Semovente 47/32

Semovente da 47/32

Semovente da 47/32 on display at the United States Army Ordnance Museum, Aberdeen, Maryland
Type Self-propelled gun
Place of origin  Italy
Service history
In service 1942-1945
Used by  Italy
 Nazi Germany
 NDH
Bulgaria Tsardom of Bulgaria
Wars World War II
Production history
Number built c. 300
Variants command vehicle
Specifications
Weight 6.4 tonnes (14,109 lbs)
Length 3.78 m (12 ft 5 in)
Width 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Crew 3 (commander, driver, loader)
Armour Front: 30 mm (1.18 in)
Main
armament
 47 mm Cannone da 47/32 M35 with 70 rounds
Secondary
armament
 one machine gun
Engine 70 hp (52 kW)
Suspension bogie
Operational
range
 200 km (124 mi)
Speed 42 km/h (26 mph)

The Semovente da 47/32 was an Italian self-propelled gun built during World War II. It was created by mounting a Cannone da 47/32 M35 in an open-topped, box-like superstructure on a Fiat L6/40 chassis. Some were built as command tanks with a radio installed instead of the main gun. An 8 mm machine gun disguised as the 47 mm main gun was used on these versions to make them look like a regular Semovente 47/32s. About 300 Semoventi da 47/32 were built from 1941 and onward. The Semovente da 47/32 was the most heavily armed Italian AFV used on the Eastern Front.

While the 47 mm gun was adequate for 1941, by the time the Semovente reached the field it was already outdated and ineffective against enemy medium tanks, and therefore the vehicle wasn't particularly successful.[1]

After the Italian armistice in September 1943, the German Army took all Semovente 47/32s they could get hold of for their own use. Some of these were provided to Germany's Croatian puppet state and the Slovene Home Guard.

References

  1. ↑ Chasemore, F. Cappellano & P P Battistelli ; illustrated by R. (2012). Italian light tanks, 1919-45. Oxford: Osprey. p. 24. ISBN 9781849087773.

External links