Fiat 2000 The FIAT 2000 was an Italian heavy tank of the First World War . History . During World War I , Italy did not field any armoured units , due to a lack of tanks . The only solution at the time was to begin production of original designs . The order to design and produce the first Italian tanks was accepted by the FIAT automobile company in 1916 . The prototype of the new tank was displayed to a military commission on 21 June 1917 ; its mechanical systems were complete but its superstructure was added later , being represented on the prototype by a wooden mockup with a conical open turret and dummy gun . The final configuration of the superstructure was not completed until 1918 . Description . The FIAT 2000 was a substantial vehicle , of comparable dimensions to the British Mark V tanks , and weighing 40 tons as compared to the Mark V ' s 28 tons . The driver was seated at the front , with very good overall vision consisting of a large port forward and small lateral loopholes . The layout of the FIAT 2000 differed to the other tanks then in use , especially the British ones . The engine was separated from the crew ; not placed behind the crew compartment as modern tanks , but below it . The mechanical layout was also interesting and innovative , comprising a FIAT Aviazione A12 , water - cooled 240 hp engine with 6 cylinders driving the tracks through a transverse transmission . The fuel capacity was 600 - 1 , 000 liters , but this gave only 75 km range on paved roads . The tracks were longer than the hull , but were lower in comparison to the wrap - around type found on the British ' rhomboidal ' tanks and thus lower in weight . The armour was of clean design , being made of riveted steel plates . It was 15 mm thick on the sides and 20 mm on the front . Armament originally consisted of the turret mounted gun and ten machineguns ( three on each side and four in front ) , but this left the rear of the tank undefended and tended to contaminate the interior with propellant fumes , so it was decided to install a ventilator in the roof and alter the machinegun positions to two on each side , three at the rear , and two in front . Perhaps the most interesting feature of the tank ' s weaponry was the turret ; apart from the Renault FT - 17 , this was the first tank to have a rotating turret mounted above the hull . The turret was made of four pieces rivetted together and had room enough for two crew members . Its weapon was a 65 / 17 howitzer ( of 65mm caliber with a barrel 17 calibers long ) . Thanks to the tall turret and the space available beneath it , the gun ' s elevation was - 10 / + 75° . Service . This tank was often called ' the heaviest World War I tank ' but this is not strictly accurate , since the FIAT 2000 never actually saw combat in World War I . Also , the modest order for 50 tanks was never completed , the only tanks produced being two prototypes . After the war the FIAT 2000 was displayed as one of the weapons used ' to defeat the enemy ' and the two prototypes completed were sent to Libya to fight guerrilla forces , together with other tanks bought from France , in a special unit , the Tank battery ( 1° Batteria autonoma carri d ' assalto ) . In Libya , the FIAT tank proved capable of an average speed of 4 km / h , and so , after two months its career ended , being unable to keep up with rapid movement of the enemy . One remained in Tripoli and the other was sent to Italy in the spring of 1919 , where it performed before the King at Rome Stadium . The tank put on a convincing display : it climbed a 1 . 1 m wall , then faced another 3 . 5 m wall , which it knocked down with its weight . Then a trench of 3 m width was successfully crossed and several trees were knocked down . This impressive performance failed to revive interest in the heavy tank and so it was abandoned . The surviving FIAT 2000 at Rome was left in a depot for several years , until it was sent on the orders of Colonel Maltese to Forte Tiburtino , risking to catch fire during the travel . In 1934 it was seen again in a Campo Dux parade , having been repainted and even rearmed , with two 37 / 40 mm guns instead of the forward machine guns . It was later reportedly transformed into a monument at Bologna , after that its fate is unknown , like the other tank .