Padova Type 1 Assault Tank
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| Type 1 Assault Tank | |
|---|---|
 Type 1 tanks during the Desopya Campaign. | |
| Type | Tank |
| Place of origin |  Cacertian Empire |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1918—1920 |
| Used by |  Cacertian Imperial Army |
| Wars | Divide War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Padova Railworks |
| Designed | 1917 |
| Manufacturer | Padova Railworks Bonple Armament Manufacturers |
| Produced | 1918—1920 |
| No. built | ~300 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 23 tonnes |
| Length | 8.9 m (29 ft 2 in) |
| Width | 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) |
| Height | 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) |
| Crew | 8 (Commander-driver, gunner, loader, four machine gunners, mechanic) |
| Armor | 11—19mm (0.43—0.75 in) |
Main armament | 75mm mountain gun (20 rounds) |
Secondary armament | 4 × M1916 LMG (7.5×63mm Durante) |
| Engine | 4-cylinder Padova-Bonple 90 hp (70 kW) |
| Power/weight | 4 hp/tonne |
| Transmission | Holt-Marcourt electric transmission |
| Suspension | Coil spring |
Operational range | 80 km (50 mi) |
| Speed | 12 km/h (7.5 mph) |
The Type 1 Assault Tank was the first Cacertian tank developed and served during the last year of the Divide War. The concept of the tank was first hypothesized by Demetria Marik in 1915; the outbreak of the Divide War in March 1916 accelerated the Imperial Army’s plans for an armored vehicle.
Rushed into service, the Type 1 had numerous design flaws and its post-war performance is generally considered fundamentally inadequate. The principal weakness of the design were it’s caterpillar tracks which were much too short in relation to the vehicle’s length and weight. The later models attempted to rectify the original flaws by installing wider and stronger track shoes, thicker frontal armor, and a newer 75mm field gun.
Approximately 300 Type 1 tanks were built and were used extensively during the remaining actions of the Divide War, becoming more effective as the Empire began its retreat and combat moved out of the trenches. They were completely retired from service in 1920.