This Semovente 75/18 M40 Italian Assault Howitzer Self-propelled Gun can be found at the French Tank Museum in Saumur in the Loire Valley. The Museum is called Musée des Blindés ou Association des Amis du Musée des Blindés, 1043, route de Fontevraud, 49400 Saumur, France www.museedesblindes.fr . The word Blindés means armoured.

Semovente 75/18 M40 Italian Assault Howitzer Self-propelled Gun

The Italians put a 75mm howitzer mountain gun on the chassis of the infantry support tank M13/40. It was used as an infantry support vehicle when attacking bunkers and machine gun posts as well as in an anti-tank role. The M13/40 tank at this stage in the war had been out classed so it was a good way of using unwanted chassis technology. It later served with Semovente 75/34 SPGs that had longer gun barrels and used the improved tank chassis of the Carro Armato M15/42 Italian Medium Tank.

Rear view of the Semovente M40 Italian Self-propelled Gun

It had upper front armour of 75mm thickness. The lower section was 50mm thick. The lowers sides and rear armour was only 25mm thick, The upper sides were 45mm thick. It had a top speed of 38 km/h and needed a three man crew. It had a range of 180km. It weighed 15.7 tonnes. The car company Fiat produced the tank. After the Italians surrendered in September 1943 the German army used them in the defence of Italy and renamed them Stug M42L 853(i). They were used in a combat, policing, reconnaissance and training role. Some were produced by Fiat for the German army after the Italian surrender.

Semovente M40 Assault Howitzer Italian Self-propelled Gun. To survive it had to be dug in hull down so as not to expose its weak lower armour.

Reader's Comments

The Semovente M40 75/18 was not a bad tank despite being outdated and so so cannon! It had a very low profile, good off road capability, was quite maneuverable and was the only Italian tank that could have some chances against the Sherman and the Grant! But it was almost blind when buttoned up so the crew rarely fought with the hatchs closed. It had a fragile cardan transmission because of it's low quality and worse of all it suffered a very low and slow production numbers! - Paoli Viti

Where can I find preserved Semovente Italian Self Propelled Guns?

• Semovente 75/18 M40 - Musee des Blindes, Saumur, France
• Semovente 75/18 M40 - El-Alamein War Museum, Egypt
• Semovente 75/18 M41 - Museo della Motorizzazione Militare della Cecchignola, Rome, Italy
• Semovente 75/18 M41 - Caserma Scalise, Vercelli, Italy
• Semovente 75/18 M41 - Caserma Santa Barbara, Milano, Italy
• Semovente 75/18 M41 - Caserma Baldassarre, Maniago, Italy
• Semovente 75/18 M41 - Museo di guerra per la pace Diego de Henriquez, Trieste, Italy
• Semovente 75/18 M41 - OTO Melara, La Spezia, Italy
• Semovente 75/18 M41 - Caserma Piave, Civitavecchia, Italy
• Semovente 75/18 M41 - Caserma Zignani, Rome, Italy
• Semovente 75/18 M41 - Caserma Nacci e Zappalà, Lecce, Italy
• Semovente 75/18 M41 - Fort Lee U.S. Army Ordnance Museum, VA, USA
• Semovente 75/18 M42 - Caserma Babini, Bellinzago Novarese, Italy
• Semovente 75/18 M42 - 2x Parco della Rimembranza, Lonate Pozzolo, Italy
• Semovente 75/18 M42 - Museo dell'Aviazione, Rimin, Italy
• Semovente 75/18 M42 - Parco Fauna Orobica, Bergamo, Italy
• Semovente 90/53 M41 - US Army Artillery Museum, Fort Sill, OK, USA
• Semovente da 149/40 - US Army Artillery Museum, Fort Sill, OK, USA
• Carro Comando 13.2mm M41 - Museo della Motorizzazione Militare della Cecchignola, Rome, Italy
• Source - Pierre-Oliver Buan - http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Panzers.html

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