Carro Armato P.43
The P.43 was a proposed Italian heavy tank designed in April 1943. It was created as a direct continuation and replacement to the P26/40 tank; however only a prototype was manufactured at the end of the summer of 1943. The official Italian designation was carro armato P.43. The designation "P" means pesante.
Features
The P43 or P 30/43 was developed by FIAT and Ansaldo simultaneously with the P26/40, of which it was supposed to be a heavier version. The vehicle was planned to have weighed at least 30 tons and would have mounted an engine of 420 hp. The gun was the same as the P.26 - the 75/34 mm cannon. While it was still in the design phase, it was proposed to use the 90/42 gun derived from anti-aircraft Cannone da 90/53, or the 105/25 mm cannon mounted on the Semovente da 105/25 instead.''P43 bis''
A photograph of the P43 as a wooden mockup exists along with other models of P40 and P43 bis, 30 tons with cannon that looks like it could be a lighter version of the 90/53 piece. In the same picture, there is a model of a German Panther version slightly smaller equipped with what appears to be a 90/53 cannon. It is possible that the German part stigmatized the P43 as a plagiarism of the Panther tank. It seems that this model has received the abbreviation P43 bis.This overlap of studies can be originated either by news from the Russian front on the new Soviet medium tank T-34/85 of 32 tons and with 85 mm cannon or by the availability of data and drawings of the German Panther.
According to various publications the engines were listed as:
- P26/40 diesel engine of 330 HP then replaced in production for one to 420 HP gasoline.
- P30/43 or P43 420/430 HP V12 diesel engine.
- P.43 bis the same engine 420/430 HP.
- P.35/43 or second P43 bis of 35 tons with gun 90/53 or 90/42 mm and 470/480 HP engine copied from the engine of the Soviet T-34.
However the P43 saw only a prototype stage in 1943.