Fiat 2000: Italy’s heavy tank of the First World War

The Fiat 2000 was an Italian heavy tank designed and produced by Fiat during the First World War. Only two were built, as it never entered serial production. Heavily armed and armoured but slow, it saw limited service in Libya in 1919 and was largely replaced by the French Renault FT and the later Fiat 3000 light tank.

Fiat 2000 at a glance

Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article. No free photographs of the tank were available, so the article has no photographs.

History of the Fiat 2000

Italy came late to tank development. The mountainous border with Austria-Hungary limited the value of tracked vehicles, and neither the industry nor the military showed much interest. In 1916 the Italians ordered a French Schneider tank for evaluation, which was delivered in 1917, and in the same year formed a tank assault office to study the Allied tank forces. Encouraged by these developments, Fiat began work on a 40-tonne design armed with a 65 mm main gun and seven machine guns.

Only two prototypes were completed before the French Renault FT caught the attention of the Italian military. The Fiat 2000 was similar in concept to the German A7V, a mobile fortress rather than a manoeuvre vehicle. Its armour was 20 mm thick, thinning to 15 mm on the sides. The main gun sat in a small spherical cupola on the roof and the secondary armament was a battery of seven 6.5 mm machine guns. Power came from a Fiat aircraft engine, and the hull enclosed the suspension, which had ten road wheels mounted in pairs on bogies. The interior was relatively spacious for a tank of the period and had a prominent cab for the driver.

The vehicle was slow, but in tests its ability to cross obstacles was judged adequate. Its sheer size, narrow tracks and excessive weight were criticised. The Italian Army concluded that the Fiat 2000 lacked the mobility needed for operations in the north-eastern theatre, and that the smaller and lighter Renault FT was better suited to the task; by the time Italy obtained a licence to build the French tank locally, the war had already ended.

A single Fiat 2000 and three Renault FTs were sent to Libya in 1919 to fight local tribes, but the slow speed of the heavy tank made it unsuitable against guerrilla tactics. The Renault FT was built in Italy until the Fiat 3000 was introduced in 1921. According to the historian Christopher Foss, the Fiat 2000 remained in service until 1934.

Interest in the type revived a century later. As of March 2017 a project was under way to build a full-sized working replica, started by volunteers who raised funds by crowdfunding. From June 2017 to October 2018 the committee remade a complete set of blueprints, construction began on 15 November 2018, and the replica was declared complete, painted and running on its own power in April 2020.

Design and features

• Mobile fortress: a 40-tonne design in the spirit of the German A7V.
• Heavy armament: a 65 mm gun in a spherical roof cupola and seven 6.5 mm machine guns.
• Armour: 20 mm on the thickest plates and 15 mm on the sides.
• Concealed suspension: ten road wheels in pairs on bogies inside the hull.
• Aircraft power: a Fiat aero engine drove the tank.

Fiat 2000 versions

• Fiat 2000: the only version, built as two prototypes.
• Fiat 3000: the light tank based on the Renault FT that replaced it in Italian service from 1921.
• Working replica: a volunteer project completed and running in 2020.

The Fiat 2000 was followed in Italian service by the Fiat 300 light tank, and Fiat’s wartime work also included the Fiat 15 truck. More vehicles are in the Fiat collection.

Sources

• Fiat 2000, English Wikipedia: design, armament, armour, service in Libya, replica project