The Fiat 626 was an Italian medium truck built to meet the specifications of the Italian Army and Air Force before the Second World War. It became the standard Italian medium truck and served on every front, and production ended in 1948 after 10,000 vehicles had left Fiat’s Turin assembly lines.
Fiat 626 at a glance
| Type | medium truck |
|---|---|
| Production | 1939–1948 |
| Assembly | Turin, Italy |
| Layout | forward control |
| Replaced | Fiat 621 and Fiat 633 |
| Civilian versions | 626N, 626NL (long wheelbase) |
| Military version | 626NLM, with differential lock and wooden body |
| Units built | 10,000 |
| Main operators | Italian Army and Air Force, France, Germany, Bulgaria |
History of the Fiat 626
The first forward-control Fiat truck
In 1939 the 626 was the first Fiat truck with forward control, the cab sitting over the front axle, and it replaced the models 621 and 633. It was designed to meet the specifications laid down by the Italian Army and the Italian Air Force for military operations before the Second World War, and it became a reliable workhorse and the standard Italian medium truck.
Versions
The first civilian version was the 626N, the N standing for Nafta, Italian for diesel. It was followed by the 626NL, from Nafta Lungo, with a slightly longer wheelbase. The military version for the army and air force was the 626NLM, Nafta Lungo Militare, which had a differential lock and a wooden body with fixed side walls.
In service and abroad
The 626NLM operated in Italian North Africa between 1940 and 1943, in Italian East Africa in 1940–1941, in the Balkans from 1940 to 1944, in France from 1940 to 1944 and in the Soviet Union in 1941–1943/44. France ordered 1,650 trucks before the war and had received 700 of them by the time Italy declared war on 10 June 1940. After the Italian armistice with the Allies in September 1943 the 626 was taken over by German forces, and by 31 January 1945 3,000 had been produced for German use. In 1941 Bulgaria bought 100 trucks after joining Germany and Italy as an ally, and the Bulgarian army still used them in 1944–1945, after the country had signed an armistice with the Allies and turned against Germany. Production ceased in 1948, with 10,000 Fiat 626s built in Turin.
Design and features
- Forward control: the first Fiat truck with the cab over the front axle.
- Diesel engine: the N in the model name stands for Nafta, the Italian word for diesel.
- Military specification: the 626NLM had a differential lock and a wooden body with fixed sides.
- Wide service: used in North and East Africa, the Balkans, France and the Soviet Union.
Fiat 626 versions
- 626N: the first civilian version, with a diesel engine.
- 626NL: a slightly longer wheelbase version.
- 626NLM: the military version with a differential lock and a wooden body.
The 626 was one of a family of Fiat lorries that also included the Fiat 619 and the Fiat 666. More vehicles are in the Fiat collection.
Sources
- Fiat 626, English Wikipedia: production dates, versions, wartime service and total production
