AB 41

Description

The Autoblinda (AB) 41 was an Italian armoured car developed by Fiat-Ansaldo. By the 1930s, the Italian army was equipped with outdated and limited Lancia IZ and Fiat-Terni Tripoli armoured cars, designed during World War I. The army needed a new combat vehicle for reconnaissance and patrolling in desert conditions. Work on the AB 41 took place between 1937 and 1939. Initially, it was planned to equip the armoured car with only machine gun armament (three 8 mm Breda Mod.38s), however, due to Italy's entry into the war and the beginning of hostilities in North Africa, it was decided to install a 20 mm Breda Mod.35 autocannon on the AB 41. During production from 1940 to 1943, approximately 600 AB 41s were built, making it the most produced Italian armoured vehicle during this period. The armoured car earned a good reputation among Italian troops on the North African theatre of operations, and it was used not only by the Italians but also by the Germans.

Introduced in Update 1.85 "Supersonic", the AB 41 is very lightly armoured. At its battle rating, most opponents can easily penetrate its armour, leaving it heavily damaged or destroyed outright. Its armour can withstand machine gun fire to some extent, but enemy aircraft with powerful cannons remain a threat. However, the vehicle makes up for its lack of armour with mobility and firepower. Much of the Italian tech tree follows a similar doctrine, and using the AB 41, you can outmanoeuvre your comrades to take enemies by surprise. The AB 41 is armed with a 20 mm Breda Mod.35 autocannon, with access to a PzGr 40 HVAP belt. This cannon can easily take down many opponents, especially if you attack from the side. The turret also has decent elevation angles, allowing you to target enemy aircraft flying near the battlefield.

General info

Survivability and armour

The armour of the AB 41 is very weak, and will not protect it from most weapons on the battlefield, including some light machine guns at closer ranges. One upside is that some side shots will not be instant knock-outs, since the crew is well spaced out. Ammunition will not always go off when hit either, another bonus to the AB41. However, frontal fire will result in a crew knock-out from many weapons, and chemical shells will deal overpressure damage.

When facing an AB41, aim for the driver in the front or the engine, then finish it with a follow-up shot to the crew compartment. If you have access to a heavy machine gun, use it to quickly knock out the crew. Avoid aiming at the turret, as it is relatively well armoured and isn't a primary target.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret)
• Gun steel (main gun, machine gun)
• Wheel (tires)

Notes:

• The wheels are 10 mm thick.
• The gun barrel is 10 mm thick while the coaxial machine gun is 5 mm thick.
• Viewports on the turret are 6 mm thick.
• Mudguards are 8 mm thick.

Mobility

Modifications and economy

Armaments

Main armament

Ammunition

• Default: API-T · HEFI-T* - Half the belt is composed of HEFI-T* shells, which will do negligible damage against armoured targets. However against aircraft and vehicles with exposed crew, they can prove deadly.
• Perforante mod.35: API-T - Intermediate usage until the better PzGr 40 can be used. Decent enough against light tanks and other vehicles from the rear.
• PzGr 40: HVAP-T · API-T - Highest penetrating belt. However, the post-penetration effects are very poor. In close combat, aiming for modules and crew members is advised. Its effects against angled armour is limited due to the nature of the HVAP shells, however the base penetration compensates such drawback.

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the AB 41

Machine guns

Usage in battles

Combat tactics

Even though the armour of the AB 41 is lacking, if played to its advantages it can become a vital part of achieving victory over the other team. This armoured car has 2 main things going for it: a very good mobility and a very effective, fast-firing autocannon that can decimate enemies at close to medium range.

With these advantages in mind, there are several playstyles for this vehicle:

• The first option is to play a harasser role. Using the excellent mobility, the AB 41 can get to the best positions on the map early and ambush enemy vehicles. Once you have struck and taken an enemy out, use the mobility to relocate to a new position and repeat the process.
• A second option is to use this vehicle to flank the enemy tanks while your teammates face them. Using your speed and mobility, you go around to take the enemy in a pincer movement.
• As third option, you can play it so as to get to cap zones before the other teams do, and afterwards use your vehicle as a support tank along with your teammates tanks taking up a position behind them and overextending when needed.

In addition to these roles, the AB 41 can be used against airplanes with its 20 mm autocannon.

Notable opponents

• S.35 - Very well armoured but slow (flank if possible)
• B1 bis - Very well armoured for its BR and can be very dangerous with several cannons (avoid if possible)
• T-70 / T-80 - Strong frontal armour that will be hard to penetrate (but thinner side and rear armour), if you find yourself fighting one of these try to flank its position and catch it off guard.
• Most tanks of this tier can be penetrated easily by your autocannon, but be careful as some of these tanks will carry .50 cal machine guns which can penetrate your armour.

Defeating the AB 41

Being a very lightly armoured vehicle, it remains a vehicle easy to destroy: the 2 quickest ways to deal with the AB 41 are autocannons and HEAT/HE projectiles. But any shell with explosive filler will do. Avoid close quarters and engage from long distance to increase your armour advantage while decreasing the AB 41's firepower. You can also force your opponent to play on a terrain hindering its mobility (mud, snow, sand) to negate its main advantage. Aim for the driver or the engine to immobilize it, meaning almost certain death for an armoured car.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Reasonably fast on flat paved terrain especially roads
• Good acceleration
• Much quicker than other tracked competitors because it can steer both sides at 45° angle
• Tight turn radius at low speed
• Unlocks potent PzGr 40 APCR belt that is identical to the German 20 mm autocannons, giving it impressive close range penetration
• Good reverse speed

Cons:

• The armour protection is barely enough to stop rifle-calibre bullets
• Off-road mobility is lacklustre
• Sharp turns make it prone to tipping over
• Only 8 rounds per magazine, which is quickly expended
• Long reload time for a small magazine
• Individual shells don't do much internal damage upon penetration; multiple magazines may be required
• PzGr 40 belt is a tier IV modification
• API-T rounds struggle at longer ranges or against even slightly angled armour

History

An advanced automotive design, with the similar AB 40 it gave the Italian Army a modern armoured car during the Second World War. The AB 41 had a 4x4 layout, with four-wheel steering and fully independent suspension. The freely rotating spare wheels, positioned midway along the sides of the hull, prevented the vehicle from bellying out when crossing obstacles. It also had a rear driver position. The AB 40 had 2 coaxial machine guns in the turret and a third rear-facing machine gun. The AB 41 had the 20 mm gun in place of one of the turret machine guns, and also had an increase in engine horsepower over the other design. In total 24 AB 40 and 560 AB 41s were built. They served in the reconnaissance units of armoured, motorized and cavalry divisions, as well as in independent recon companies and platoons, with 4 vehicles per platoon. The AB 40s only were used in North Africa, but AB 41s were active on all fronts, including 30 sent to Russia.

The Germans seized 37 AB 41 and another 20 in production when Italy fell in 1943. They used these, along with 102 AB 43s converted back to a 20 mm main gun, and known as AB 41/43s.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the AB 41 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

• AB 43

Tanks of comparable role, configuration and era

• Sd.Kfz.234/1
• AMD.35

External links

• [Wikipedia] Autoblindo Fiat-Ansaldo
• [Tanks Encyclopedia] Autoblinda AB 40/41/43
• [Military Factory] Autoblinda 40/41 (AB 40/41)