The military authorities did not judge the problem of desert vehicles urgent.
FIAT, supported by
Marshal Italo Balbo, Governor of
Libya, launched its own initiative which resulted in the A.S.37. The first 200 A.S.37 specimens were sent Libya in 1938 and were assigned to Commando del Sahara Libico and to Autogruppo della Tripolitania. Marshal Balbo wanted to use A.S.37's for the motorization of the
Company Sahariane, which was to have 22 vehicles. In March 1942, 584 A.S.37 were in service, and by 30 April 1943 a total of 802 were in service in North Africa. AS.37 crews praised their vehicles for not getting readily stuck in mud and autonomy when carrying out missions, but did feel that the cabin made for a tall silhouette. The German Wehrmacht continued to use the AS.37 after the
Armistice of Cassibile in 1943. The A.P.37 was a specialized armored carrier variant protected with 6-8mm of armor and usually armed with 1 x 8mm Breda machine gun. Troop carrying capacity was typically 7x troops. The A.P.37 was only deployed to Italy and the Balkans. ==Bibliography==