L6/40 (31 Rgt.)

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Rank VI USSR | Premium | Golden Eagles
Su-25K Pack
This page is about the Italian premium light tank L6/40 (31 Rgt.). For the regular version, see L6/40.
L6/40 (31 Rgt.)
it_l6_leone.png
GarageImage L6-40 (31 Rgt.).jpg
L6/40 (31 Rgt.)
AB RB SB
1.0 1.0 1.0
Purchase:250 Specs-Card-Eagle.png
Show in game

Description

The L6/40 31 Rgt. (introduced in Update "Danger Zone") is a tracked light tank made by Ansaldo for the Royal Italian army during the 1940's. The L6/40 would be based on a heavily modified L3 chassis, keeping the two-person crew, but with an increase in firepower, protection and mobility. It would be heavily used during the occupation of the balkans where it did prove it worth. It would be armed with the 20 mm Breda Mod.35 autocannon which was able to fire a multitude of munitions, this included the Perforante mod.35 and the German made PzGr 40. In game this armament is more than adequate for its battle rating as the majority of the enemies it will face do not have a lot of armour. It also has great turret rotation which is something which will be useful when flanking or when the enemy team flanks you. Mobility wise its not too bad either, what it lacks in however is survivability, the crew placement means that a well placed shot will instantly destroy your vehicle, and due to the lackluster armour you will more often than not be taken out even by low calibre guns. It's best if you stick with your more armoured allies if you wish to stay in the fight longer.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back
Hull30 / 15 / 15
Turret30 / 15 / 15
Crew2 people
Visibility74 %

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret, gun mantlet)
  • Cast homogeneous armour (hull rear: centre housing)
Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 30 mm (11°) Upper plate
15-20 mm (75°) Upper glacis
30 mm (6°) Lower plate
15 mm (70°) Lower glacis
15 mm 15 mm 15-20 mm (15°) Upper glacis
10 mm Centre section
10 mm (20°) Rear section
Turret 25 mm (cylindrical) Turret front
30 mm Gun mantlet
40 mm (12°) Turret frame
15 mm 25 mm (16°) Hatch
15 mm (16°)
10 mm

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick while bogies are 10 mm thick.
  • Mudguards are 5 mm thick.

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB47 / 8 km/h
RB and SB43 / 7 km/h
Number of gears4 forward
1 back
Weight6.8 t
Engine power
AB130 hp
RB and SB68 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB19.1 hp/t
RB and SB10.0 hp/t
Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 47 8 6.8 105 130 15.44 19.12
Realistic 43 7 60 68 8.82 10

Modifications and economy

Repair cost
AB322 Sl icon.png
RB172 Sl icon.png
SB138 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications4 620 Rp icon.png
465 Sl icon.png
Crew training150 Sl icon.png
Experts1 000 Sl icon.png
Aces20 Ge icon.png
Research Aces145 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
Talisman.png 2 × 20 / 20 / 20 % Sl icon.png
Talisman.png 2 × 75 / 75 / 75 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
600 Rp icon.png
Cost:
60 Sl icon.png
60 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
410 Rp icon.png
Cost:
40 Sl icon.png
40 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Mods tank reinforcement it.png
Crew Replenishment
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
600 Rp icon.png
Cost:
60 Sl icon.png
60 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
410 Rp icon.png
Cost:
40 Sl icon.png
40 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
20mm_Breda_APHE_ammo_pack
Research:
410 Rp icon.png
Cost:
40 Sl icon.png
40 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
750 Rp icon.png
Cost:
75 Sl icon.png
75 Ge icon.png
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support
Research:
720 Rp icon.png
Cost:
75 Sl icon.png
70 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
20mm_kwk_30_APCR_ammo_pack
Research:
720 Rp icon.png
Cost:
75 Sl icon.png
70 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Main armament

Ammunition280 rounds
Belt capacity8 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
7.8 → 6.0 s
Fire rate240 shots/min
Vertical guidance-12° / 20°
Main article: Breda Mod.35 (20 mm)
20 mm Breda Mod.35 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 280 (8) 240 -12°/+20° ±180° N/A 22.8 31.6 38.4 42.5 45.2 7.80 6.90 6.36 6.00
Realistic 14.3 16.8 20.4 22.6 24.0

Ammunition

  • Default: API-T · HEFI-T*
  • Perforante mod.35: API-T
  • PzGr 40: HVAP-T · API-T

Penetration statistics
Ammunition Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
10 m 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
HEFI-T* 5 5 4 3 2 2
API-T 38 36 27 19 14 10
HVAP-T 48 45 31 20 13 8
Shell details
Ammunition Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
mass (kg)
Fuse delay
(m)
Fuse sensitivity
(mm)
Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
HEFI-T* 830 0.14 0.04 0.1 3 79° 80° 81°
API-T 832 0.14 1.2 9 1.7 47° 60° 65°
HVAP-T 1,050 0.1 - - - 66° 70° 72°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the L6/40 (identical).
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
5th
rack empty
6th
rack empty
7th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
35 29 (+6) 24 (+11) 23 (+12) 22 (+13) 13 (+22) (+27) (+34) No

Notes:

  • Ammunition is modeled as clips of 8 rounds.
  • Clips disappear after having been shot/loaded.

Machine guns

Ammunition1 536 rounds
Belt capacity24 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate600 shots/min
Main article: Breda Mod. 38 (8 mm)
8 mm Breda Mod. 38
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 1,536 (24) 600 N/A N/A

Usage in battles

Combat tactics

The L6/40 possesses a level of versatility which allows it to play in a variety of roles with varying efficiency. As a frontline tank, one must maintain a short engagement distance (up to 200 m if possible) and exploit its small size to hide in almost all types of cover. The autocannon's efficiency will allow the player to dispatch of most enemies even frontally, and can knock out cannon barrels and tracks if it is unable to.

Flanking is another way to best use the tank's advantages. It is relatively mobile and the autocannon will be more reliable against the side armour of the enemy vehicles. Additionally, by flanking, one will artificially increase the L6/40's survivability, as it is not going to be the main target of fire in the initial stages of the player's ambush. This removes the reliance on the protection which, as previously mentioned, is not an aspect that will consistently save it.

Playing at range and sniping is almost pointless as the armament quickly loses penetration over range and struggles to penetrate even lightly armoured opponents.

Whichever playstyle one chooses, it is important to always play to the strengths of the vehicle, mainly the automatic armament and reactive turret traverse speed.

Notable enemies
How to defeat a L6/40

Stay at a distance of at least 500 m to negate its firepower. If the L6/40's armour profile is unangled, fire at the front plate underneath the turret to guarantee the incapacitation of the crew. If the tank is heavily angled, a shot into the very thin side armour will likely penetrate. Finally, if the L6/40 is adequately angled and neither the front nor side can be penetrated, the player's best shot is to fire at the corner plate between the front and side, which normalizes upon angling. This is one's only chance to fire at a flat plate in this situation.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Potent armament with good penetration and damage output
  • Great turret rotation
  • Good acceleration
  • Adequate mobility

Cons:

  • Poor suspension damping, it takes about 2 seconds to settle after stopping the vehicle
  • Limited crew of 2
  • Low rate of fire
  • Limited magazines of 8 rounds
  • Hull side can be penetrated by 0.50 cal machine guns

History

Main article: History of the L6/40

The story of the L6/40 began during the late 1930s, Ansaldo assisted by FIAT were creating a multitude of prototypes in the hopes that it would take over many of the roles of the L3 Tankette. Ansaldo would mainly take on the idea and the doctrine of mountain combat when designing new vehicles; due to the Italian involvement in WW1, they thought that allowing a vehicle to be easily transported to the tops of high mountains would ultimately give them the upper hand if in the future there was a chance for another world war to take place.

This is exactly what they did with the L6/40: they kept the vehicle as light as possible. It would be based on a heavily modified L3 chassis, keeping the two-person crew, but with increased firepower, protection, and mobility. The L6/40 as previously stated, would be designed with mountain-worthy combat specifications in mind. The vehicle had a width of 1.8 metres, this allowed it to travel on all the mountain roads and mule trails that other vehicles of the era would have a much harder time passing through. Its weight would overall be 6.84 tonnes, its name stood for L for Light, 6 for its weight, and 40 for its year of adoption in the Royal Italian Army.

By the time it was accepted for service in early 1940, it was adequate as a reconnaissance tank and as a general support vehicle to supplement infantry and other armoured columns when travelling. However, when it entered general service in 1942 it was hopelessly obsolete, mainly due to the fact that the Italian industry was not able to compete with other nations like the USSR and the USA. Italy created many designs for armoured vehicle during the era too, so it wasn't really a priority for them to try and rectify the vehicle by improving on it without wasting precious resources into the project. In fact, after 283 units had been built, it was cancelled in favour of the Semovente 47/32.

The main characteristic that made the L6/40 stand-out whilst it was being designed was its mobility, it used a FIAT SPA Tipo 18vt liquid-cooled engine which allowed the vehicle to reach speeds of up to 42 km/h. The L6/40's range was 200 km. In terms of armament, the L6/40 used the 20 mm Breda 35, it was installed on a multitude of vehicles at the time. The cannon was able to fire rounds such as the Italian Perforante mod.35 and the German PzGr.40.

In terms of service, the L6/40 was used in the Raggruppamento Esplorante Corazzato (RECo), the divisional-level armoured reconnaissance task forces found in the order of battle of armoured and motorized divisions, and in several independent reconnaissance units deployed in 4-car platoons. In total, 72 were sent to North Africa, and 55 went to Russia on March 1942, where they equipped the 67th Battaglione Motocorazzato Bersaglieri (lightly armoured battalion) in the 3rd Celere (Cavalry) Division. They were the heaviest Italian tanks used on that front. The battalion was destroyed in December 1942 during fighting on the Don River. L6/40 was also employed in Yugoslavia, by the San Guisto light armoured squadron-group of the 1st Celere Division. The L6/40 would proceed to be used all the way to the end of the war, but also would be extensively used post-war by the Celere police force. Some may have survived and remained in service in subsequent years. Some L6/40's have also survived to this day, one can be found in Legnano in Italy, one is in the inventory of the Kubinka Tank Museum in Russia, and another is preserved in the Arms Museum in the castle of Gjirokastër in Albania.

Service in the 31 Rgt.

This particular example of the L6/40 was used by the Italian 31 Rgt to counter guerrilla warfare in the Balkans, specifically in Albania in the years of 1942 and 1943. This L6/40 would also provide protection to key infrastructure in captured Yugoslavian territory. The Italian army would operate up to 55 units of this vehicle in that theatre. This L6/40 has a Lion painted on it, which acted as a sort of mascot for troops stationed there. After the armistice most of the units operating there would be taken by the German army.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

Skins

See also

External links


FIAT-Ansaldo
Autoblindo  AB 41 · AB 43
Light Tanks  L6/40 · L6/40 (31 Rgt.)
Medium Tanks  Celere Sahariano
M11/39  M11/39
M13/40  M13/40 (I) · M13/40 (II) · M13/40 (III)
M14/41  M14/41 · M14/41 (47/40)
M15/42  M15/42
P40  P40 · P40 "G.C. Leoncello"
Tank Destroyers 
L3/33  L3/33 CC
Semovente L40  47/32 L40
Semovente M41  75/18 M41 · 75/32 M41 · 90/53 M41M
Semovente M42  75/34 M42
Semovente M43  105/25 M43 · M43 "G.C.Leoncello" · 75/34 M43 · 75/46 M43
SPAAs  M42 Contraereo

Italy light tanks
  Italy
L6/40  L6/40 · L6/40 (31 Rgt.)
M11/39  M11/39
Autoblindo  AB 41 · AB 43
Fiat 6614/6616  FIAT 6614 · AUBL/74 · AUBL/74 HVG
R3 Capraia  R3 T106 FA
Centauro  Centauro I 105 · Centauro I 105 R · Centauro I 120 · Centauro RGO · VRCC
Freccia  VBC (PT2) · Freccia
Dardo  Dardo · VCC-80/60 · VCC-80/30
Other  C13 T90
USA  ▄M3A3 · ▄M24 · ▄M18
  Hungary
WWII  Csaba · Toldi IIA
Post  ◔BTR-80A · KF41

Italy premium ground vehicles
Light tanks  L6/40 (31 Rgt.) · Toldi IIA · AUBL/74 HVG · VRCC · Centauro RGO
Medium tanks  M13/40 (II) · Turan II · M14/41 (47/40) · Celere Sahariano · P40 "G.C. Leoncello" · ▄Sherman I Composito · ▄Pz.IV G
  M26 "D.C.Ariete" · M60A1 "D.C.Ariete" · OF-40 (MTCA)
Heavy tanks  Tigris
Tank destroyers  Breda 90/53 · M43 "G.C.Leoncello" · Zrinyi I