sillygoose
Well-known member
What if ASBs take pity on the Italian army and replace all their tanks at the start of Italian entry in WW2 with the P26/40?
It would be nearly equivalent to the Panzer IV of 1942 with better armor but a worse gun, though that gun would be plenty for the primary Italian theater in North Africa. It would be plenty to take out the Matilda and IIRC even be enough against the M4 Sherman, but only within 500m.
All existing Italian tanks are upgraded to the P26/40 and all production converted to make these tanks and their chassis exclusively. If the Italians opt to turn them into an assault gun configuration they can later.
So this would mean for the invasion of Egypt they have a reliable and desertified tank that would be the best AFV in the world at that point, which actually would help with a lot of the problems they had since most of their tanks broke down long before seeing any combat in 1940 and were captured in repair depots by the British when they attacked. There would be several hundred in Libya too:
How would this impact the 1940 campaign and fighting going forward given that they'd have the best tanks in theater until 1942? And better tanks than the Germans until then.
It would be nearly equivalent to the Panzer IV of 1942 with better armor but a worse gun, though that gun would be plenty for the primary Italian theater in North Africa. It would be plenty to take out the Matilda and IIRC even be enough against the M4 Sherman, but only within 500m.
All existing Italian tanks are upgraded to the P26/40 and all production converted to make these tanks and their chassis exclusively. If the Italians opt to turn them into an assault gun configuration they can later.
So this would mean for the invasion of Egypt they have a reliable and desertified tank that would be the best AFV in the world at that point, which actually would help with a lot of the problems they had since most of their tanks broke down long before seeing any combat in 1940 and were captured in repair depots by the British when they attacked. There would be several hundred in Libya too:
The two battalions had an establishment of 600 men, 72 tanks, 56 vehicles, 37 motorcycles and 76 trailers. The medium tanks reinforced the 324 L3/35 tankettes already in Libya.[1]
How would this impact the 1940 campaign and fighting going forward given that they'd have the best tanks in theater until 1942? And better tanks than the Germans until then.
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