And a nice magazine article here, with some stuff that's new to me. In Italian, unfortunately, which I can't do. But there are ways round that nowadays.
Also, there are some remarkable postage stamps printed by Libya, depicting Libyan victories over the Italian colonizers. Bizarrely, the stamps claim that individual battles lasted for decades. But the thing is that the Fiat 2000 is depicted on a couple of them, as are a few WWI vintage vehicles and guns. It seems our friend Vollketten knows quite a lot about these. Perhaps he would like to elaborate.
-- Edited by James H on Friday 27th of February 2015 01:29:18 PM
"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.
I wrote a short piece of that vehicle here http://ftr.wot-news.com/2014/04/04/fiats-super-tank-the-fiat-2000/ last year. I have always liked it, such a nice looking machine.
Despite the late Colonel Gaddafi putting it on two of his stamps in rather dramatic action sequences the only known account I know of covering their combat use comes from ‘Le Forze Armate’ from 1935 saying that they were both to be used for the reconquest of Giarabub.
On route to Giarabub though one broke down at Porto Bardia and the other some distance from the action leaving the actual battle to be carried out with only Fiat 3000s and a variety of armoured cars and trucks.
Colonello Pederzini states that one of the Fiat 2000′s was later dismantled in Benghasi prior to 1935 for unstated reasons. It may have just been salvaged for spare parts. Whether they saw any action elsewhere in Libya is not known at this time.
Regarding the stamps themselves they used to be easier to get but the top one commemorating 53 years since the 1928 Battle of Bir Tagreft (google is a let down on this one apart from here http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitwa_o_Bir_Tagreft) It is possible as far as I know that those vehicles were there but its unlikely. Also in the stamp they are depicted being driven backwards. The bottom stamp 'The Battle of El-Tangi' 69th anniversary is a very nicely drawn stamp with the vehicle at least going forwards but its 1913. The first Fiat 2000 itself wasn't even planned until 1917 so it definately could not possibly have been there. This is as far as I know the main actions of the Italian/Libyan wars El Asaba (1913), Szughab (1913), Maharuga (1913),Ajdabiya (1914), Sabha (1914), Ghardabija (1915), Agila (1917), Sidi as-Sayyid (1922), Funduk al-Shibam (1922 ), Bir Tagreft (1928), Ghira (1929)
There is corroborative photographic evidence of these vehicle in Libya as both were sent in February 1919. this is one of them below from http://www.earlyaviators.com/egiorge1.htm with the 89th Squadron in 1922.
Which was based at Mellaha airbase (Mellaha is about 10km east of Tripoli) Some of the airbase buildings are visible in the background
This shot is also dated 1922 and said to be in the piazza del Pane in Tripoli.
and this is reportedly taken upon arrival in Tripoli
I'd certainly welcome any additional help with these vehicles in Libya or that whole campaign in general.
-- Edited by vollketten on Friday 27th of February 2015 09:32:33 PM
"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.
You can embed it on a page, but I don't know of a way of copying it from their page as a stand alone film. It's an HTML link which I have no idea how to do.