Italian Planes

[the lancaster kicks ass]

but you'd have to remeber, the french would have the RN on their side, the italians were no match for the RN...........................

 

[plan_D]

The majority were destroyed by the Royal Navy, that's why it was decided the Americans land in Morocco first. The French weren't too happy with the British.

Why would the Royal Navy be on Frances side, Lanc? If it was a two country war, Britain wouldn't be involved. If Britain did get involved then Germany would get involved on the Italians side. World War 2.

 

[Lightning Guy]

Plan_D is right, it would remain a regional war solely between France and Italy or else WWII would result. For our hypothetical situation, are we assuming France is receiving weapons from Britain and America?

 

[MP-Willow]

LG -You are asking a tricky question for the English and Americans to be sending arms to France? If they are for our arguments then is Germany suppling Italy? If so that sounds a lot like what the US was doing in 1939-1941 up to December.

I would say that for out arguments that they are on there own. Or that America at least is out of it.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

i think the french had a superior tank force didn't they??

 

[Lightning Guy]

Probably superior tanks and probably superior naval units (though in lesser numbers). I believe the RA had an advantage in terms of 'home-grown' aircraft although it is hard to say what French designers might have produced if they had simply had more time.

 

[plan_D]

The French had a superior tank force and a numercial superiority. That said, it's not hard to get better than an Italian tank. Still the French had the S.35 which was better than the German tanks of 1940 in armour, speed and firepower.

 

[Lightning Guy]

Did the Italians have any true tanks or did they simply have armored machine gun carriers? In other words, did the Italians have a tank that would be a threat to anything other than exposed infantry?

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

you saying about the French Navy, the italians had a good anti-shipping aircraft in the SM.79 to which i don't think the French had an answer, and WWII proved how much easier it is to hit a ship with a plane

 

[plan_D]

Some of the Italian tanks were:

Carro Armato M13/40 (Built by FIAT)

Crew: 4
Weight: 14.3 (tons)
Speed (Km/hr): 32
Range (Km): 200

Armament: One 4.7cm KwK47/32
One 8mm MG38 (Co-axial)
Two 8mm MG38 (Hull)

Armour (Max/Min): 37/6mm.

This was a Medium tank (apparently) and compared best to the Pz. Kpfw Mk. IIIs. Amazingly 68 were still in service in 1944, in German hands. Unfortunately for the crews of Panzerabteilung Adria and the two SS Sturmgeschutz detachments using them.

There are others but that one is the average specification of Italian tanks. It was ordered in Jan. 1940 and was in service in the second half of that year.

There were two impressive Italian designs, that the Germans liked as well. One was a SPG based off an Italian tank (that was, to put it nicely, crap). Which was the Semovente Da75/18.

Crew: 3
Weight: 15 (tons)
Speed(km/hr): 38
Range (km): 230

Armament: One 7.5cm StuK 75/18
One 8mm MG38

Armour (Max/Min) 50/10mm.

The impressive thing being it was only 1.85 metres tall. A very hard target to spot, let alone hit.

 

[plan_D]

A very interesting thing I have just learnt on the French tank arm in 1940. It contained 2,500 FT-17 tanks. Which were designed in 1916, entered service in 1917 and saw battle in 1918. They were the oldest tank to see service in World War 2. It is almost unbelievable that the French still had a tank from World War I in their tank arm. It was a good tank though, but not by World War 2 standards.

We also have the Char-B which was very hard for the German AT and tank guns to destroy in 1940. On top of the 500 Char S-35, the Italians wouldn't stand a chance in a tank war.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

which would have made up allot of the war......................

 

[MP-Willow]

Bit with all that tank arm the Italian Airforc would have had a feild day!

As for French designs they did have some nice ones on the board, but the government never really liked the air arm and the army always wanted to use them as observers not mombers or to protect the observers, so indipentant missions were rare.

That said it really baffels me how France put up such a small fight? they fell faster then Poland Yes?

 

[plan_D]

No. Poland lasted 5 weeks, France 6.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

not this argument again..............................

 

[GermansRGeniuses]

No. Poland lasted 5 weeks, France 6.

And the Warsaw ghetto lasted four! Even being encircled by tanks, flamethrowers, Stg.43/44's, SS Waffen, Sturmtigers, and other forms of stuff that would have taken a city in a week or less.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

i heard they only had 17 rifles and two sud-machine guns, is this the same one, or am i thinking of somthing different??

 

[MP-Willow]

I do not wish to bring up that crazy argument over France and Poland, but just wanted to make a little compairison.

Now back to Italian planes: and the one that we al can say was good the SM 79/81 Bomber, transport, torpeado plane and all around do what ever needs done. And it was a trimotor!

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

SM 79/81

do you mean you consider them the same plane, because they were both very good, but they weren't the same plane.......................

 

[MP-Willow]

It is not ment to be the same plane. The SM 81 was developed from the 79 program. I wanted to use both because they were used together alot.