Vertical aerial photograph taken during a bombing attack by Italian Air Force on Hal Far airfield, Malta. Bombs are seen exploding on the installations in the northern corner of the airfield and over its eastern perimeter. Date unkown. Victor Sierra
.

Italian bombs over Malta

The semovente M 15/42 antiaereo quadrinato was an original Italian project and the first multiple AA gun mounted over a tank chassis. The German Wiberlwinds were largely inspired by the M15 AA, following it of about a year. In fact the project of this AA tank started at the beginning of 1943, when the complete air superiority by the Allies required a faster and closer AA support for the Italian armored forces.
It was a M 15/42 tank armed with a torretta quadrinata (multiple gun turret) of 4 AA 20 mm Scotti - Isotta Fraschini mguns. But as usual in Italian military equipment during WW2, the program took time and a few prototipes had been built before the armistice. Captured by the Germans, their formula largely inspired the famous Wiberlwind German AA tank. DVX

M 15 antiereo

CTV troops inspecting a captured T26 tank. DVX