Tankopedia
InterwarLightTanketteItaly

Carro Veloce L3/35

In service 1935 - 1945

Tiny Italian machine-gun tankette built in huge numbers and outclassed everywhere.

Built byFiat-Ansaldo

Carro Veloce L3/35
Carro Veloce CV-35, Patriot Museum Kubinka — Alan Wilson, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

Development history

Based on the British Carden-Loyd carrier, the L3 gave Italy an armoured vehicle it could afford in quantity. With no turret, no cannon and paper-thin armour it was hopeless against real tanks, though flamethrower and radio versions found niche use in Ethiopia, Spain and the Balkans.

Variants

One canonical record, 3 recorded variants.

  1. CV33

    1933

    First series with a single 6.5 mm machine gun.

  2. L3/35

    1935

    Twin 8 mm Breda machine guns; standard production version.

  3. L3 Lf

    1936

    Flamethrower version with a towed fuel trailer.

Notable actions

  • Second Italo-Ethiopian War 1935-1936
  • Spanish Civil War
  • Greece and Yugoslavia 1941