employed by the Italian forces fighting on the Eastern Front. The L6 fought alongside the L6/40-based Semovente 47/32 self-propelled gun. Although a good light tank for its size and an improvement over the tankettes that were common within the Italian army, it was already obsolete by the time of its introduction. The low silhouette of the vehicle (somewhat taller than the average man) made it useful for reconnaissance, and its armament was effective against any light vehicles it might encounter. However, due to a lack of a suitable medium tank, it was often employed in a combat role for which it was unsuited. The L6 was also used by the German Army. In 1943, 26 Italian L6s were captured and used by the Hrvatsko domobranstvo of the Independent State of Croatia. The L6/40 was used postwar by the Polizia di Stato until it was phased out during the early 1950s. Surviving examples Three L6/40s survive: one is kept in Legnano near the "Cadorna" barracks, one is in the inventory of the Kubinka Tank Museum, and another is preserved in the Arms Museum in the castle of Gjirokastër in Albania. Extended specification Water fording: 0.8 m (2 ft 8 in) Gradient: 60% Vertical obstacle: 0.7 m (2 ft 4 in) Trench: 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) Elevation and Traverse: -12° to +20° through 360° of rotation Photo Gallery See also List of armoured fighting vehicles of World War II Type 95 Ha-Go 7TP Stridsvagn L-60 References Bishop, Chris (ed.) 1998, The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, Barnes & Noble, New York. . External links L6/40 Light Tanks at wwiivehicles.com L6/40 at onwar.com Light tanks of Italy World War II tanks of Italy Gio. Ansaldo & C. armored vehicles World War II light tanks Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944