Italian Carro Armato CM13/40 medium tanks in action in North Africa.  The extraordinary number of sandbags attached to the vehicles represents what is probably a realistic appraisal of the inadequacies of this tank's armour against British tank guns.  And this was Italy's best true tank ...  However brave Italian soldiers may have been, the poor quality of much of their equipment, from rifles up, gave them little chance of victory in a war in which machinery mattered.  Best regards, JR.

Sandbagged.

I at first thought that this was a destroyed tankette, but closer inspection suggests that it is actually an Italian Carro Armato M13/40 medium tank which has suffered a catastrophic internal explosion, resulting in serious disruption to the armour plate and the "popping off" of the turret.  I think you can just see the turret ring in the tank's deck, and one side of the turret to the left of the photograph.  Best regards, JR.

Quite exploded, El Alamein.

M13/40 Italian medium tanks parade through Tripoli, Libya, 1941.  Sandbags were dispensed with in this relatively safe environment.  I had not really noticed before - but is notable (though perhaps not surprising) how often sandbag supplemental armour appears in photos of this tank.  Best regards, JR.