Lancia 1ZM armoured car

thingiverse

I have tweaked the original model to make it printable and add strength where needed. 1/56 scale for bolt action. The Lancia Ansaldo IZ and IZM saw significant action in both World Wars as well as during the inter-war period, making them the most numerous Italian armored car produced during that time. Ten Lancia IZ were manufactured in 1916, featuring two-tier machine-gun turrets and cutting rails designed to handle barbed wire and other obstacles prevalent on the battlefield. Seeing the success of the IZ, the Italian army ordered 110 more units, but after concerns about stability, the top machine-gun turret was removed. The rear fighting compartment was equipped with an extra port for a third machine-gun and a rack for a liaison bicycle, resulting in the IZM becoming available in 1917. The two versions of the Lancia armored car played a crucial role in guarding against Austrian incursions, particularly during the rearguard action covering the retreating Italian forces at Caporetto in 1917. Following the action at Caporetto, it was not uncommon to see Lancias in service with German and Austrian armies as spoils of war. During the twenties and thirties, most IZMs were sent to East Africa and Libya as the Italians looked to protect their eastern colonies. The IZMs saw action during the Ethiopian Campaign in 1935, acting as reconnaissance units. The small Corpo Truppe Volontarie Italia also fought in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-38, supporting the Nationalists, although these all but obsolete armored cars fell prey to the Russian BA-3 and BA-6 armored cars. These completely outdated machines were still in service in Libya and other East African colonies when the Second World War broke out. Most fought in Eastern Africa where they met equally vintage British and Australian armored cars, and were all but wiped out during the course of those actions. Some were deployed with Italian troops in police and antipartisan operations in the Balkans, primarily in Yugoslavia. By November 1943, those that survived were captured and pressed into German service. Some were sent to the army of Hungary. Most were destroyed or captured in 1944 during the Yugoslavian uprising and Allied conquest of Italy.