Autoblinda AB 41 (Armoured car)

Louis

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The Autoblinda 41 was made with an all-riveted construction, the AB 41 had four-wheel drive and a four wheel steering system that proved troublesome. The spare wheels fitted to its sides were free to rotate, thus helping the vehicle over rough terrain and allowing it to drive over higher obstacles. It could also be fitted with wheels that would allow it to run on railway tracks and some were modified further to better serve in this role, with the addition of sand boxes and rail guards to deflect objects from the rails. This version was designated AB 41 Ferroviaria.

It had six forward gears and four reverse gears, with a driving position at the front and one in the rear, so two crew members were drivers. Was well thought out, with a top speed of over 70 km/h (45 mph), good armour (15 mm on the front plates) and good road and cross-country performance, but there were some examples of poor detail design like difficult access to the powerplant, an unprotected fuel tank, one-man turret, exposed traverse gear and lack of an interior bulkhead separating the engine and crew compartments. Nevertheless, the AB 41 was considered a good vehicle and one of the best armoured cars of its era. Its chassis was later used as a basis for the SPA-Viberti AS.42. About 550 vehicles were built in all. The Italians planned to upgrade the AB 41 with a 47 mm anti-tank gun as the AB 43, but those plans were disrupted by the Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943.

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Were armed with a 20 mm Breda 35 autocannon and a coaxial 8 mm machine gun in a turret and another hull mounted rear-facing 8 mm machine gun.

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luciocecchetti.it
ww2enimagenes.com
 
I was curious about how the name Autoblindo came about. Auto I get but "blindo"? :unsure:

Found it it came from "autoblindomitragliatrice" - armored car machine gun (I translated it using Google)

From Wikipedia:

"During 1937 the Italian Ministry of War issued specifications for a new armoured car (autoblindomitragliatrice), to fulfil the requirements of both colonial police long range patrols and army reconnaissance units for the new armoured formations.[4] In May 1939 the Fiat-SPA and Ansaldo-Fossati consortium unveiled its armoured car proposal, named Abm 1,[5] at the inauguration of the new Fiat Mirafiori plant near Turin; two prototypes had been built, one outfitted for military and one for police use."

 
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