The Fiat 626 was an Italian medium truck that met specifications for the Italian army and air force for military operations prior to World War II. The Fiat 626 NLM operated in

Italian North Africa Libya (; ) was a colony of Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania, which had been Italian possessions since 1911. Fro ...

(1940–1943),

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa (, A.O.I.) was a short-lived colonial possession of Fascist Italy from 1936 to 1941 in the Horn of Africa. It was established following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, which led to the military occupation of the Ethiopian ...

(1940–1941), the

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(1940–1944), France (1940–1944), and the Soviet Union (1941-1943/44). In 1939, the 626 was the first FIAT truck with forward control and replaced the models 621 and 633. The initial version of the 626 for civilian use was the 626N ("N" for ''Nafta'', the Italian for

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

). This was followed by a slightly longer wheelbase version the 626NL (from ''Nafta Lungo'' - "diesel long"). The military version for the

Italian Army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...

and the

Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...

was the 626NLM (for ''Nafta Lungo Militare'') A reliable workhorse, the FIAT 626 became the standard Italian medium truck and operated on all fronts. France ordered 1,650 trucks; 700 had been delivered by the time Italy declared war on June 10, 1940. After the Italian armistice with the Allies in September 1943, the FIAT 626 was used by German forces. By 31 January 1945, 3,000 had been produced for German use. In 1941, 100 trucks were purchased by the

Bulgarian army The Bulgarian Army (), also called Bulgarian Armed Forces, is the military of Bulgaria. The commander-in-chief is the president of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for political leadership, while overall military command is in ...

after

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

became an ally of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The Bulgarian Army still used the vehicles in 1944–1945, after the country signed an armistice with the Allies and participated in the war against Germany. Production ceased in 1948, after 10,000 Fiat 626 had been produced at FIAT's

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

assembly lines.

References

* {{cite web , title=Fiat 626 NLM, 3-ton, 4x2, Medium Truck , url=https://www.o5m6.de/wehrmacht/fiat_626.php , website=Engines of the Wehrmacht , accessdate=11 October 2020 , date=October 19, 2010 626 World War II vehicles of Italy Military trucks of Italy Military vehicles introduced in the 1930s Vehicles introduced in 1939