View source for Fiat 3000

{{Infobox weapon
|name=Fiat 3000
| image= Fiat3000.jpg
| image_size = 230
|caption=Fiat 3000 mod.21
|origin=[[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]]
|type=[[Light tank]]
<!-- Type selection -->
|is_vehicle=yes
<!-- Service history -->
|service= 1921–1945
|used_by=Italy<br />[[Ethiopian Empire|Ethiopia]]<br />[[Kingdom of Albania (1928–39)|Albania]]<br />[[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–46)|Hungary]]<br />[[Republic of China (1912–49)|China]]<br />[[Latvia]]<br />[[Denmark]]<br />[[Empire of Japan|Japan]]
|wars= [[Pacification of Libya]]<br />[[Ethiopian coup d'état of 1928]]<br />[[Second Italo–Abyssinian War]]<br />[[Japanese invasion of Manchuria]]<br />[[Second Sino–Japanese War]]<br />[[Slovak-Hungarian War]]<br />[[World War II]]
<!-- Production history -->
|designer=
|design_date=
|manufacturer=
|unit_cost=
|production_date=
|number= 152 (100 mod 21, 52 mod 30)
|variants=
<!-- General specifications -->
|weight=6 tonnes
|length= {{convert|4.29|m|in|1|abbr=on}}
|part_length=
|width= {{convert|1.65|m|in|1|abbr=on}}
|height= {{convert|2.20|m|in|1|abbr=on}}
|diameter=
|crew=2
<!-- Vehicle specifications -->
|armour=6 mm-16 mm
|primary_armament=2x 6.5 mm machine guns ''3000A''<br /> 1x 37 mm ''3000B''
|secondary_armament= 1x 6.5 mm machine gun
|engine=Fiat 4-cylinder
|engine_power={{convert|50|hp|kW|abbr=on}}
|pw_ratio=
|suspension=vertical springs
|vehicle_range= {{convert|100|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}
|speed= {{convert|21|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}}
}}

The '''Fiat 3000''' was the first [[tank]] to be produced in series in [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Fiat 3000 (1921)|url=https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/italy/Fiat_3000.php|access-date=2021-12-06|website=tanks-encyclopedia.com}}</ref> It became the standard tank of the emerging Italian armored units after [[World War I]]. The 3000 was based on the French [[Renault FT]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Fiat 3000|url=http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_fiat_3000.html|access-date=2021-12-06|website=www.historyofwar.org}}</ref>

==History==
Although 1,400 units were ordered, with deliveries to begin in May 1919, the end of the war caused the original order to be canceled and only 100 were delivered.<ref name=":1" /> The first Fiat 3000s entered service in 1921 and were officially designated as the ''carro d'assalto'' Fiat 3000, Mod. 21 (Italian for "Fiat 3000 assault tank, Model 21").<ref>{{Cite web|title=FIAT 3000 (Carro d-assalto 3000 / L.5 Series)|url=https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.php?armor_id=305|access-date=2021-12-06|website=www.militaryfactory.com|language=en-US}}</ref> Tests of the Model 21 revealed that the armament, consisting of two 6.5&nbsp;mm machine guns, was inadequate, and adoption of a 37&nbsp;mm gun as main armament was urged.

The up-gunned version of the 3000, armed with a 37/40 gun, was tested in 1929 and was officially adopted in 1930 with the designation of ''carro d'assalto'' Fiat 3000, Mod. 30.<ref name=":0" /> The Model 30, in addition to its improved armament, also differed from the Model 21 in that it had a more powerful engine, improved suspension, different engine compartment silhouette, and the external stores were stowed differently.<ref name=":1" /> By turning the engine sideways for the first time (a principle still used on Russian tanks today) after slightly widening the hull, Italian engineers were able to make the fighting compartment much less cramped and the tank shorter and lighter at the same time.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tankarchives.ca/2019/10/the-best-renault-ft-clone.html | title=The Best Renault FT Clone }}</ref> Some Model 30s were also produced with two 6.5&nbsp;mm machine guns as main armament, as on the Model 21, in lieu of the 37&nbsp;mm gun.<ref name=":0" /> A limited number of Model 21 vehicles were exported to [[Albania]], [[Latvia]] (6 in 1926),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.zudusilatvija.lv/objects/object/25062/|title=Zudusī Latvija - Rīga. Autotanku pulka novietnē Pulka ielā|website=www.zudusilatvija.lv}}</ref> [[Hungary]], and Abyssinia ([[Ethiopia]]) prior to 1930.

The designations of these tanks were changed prior to the outbreak of [[World War II]], in accordance with the identification system that was adopted throughout the war by the Italians. The Model 21 was redesignated '''L5/21''', and the Model 30 was redesignated '''L5/30'''.

==Battle==
The Fiat 3000 (Model 21) was first used in action in February 1926 in [[Libya]], and subsequently also saw action against the Ethiopians in the [[Second Italo-Abyssinian War]] in 1935.<ref name=":0" /> It was not one of the tanks used by the Italians in Spain during the [[Spanish Civil War]], however. With Italy's entry into World War II in June 1940, a limited number of Fiat 3000s still in service with the Italian Army were employed operationally on the Greek-Albanian front.<ref name=":0" /> They were also among the last Italian tanks to oppose the Allies, as in July 1943, when the [[Allied invasion of Sicily|Allies landed in Sicily]], two Italian tank companies on the island were still equipped with the 3000.<ref name=":0" /> One company was dug in and their vehicles were used as fixed [[fortification]]s, while the other company was assigned to Gruppo Mobile H and fought in the defense of San Pietro airfield.<ref name=":0" />

== Operators ==
[[File:Fiat 3000 M1921.jpg|thumb|Fiat 3000 tank of the Imperial Japanese Army during the [[Mukden Incident]], 1931]]
;{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}
* {{army|Kingdom of Italy}}
;{{flag|Argentina}}
* {{army|Argentina}} purchased one FIAT 3000 Modello 1921.
;{{flag|Kingdom of Albania}}
* {{army|Kingdom of Albania}} purchased two Fiat 3000 in the late 1920s.<ref>Filippo Cappellano, Gli autoveicoli da combattimento dell'Esercito Italiano, vol.1, Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito, Roma 2002</ref>
;{{flag|Soviet Union}}
* {{army|Soviet Union}} purchased three FIAT 3000 in 1927. These arrived in Moscow in March 1928.
;{{flag|Kingdom of Denmark}}
* {{army|Kingdom of Denmark}} purchased one Fiat 3000 in June 1928 for evaluation purposes.<ref>https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/denmark/fiat-3000-in-danish-service/</ref>
;{{flag|Ethiopian Empire}}
* {{army|Ethiopian Empire}} purchased one Fiat 3000 in 1925 and three more in 1930.
;{{flag|Latvia}}
* {{army|Latvia}} purchased six Fiat 3000 in 1927. They equipped two platoons of the 1st Tank Company, located in Riga.
;{{flag|Kingdom of Spain}}
* {{army|Kingdom of Spain}} purchased a single example for testing in October 1924. After the unsuccessful trials and its rejection as the next Spanish light tank, the tank was left at the Escuela Central de Tiro in [[Carabanchel]], Madrid.
;{{flag|Kingdom of Hungary}}
* [[File:Infantry Colour of the Royal Hungarian Defence Forces (1939-1945).svg|20px|border]] [[Royal Hungarian Army]] purchased five Fiat 3000 in the 1930s.
;{{flag|Empire of Japan}}
* {{army|Empire of Japan}} purchased one Fiat 3000 for testing. This tank participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War.

==See also==
* [[Fiat 2000]]
* [[Pacification of Libya]]
* [[Ethiopian coup d'état of 1928]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120324234436/http://www.wwiivehicles.com/italy/tanks-light/fiat-3000.asp Fiat 3000] at wwiivehicles.com

{{WWIIItalianAFVs|style=wide}}
{{Interwar tanks|style=wide}}
{{Fiat}}

[[Category:Fiat armored vehicles|3000]]
[[Category:World War I tanks of Italy]]
[[Category:World War II tanks of Italy]]
[[Category:Light tanks of Italy]]
[[Category:World War I light tanks]]