN RELOADS! Even had a little cover on top you could slide open before dribbling the oil in. This resulted in a very oily and greasy weapon that had mud and dirt stick to it constantly. Now, combine this with North African sand…Even in the best conditions? It wasn’t very accurate, had a slow rate of fire and would jam so often you sometimes couldn’t get a full magazine out without needing to unjamming the gun multiple times. This was some early war model, right? They learned from their mistake and replaced it right? NOPE! Because of resource shortages and the quantity of the weapon already produced it was decided to keep the model in use until the end of the war. Oh, and it also used the same round tipped bullets as the Carcano.
- Breda 38: Considering the ur…State of the regular light machine gun vehicle crews were very glad to receive their own separate model. The Breda 38 was more on the heavier side for a LMG but it’s compact size better suited the cramped space of a tank with much better accuracy and reliability. While limited by a top mounted 24 round magazine it was very simple and easy to maintain along with having a heavy barrel which in a vehicle allowed the weapon to fire much more often before overheating, which thanks to a quick-change barrel was remedied quickly. It was effective enough that tri-pods were produced so the weapon could be deployed with the infantry.
- Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935.jpg: Essentially just a Fiat–Revelli Modello 1914 taken out of storage and modified to take a belt feed and replace the water-cooled barrel with an air one. Probably the most traditional machine gun used by the Italians despite the barrel overheating, jamming issues and rounds cooking off in the chamber.
Anti-Tank Infantry Weapons
Well, mostly. Italian forces had access to anti-tank grenades (as talked about below) but their primary…Really ONLY anti-tank weapon was the Solothurn series of rifles which are already covered in the Nazi Equipment page. The RSI was gifted a number of Panzerfausts and Panzershrecks but like before…Covered in their own page. Really, the primary anti-tank weapon for the Italian’s was the Elefantino gun which is covered below being an anti-tank gun and all.
Misc
- Lanciabombe Controcarro 60 mm: Essentially a rifle mounted grenade of special note as unlike the other powers that firing the explosive from the top of the rifle’s own barrel this was a separate barrel attached to the rifle as an addon. If that sounds familiar, yes…The Italians invented the underslung grenade launcher. Well, it was attached to the side but you get the idea. Despite being WAY ahead of its time the attachment didn’t come with its own bolt, requiring the user to manually remove the bolt from the rifle itself before inserting it into the attachment. Also of note was its primary purpose, as these fired anti-tank grenades rather than fragmentation. While not even close to as powerful compared to something like a Bazooka or Panzershreck it did allow the user to arch the shot into hitting the vehicle’s top where the armour was weak. Too bad the single bolt issue was pretty hard to ignore, especially when in the middle of a busy battlefield their users would usually lose the bolt while fighting leaving them without either a working launcher OR rifle!
Artillery pieces and AT-Guns
- Cannone da 47/32 or the Elefantino Gun: The Italian’s primary anti-tank weapon, the weapon nicknamed ‘little elephant’ was about on par with a British 2 pounder while having access to high explosive shells. It was designed more to have maximum impact at short ranges and was relatively light for a weapon of its kind, though this was achieved by removing any kind of gun shield and using an odd axel that would break if towed, meaning these things had to be pushed into battle. A slightly more powerful version was used in Italian’s early tank designs but the gun would remain a primarily infantry based weapon until the end of the war.
- Cannone da 90/53: Originating as a naval cannon the 90/53 was later modified for land in the form of AA and AT guns. In this role it was surprisingly effective much like the German 88, having enough punch to blast open any allied tank in North Africa and Italy. It also served as the main armament of the Semovente 90/53 and while that vehicle had many issues its gun wasn’t one of them. Unfortunately for the Italian’s only about 500 were built, and out of those 48 for vehicle use.
- Obice da 75/18 modello 34: Designed as a mountain gun first and foremost (I mean, you ever been to Italy?) the gun was designed to be easily disassembled and reassembled quickly and efficiently. Also had a nice punch to it, forming the bases of the Semovente 75/18. Probably better known for the funny heat shield style barrel.
Vehicles
Tanks
Now ultimately the previous entries might give the impression that while Italian weaponry was full of issues there were some standout pieces of equipment that would stand the test of time. That is NOT the case with Italian armour. Saying that every Italian tank was rusty old garbage wouldn’t even be much of a stretch. Of cause, this was thanks to a number of factors the designers and manufacturers of these vehicles couldn’t control, not just in terms of resources. Back in the interwar period Italy never really showed much interest in tanks (the opposite was true in WW1 but France couldn’t afford to send them any at the time and their local models were sub-par). After all, Italy was being equipped for a defensive war with the Italian heartland suiting rough inclined battlefields as opposed to European wide-open fields. Another important aspect was that so far tanks were a relatively unproven concept. They were slow, easy targets for artillery and the rise of anti-tank rifles made many nations, not just Italy, cautious about the weapon. When Benito took over Italy his obsession with Italian military domination pushed armoured vehicles hard resulting in Italian designers ripping apart imported designs to see how they worked. Ultimately Italy simply did not have the time or resources to play catchup with the rest of the world. Every time the Italian tank development teams put together something ‘modern’ it had already been made outdated by recent allied tanks. Resource shortages also forced designs to stay in the ‘light tank’ tonnage with only one exception which we’ll get to below. The most infamous aspect of Italian armour was that most vehicles were either riveted or bolted which means if the armoured plates were dented these connecting pieces could shoot out injuring or even killing the crew. This meant high casualties and very low number of veteran crew.
- L3/33-35: Essentially an armoured go-kart. The primary armoured vehicle of the Italian Army, this little thing was produced in such massive that many were sold to other countries including Spain and Finland. An overall reliable and speedy little bugger, it was also somewhat adaptable with access to a flamethrower variant, artillery tractor and a variety equipped with a Solothurn 1000 rifle like a mini tank destroyer. It unfortunately had about as much armour as a wet paper bag though and was so cramped that the gunner would often sit on top of the tank to give the driver some elbow room. Has gained a bit of a following amongst Italian wargamers (that is to say those that play Italians not Italian players) in the same way as the Urbanmech of Battletech fame. That is to say a small, short underdog of a vehicle that excels in the niche conditions it was designed for but lacklustre in the situations it finds itself in by the nature of the game. I mean, look at this thing! It’s adorable!
- L6/40: An attempt to replace the old FIAT 3000 used by Italy since 1921, it was stupidly outdated by the time it entered service and was used up to the battle of Sicily. To make matters even worse the tank was originally designed with reconnaissance in mind (in fact it was quite short to help with this) but due to a lack of vehicles it was instead pushed into the role of primary battle tank on the Eastern Front against T-34s.
- M11/39: Italian’s first attempt at a modern design, this model of tank did not last long as one can expect from just looking at this thing. Just like the similarly shaped M3 Lee it was tall, bulky and having its primary cannon attached to the hull limited its firing arch which when you consider it was primarily designed for a breakthrough roll is kinda nuts. Unlike the Lee however its turret was equipped with machine guns instead of a smaller cannon, had bolted armour and oh! It wasn’t a medium tank at all! Yeah, despite the M standing for medium Italy decided to base their tank sizes on roles, not weight. This means that all tanks with the M moniker produced in Italy during WW2 were actually all light tanks. Thankfully they weren’t around for long. Unfortunately, they were replaced with…
- M13/40-41-42: Considered the ‘primary’ Italian tank of the war, the 40 was the first actual modern tank design from the Italians…Not that it was any good. Besides the typical armour and low firepower issue as mentioned above, the tank was also one of the first to use diesel engines. This allowed the tank to perform for longer periods of time and were less likely to explode when hit, but in the earliest models it would fill the vehicle with smoke forcing its crew to open up all the doors in the middle of combat in order to even see what was happening. This was quickly fixed though following models were more akin to Germany’s variants then full-on new vehicles.
- P26/40: Believe it or not this tank actually entered the initial stages of development back in 1940 but issues pushed the release all the way back to late 1943. Most of this revolved around the designers wanting a traditional petrol engine while the Italian Army wanted a diesel, which granted was better but untested at the time. Didn’t help Italy didn’t have any ground-based engines powerful enough to drives this 26-ton tank and unlike the Allies refused to use repurposed aircraft engines. Requested by Benito himself, the P26/40 was inspired by the heavier tanks of Germany but shifted in 1941 (pushing the design back even further) by encounters with the T-34 and then it’s later variants. What resulted from all this was Italy’s only medium tank, which in regards to its performance was surprising effective. While not exactly a ‘good’ tank the P26 had a pretty decent gun, slow but very reliable mechanics and interesting a dual armour system that combined wielded and riveted structures to make it the most durable of the Italian armoured vehicles. Despite this it still couldn’t stand up to late war heavy guns but could take a hit or two from a Sherman. Despite being without a doubt the best Italian tank of the war the design was in the final stage of prototyping before the Armistice of 1943, though fun fact five of these prototypes were actually in Rome when this all went down and were used by the defending Italians during the fall of the city. It would see production by the RSI under German watch with the Nazis receiving and using so many its falsely believed to have been used by the German forces exclusively! Turns out it was somewhat popular as it was much more reliable than the heavier late war German tanks though there was a lot of criticism at its cramped two-person turret.
Tank Destroyers/Assault Guns
Turns out while Italian tanks were mostly garbage their destroyers were surprisingly effective, which makes sort of sense when you consider tank destroyers were often used as budget tanks. Most of Italy’s larger guns were reserved for their destroyers and while their variety like tanks was limited, each one performed remarkably well.
- Semovente da 47/32: …Ok, maybe not ALL their tank destroyers were effective. Based on the L6/40 chassis the 47/32 up-gunned the design with an Elefantino while bolting on some extra armour. In fact, it was the most armoured Italian vehicle that fought on the Eastern Front. While the Elefantino could arguably be effective as an infantry support weapon early war, as a dedicated anti-tank cannon? Yeah, this thing was pinging off T-34s the moment it entered service.
- Semovente da 75/18: After the P26/40 saw setback after setback it was decided there had to be an interim vehicle to support the outclassed M13 series. While inspired by the Stug III it was instead used as short ranged artillery support until the increasing usage of medium tanks forced their use in close quarters as tank destroyers. Despite not being the original purpose of the design its 75mm cannon and HEAT ammunition proved devastating to the Shermans and Lees it came across. While using the same bolted armour as the M13 its smaller silhouette and extra added armour increased its survivability. While not produced in huge numbers they were far from uncommon and ultimately went down in history as the one Italian vehicle the allies feared. Since most allied heavy tanks were kept for the Western Front the 75/18 stay effective throughout the whole war.
- Semovente da 75/34: Not much to say about this one…it’s pretty much the M13/42 chassis Semovente 75/18 but with a larger gun, most likely to provide the same punch without the reliance on HEAT ammunition. Only serious change was the front armour being made from a single plate instead of having an extra plate bolted onto to the M13s standard. Some were used during the Defence of Rome but was mostly used by the RSI and Germany.
- Semovente da 105/25: Originally conceived as a self-propelled gun made from the P26/40 chassis, the ongoing development of the base model and the success of the 75/18 ultimately saw the M13/42 chassis taking on this 105mm monster of a gun. Despite its size and power the vehicle remained enclosed with little issue, the gun able to obliterate anything it aimed at. The gun was even repurposed for defensive bunkers within the Vallo Alpino line. Just like above, some were used during the Defence of Rome but most saw action with the RSI and Germans.
- Semovente da 105/25: When the inability for Italian armour to so much as scratch the T34s and KV-2s on the Eastern Front the call for a vehicle dedicated to raw firepower was called for. At the time, the Cannone da 90/53 seen above was the only practical choice though sacrifices had to be made to the eventual design. Armour was paper thin (seen as a non-issue with the guns range) as well as being opened topped and reared. Probably the worst issue was ammunition. The vehicle itself only had space for eight rounds although a ‘novel’ solution was found. A number of old outdated L6/40 tanks were transformed into ammunition carriers following these 105/25s while also dragging along additional ammunition carriages. Few were made since most Cannone da 90/53s were needed for air defence. While seeing action in North Africa and Sicily, they never saw action on the Eastern Front.
Halftracks and Armoured Cars
- Autoblindo 40-41-43: Uniquely, the Autoblindo 40 was actually revised and redesigned a few times during its development thanks to its original purpose for recon and policing duties including in oversea colonies. Essentially the car was built from the ground up to perform in the same environments Italy would find itself fighting in during the second world war allowing the vehicle to operate for much longer times compared to their somewhat slapped together allied equivalents. The 41 simply replaced the turrets weapons from two machine guns to a 20mm Breda autocannon in order to make the vehicle more capable during skirmishes with similar vehicles. A more original design similar to the German armoured cars was in mind for the 42 model, but since it had North Africa in mind development stopped after Italy left the area. Instead, the 41 was improved with a better engine and improved armour. It ultimately performed well in all theatres and was even well liked by the Germans who used it.
- Autoprotetto S.37: While the Italian Army knew from the start of the war that they would need their own armoured personal carriers the three designs proposed being…Less than impressive. The S.37 was the only one to actually see production and was literally just a failed armoured car design with the turret ripped off. Uniquely, despite being designed for transporting squads it used four-wheels left over from the original armoured car design rather than being a half-track preferred by the other major powers. This allowed the vehicle to move faster and was easier to produce and keep running, though naturally had a lot more trouble on muddy off the road terrain. Carried eight men (not great, but not terrible) while having the option for a machine gut both at the front and back, but usually had it at the back. There were also two variants both replacing most of its carry capacity for either a flamethrower or a Elefantino gun.
Airplanes
- Fiat CR.42 Falco: Before the start of the war biplanes were on their final days, though this doesn’t mean they weren’t still desirable. Beside price and ease of construction monoplanes were still a new, relatively untested design. Most of the major powers saw the numerous advantages that came with monoplanes but most importantly they also had the funds and resources to develop a number of failures. Secondary powers though like Spain, Poland and the Balkan states needed something tried, tested and guaranteed to actually fly. That’s where Italy came in…Yeah despite the reputation their weapons received after the war, before the war Italy was quite the arms dealer, especially to other Fascists or nations sympathetic to the Axis cause. The Fiat CR.42 was probably their best product not only selling a trusted weapon but used many design techniques from the more modern monoplanes. This resulted in a plane more manoeuvrable than a monoplane with a well armoured strengthened frame. Most well known for their use by Spain, the Hungarian Resistance and…Well…Italy, the plane was extremely adaptable being easily equipped for recon, dogfighting and ground attack. Apparently, it was REALLY good at that last one too, with some sources claiming it had a 1 to 12 kill ratio in Hungary.
- Fiat G.50 Freccia : One of Italy’s first monoplane designs, it was quite fast and manoeuvrable during its first deployment in the Spanish Civil War though like many Italian fighters they used Breda-SAFAT machine guns which were unreliable, jammed often, low velocity and low rate of fire. It did have good range so…You know…I guess it has that. Once the war started though they were vastly outclassed by the British fighters they were often sent against.
- Macchi C.202 Folgore: The mainstay fighter of the Italian airforce, this monoplane kicked ass. Introduced in 1941 it was durable, fast, manoeuvrable and actually mass produced! It even outperformed the Messerschmitt Bf 109 in North Africa and has been credited as a very underrated fighter by many aces on both sides. Despite this though it did have a habit of entering bad spins, had the same shitty machine guns as above and had radios so bad the pilots often had to wiggle their flaps to communicate. Still, as an actual plane it was top notch but those failings as well as the rapid evolution of aircraft at the time led the model to be used for training and garrison after the 1943 Armistice.
- Fiat G.55 Centauro: Declared by the Luftwaffe as the best Axis fighter, the Fiat G.55 had many of the same advantages as the C.202 but didn’t have the same mechanical issues, while also FINALLY getting rid of those machine guns for German replacements. While it was built in smaller numbers and mostly used by the RSI it performed incredibly and was one of the few planes they had that could fight at high altitude.
- Savoia-Marchetti SM.79: Arguably one of Italy’s most well-known military planes, if not downright the most famous of their three engine designs, the SM.79 actually started out as a civilian airliner focusing primarily on speed while also providing a rather sizable hull for passenger transport. Putting the focus on speed over space it was still limited to only eight passengers but in the former regard it was record breaking thanks to its three powerful engines. Many public test flights and races were organized by the Italian government as a propaganda tool and after it became clear they didn’t have to fudge the numbers to come out with a win, discussions on turning the aircraft into a military design were quickly organized. The idea of a medium bomber came naturally with its size and free space, modifying the design to be equipped with four to five machine guns and a bomb bay. On top of that the plane was famously manoeuvrable and easy to control, capable of even doing a loopty-loop! Wasn’t that much of a slouch on durability either…Some had to be sacrificed for the speed but it wasn’t fragile for the time. Sadly, it did come with a couple of issues coming from the original civilian design, mostly in regards to its inability to install turrets and the shape limiting its capacity to hold larger bombs to only a couple (though smaller bombs could be carried in typical quantities). When it saw battle in the Spanish Civil War it was so good at outrunning and outfighting the interceptors it came up against, they weren’t even given escort fighters furthering its reputation. Sadly, while used till the end of the war newer planes quickly caught up with its performance and it was soon brought low by Allied planes.
Ships
To sum up the Regia Marina (and this is a VERY short summery considering they were the fifth largest navel power) the Italian navy started the war with a massive fleet, though most of these ships were of an earlier design. Still, they weren’t exactly lacking…Many sources show the Italian ships to be great in design often able to complete against the allies in a fair one on one fight. Issue came with modernisation. While Italy STARTED with a huge navy, they didn’t really have the production capacity to replace them quickly and these ships also lacked radar and sonar. This meant that a fair one on one fight was very infrequent while having your fleets ass handed to you at night or in a storm more common. They also purposefully elected to give up on any sort of air arm for the navy since it was seen as unnecessary. After all, no doubt the military might of Italy was about wash over the Mediterranean coast like a flood meaning naval fleets would always be in range of an Italian airbase. This of cause, did not happen. Italian crews weren’t really trained all that well either. Special note should be made about those sailors however as during the 1943 disarmament by Germany almost the entire navy proceeded to tell their ally to fuck off. Those that didn’t hoist the anchor and sail right into the arms of the Allied powers fought to the bitter end on land or skuttled their ships. Hell, there’s a number of ports kept out of German hands thanks to the heroics of these sailors. It wasn’t in vain either. Without the Italian navy Germany had to give up on the Mediterranean completely while also forcing the RSI and Germans to position troops along the coast of Northern Italy to prevent Allied landings taking pressure off the Allied and Co-Belligerent armies.
Wunderwaffen
Hahahaha…Oh wait, you’re serious. Let me laugh even louder. AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Misc
- Breda Mod. 35: The 35 along with other series of similar hand grenades was the Italians bread and butter when it came to anti-personal explosives. Often called Red Devils because…Well…Just look at the damn thing, the striking paint job was actually pretty typical at the time. Everyone getting a hand grenade only really became common practice after WW1 so color coding explosives to maximize safety was typical for many countries including America, hence why early Pacific troops had yellow grenades. What made the Italian grenade stand out was its choice of fuse, contact instead of timed. Once activated it would detonate once it was impacted by force meaning it would go off the moment it landed. While the advantages are obvious there were a few reasons other countries avoided this. Activating a grenade only to drop it was a much more deadly mistake with these, plus veteran soldiers would quickly get a feel for the timer and actually manage to get their grenade off while it was still at chest height causing maximum casualties to the enemy. The final reason, which turned out to be an advantage for the Italians, was how fickle the mechanism was. Basically, if you fought in an area with soft ground like say, the deserts of North Africa, the grenade would sometimes not go off on impact. Of cause, the grenade was still armed though and even touching the thing could cause it to detonate. If you toss one into a British foxhole either it immediately went off killing a bunch of guys inside or it wouldn’t and instead just sit there, nice noticeable red in color, telling the troops in the hole they were now sitting on a ticking timebomb that would turn whoever touched it nice meat paste. This could lead to MORE soldiers than who have been killed abandoning the hole and getting shot as they retreated. That, and most Allied troops (especially American) was trained to fight the Germans and Japanese not Italians…So a fresh squad out of training would see a red can in the ground, go “Oh what’s this?” and vanish in a cloud of blood.
- Breda Mod. 42: Despite the name the 42 was actually an anti-tank grenade instead of a fragmentation like the 35. The name was actually a reference to the fact that mechanically it was pretty much the same grenade using an anti-tank charge and a stick for further throws. Not much more to say beyond that except it was the primary ant-tank weapon of the Italian infantry. No Bazooka for you buddy.
- Passaglia Grenade and OTO Mod. 42: Since the Breda Mod. 42 wasn’t developed till 1942, Italian soldiers in the early years slapped together their own AT grenades in the form of Passaglia grenades. Essentially a bag with some dynamite in it, it was attached to a Mod. 35 to act as a fuse. It was heavy, unstable, difficult to throw and since it relied on concussive force to cause damage it was only effective when tossed onto the engine block. While ineffective it was still examined back in Italy and helped inspire a sister project to the Mod. 42. This new bomb, the OTO Mod. 42, was a large thick glass bottled filled with a mixture of 50% gasoline and 50% flamethrower fluid. It didn’t actually come with any form of explosive or ignition making them safer to transport and carry. Instead, once one was needed, the user would stuff a regular grenade into the neck of the bottle before tossing this double grenade at the enemy. This essentially makes it a few molotovs taped to a stick grenade and tossed together. As you can probably expect they were quite effective but did have some issues such as its short range, unstable nature and difficulty transporting (we did say it was safer, not easier…)
- Brixia Model 35: Mostly known for having a top mounted clip and a nice pad to sit on, this light mortar was known for its surprising accuracy and staggering rate of fire. In fact, it could fire rounds so quickly they had to teach the crews to slow down less they damage the barrel. It also as mentioned came with a comfy little pat so the user could sit or lay upon it for hours without feeling as uncomfortable. Issue came from its complicated nature and light shells lacking any real punch. The clip that sticks out on top isn’t the explosive rounds but separate ignition cartridges. If you are unaware this is how modern cannon-mortars work meaning this is another Italian WW2 weapon that was ahead of its time.
- Mortaio da 81/14 Modello 35: Based on the already well-liked Brandt 81 mm Mle 1927 French mortar the design was further tweaked and messed with to improve the already impressive range and cutting back on weight. As you can probably guess it was very successful and quite popular.
- Breda 20/65 mod.35: Probably the best well known stationary gun of the Italians, this light AA gun isn’t so much known for its performance (it was sub-par on release, was improved to ‘ok’) but because it was used EVERYWHERE. As you read above Italy and machine guns did not mix well so whenever a vehicle or defensive position needed some heavy rapid-fire weaponry the 20/65 was sought out instead. It had enough punch to deal with most light tanks, didn’t jam every five seconds and was rather light for its purpose. The only serious issue it had was a structural fault that meant dragging it faster than 20 kph could damage the frame so it was often transported (and used) on trucks.
- Lanciafiamme Modello 35-40: Pretty typical for a inter war period flamethrower, the 35 model was rather heavy and required two soldiers (one for the lance, one to carry the tank) in protective gear which granted wasn’t exactly uncommon at the time while the 40 shrunk it down to a more familiar single soldier backpack. Considering the reputation of Italian weaponry, one would think strapping on one of their flamethrowers would be a very, VERY bad idea though thankfully for their users they weren’t much more dangerous than other flamethrower of the time. Both varieties were heavier and had a shorter range however.
- SPA-Viberti AS.42: Funnily enough based on the chassis of Autoblindo 41 rather than a armoured car based on an established vehicle, the AS.42 was created to fulfill the armies request for a long range reconnaissance and raiding inspired by the successful British units of the same variety. While these British models were either jeeps or smaller armoured cars the AS.42 was quite a lot longer with additional seating. This also provided space to equip much larger weapons giving Italy access to a fast-moving heavy weapon platform. It also carried up to 20 jerry cans giving in incredible longevity along with two machine guns standard with the extra space allowing the installation of either a Breda mod.31, S-18/1000 rifle or a Elefantino gun. They performed well, as despite overall having a larger shape they had quite the short profile making it easy to hide plus the cans and extra space gave in much longer longevity then their allied counterparts.