Armored troop carrier SPA Dovunque 35 Protetto (Italy)

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The Italian army began to show interest in armored personnel carriers in the late thirties, but until a certain time no one wanted to engage in such projects in full force. As a result, the first projects of full-fledged Italian-made armored personnel carriers appeared only after the defeats in North Africa. In this case, the loss of various equipment, primarily tanks and armored cars, led to the fact that the development and construction of armored personnel carriers faded into the background. Because of this, in particular, some of the new types of armored vehicles never entered mass production.

Back in 1938, the Italian army expressed a desire to get an armored personnel carrier, based on the design of one of the existing trucks already in service. Similar projects were developed by several companies, including Viberti. The specialists of this organization decided to build their armored personnel carrier on the basis of the SPA Dovunque 35 serial truck, which had been operated by the troops since the year of 1935. It was assumed that the use of mastered in the production and operation of the machine will simplify the construction and use of new armored vehicles. However, as it turned out later, such expectations did not materialize.

Work on the creation of an armored personnel carrier, designated SPA Dovunque 35 Protetto (“Protected”) continued until the 1941 year. Apparently, while developing the project, Viberti engineers decided to postpone the introduction of a new original designation. As a result, the project remained in stories under the name based on the base truck designation. It is quite possible that in case of successful completion of the work, the new BTR would have received its own designation, but this did not happen.


Bov SPA Dovunque 35 Protetto. Photo Italie1935-45.com


The basis for the armored personnel carrier was taken from the chassis of the SPA Dovunque 35 serial truck with the wheel formula 6х4. This machine was developed in the first half of the thirties and was intended for deliveries to the army, where it was planned to be used for the transport of personnel and cargo. In fact, the 1935 truck of the year was a deep upgrade of the SPA Dovunque 33 machine, reworked based on operating results in Ethiopia. Nevertheless, despite its age, this chassis was considered an acceptable basis for a promising armored personnel carrier.

The base truck was a bonnetless car with the 6x4 wheel formula and cargo area in the rear of the frame. In front of the frame, under a small hood and inside the casing in the driver's cabin, housed the engine FIAT 18T hp 55. A mechanical transmission was associated with it, which transmitted torque to the two rear axles. During the construction of the armored personnel carrier, the design of the chassis, power plant, transmission and chassis did not change.

The three-axle undercarriage had single front wheels and twin rear wheels. The front axle had a spring suspension, the two rear axles were equipped with leaf springs. In case of damage to one of the wheels, the truck and an armored personnel carrier at its base had attachments for a spare wheel, placed on the right side, behind the front axle.

Armored troop carrier SPA Dovunque 35 Protetto (Italy)
Basic truck SPA Dovunque 35. Photo of Wikimedia Commons


On the base chassis, it was proposed to install the original armored body. The body consisted of a large number of straight and curved parts, fixed on the frame. The front part of the hull was made of 10 mm thick sheets, the sides and the stern were made of 8-millimeters. According to other data, the entire body had a thickness of 8 mm. Due to the relatively low protection characteristics of the proposed reservation, the authors of the project had to build a building using rational booking angles. All sheets of the case were placed at an angle to the horizontal and vertical. Especially brightly this feature of the body manifested itself in the boards, which consisted of two parts.

Protection of the machine from firing in front consisted of four frontal sheets and twin cheekbones. In the upper front sheet there were two inspection hatches with covers. The front front sheet, located at an angle, had a large window with blinds. Because of the need to pair several armor plates, angled to each other, on the sides of the front sheets were cheekbones, collected from two sheets of complex shape.

The sides of the SPA Dovunque 35 Protetto armored personnel carrier consisted of two parts. The lower parts of the sides were tilted outward, the upper - inward. Similarly, the hull feed looked like. Due to some features of the layout of the internal volumes of the hull, the front part of the sides, protecting the driver and commander, was slightly higher than the average and the rear. Thus, the frontal sheet and the front part of the sides formed a kind of small felling. The roof of the case was not provided.


Scheme of an armored personnel carrier. Figure Italie1935-45.com


On the lower part of the hull sides were attached wings that prevented the spread of dirt from the wheels and to some extent protect them from shelling. It is noteworthy that the design of the front axle did not require any modifications of the hull. At the same time over the rear axles had to provide small notches in the body, ensuring the normal course of the suspension on uneven.

The crew and landing force were located in a single hull volume, which combined the control unit and the amphibious unit. Own crew perspective armored personnel carrier consisted of two people. The driver and the commander were located in front of the habitable compartment, on the sides of the engine casing. The place of the commander was at the left side, the driver - at the right. Behind the crew seats was a fuel tank with a capacity of 100 l. Such a layout of the internal volume of the hull made it difficult to move from the “control compartment” to the “troop compartment”. For this reason, the commander and driver had their own doors in the sides of the hull, opening forward along the movement. Under the doors there were braces-steps.


Side view. Photo Italie1935-45.com


To monitor the road and the surrounding situation, the crew had to use inspection hatches in the front plate. In addition, small hatches with flaps were provided at the door. In a safe environment, the commander could follow the terrain, standing in his place and rising above the sides. With the threat of fire should remain under the protection of armor and use hatches.

The SPA Dovunque 35 Protetto armored personnel carrier could carry up to eight soldiers with weapons. For their placement along the sides were installed two long wooden benches. Access to the troop compartment was carried out through the door in the stern, which consisted of two parts. In view of the high height of the car under the door, we provided a step. The landing force could monitor the situation and fire from personal weaponsusing loopholes with flaps. Each board provided for three such devices, two more were in the top stern sheet.


Rear view of 3 / 4. Photo Italie1935-45.com


Behind the crew’s “cabin”, a transverse rod was fastened to the sides, on which the weapons should be mounted. This allowed the use of any existing rifle caliber machine gun. According to reports, during the service the SPA armored car Dovunque 35 Protetto was equipped with at least one Breda Mod.38 machine gun of 8 caliber mm. According to other sources, the armored personnel carrier received a FIAT-Revelli Mod. 14 / 35. Probably, this discrepancy in the data is due to the fact that different models of the machine were equipped with weapons that were available. The lack of protection of the shooter turned out to be a price for the peculiar freedom of picking the machine with weapons. To fire, he had to lean out of the hull, risking falling under the fire of the enemy.

The new armored personnel carrier had a length of 5,3 m, a width of about 2 m and a height of 2,35 m. The wheelbase was equal to 3,7 m. The front wheel track is 1,47 m, the rear wheel is 1,5 m. Ground clearance is 250 mm. The combat weight of the armored vehicle was 4,7 tons. With such dimensions and weight, the car could reach speeds up to 45 km / h. The 100-liter tank was enough for 285 kilometers. Characteristics of mobility and terrain were at the level of the base truck, but the relatively heavy hull led to some deterioration in a number of parameters. However, Viberti specialists found such losses acceptable.


View of the insides of the body. Photo Italie1935-45.com


In 1941, the first prototype of an armored personnel carrier was built. A prototype of the SPA Dovunque 35 Protetto machine was put to the test, during which it was possible to identify its positive and negative features. In general, the car had good characteristics and could be adopted. However, this did not happen. In 1941, the Italian army carried out a comparative test of several prospective armored personnel carriers created by that time. Among others, the SPA Dovenque 35 Protetto and FIAT-SPA S37 participated in these checks.

During the tests, the BX S37 showed higher mobility characteristics and other advantages over competitors. According to the test results, it was decided to adopt the S37. All other machines submitted for testing, returned to the development companies. The only prototype of the SPA Dovunque 35 Protetto armored personnel carrier returned to the Viberti factory, where it remained for the next several years.


Modification of armored vehicles with a roof. Figure Italie1935-45.com


Having been refused by the army, the engineers did not abandon their project. It was decided to make some changes to it, which, as expected, could open the way for the troops to the troops. During the modernization it was planned to rework the power plant in order to improve the driving characteristics of the machine. In addition, engineers are engaged in the creation of the roof of the case. According to the test results, the military and the designers came to the conclusion that a completely closed hull was needed.

The result of this work was the appearance of the roof module, the design of which did not require reworking the hull. The roof was a curved angular unit that was proposed to be assembled from several armor plates. Almost along the entire length of the roof, large hatches were provided, the flaps of which opened to the sides. At the same time, the middle part of the roof consisted of two doors of a hatch wide across the top of the hull. An armored personnel carrier with a new roof could protect the crew and troops from shelling from any angle, including from above.

At the time of the surrender of the Kingdom of Italy in September 1943, there was only one sample BTR SPA Dovunque 35 Protetto. Development of a modification with a closed amphibious branch was completed only in the early autumn of the 1944 year. Staying on the territory of the puppet Italian social republic, Viberti continued to work on the project and began construction of several modernized armored personnel carriers. In November 1944, the army of the Republic of Salo seized the only prototype existing at that time and sent it to one of the combatant units.


One of the samples BTR SPA Dovunque 35 Protetto in the Army of the Republic of Salo, 1944. Photo Aviarmor.net


The construction of new armored personnel carriers continued until the very end of the war in Europe. According to some information, up to five cars were at different stages of construction, and most of them did not receive a roof and corresponded to the first version of the project. It is known about the seizure of two armored personnel carriers by Italian partisans, but one of these vehicles was later destroyed by the enemy. The last three cars, which did not receive a new roof, were sent from the factory to the army of the Italian Social Republic in the last days of April 45.

In the basic version presented in 1941, the SPA armored carrier Dovunque 35 Protetto was not of much interest to the Italian army. A few years later, after the end of the Second World War and the establishment of a new government, the situation did not change. The army of the new state was also not interested in such equipment and did not order it. All samples that survived until the end of the war were disposed of. Until today, SPA Dovenque 35 Protetto armored personnel carriers have survived only in a few photographs.


On the materials of the sites:
http://italie1935-45.com/
http://aviarmor.net/
http://shushpanzer-ru.livejournal.com/
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3 comments
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  1. +1
    1 September 2015 08: 15
    yes, why weren't the military interested? The project seems to be sound ...
    1. +1
      1 September 2015 08: 26
      Patency was low, and the Italians are masters in the design of cars undoubtedly.
  2. +1
    1 September 2015 15: 38
    One of the samples BTR SPA Dovunque 35 Protetto in the Army of the Republic of Salo, 1944. Photo Aviarmor.net

    Republic Salo ... belay
    She was to be headed by a Ukrainian! laughing

    Conclusion - Mussolini was cryptomaskal! Like Skorzeny, who saved him ...

    In general, of course, Italy, capitulated in 1943 as it remained behind the scenes
    But the battleships were planes and cruisers! Its design.

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