In all, the L3/35 weighed in at 3.52 tons and measured a running length of approximately 10 feet, 5 inches. She was 4 feet, 8 inches wide and sported a height of 4 feet, 3 inches. Armor protection ranged from 6mm to 14mm in thickness. Power was supplied by a single FIAT-SPA CV3 water-cooled engine of 43 horsepower which allowed for a top speed of 26 miles per hour (on roads) and an operational range of up to 78 miles The tracked systems consisted of a set that presented the hull with a distinct "nose-up" attitude. The drive sprocket was held forward on each hull side with the track idler at the rear. Suspension was of the bogie type with a pair of three-wheeled leaf springed bogie fittings and a single fitting of an unsprung wheel to each track side. In profile, the L3/35 displayed a sharply angled forward hull superstructure - good for ballistics protection - slab side armoring and a slight angled upper hull superstructure side. The superstructure was squared off along the rear facing with the engine compartment equally squared off. Armament of 2 x 8mm machine guns was contained in the forward facing of the superstructure and was adequate for anti-infantry defense and offense as needed. Beyond that, the L3/35 system could not contend with heavier class tanks regardless of crew training. Crew seating saw the driver on the right of the hull with the commander/gunner to his left.
The L3 series was quick to find combat actions during its relatively short operational tenure. Despite the strong British pedigree and promising inherent characteristics, the L3 was not a very fit mount for battle. The L3 fared somewhat poorly in the 2nd Ethiopian-Italian War, often times outdone by large concentrations of infantry. The L3 was also featured in the Spanish Civil War where it was owned by the Soviet T-26 light tanks and BT-5 fast tanks. Despite their poor early history, the L3 was still available to the Italian Army in some number and was to be featured along every Italian front in the upcoming World War 2 as a result. Those systems that were not felled in combat were usually captured and reconstituted for inventory-building or held in reserve for localized guard duties by their new owners. More L3 tankettes were lost or captured in the Anglo-Iraqi War, the Greco-Italian War and the Invasion of Yugoslavia. As such, the type was a rare sight by the end of 1940. The German Army was able to get some limited use of the tankette after the Italian surrender to the Allies in late 1943.
The L3 series proved something of a limited global success especially for budget conscious operators looking to modernize without having to put in the time and funding into lengthy and costly indigenous tank projects. Austria and Hungary were chief export operators, ordering the type in substantial numbers (72 and 65 respectively). Other purchasers became Albania, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Iraq and Nationalist Spain. Slight variations greeted each L3 tankette in service with these foreign forces and each were given appropriate localized armament and additions as needed.
Some L3 tankettes were eventually converted by the Italian Army into a make-shift 20mm anti-tank gun carrier (L3 cc) to be used in the North African campaign (in limited numbers) as well as a flamethrower tank (L3 Lf), the latter losing one of its machine guns for a flamethrower.
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