Semovente 90/53
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| Semovente 90/53 | |
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| Place of origin | .svg/22px-Flag_of_Italy_(1861-1946).svg.png){kind=small} Italy |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1943 |
| Used by | Italy |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Produced | 1942 |
| Number built | 20 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 17 tonnes |
| Length | 5.2 m |
| Width | 2.2 m |
| Height | 2.14 m |
| Crew | 5 (commander, driver, three gun crew) |
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| Armor | 40 mm |
| Primary armament |
90 mm Cannone da 90/53 6 rounds |
| Engine | Fiat V8 diesel 154 hp |
| Suspension | vertical volute spring |
| Operational range |
200 km |
| Speed | 35 km/h |
The Semovente 90/53 was an Italian self-propelled gun (a tank destroyer) in use during World War II. It was built by mounting a 90 mm Cannone da 90/53 anti-aircraft gun on top of an enlarged chassis of a M14/41 tank. About 30 were built in March 1942 in response to demands by Italian forces on the Eastern Front for a vehicle-mounted anti-tank weapon that could take on Soviet T-34 and KV tanks. Italian armored forces on the Eastern Front were equipped only with the L6/40 tank and Semovente 47/32 self-propelled gun; neither of these had the firepower to cope with the Soviet medium and heavy tanks. However, no Semovente 90/53 were ever sent to the Eastern Front, though a few saw action during the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943.
The major drawback of the Semovente 90/53, as with many self-propelled gun types of World War II combatants, was the open top and rear of the gun compartment, which left the gun crew exposed to shrapnel. The small ammunition capacity of the vehicle was also a problem; only six rounds could be carried. This necessitated the creation of special ammunition carriers out of Fiat L6/40 tanks, one accompanying each Semovente 90/53 in the field. The L6 ammunition carriers could carry 26 rounds. The effective range of the gun was about 2000 meters.
[edit] External links
- Semovente da 90/53 at wwiivehicles.com
- SEMOVENTE da 90/53 at comandosupremo.com
- WWII U.S. Report on Semovente 90/53, June 1943
| Italian armoured fighting vehicles of World War II |
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| Light Tanks and Tankettes |
| L3/35 | Fiat L6/40 |
| Medium Tanks |
| Fiat M11/39 | Fiat M13/40 | Fiat M14/41 | M15/42 |
| Heavy Tanks |
| P40 |
| Armoured Cars |
| AB 40 | AB 41 | Lince scout car |
| Self propelled guns |
| Semovente 47/32 | Semovente 75/18 | Semovente 75/34 | Semovente 90/53 | Semovente 105/25 | Semovente 149/40 |
| Italian armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II |
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