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While the 47 mm gun was adequate for 1941, by the time the Semovente reached the field it was already outdated and ineffective against enemy medium tanks, and therefore the vehicle wasn't particularly successful.

After the Italian armistice in September 1943, the German Army took all Semovente 47/32s they could get hold of for their own use. German designation was StuG L6 47/32 630(i). Some of these were provided to Germany's Croatian puppet state and the Slovene Home Guard.

External links

• Semovente 47/32 su L6/40 at wwiivehicles.com