Semovente 90/53

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Semovente 90/53
General characteristics
Crew 5
Length 5.2 m
Width 2.2 m
Height 2.14 m
Weight 17 tonnes
Armour and armament
Armour 40 mm
Main armament 90 mm Cannone da 90/53
6 rounds
Secondary armament
Mobility
Power plant Fiat V8 diesel
154 hp
Suspension vertical volute spring
Road speed 35 km/h
Power/weight
Range 200 km

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 urgent demands by Italian troops on the Eastern Front for a vehicle-mounted anti-tank weapon that could take on the Russian T-34 and KV tanks that were almost impervious to the guns of the Italian armoured fighting vehicles. The major drawbacks of the Semovente 90/53 was the open top and rear of the gun leaving the gun crew exposed to shrapnel and the fact that the vehicle could only carry 6 rounds of ammunition with it. 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.

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Italian armoured fighting vehicles of World War II
Light Tanks and Tankettes
L3/35 | Fiat L6/40
Medium Tanks
Fiat M11/39 | Fiat M13/40 | Fiat M14/41 | M15/42
Heavy Tanks
P 40
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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