Lancia IZM The Lancia IZ and the Lancia IZM were two variations of an Italian armoured car built during World War I and which saw limited service during that war , the interwar period , and during World War II . Design . The Lancia IZ armoured car was built by Ansaldo of Italy starting in 1916 and was the most common of the early Italian armoured cars . Based on a Lancia truck , the armoured car was an advanced design for its day . For firepower the vehicle was equipped with twin turret mounted machine gun s . The initial ten vehicles featured a further small turret on top with yet another machine gun . This gave the vehicle considerable firepower for the time . As a result of experiences in World War I , steel rails were installed over the top of the vehicle for cutting wire . Having had good results with the early car , another production run of a slightly modified version ( the Lancia IZM ) or " Model 1918 " was ordered . The major difference between the IZ and IZM was that the IZ had a top turret on the main MG turret , whereas the IZM did not . The Lancia IZM was the second batch of Ansaldo - Lancia armoured cars built . 110 cars of the improved model were ordered in 1917 and all were delivered before the end of 1918 . Sometimes difficult to identify from the original Lancia IZ ( " Model 1916 " ) , the most obvious difference is the removal of the top machine gun turret . This left the IZM with just the one larger , twin machine gun turret . Other features that will help are that the first IZM ' s usually have two spare tyres mounted on the right side of the vehicle ( on the IZ they were under the rear ) . The cooling vents and front armour of the engine compartment are slightly different and there are fewer vision ports in the armoured crew compartment . The front bumpers were also simplified . However , some of the original IZ series were modified to initial IZM standard by the removal of the extra top turret and up - dating the chassis . This makes it possible to find photos of IZM armoured cars with both IZ and IZM features . American troops on the Italian Front during World War I trained with and used some of these vehicles . In combat . The Lancia IZ / IZM armoured car saw little combat in World War I due to the mountainous terrain in which the Italian Royal Army ( " Regio Esercito " ) fought . However , a few were deployed in the northern parts of the country where they saw combat against the Austro - Hungarian Army . After World War I , Lancia IZ / IZM armoured cars were sent to North Africa and to East Africa for policing duties . Many were also sent to the Albanian Kingdom where they were to form the sole armoured force of the country for many years . Some Lancia IZ / IZM played a minor role during the Italian invasion and the occupation of Ethiopia . Some Lancia IZ / IZM were sent to Spain during the Spanish Civil War and were used by the Italian Corps of Volunteer Troops ( " Corpo Truppe Volontarie Italia " , or CTV ) . These armoured cars were already hopelessly outdated by this point and performed poorly for the CTV against the Spanish Republican forces . A few obsolete Lancia IZ / IZM armoured cars were still in use with the Italian Royal Army during World War II . In 1940 and 1941 , several vehicles served with the Royal Army during the East African Campaign . In some instances , operable machines were pressed into service by other Axis forces even after Italy quit the war . In the service of the forces of Nazi Germany , the vehicle was identified as the " Panzerspähwagen IZM ( i ) " .