The P40 with its 75/34 cannon installed on a rotating turret and weighting 26 tons, it was the most powerful
tank used by the Italian Army during World War II. For an Italian tank of that time, it featured innovative
characteristics such as angled front and side main body plates that were still bolted together instead of
welded. It had a reasonable speed of about 40 km/h (25 mph). The design of the P40 began in 1940 but its
development was long and difficult. In 1943, the first definitive version was ready for production. With the
subsequent armistice and Northern Italy German occupation, all P40s were operated by the German Army.
About three dozen were buried along the Gothic line as small fortresses; the engines had been removed due
to supply difficulties from the struggling war industry. There were three P40 divisions operated by the
German Army on the Yugoslavian front and others in Austria against the Soviet Army.