Semovente da 90/53

Fiat-Ansaldo developed this Italian heavy self-propelled gun and tank destroyer by mounting a 90 mm (L/53) Cannone da 90/53 anti-aircraft gun on top of an enlarged M14/41 medium tank chassis. The Italian Army's inability to take-on Soviet T-34 and KV tanks on the Eastern Front motivated its request for such a weapon. Italy's limited industrial production capabilities combined with high demand for the 90 mm gun, however, meant that the company was only able to produce 30 examples, all in 1942. A crew of four operated the vehicle, and it had a top speed of 16 mph. The Semovente da 90/53 never served on the Eastern Front, but it did see service in North Africa and during the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. After the September 1943 armistace, Germany requisitioned the few surviving examples and used them primarily as long-range artillery in the mountainous terrain of Northern Italy. Drawbacks of the type were its thin armor, slow speed, eight-round ammunition stowage capacity, and the open top and rear of its gun compartment. On the positive side, the 90 mm gun fired both armor penetrating (AP) and high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds, and was able to destroy at long range any Allied tank it faced in North Africa and mainland Italy.