THE ITALIAN TANK P43

ANSALDO/FIAT P 43: The Italian tank rival of the German "Panther"

The P43 was an Italian "heavy tank" that remained at the design stage and was developed in parallel with the P26/40 tank. The P43—also designated P30/43—was developed by FIAT and Ansaldo concurrently with the P26/40, of which it was intended to be a heavier variant. Indeed, the vehicle was projected to weigh 30 tons and would have been powered by a 480 hp engine. The main gun was the same as that of the P26—the 75/34 mm piece. However, while still in the design phase, a 90/42 gun—derived from the 90/53 anti-aircraft cannon—was proposed as an alternative, as was the 105/25 mm gun later mounted on self-propelled guns.

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A photograph exists showing a wooden mockup of the P43 (likely a scale model), displayed alongside other models of a P40 and a "P43 bis"—a 30-ton variant featuring a gun that appears to be a lightweight version of the 90/53 cannon. The same photograph also features a model of a version of the German Panther tank—slightly smaller than the original and equipped with what appears to be a 90/53 gun—which the German side denounced as a plagiarism of the Panzer V Panther, the construction blueprints for which Italy had received for licensed production. It appears that this model, too, was assigned the designation P43 bis (perhaps due to the realization that it would be impossible to bring the 90 mm-armed P43 bis into production in the short term). This overlap in design studies may have stemmed from two sources: intelligence from the Russian Front regarding the new Soviet T-34/85 medium tank—a 32-ton vehicle armed with a gun derived from the 85 mm anti-aircraft cannon—and the availability of data and blueprints for the German Panther. According to various publications, the intended engine configurations were as follows: P26/40—a 330 hp diesel engine, subsequently replaced in production by a 420 hp gasoline engine; P30/43 (or P43)—a 420–430 hp gasoline engine; P.43 bis (armed with a 90/42 mm cannon)—the same 420–430 hp engine; and P.35/43 (or the second P.43 bis variant—a 35-ton scaled-down version of the Panther)—armed with a 90/53 or 90/42 mm cannon and powered by a 470–480 hp engine copied from the Russian T-34 engine, which was itself a diesel adaptation of a French Hispano-Suiza engine.

The 80–100 mm frontal armor of the latter would have placed the tank on an equal footing with machines designed by other nations—such as the 44-ton Russian Josef Stalin 2 tank of 1944 (which featured 122 mm armor) and the 57-ton Tiger I—and superior to that of the 45-ton Panther, which measured 80 mm. Nevertheless, in many respects, it would have remained a tank inferior to its counterparts. This was due primarily to the lack of a modern running gear system, relying instead on leaf-spring suspension—a design truly suitable only for tanks weighing less than 15–20 tons. Furthermore, the industrial resources required to construct it using welded or cast armor plates were lacking; consequently, the design would likely have reverted to riveted armor. This obsolete and hazardous solution was compounded by another glaring deficiency in Italian industry: the poor quality of the steel used for armor plating, which was often forged from relatively soft grades of steel. It would, however, have finally marked the debut of the first Italian tank featuring a three-man turret—thereby enabling the tank commander to truly command the vehicle without being distracted by other duties—albeit many years behind its German counterparts. Moreover, while the 90/53 gun was excellent—and indeed remained superior to other Italian anti-tank weapons of the era—no dedicated anti-tank round for it existed as of 1943; such a round was essential if the tank were to stand any chance of at least matching the capabilities of German and British tanks (though it would still have remained inferior to the premier Soviet tanks). Indeed, from as early as the summer of 1940—and throughout the entire duration of the conflict—the supply of combat vehicles offered by Berlin ran up against the delays of Italian bureaucracy, the private interests of industrial oligarchies, and the shortcomings of military commands. According to official records, for instance, formal German authorization was secured on August 5, 1941, for the licensed production of the *Panzerkampfwagen III*; this was followed in 1942 by similar authorization for the *Panzerkampfwagen IV* (an agreement that would have cost 30 million Reichsmarks and entailed the delivery of three *Panzerkampfwagen IV* units for inspection by Fiat, Ansaldo, and the Ministry of War). Yet, all these attempts ultimately failed due to obstructionism by the Fiat-Ansaldo duopoly, and subsequently due to the crises of July and September 1943. The German offer to Italy regarding the Panther tank is also mentioned in the diary of Marshal Cavallero: “On December 6, 1942, General von Horstig offered the possibility of Italian-led production of the Panther.” Cavallero pointed out that an equivalent production program was already underway (specifically, the project for the 26-ton “heavy” P40 tank); nevertheless—partly for purely diplomatic reasons—he accepted the offer. It was therefore decided that a three-month waiting period would be observed to allow for the translation of the German technical blueprints and to reach an agreement regarding the machinery that would need to be imported to initiate the production line. Furthermore, following an inspection of the P40 tank by two German technicians, two Italian technicians were scheduled to travel to Germany to inspect the Panther. Subsequently, however, Cavallero was informed that the P40 tank was, in reality, still far from completion; he therefore made a note to contact von Horstig to request the transfer of the Maybach engine for use in the P40—and, presumably, to reiterate Italy’s interest in the Panther tank, which had become all the more essential in light of the delays surrounding the domestic project. ...to the construction of the Italian heavy tank. Indeed, even after the arrival of General Ambrosio, negotiations continued. The talks held at the Ministry of War from February 13 to 24, 1943, established that one year after receiving the blueprints, Fiat-Ansaldo would commence production of the tank, aiming for a monthly output—after 18 months—of at least 50 Panthers (with the stipulation that any output exceeding 25 tanks per month would go to the Germans). Furthermore, a letter from the Supreme Command dated February 22, 1943, confirms the Germans' willingness to also directly supply the "Pantera" tank (as it was known in Italy), given that previous discussions had clarified that Italian industry would be unable to begin producing it before 1945. One proposal, for instance, envisioned the supply of complete Panthers in exchange for gun barrels and their corresponding armor shields. In this regard—based on a copy of a request sent to Rome by General Marras, seeking authorization for German technicians to inspect the most recent Italian military vehicles—it came to light that the direct transfer of Panthers would amount to 10 tanks per month by December 1943 (a figure that could be increased to 25 units). In that same request, dating back to the summer of 1943, Marras (the military attaché in Berlin) also conveyed a request to send the blueprints for the "Pmx" armored railway car (which was then being outfitted in Italy) to Germany.

Furthermore, at the *Centro Studi Motorizzazione* (Motorization Study Center), 1:10 scale wooden models of the Panther tank were produced to serve as a source of technical data; these models were subsequently photographed and compared against similar models of Italian tanks, including an L35, a P40 in its near-final configuration, and an early-version P43. Indeed—and in parallel with the Panther, which had been adopted merely as an emergency stopgap—further designs and developments of the P40 tank had already been under study for some time. In addition to the 30-ton P43, we might briefly mention the formidable P43 *bis*, armed with a 90/42 gun (or, according to some sources, a 105 mm gun)—a vehicle that some judged, on paper at least, to be superior even to the Panther itself. The events of July 25th—followed shortly thereafter by the September armistice—naturally brought an abrupt halt to all plans regarding the transfer of the Panther, as well as to the projects concerning its "imitation": the P43 *bis*.