The following is a list of equipment used by the Royal Italian Army (Regio Esercito), Italian Air Force (Regia Aeronautica), and Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina) during World War II.
Lanciafiamme Modello 35
Lanciafiamme Modello 41
Lanciafiamme Modello 41 d'assalto
Breda Mod. 5C 6.5 mm heavy machine gun
Breda Mod. 5G 6.5 mm light machine gun
Breda 30 6.5 mm light machine gun
Breda M31 (licensed copy of the 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun)
Breda 37 8 mm heavy machine gun
Breda 38 8 mm tank machine gun
FM 24/29 (ex-French)
Fiat–Revelli Modello 1914 6.5 mm machine gun
Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935 8 mm Breda machine gun
SIA Mod. 1918 6.5 mm heavy machine gun
Breda-SAFAT machine gun
Italian artillery was usually designated using the calibre and length of the barrel in number of calibre lengths, so "90/53" would mean a weapon with a 90 mm diameter barrel where the length of the barrel was approximately 53 calibre lengths (i.e. 53x90 mm, that is 4.77 m).
See also:
Mortar da. 260/9 1916M (used in Spanish civil war)
203 mm /53 Italian naval gun - main gun on Italian cruisers
Before and during World War II, Italy designed most of their anti-aircraft guns and some its infantry guns to also serve in the anti-tank role. No dedicated anti-tank gun was produced. Listed below is just the guns used in anti-tank role most commonly.
fucile controcarro 35(P) - Wz. 35 anti-tank rifle captured from Poland
Solothurn S-18/100 anti-tank rifle
Solothurn S-18/1000 anti-tank rifle
Solothurn S-18/1100 anti-tank rifle
Panzerfaust - one-shot disposable recoilless shaped charge launcher imported from Germany
Lanciabombe Controcarro 60 mm - HEAT rifle grenade capable of penetrating 70 mm RHA at 80 m
All calibers of AA guns were also mounted in portee trucks in dual roles (ground attack and AA).
The Italian designation system for tanks consisted of a letter (L, M or P; designating light, medium and heavy tanks respectively) followed by two numbers: one giving the approximate weight in tons, the other giving the year it was accepted for service. Thus "M11/39" means the 11 ton medium tank of 1939. The Italian definitions of light, medium and heavy tank differ from other nations at the time. For instance the Italian "medium" tanks are often described as "light" in other sources.
The L3 tankette was also a basis for several engineering vehicles.
During World War II, Italy regularly mounted cannons on portee trucks. Also, permanent installation of guns on trucks and armored cars were done on ad-hoc basis, therefore many self-propelled guns had no official name besides descriptive type of truck plus type of cannon. Below is the grossly incomplete list of these self-propelled weapons.
Autocannone Sahariana Corta da 75/27 - cannon installed on truck TL 37
102/35 on SPA 9000
102/35 on Fiat 634N
Carro Commando Per Reparto Semovente da 75/18
Autocannoni da 75
Breda Dovunque 90/53
Breda Autocannone Blindato Tipo 102
Autocannone da 90 - Lancia 3 RO Chassis
Fiat 611 AT - SP ATG armed with 37mm cannon
L.3/Solothurn or L.3/cc (antitank) - changes made on several specimens directly from the operational departments in Italian North Africa in 1941. In place of the twin machine guns an S-18/1000 Solothurn 20 mm anti-tank rifle was mounted, which could penetrate the armor of British armored cars and light tanks.
Trubia - experimental version of the Spanish armed with a gun Breda 20/65 Mod 1935 20mm.
Chariot anti-tank gun or self-propelled L3 47/32 - prototype self-propelled gun armed with a 47/32 mm; trying "desperately" to adapt to the new demands of war the L3 Chariot had a very similar design to the Panzerjäger I (which was also derived from the most common light tank in the army of adoption, the Panzer I). The hull, superstructure private, had a front antitank gun 47/32 cowl, which was to protect the crew and the rest of the half was equal to the chassis of L .3, although the photo of the prototype seems that the suspensions were a mainspring. Probably would not be successful, since the recoil while content of 47/32 could, in the long run detrimental to the operation of the medium.
Engineering and command
L.3/r - command tank with radio inside, deployed in all tankette units
L.3 carro recupero - experimental version for the recovery of damaged vehicles.
L.3 da demolizione - radio-controlled prototype for the destruction of the minefields.
L6/40 ammunition carrier
L6/40 command tank
Breda-32
Breda-40
Breda-41
ОМ-32 Autocarretta da Montagna
ОМ-36DM
SPA TL.37
SPA CL39
SPA ТМ40
Alfa Romeo 430RE
Alfa Romeo 800RE
Breda Dovunque-41
Bianchi Miles
Ceirano-50СМ
FIAT-626 NM
Isotta Fraschini D65
Isotta Fraschini D80
SPA Dovunque-35
SPA Dovunque-41
SPA AS.37
SPA-38R
FIAT-633NM
FIAT-634N
FIAT-666
Fiat 661
Lancia Ro
Lancia 3Ro
Lancia EsaRo
ОМ Taurus
ОМ Titano
Alfa Romeo 6С2500 Coloniale
FIAT-508СМ
Balilla-1100 Coloniale
Lancia Aprilia Coloniale
Benelli 500 M36
Benelli 500 VLM
Bianchi Supermil 500
Gilera 500 LTE
Moto Guzzi Alce
Moto Guzzi Trialce
Volugrafo Aermoto 125
Tractors and prime movers
L.3 trattore leggero - hypothetical version for towing the gun da. 47/32
Pavesi Р4.31 (L140)
Fiat 727 - half-track artillery tractor
SPA TM40 - wheeled artillery tractor
Breda 61 - half-track artillery tractor, a licensed copy of the German Sd.Kfz. 7
Carro Veloce 29 (armored car) - may be misspelled or fictitious
The Italy was late on the radar development; At the date of the armistice in 1943, 84 of 85 radars in operation were German-built. Italian Army and Navy have deployed a network of radar detectors and jammers though.
ARGO - domestically developed air warning radar in Pratica di Mare Air Base
FREYA - sold by Germans 1 July 1942, later transported to Sicily
RTD Arghetto or Vespa - prototype of airborne 300 MHz radar
See also: Armi avanzate della Seconda Guerra Mondiale/Appendix 4 (wikibook)
Cartridges and shells
6.5×52mm Mannlicher–Carcano
7.35×51mm Carcano
9mm Glisenti
