M7 Priest

M7 Priest

M7 preserved at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
Type Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin United States
Service history
Used by U.S. Army
Argentine army
Belgian army
British Army
Israel Defense Forces
Pakistan Army
Taiwanese Army
Production history
Manufacturer American Locomotive Company (M7)
Pressed Steel Car (M7, M7B1)
Federal Machine and Welder (M7B2)
Produced April 1942–1945[1]
Number built M7: 3,490[2] M7B1: 826[1] M7B2: 127[1]
Variants M7, M7B1, M7B2
Specifications
Weight 50,640 lb (22.97 metric tons)
Length 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)[1]
Width 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) with sandshields
Height 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m)[1]
9 ft 8 in (2.95 m) over AA machine gun
Crew 5,[3] 7[4]
Armor 12–62 mm[1]
Main
armament
 105 mm M1/M2 Howitzer
69 rounds
Secondary
armament
 1 x 0.5 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun
300 rounds
Engine Continental R-975 C1
400 or 340 hp
(298 or 254 kW)
Suspension Vertical volute spring
Operational
range
 120 mi (193 km)
Speed 24 mph (39 km/h) on road
15 mph (24 km/h) off road

The 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle produced during World War II. It was given the official service name 105 mm Self Propelled Gun, Priest by the British Army, due to the pulpit-like machine gun ring, and following on from the Bishop and the contemporary Deacon self-propelled guns.

History

Witnessing the events of the war, U.S. Army observers realized that they would need a self-propelled artillery vehicle with sufficient firepower to support armored operations. Lessons learned with half-tracks (such as the T19 Howitzer Motor Carriage (HMC) with a 105mm howitzer the on M3 Half-track chassis) also showed that this vehicle would have to be armored and fully tracked. It was decided to use the M3 Lee chassis as the basis for this new vehicle design, which was designated T32.[5]

M7 Priest in Carentan, France

The pilot vehicles used the M3 chassis with an open-topped superstructure, mounting an M1A2 105 mm howitzer and, following trials, adding a machine gun, the T32 was accepted for service as the M7 in February 1942 and production began that April. Before production had begun, the British Tank Mission had requested 2,500 to be delivered by the end of 1942 and a further 3,000 by the end of 1943, an order which was never fully completed.[6][7]

As the M4 Sherman tank replaced the M3, it was decided to continue production using the M4 chassis (the M4 chassis was a development of the M3). The M7 was subsequently supplanted by the M37 HMC (on the "Light Combat Team" chassis that also gave the M24 Chaffee light tank).[7] While the first M7s were produced for the U.S. Army, some were diverted to support the British in North Africa. Ninety M7s were sent to the British Eighth Army in North Africa, who were also the first to use it in battle during the Second Battle of El Alamein as well as their own Bishop, a self-propelled gun based on the 87.6 mm calibre Ordnance QF 25-pounder gun-howitzer.[8]

There were British logistical problems with the M7, as it used U.S. ammunition not compatible with other British guns, which had to be supplied to units.[8] The logistical problem was only truly resolved in 1943 on arrival of the Sexton, developed by the Canadians on a M3 chassis, using the standard British QF 25-pounder.[5] Until that time the British continued to use the M7 throughout the North African and Italian campaigns. The three assault infantry divisions (3rd and 50th British, 3rd Canadian) that landed on Sword, Juno and Gold beaches at the start of the Allied invasion of Normandy had their artillery regiments equipped with the M7; these were replaced by the standard towed 25-pounder guns of the infantry in early August.[9][10] The M7 was also used in Burma, and played a significant part in the Battle of Meiktila and the advance on Rangoon in 1945. After the Sexton appeared, most British M7s were converted into "Kangaroo" armored personnel carriers.

Battle for Cebu City—American soldiers in M7 Priest enter Cebu City, Philippines

In U.S. service, the M7 was a great success. During the Battle of the Bulge, each U.S. armored division had three battalions of M7s, giving them unparalleled mobile artillery support.[11]

A total of 3,490 M7s—4,267 if including the M7B2[1]—were built and they proved to be reliable weapons, continuing to see service in the U.S. and allied armies well past World War II.[12]

Variants

Tanks museum Brussels (Belgium)
The first M7s produced were modified M3 Lee medium tanks. In order to maintain a low silhouette, the howitzer elevation had to be restricted to 35°. In May 1942, after only a month of production, the vehicle was altered to increase its ammunition storage from 24 to 69 rounds. This was achieved by placing seven rounds on the left wall, five on the right, and storing the remainder under floor plates. The M7 also went through a fairly rapid shift from being based on the M3, to having more commonality with the M4 Sherman. The first major example was an adoption of the M4's three-piece housing, single-piece casting and suspension. In British service, some M7s carried a radio set, which took the place of 24 rounds of ammunition.[12]
Completing the shift, the M7B1 was fully based on the M4A3 Sherman chassis. It was standardized in September 1943, and declared substitute standard in January 1945. [12]
During the Korean War, the limited elevation of the howitzer became noticeably problematic and it was increased to 65° to increase the effective range of the howitzer. The machine gun mount also had to be raised to give a 360° firing arc.[12]
As one part of the Allied effort to capture Falaise and break out from the Normandy beachhead, a total of 72 M7s had their main guns removed in the field for service as armoured personnel carriers and were first used in Operation Totalize. These field modified vehicles were referred to as "Defrocked Priests", "Unfrocked Priests" or as "Holy Rollers". The work was done in one week by 250 personnel from 14 British and Canadian Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer units.[13] 36 vehicles each were allocated to the 4th Infantry Brigade of the 2nd Canadian Division and the 154th (Highland) Brigade of the 51st (Highland) Division, which led the attack.[14]
Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 in Korea (1951)
A Canadian armored personnel carrier conversion of the M7 for use by British and Commonwealth units in northern Europe.[15] The Kangaroo could carry 20 infantry plus a crew of two. A total of 102 were converted between October 1944 and April 1945. The name "Kangaroo" became generic for all conversions of armored fighting vehicles into personnel carriers, including Ram tank conversions.[12]

British service self-propelled guns with ecclesiastical names

A British self-propelled gun armed with the Ordnance QF 25-pounder in design from 1941 was nicknamed "the Bishop" as its appearance was said to resemble a bishop's mitre. A replacement, the US 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 was called "the Priest" by the British, as part of its superstructure was said to resemble a priest's pulpit. Following this line of names a 1942 self-propelled gun armed with the QF 6 pounder was named "the Deacon", and a 1943 carrier weapon with the QF 25-pounder was called "the Sexton"

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Icks, AFV No. 26
  2. ↑ Doyle, David. Standard Catalog of U.S. Military Vehicles. Krause Publications, 2003, p.353
  3. ↑ Bishop, Chris. The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2002, p.121
  4. ↑ Doyle, p.354
  5. 1 2 Bishop, p.120.
  6. ↑ Icks, R. AFV Profile 26 – Hellcat, Long Tom and Priest
  7. 1 2 Chamberlain & Ellis British and American Tanks of World War II 1969 p138
  8. 1 2 Bishop, p.121.
  9. ↑ John Keegan, Six Armies in Normandy, The Viking Press, New York, 1982, pp 126–27
  10. ↑ Advanced Squad Leader, British Vehicle Notes, The Avalon Hill Game Co., Baltimore, MD, 1988, p. H61
  11. ↑ Collins, Michael. King, Martin. Voices of the Bulge: Untold Stories from Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge. MBI Publishing Company, 2011. p.193
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Norris, John (2012) World War II Tanks and Trucks The History Press. ISBN 0-75249-073-7
  13. ↑ Ken Tout, A Fine Night For Tanks – The Road to Falaise, Sutton Publishing Ltd., Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, 1998, pp 40 – 41
  14. ↑ Advanced Squad Leader, British Vehicle Notes, The Avalon Hill Game Co., Baltimore, MD, 1988, p. H63
  15. ↑ Jones, Richard. Tanks. Zenith Imprint, 2004. P.44

References

External links

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