| “ | Those little units are "Carro Veloces", Sir! All they've got left are their tankettes! - Kowalski, Hide And Seek |
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The L3/35 Carro Veloce ("fast tank") was probably one of the fastest tanks ever built; unfortunately, it was also one of the most fragile. Dubbed "tankette" more often than "tank" by its crews for its almost nonexistant armor, the L3/35's main quality, in addition to its high speed, was its two 8mm machine-guns that could devastate infantry platoons in mere seconds.
Cheap and plentiful, it is best used to support infantry. It is much better than its Allied counterpart, the Vickers light tank. The Carro Veloce has stronger guns, better mobility and is faster than the Vickers, yet this tank should preferably ignored by players because of it's lack of armor (it has a vehicle armor, thus ordinary fighters can take out this tank) and because the Carro M-11 can be dispatched instead, with the same price yet more firepower.
History
There were three different types of Carro Veloce, the L3/33, L3/35, and the L3/38.
L3/33
The Carro Veloce CV-33 or L3/33 was a tankette originally built in 1933 and used by the Italian Army before and during World War II. Many CV-33s were retrofitted to meet the specifications of the CV-35 in 1935. In 1938, the CV-33 was re-named the "L3/33" while the retrofitted CV-35s became known as "L3/35s." The original CV-33 carried a two-man crew protected by 12 mm of welded armor and was armed with a single 6.5 mm machine gun. The L3/33 saw action in Abyssinia, China, Spain, France, the Balkans, North Africa, Italian East Africa, Italy, and Russia.
L3/35
In 1935, a slightly improved model of the CV-33 was introduced and designated as the CV-35. The primary differences were that the armour was bolted rather than riveted and the single 6.5 mm machine gun was replaced with twin 8 mm machine guns. Many older CV-33s were retrofitted to meet the specifications of the CV-35. In 1938, the vehicles were redesignated as the L3/33 ("L" for Leggero or 'light') and the L3/35.
L3/38
In 1938, further development of the L3 design designated into the L3/38. The L3/38 had torsion bar suspension and two versions of a single mounted 13.2 mm machine gun. Brazil bought 24 L3/38s in 1937. The L3/38s arrived in Brazil in 1938. The L3/38 exported version to Brazil was "CV33/II". The "II" represents the second version of the original L3/33 version. The L3/35 version exported to Brazil would be "CV33/I" (the CV33 or L3/33 and the CV33/I or L3/35 export versions to Brazil had no torsion bar suspension). The CV33/II Brazilian export had a single 13.2 mm Madsen machine gun. Furthermore, Italy retrofitted 12 known L3/35s to meet the specifications of the L3/38. The converted L3/35s to the L3/38's torsion bar suspension saw limited service in September 1943 until June 1944. These L3/38s versions of the L3/35s had a single mounted 13.2 mm Breda M31 machine gun.
Strategies and Tactics
- This speedy little tank can rip enemy infantry to shreds, but by the mid game it is practically useless, as the enemy will have heavy tanks that will destroy a Carro Veloce in only one hit.
- These tanks, combined with Carro M11s, make a perfect Blitzkrieg at the very start of a game. They can also be used in the mid game in conjunction with tank destroyers to make an efficient anti-tank/anti-infantry war machine, but you should expect to constantly be having to replace these tanks.
- These tanks are also very efficient at slowing an enemy's flow of supplies to his or her base. When deployed at key supply lines, they can disrupt an enemy's war economy and quickly pull out before the enemy has a chance to react.
Pros & Cons
+With 66 total dps, it is one of the most effective anti-infantry units in game, ontop of being the cheapest.
+It is the fastest ground unit ingame.
+Produced from the Barracks, it does not take up space on your tank factories.
-MG unit, it cannot deal with enemy tanks, with the exception of Ha-Go light tanks.
Weapons
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 MG 42 |
33 | 33 | 250m |
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MG 42 |
33 | 33 | 250m |
Gallery
See Also
Wikipedia: L3/33- T-26 - Soviet light tank
- Vickers - British light tank
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