Semovente da 149/40

The Semovente da 149/40, also called the Semovente M43 da 149/40, was an Italian self-propelled artillery piece developed by Ansaldo as a private venture during 1942 and 1943. Ansaldo engineers had designed the long Cannone da 149/40 modello 35 gun and wanted to give it the mobility that towed guns lack, so they mounted it on a heavily modified tracked chassis that took parts from the M15/42 medium tank and the P26/40. A 250 hp SPA petrol engine sat in the middle of the hull, and the box-shaped crew compartment was lightly armoured while the gun crew worked in the open behind it. Only one prototype was built, ready by August 1943. The Italian surrender ended any chance of series production, and the sole vehicle survives in the United States, now at the U.S. Army Field Artillery Museum at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.