The Tank Museum has just posted a great video covering the wonderful Italian L3/35 tankette and its development and operational history. For fans of this classic tankette, such as I, this is a must watch video:
Watching the film clips was great, looking at the different camo schemes on show (if you know what you're looking for), as well as them 'in action' or just whizzing around knocking over balsa wood obstacles etc for 'Il Duce' and Co. Mind you when you some of the stuff they get up to, you do feel really sorry for the crew, as they must have been battered to bits!
I didn't know that they were used in Burma by the Chinese forces, nor that the Taliban appeared to have a running version that is shown in a still from them entering Kabul or somewhere similar. It would be very cool to see one in a modern setting! Oh, and they actually had plane to drop it from a plane and to hit the ground running...
Well, whether you get to see this post this year or next, who knows, but maybe, just maybe, it will be seen in time for Xmas...
TTFN.
Thanks for the link Steve. Some lovely footage there (although the subtitles did leave a lot 2B dee-zyered. I guess it must be done phonetically). I have a vague recollection of an FT-17 in Afghanistan, but none about the L3/33 or 35.
ReplyDeleteFor info - I spotted this post simply because i had a few spare minutes which I spent trawling through my favourite sites in the hope of spotting anything new.
Cheers,
Geoff
I've watched some videos on mute, with the spelling being AI generated or some such thing, given some very different words or spelling appearing on screen! Yep, Blogger is not updating at all, although I reported it and they said it is being worked on...
DeleteNice video find Steve...
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark and just the sort of thing I like, given my love of these Tankettes:).
DeleteFun video. Wonder how much it was used to tow AT guns, like the Universal Carrier.
ReplyDeleteIt does mention they towed ATG's into action to help protect them, but not how the gun crew were moved.
DeleteGot to love a tankette,nice!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
You do indeed Iain:)!
DeleteI don't think I would fancy crewing one of those things Steve! Found your newest post by looking for it, which is what I have been doing for the last couple of weeks - but I have noticed I am visiting the same blogger two or three days in a row and often they have not put up anything new - I am wondering if this is because they suspect the blog wont "appear" and thus few people will read it - so they don't bother??
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't want to either, but not sure I'd even fit in one, having seen it at Bovington! Like many of us now, I've resorted to checking each Blog just in case, but often nothing shows for a few days, but at least we are finding the posts. I just wish they'd sort the bl**dy mess out!
DeleteA nice link, thanks for posting, tankettes are always good to see, just something about them that ticks all the boxes although I would not have fancied being stuck in one!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it Donnie and any Inter-War tankette or tank design I just love to see and to get them on the table in my AVBCW games. Being a crew member wouldn't have been fun at all!
DeleteThat was an interesting video. I really knew very little about that little tankette besides seeing it a few wargames and, of course, your BatReps.
ReplyDeleteIt was a good overview for sure, but for me it was all the footage of them 'in action' that I loved:).
DeleteNot on my feed yet, Steve, got this elsewhere! I must be unusual in that I have never been able to get excited about these sort of vehicles. Partly I think is duet dessert warfare being quite low in my interests and partly because I am shallow and like the big stuff on the east front :-)
ReplyDeleteI think the Bayeux Tapestry being in the UK at the moment has been a huge shot in the arm for our museums in terms of public engagement. They are indeed a treasure and Bovington is on my list.
Some feeds are showing posts, others not, so still very hit and miss as to what you get to see:(. I never considered them for the Western Desert, but love them for the Balkans, Russia and Sicily, but also Burma now knowing the Chinese used them there! Big tanks are fun for sure, but these chaps are just so cute, completely useless, but gteat fun when they actually achieve something:).
DeleteBovington is great if you love tanks and, if memory serves me correctly, the admission allosw you a years access to other similar museums too?