World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Semovente 90/53 tank destroyers were designed by marrying the M14/41 tank chassis with 90-millimeter 90/53 anti-aircraft guns. Despite the primary weaponry originally being designed for anti-aircraft purposes, the resulting self-propelled gun was meant to be tank destroyers for use against Soviet T-34 and KV tanks. The 90-millimeter guns, when used against ground targets, had a rage of 2,000 meters. While other M14/41-based self-propelled guns retained the rear-engine configuration, the longer guns used for this design necessitated the guns to be moved toward the rear, thus the engines were relocated to the front of the vehicle. These vehicles were designed to be open from the top and rear because they were meant to be operated from just behind the front lines so there was no cause for concern for small arms fire from the rear, but the crews, like crew of many other self-propelled guns across various armies, would later complain of this drawback. In terms of ammunition storage, they could only carry six rounds, thus they typically either towed a trailer containing 40 rounds, or they were supported by armored carriers that carried 26 additional around each. The rounds used were high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) shells; in Italian, they were called Effetto Pronto (EP) rounds.

ww2dbaseAlthough 48 examples were built (all of which were in 1941) none of them were actually sent to the Russian Front like originally intended. Instead, they were sent to North Africa and later Sicily where they became effective tank destroyers. After the Italian surrender in Sep 1943, a few surviving examples were captured by German forces, which pressed them into use as long range artillery pieces.

SPECIFICATIONS

Semovente 90/53

Machinery	One Fiat SPA 15T liquid-cooled engine rated at 145hp
Suspension	Double articulated bogies
Armament	1x90mm L/53 Model 39 or Model 41 gun
Armor	40mm front, 10mm sides
Crew	4
Length	5.20 m
Width	2.20 m
Height	2.15 m
Weight	16.7 t
Speed	35 km/h
Range	200 km

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