Fiat 15

{{Short description|Italian truck}} {{more citations needed|date=September 2022}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox weapon | name = Fiat 15 | image = Fiat 15 Ter in French Army service.jpg | image_size = 350 | alt = | caption = Fiat 15 Ter in French Army service during the First World War | type = Light truck | origin = Italy  | is_vehicle = y | is_UK = y  | service = | used_by = Italy, France, British Empire & <br/>United States | wars = Italo-Turkish War & First World War  | designer = Carlo Cavalli | design_date = | manufacturer = Fiat Veicoli Industriali | developed_from = | developed_into = | unit_cost = | production_date = 1911–1922 | number = 26,714 | variants = AMO-F-15 (additional 6,285 built)  | spec_label = Fiat 15 Ter | mass = | length = {{cvt|15|ft|m|2|order=flip}} overall<br/>{{cvt|10|ft|m|2|order=flip}} wheelbase | part_length = | width = {{cvt|1.74|m|ftin}} | height = | crew = Two seats | passengers =  | engine = Fiat 53A<br/>{{cvt|4398|cc|cuin}}<br/>4-cylinder inline petrol | engine_power = {{cvt|40|bhp|kW}} at 1800rpm | pw_ratio = | payload_capacity = 1.5 t (30 cwt, 1.65 short tons) | drive = Rear wheel | transmission = 4-speed | suspension = Leaf springs | clearance = | fuel_capacity = | vehicle_range = | speed = {{cvt|36|mph|km/h|order=flip}} | guidance = | steering =  | ref = Gosling<ref name=Gosling>{{cite web |last=Gosling |first=Tim |date=20 April 2017 |title=Gallic Charm |url=https://www.keymilitary.com/article/gallic-charm |url-access=limited |website=Key Military |location=Stamford |publisher=Key Publishing |access-date=15 April 2026}}</ref> }} The '''Fiat Tipo 15''' is a light military truck produced by Fiat Veicoli Industriali. Introduced in 1911, the Tipo 15 was used by the Royal Italian Army in the Italo-Turkish War and in the First World War.<ref name="addis-ababa p12">{{cite book|last1=Bekele|first1=Shiferaw|last2=Volterra|first2=Alessandro|last3=Zaccaria|first3=Massimo|year=2018|title=The First World War from Tripoli to Addis Ababa (1911–1924)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QlV1DwAAQBAJ&dq=fiat+15+bis&pg=PA162|access-date=4 May 2022|location=Addis-Ababa|publisher=Centre français des études éthiopiennes|isbn=9791036523786|page=162}}</ref><ref>https://www.esercito.difesa.it/en/History/pagine/fiat-15-ter.aspx</ref> It was also produced in the Soviet Union as the AMO F-15.<ref name="Siegelbaum 2011 12">{{cite book|last=Siegelbaum|first=Lewis H.|year=2011|title=Cars for Comrades: The Life of the Soviet Automobile|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dn8cie0kyScC&dq=fiat+15+ter&pg=PA12|location=Ithaca, NY|publisher=Cornell University Press|page=12|isbn=9780801461484}}</ref><ref name="Shugurov, Lev Mikhaĭlovich page 52">{{cite book|last=Shugurov|first=Lev Mikhaĭlovich|title=Avtomobili Rossii i SSSR (Klub fanatov tekhniki)|edition=Russian|page=52|publisher=Prostreks|year=1994|isbn=5874830049}}</ref>

==Creation and design== In 1909, the Royal Italian Army requested a light multi-role truck to transport personnel and materials. Designed by Carlo Cavalli, the Fiat Veicoli Industriali presented the '''Fiat 15'''.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last=Casarola|first=Maurizio|title=Domani si va all'assalto: Protagonisti della Grande Guerra cento anni dopo|publisher=Infinito Edizioni|year=2018|isbn=978-88-6861-298-6|language=it}}</ref> This new model inaugurates a technical novelty on this type of vehicle: the fuel pump replacing a gravity feed.

The truck entered military service in 1911 as the '''Fiat 15 bis''' and was heavily utilized in the Italo-Turkish War. It was nicknamed "Libya", because it was intended for use in this colony.<ref name="addis-ababa p12"/> Subsequently, in 1913, the '''Fiat 15 Ter''', equipped with a more powerful engine, was introduced.

During the First World War, its production for the armed forces was joined by that of the Fiat 18.<ref name=":0" />

The chassis of the civilian truck was also namely used for the preparation of buses and fire engines for the civic firefighters.{{cn|date=April 2024}} From 1918, an armored car, called Fiat Terni and based on the ''Fiat 15 Ter'' truck chassis, was developed and exclusively used in Libya, earning it the name Fiat Terni-Tripoli.<ref name=":1">{{cite book|last1=Cappellano|first1=Filippo|title=Italian Armoured & Reconnaissance Cars 1911–45|last2=Battistelli|first2=Pier Paolo|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|year=2018|isbn=978-1-4728-2435-6|location=London|pages=6}}</ref>

==Technology== The Fiat 15 chassis is mounted on four-spoke wheels, at the front and back. The engine on the Fiat 15 is a {{cvt|3053|cm3|cuin}} four-cylinder petrol Fiat Brevetti 15/20 unit, innovative at the time due to the presence of a fuel pump instead of relying on gravity feed. The Fiat 15 bis maintains the same engine, while the Fiat 15 ter is fitted with a more powerful {{cvt|4398|cm3|cuin}} Fiat 53A petrol engine{{efn|The top speed increased from {{cvt|35 to 40|km/h}}}} and steel disc wheels.<ref>http://www.landships.info/landships/softskin_articles/Fiat_15ter.html</ref>{{additional citations needed|date=October 2024}}

==Military use== {{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | width = 240 | header = | image1 = Fiat 15 Ter in British Army service.webp | alt1 = | caption1 = Fiat 15 Ter in British Army service during the First World War | image2 = Fiat 15 Ter in US Army service.webp | alt2 = | caption2 = Fiat 15 Ter in service with the American Expeditionary Forces }}

===Italy=== The Fiat 15 was the stalwart of the first motorization of the Italian armed forces and the Royal Army acquired all versions of the truck in many configurations, including ambulance, garage, and fire engine. Alongside its use as a logistic means, Italy was the first country to use the motor vehicle directly in combat.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Duncan|last1=Crow|first2=Robert Joseph|last2=Icks|title=Encyclopedia of Armoured Cars and Half-Tracks|date=1 October 1976|publisher=Chartwell Books|location=Secaucus, NJ|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofar0000crow_x6o5/mode/1up|isbn=978-0890090589}}</ref>

In fact, the Fiat 15 bis was used as the basis for the construction of the armored car Fiat Arsenale,<ref>{{cite book|title=WWI: The First Mechanized War|publisher=AK-Interactive, S.L.|page=84}}</ref> used in the Italo-Turkish war together with the Bianchi. After the Great War, the Fiat-Terni Tripoli bus was produced on the chassis of the Fiat 15 ter by the steel mills of Terni. During this campaign, the squadrons were also motorized with numerous Fiat 15 ter trucks (defined at the time as "tanks"), protected with armored metal plates and armed with three Schwarzlose machine guns with 15,000 rounds, conducted by a crew of four men.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icsm.it/articoli/ri/riconquistalibia.html|title=IT.CULTURA.STORIA.MILITARE ON-LINE: Articoli: Ricerche: Storia Contemporanea: La riconquista della Libia|last=Bonaiti|first=Emilio|language=it|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609123840/http://www.icsm.it/articoli/ri/riconquistalibia.html|archive-date=9 June 2021}}</ref>

In 1918, the Italian army counted 8,206 Fiat 15 trucks in its ranks, including 710 in sanitary version.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

===France=== In 1907, the French Ministry of War had decided to reserve its orders to national manufacturers only. But in October 1914, it was realized that national production could not satisfy the needs of the French Army; 2,585 vehicles were delivered by the French national manufacturers in 1914. As such, foreign designs were pursued by the French government to fulfill its remaining vehicle deficit, and the Fiat 15 and 18 trucks were supplied by Fiat to serve in the French Army throughout the First World War.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

A first order for 500 units of the Fiat 15 came through in December 1914, followed by a second order for 600 vehicles in January 1915. On 30 June 1915, there were 635 Fiat 15 trucks in service with the French Army. On 31 May 1918, 839 trucks were assigned to aviation squadrons.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

===Other countries=== The Fiat 15 Ter was used by several other armies during the First World War. The United Kingdom obtained 386 trucks, while the United States received only 200, despite an order for 4,000 units.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

Many copies were also delivered to Russia; 1,319 trucks were assembled at the AMO factory in Moscow between 1917 and 1919 with parts supplied by Fiat. The Fiat 15 Ter was then manufactured under license by AMO under the name of AMO F-15, with 6,285 trucks built between 1924 and 1931.<ref name="Siegelbaum 2011 12"/><ref name="Shugurov, Lev Mikhaĭlovich page 52"/>

==Technical features== {|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! '''Model''' ! '''Type''' ! '''Years of production''' ! '''Motor type''' ! '''Displacement (cm³)''' ! '''Power''' ! '''PTC (in tons)''' |- | Fiat 15/20 HP Base "Brevetti Tipo 2" | Frame | 1909–1910 | Fiat Brevetti 15/20 | {{cvt|3053|cm3}} | {{cvt|16|hp}} | 1.2 |- | Fiat Tipo 15 | Chassis, Bus | 1911–1912 | Fiat Brevetti 15/20 | {{cvt|3053|cm3}} | {{cvt|20|hp}} | 2.5 |- | Fiat Tipo 15 bis | Truck, Chassis, Bus, Ambulance | 1912–1913 | Fiat 15/20 HP | {{cvt|3053|cm3}} | {{cvt|20|hp}} | 3.1 |- | Fiat Tipo 15 Ter | Truck, Chassis, Bus, Ambulance | 1913–1922 | Fiat 53A | {{cvt|4398|cm3}} | {{cvt|40|hp}} | 3.95 |- | Fiat Tipo 15 Ter – Military | Truck, Chassis, Bus, Ambulance | 1913–1922 | Fiat 53A | {{cvt|4398|cm3}} | {{cvt|36|hp}} | 3.75 |- | AMO-ZIL F-15 | Manufactured in Russia under license (Fiat 15 Ter) | 1924–1931 | Fiat 53A | {{cvt|4398|cm3}} | {{cvt|40|hp}} | 4.0 |- | Fiat Bertone Type 15 Ter | Bus | 1921–1922 | Fiat 53A | {{cvt|4398|cm3}} | {{cvt|40|hp}} | 3.95 |- | Fiat 502F | Truck, chassis | 1923–1926 | Fiat 101 | {{cvt|1460|cm3}} | {{cvt|23|hp}} | 2.07 |}  The total production in Italy of the Fiat 15 Bis and 15 Ter models between 1911 and 1922 was 26,714 units. There is no data regarding the production of the civilian base version 15.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{cite book|last=Bossi|first=Paolo|title=Cent'anni di camion Fiat|publisher=Fondazione Negri|year=2000|language=it|isbn=978-8890095559}} * {{cite book|first=Peter J.|last=Davies|title=The World Encyclopedia of Trucks|publisher=Hermes House|year=2002|isbn=978-1843094722}} * {{cite book |last1=Georgano |first1=G. N. |last2=Demand |first2=Carlo |date=1978 |title=Trucks: an Illustrated History, 1896–1920 |location=Lausanne |publisher=Edita |isbn=0-8467-0500-1}} * {{cite web |last=Gosling |first=Tim |date=20 April 2017 |title=Gallic Charm |url=https://www.keymilitary.com/article/gallic-charm |url-access=limited |website=Key Military |location=Stamford |publisher=Key Publishing |access-date=15 April 2026}} * {{cite book |last1=Pignato |first1=Nicola |last2=Cappellano |first2=Filippo |date=2005 |title=Gli Autoveicoli Tattici e Logistici Del R. Esercito Italiano fino al 1943 |url= |trans-title=Tactical and Logistic Vehicles of the Royal Italian Army up to 1943 |language=Italian |volume=1 |location=Rome |publisher=Stato Maggiori Dell'Esercito Ufficio Storico |page= |isbn= }}

Category:Military trucks of Italy Category:World War I vehicles 15 Category:Italo-Turkish War Category:World War I vehicles of Italy Category:World War I vehicles of France Category:World War I vehicles of the United Kingdom Category:World War I vehicles of the United States