These are the years of the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Republican Air Force is creating various problems for the logistics chain of the Italian Volunteer Corps, and they are thinking of an easy yet effective solution: mounting an anti-aircraft weapon on a truck. One of the first attempts was to mount an old French machine gun given away after the Great War, the Saint-Étienne M1907, on a Fiat truck, the Fiat 618. Unfortunately the vehicle turned out to be a mousetrap, as the armament was weak and the crew was almost totally at the mercy of enemy planes, so the idea was shelved.
Despite this, this vehicle would be fine at a very low br as anti-aircraft, just like the GAZ-AAA 4M.
Armament and propulsion.
As mentioned before, the truck was equipped with a Saint-Étienne M1907. Speaking of the weapon itself, it used 8×50mm R Lebel caliber ammunition and had a maximum rate of fire of 400 rounds per minute, with a belt magazine of 25-30 rounds or a 150-round belt magazine and 11 magazines transported in the ammo racks.
In terms of engine, the truck had a Fiat 118A, 4-cyl engine. diesel 1944 cm3, 43 ch/3,800 rpm which allowed the vehicle to reach a maximum speed of 65 km/h.
Specifications.
Spoiler
Crew: 3
Dimensions: 4.7 x 1.94 x 2.5m (3.05 m wheelbase)
Maximum weight: 4 tonnes
Propulsion: Fiat 118A, 4-cyl. diesel 1944 cm3, 43 ch/3.800 rpm
Top speed: 65 km/h
Payload: around 1.25 t
Transmission and suspension: 4+1 speed, leaf spring
As much as I love gun trucks, and I try to see the possibilities where people put up a veil of complaints, this one I struggle to see its usefulness.
Its firepower is the main problem and is unfortunately severely lacking. Even if the Italians used full strips of HE-I rounds or something other spicy, It still wouldn’t be enough to be effective in my opinion.
I appreciate that you’ve managed to research and compile the information that you have and brought it to the forum for us to read, that’s a win for everyone no matter what. :)
But that said, for the game, I’m gonna have to give it a pass.
