You’re likely familiar with the now infamous story of the so-called “Killdozer” in
Granby, Colorado.
Though that incident is well known and documented in numerous videos online and a full length
documentary the concept of a makeshift tank is far from an original idea.
The equally well-known Bob Semple can be seen as another example of this albeit that was
intended for military use.
Still, you will find no shortage of pictures and stories online of other DIY armored vehicles
from around the globe particularly in war torn regions where any armor is a massive
advantage.
Today's topic, however, is much more similar to the actions by Marvin Heemeyer in 2004
except taking place thousands of miles away in Italy.
Join me as we look at the story of the “Tanko” and the Italian Killdozer.
As cool as it might be to create your own armored vehicle using a bulldozer or other
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Huge thanks to them for sponsoring now lets head back to Italy for our main topic.
Venice is a city known best for its canals and historical buildings.
These are the main reasons most would visit the area, but as we will learn today not everyone
is happy with how the region is governed.
One of these groups, known as the Veneto Serenissimo Governo or Venetian Most Serene Government,
began in the 1980s led by Luigi Faccia and Flavio Contin.
Believing Venetian lands should be independent from Italy they reportedly began hijacking
radio frequencies and broadcasting their own messages in Venetian starting in 1996.
Seemingly unsatisfied with this the following year they would take action creating the “Tanko”
sometime prior to May 1997.
This seems to be built onto the chassis of an OM 180 NC or Fiat 690T2 truck which was
heavily modified.
The overall layout and unique 4 wheel steering in the front match so these seem like the
most likely candidates.
You may be wondering why I’m talking about this when I referred to a killdozer earlier,
just have a little patience we’ll get to that soon enough.
The “Tanko” also referred to by the VSG as, “Marcantonio Bragadin” after a Venetian
military officer from the 1500s, was the first of their endeavors into armored vehicles.
I was unable to find any specifics about the construction, but from the photos we can tell
it was some sort of metal plating welded together.
How much of the original truck survived the conversion process is hard to say, most likely
the majority of the cab was removed and replaced with the armored one.
We don’t know the exact thickness of this armor, but most likely it would have been
resistant to most smaller caliber ammunition.
Reportedly the vehicle was also armed with a WW2 era machine gun as well as a flamethrower.
Although I am uncertain if they carried ammo for the machine gun according to the information
I have seen the flamethrower had no fuel so I think both were probably just dummy weapons
to deter anyone who tried to stop the “Tanko”.
Work on this truck had apparently been ongoing for nearly 10 years with a total of six prototypes
prior to the “Tanko” itself.
This information is all conveniently provided on the “Tanko” with its license plate
which reads VT-MB-07, with VT standing for Venetian Tanko, MB for Marcantanio Bragadin,
and 07 being the tanks serial number.
The 7th Tanko seems to have been the only one actually built with the prior versions
just being other designs.
This could be wrong, but I have no evidence to the contrary.
Regardless of previous versions “Tanko 7” was finally unveiled on the night of May 8th,
1997 when members of the VSG moved into Piazza San Marco and St Mark’s Campanile.
Reportedly armed with hunting rifles the group of 8 men first hijacked a public ferry which
they then loaded the Tanko onto before ordering the captain to bring them to the square.
Quickly moving in upon arrival 6 of the men scaled a fence surrounding the St Mark's bell
tower before making their way to the top.
Unfurling a banner which read “Serenissima Repubblica” they then prepared for a long
siege in the hopes to bring attention to their cause.
These plans would quickly fall apart with the whole ordeal only lasting around seven
hours before the Carabinieri, part of Italy’s police force, stormed the tower and took the
group into custody.
Following this other members of the VSG were arrested along with the two leaders although
they were not present that night.
Despite the presence of weapons on both sides no one was injured during this event.
In the following years most of the individuals involved were released from custody aside
from Luigi Faccia who refused a pardon.
He must have been released sometime after this as he was later arrested again following
later events in 2014.
As is expected following this the Tanko found itself in police impound for nearly a decade
until it was put up for auction in 2006.
When the bidding ended the final price was 5,800 euros with the winners being the VSG
who excitedly reclaimed their homemade vehicle.
From there the armored truck would return home, remaining there for 8 years until 2014.
Now we finally reach the moment you all have probably been waiting for, the Italian Killdozer.
Captured by police on April 2nd, 2014 this improvised tank was part of a repeat of the
original 1997 raid.
With it being taken before its deployment, possibly planned for the following month on
the anniversary of the prior event, it is unclear if the “Tanko II” was finished.
Still the mechanical shovel was armored up to NATO level 3 ballistic protection with
a coat of fireproof paint.
Even if it was unfinished the DIY tank would have been virtually unstoppable for the regular
police force.
Also like the “Tanko'' the “Tanko II” was equipped with weapons including a “12mm
cannon” as one article writes.
Some articles claim it was armed with a functional cannon with others claiming they were only
cosmetic so it’s unclear which of these is the case.
Likely the latter was the case as with the original “Tanko”.
This was all attached to an old Fiat-Allis digger in Casale di Scodosia.
Following the police raid a total of 24 were arrested along with a further 27 being searched.
With most of this information coming from news reports it is hard to say how accurate
it is to reality.
For example one article claims tests using blanks fired from the vehicle were done and
also makes mention of quotes from the group referring to a total of 800 showing up the
day of the planned operation as well as plans to use sticks of dynamite.
I’m more than a little skeptical of this though as they also mention weapons procured
from the Albanian Mafia with no apparent sources aside from claiming it was taken from wiretapped
conversations.
From the news reports I have seen there is no mention of any weapons with the charges
mainly being for the planned attack itself.
When interviewed one of the activists had this to say…
With the previous events not involving any use
of deadly force and more being done to generate publicity for their cause this does seem to
line up with what he says.
Obviously this is a case of two opposing sides so more than likely neither the news nor the
activists are telling the whole truth.
Although the plans for the vehicle and even some of the people involved are related to
the original “Tanko” occupation from what I can find the VSG was not directly responsible
for this copycat plot, although as mentioned earlier Luigi Faccia as well as Flavio Contin
were arrested in connection to it the group is now led by someone else.
I haven’t been able to find a specific name for the group responsible, though, just the
individuals involved.
One article about the 2014 arrests included some photos of the original “Tanko” being
taken by police as well but I could not verify if these were taken in 2014 or were merely
photos from the original 1997 event.
If you happen to know more please let me know because I find it quite interesting.
Despite the similarity I also can’t say if the Colorado dozer rampage had any influence
on the choice to use a digger compared to the original truck, but it is possible.
With the increase of international news coverage and access to those stories thanks to the
internet I would not be surprised if there is a connection there.
To my knowledge there is no definitive proof of this though so it could just be a coincidence
especially since armoring construction equipment is not a new concept.
Whether you support the actions of groups like this or condemn them it is undeniable
that improvised armor will continue to play a role in movements like it in the future.
I know this topic could be seen as fairly political in nature which I try to avoid but
hopefully I did a decent job at providing an unbiased portrayal of the events.
Regardless of the politics of these sorts of events they remind us of just how influential
tanks can be when unopposed.
Similar to when tanks first entered warfare in the first world war they can cause both
shock and awe from their opponents who can only watch as the armored behemoths do as
they please.
Obviously nothing is unstoppable and eventually these sorts of rampages will end but in my
opinion they are still important parts of armored vehicle history.
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
I hope you all enjoyed today’s video.
As always a special thanks to my youtube members who support my content and one last thanks
to Crossout for sponsoring.
Don’t forget to try the game out for free using that link in the description to get
your free bonus.
Let me know what you think of the game and the video down in the comments.
I’ll see you all in the next video.