Photograph of an Italian Fiat L3/33 tankette of the Bulgarian Army

Reference : PBCF1

Main information

Manufacturer reference	PBCF1
Category	Fiat L3/33 tankette
Date of publication	01/02/2026

This product is part of the MM Park BG collection gallery. Items shown in the collection gallery are not for sale.

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Description

Photograph of an Italian Fiat L3/33 tankette of the Bulgarian Army.

Manufacturer / main description

Photograph of an Italian Fiat L3/33 tankette.

Of the Bulgarian Army.

Research and descriptions prepared with the help of an AI assistant (ChatGPT-5). Typological inaccuracies or errors may remain.

Column of FIAT L3/33 tankettes of the Bulgarian Army
Bulgaria, late 1930s to early 1940s. Black-and-white silver-gelatin photograph. This photograph shows a column of Italian FIAT-Ansaldo L3/33 tankettes in service with the Royal Bulgarian Army during the Second World War. The vehicles are advancing in formation across open ground, probably during a military exercise, manoeuvre or operational movement. The FIAT L3/33, also designated CV-33 (Carro Veloce 33), was a small armoured tankette developed in Italy in the early 1930s by Ansaldo-FIAT. Inspired by the British Carden-Loyd tankettes, it was widely exported to several countries allied with or partnered to Fascist Italy, including Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Army acquired several examples before and during the Second World War in order to modernize its armoured units. Although lightly armoured and weakly armed, the L3/33 represented for Bulgaria an important symbol of military mechanization at a time when national armoured forces remained limited. In the photograph, the vehicles are recognizable by their low and compact silhouette, riveted superstructure, narrow running gear and forward driving position. The soldiers visible in the open hatches wear specific Italian-type helmets used during this period. This image is a rare testimony to the motorization of the Bulgarian armed forces on the eve of, or at the beginning of, the Second World War, as well as to the military and industrial links between Bulgaria and Italy in the 1930s and 1940s.

Technical data of the FIAT L3/33
Country of origin: Italy
Manufacturer: FIAT-Ansaldo
Entered service: 1933
Crew: 2 men
Armament (Bulgarian version): 1 Schwarzlose machine gun (2 twin 8 mm machine guns for Italy)
Maximum speed: about 40 km/h
Weight: about 3 tonnes