Il Semovente da 75 / 46 (tank destroyer) can be considered one of the best achievements of Italian industry during the Second World War.
The vehicle was produced at the Ansaldo workshops in Genoa between 1944 and 1945 and a total of a dozen examples were made. The orders, however, came from the German command. In fact, it is worth remembering that the Germans had deployed their own control committee within the Italian company. Furthermore, the only user of the tank destroyer was the German army (the National Republican Army was completely excluded) and they called it Sturmgeschutz M43 mit 75/46 (852) (i).
The Germans used the vehicle mainly on the Italian front against the Allied armored units.
Il Semovente da 75 / 46 it shared the same hull as the armored vehicle Ansaldo 105/25 M43 (following photo). Nonetheless, the vehicle was created by replacing the 105 mm howitzer with the 75/46 CA model 34 gun (anti-aircraft gun). Overall, the transformation of the vehicle required some slight changes to the upper part of the casemate and the front protective shields.
The vehicle - due to its low and secluded shape, the great transversal stability and the validity of the piece - can be considered to be at the same level as those of the same category used by the enemies.
"Especially improved - compared to previous vehicles - was the protection: among other things, two anti-bazooka plates had been applied laterally and, but only in very few examples, the last of production, the frontal armor had been increased to 80 mm thickness, an unusual feature in a self-propelled vehicle".1
Il Semovente da 75 / 46 it had a length of 7,16 m, height 1,74 m, width 2,88 m and weighed 15,7 tons.
The armor was 75 mm and the armament consisted of a 75/46 CA model 34 cannon and an 38 mm Breda 8 machine gun.
Engine: SPA 15 TB M-15 diesel V8 water-cooled, power 170 HP. The maximum speed was approximately 38 km/h.
The vessel could count on a crew of 3 men.
1 See C. Falessi and B. Pafi, in Storia Illustrata n°143, 1969, p.137
