World War II s during the
Western Desert campaign On 1 June 1941, the
depot of the
33rd Tank Infantry Regiment in
Parma formed the command of the 133rd Tank Infantry Regiment. Over the course of June, the newly formed regiment received three battalions equipped with
M13/40 tanks: the
X Tank Battalion M13/40 from the
1st Tank Infantry Regiment, the
XI Tank Battalion M13/40 from the
4th Tank Infantry Regiment, and the newly formed XII Tank Battalion M13/40. On 27 November 1941, the regiment was assigned to the
133rd Armored Division "Littorio" as replacement for the 33rd Tank Infantry Regiment. In December 1941, the XII Tank Battalion M13/40 was sent to
Libya to reinforce the German-Italian
Panzer Group Africa. However, on 13 December 1941, the ships Carlo del Greco and Fabio Filzi, which transported the tanks of the battalion, were torpedoed and sunk by the
Royal Navy submarine
HMS Upright off
Capo San Vito. Due to this the XII Tank Battalion M13/40, which was waiting at Naples for the transfer to Libya by
airplane, returned to the regimental depot in Parma, where the battalion was equipped with newer
M14/41 tanks. Consequently, the battalion was renamed XII Tank Battalion M14/41. The battalion was assigned to the
132nd Armored Brigade "Manin" and consisted of a command, a command and services company, and three tank companies with
M60A1 Patton main battle tanks. The battalion fielded now 434 men (32 officers, 82 non-commissioned officers, and 320 soldiers). On 12 November 1976, the
President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone assigned with decree 846 the flag and traditions of the 133rd Tank Infantry Regiment to the 10th Tank Battalion "M.O. Bruno". In 1986, the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and brigades, which until then had been under one of the Army's four divisions, came forthwith under direct command of the Army's
3rd Army Corps or
5th Army Corps. As the
Armored Division "Ariete" carried a
historically significant name, the division ceased to exist on 30 September in
Pordenone and the next day in the same location the
132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete" was activated. The new brigade took command of the units of the 132nd Armored Brigade "Manin", whose name was stricken from the roll of active units of the Italian Army.
Recent times After the end of the
Cold War Italian Army began to draw down its forces and, on 31 January 1991, the 10th Tank Battalion "M.O. Bruno" was disbanded. On 20 February of the same year, the flag of the 133rd Tank Regiment was transferred to the
Shrine of the Flags in the
Vittoriano in
Rome for safekeeping. On 28 September 1991, the
60th Tank Battalion "M.O. Locatelli" in
Altamura lost its autonomy and the next day, on 29 September 1991, the battalion entered the newly formed 60th Tank Regiment "M.O. Locatelli". The regiment was equipped with
Leopard 1A2 main battle tanks and assigned to the
Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo". On 17 October 1992, the 60th Tank Regiment "M.O. Locatelli" was renamed 133rd Tank Regiment and the flag of the 60th Tank Regiment "M.O. Locatelli" was transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano. On 8 October 1995, the
4th Tank Regiment disbanded its companies in
Civitavecchia and the next day, on 9 October 1995, the flag of the 4th Tank Regiment arrived in
Bellinzago Novarese, where it replaced the flag of the
31st Tank Regiment. On the same date, 9 October 1995, the 133rd Tank Regiment was reduced to reserve unit, which was to be formed in case of war by the Tank School in
Lecce. The next day, on 10 October 1995, the flag of the 31st Tank Regiment arrived in Altamura, where it took over the base, personnel, and materiel of the 133rd Tank Regiment. Afterwards, on 26 October 1995, the flag of the 133rd Tank Regiment was once more transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano. == See also ==