75/34 M42

This page is about the Italian tank destroyer 75/34 M42. For other uses, see M42 (Disambiguation).

75/34 M42

75/32 M41

105/25 M43

75/34 M42

75/32 M41

105/25 M43

Italy

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	2.3	2.3

Class:

Tank destroyer

Research:5 600

Purchase:22 000

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Description

The Semovente 75/34 M42 is a rank II Italian tank destroyer with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.85 "Supersonic".

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull30 / 25 / 25

Turret50 / 25 / 25

Crew3 people

Visibility64 %

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, casemate)
• Cast homogeneous armour (gun mantlet)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	25 mm (80°) Front glacis 30 mm (cylindrical) Lower plate	25 mm	25 mm Upper part 25 mm (15°) Lower part	25 mm (10°) Front glacis 10 mm (15°) Rear - Engine hood 5-10 mm (8°) Rear - Radiator vents
Casemate	50 mm (5°) Casemate front plate 50 + 50 mm (spherical) Gun mantlet 25 mm (60°) Plate connecting with hull	25 mm (6-7°)	25 mm	15 mm (5°) Centre 15 mm (21-22°) Sides

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick and bogies 10 mm thick.
• The belly is 15 mm thick.
• Mudguards are 4 mm thick.

The 75/34 M42 shares the same vulnerabilities as the 75/18 M41 and the 75/32 M41: a rather weak vertical armour front plate, weak sides and an even weaker roof armour and a crew of only 3 sitting in a cramped space.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB42 / 4 km/h

RB and SB39 / 4 km/h

Number of gears5 forward

1 back

Weight13.3 t

Engine power

AB353 hp

RB and SB185 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB26.5 hp/t

RB and SB13.9 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	42	4	13.3	263	353	19.77	26.54
Realistic	39	4		164	185	12.33	13.91

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB712 → 924

RB795 → 1 031

SB971 → 1 260

Total cost of modifications10 400

13 680

Talisman cost750

Crew training6 300

Experts22 000

Aces210

Research Aces220 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

50 / 80 / 100 %

124 / 124 / 124 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 520 Cost: 690 75 Suspension Research: 580 Cost: 770 80 Brake System Research: 580 Cost: 770 80 Filters Research: 650 Cost: 860 90 Transmission Research: 1 700 Cost: 2 200 240 Engine Research: 1 700 Cost: 2 200 240	Improved Parts Research: 520 Cost: 690 75 Improved FPE Research: 580 Cost: 770 80 Crew Replenishment Research: 650 Cost: 860 90	Horizontal Drive Research: 520 Cost: 690 75 75mm_M42_EPS_HEAT_ammo_pack Research: 520 Cost: 690 75 Adjustment of Fire Research: 580 Cost: 770 80 Elevation Mechanism Research: 650 Cost: 860 90 Smoke grenade Research: 650 Cost: 860 90

Armaments

Main armament

75 mm 75/34 mod.39 cannon

Ammunition45 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

8.5 → 6.5 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 22°

Horizontal guidance-18° / 18°

75 mm 75/34 mod.39					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	45	-10°/+22°	±18°	N/A	12.3	17.1	20.7	22.9	24.4	8.45	7.48	6.89	6.50
Realistic					8.3	9.8	11.9	13.2	14.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Granata Perforante 75/32	APCBC	79	78	71	64	58	52
EPS M42	HEAT	100	100	100	100	100	100
Granata 75/32	HE	10	10	9	9	9	9

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Granata Perforante 75/32	APCBC	637	6.35	1.2	14	270	48°	63°	71°
EPS M42	HEAT	552	5.3	0.05	0.1	656.64	62°	69°	73°
Granata 75/32	HE	552	6.35	0.2	0.1	600	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the 75/34 M42

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
45	24 (+21)	1 (+44)	No

Note:

• As they are modeled by sets of 2, 3 or 4, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire all shells in the set.

Usage in battles

Combat tactics

Thanks to its performant gun, the 75/34 M42 is effective as a tank destroyer at long range with the good penetration of its APCBC round. With a maximum penetration of 64 mm at 1,000 m, the vehicle will have no problem penetrating the angled front armour of many similar rank vehicles from a distance. Light tanks, armoured cars and SPAA are the easiest targets. The vehicle's effectiveness improves once the HEAT shell is unlocked, with 100 mm of penetration at all ranges. This allows for reliable penetration of practically all the Semovente's potential adversaries. Your most dangerous opponents are fast and agile light tanks such as the M22 that can easily flank the Semovente undetected and disable you from close range. Their speed and small size make those light tanks difficult to target for the Semovente's gun.

With the HEAT shell, the Semovente can make for an effective tank destroyer, provided you stay at a distance guaranteeing your survivability. The one thing to remember about the HEAT shell is that it sacrifices the one-shot capability of APCBC, meaning that larger tanks will often take multiple hits to disable while the reload time is pretty slow for the battle rating. Like the 75/32 M41, the HEAT shell has a good muzzle velocity making it capable to hit reliably targets at long range.

Notable enemies

Many tanks are capable of easily disabling you. By order of lethality:

• Tank destroyers with long guns
• Howitzers with powerful HE shells
• Tanks with HEAT shells
• Frontline tanks with APHE shells
• Light tanks or armoured cars with autocannons

How to defeat a 75/34 M42

The 75/34 M42 has several weak spots:

• In a frontal encounter, the vertical front plate is the easiest to target.
• Shoot the lower front plate to damage the transmission and immobilize the tank if you lack penetration power.
• When flanking, aim for the weak sides of the casemate.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Decent 75 mm gun with a respectable reload rate
• Low profile = harder to spot
• Has access to HEAT rounds
• Decent top speed
• Large explosive filler in the APCBC round almost guarantees vehicle destruction upon penetration

Cons:

• Overall armour is not very good
• Is vulnerable to getting flanked due to being a casemate tank destroyer
• Thin top armour; can be vulnerable to strafing aircraft
• Acceleration leaves things to be desired
• Shells have a rather slow muzzle velocity

History

Development

Following the success of the Semovente da 75/18 in its anti-tank role, the Italian command ordered in October 1942 the development of an improved version of the Semovente based this time on the M15/42 chassis and a 75 mm L/34 Breda cannon, a gun with identical performance to the one equipped on the P26/40 tank. The new vehicle was accepted in April 1943 and production started in May 1943 with an order for 280 Semoventi. Due to wartime shortages of materials and manpower, only 93 tank destroyers were produced by the Italians before the Armistice and only 60 vehicles delivered to their combat units. The Germans then seized control of Northern Italy and continued its manufacture, completing 80 more units alongside 36 already confiscated ones.

Combat usage

The 75/34 M42 saw shortly combat action on the Italian side during the battle of Rome in September 1943 and more extensively on the German side along with the other Semovente variants in Northern Italy and the Balkans in 1944.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the 75/34 M42 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Semovente da 75/34 M42, Italian, Tier-2, Tank Destroyer - Angry Nerd Gaming

First 10 - 75/34 M42 - Orangefan

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

• M15/42

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• StuG III A
• 75/34 M43

External links

• [Wikipedia] Semovente da 75/34
• [Tanks Encyclopedia] Semovente da 75/34

FIAT-Ansaldo
Autoblindo	AB 41 · AB 43
Light Tanks	L6/40 · L6/40 (31 Rgt.)
Medium Tanks	Celere Sahariano
M11/39	M11/39
M13/40	M13/40 (I) · M13/40 (II) · M13/40 (III)
M14/41	M14/41 · M14/41 (47/40)
M15/42	M15/42
P40	P40 · P40 "G.C. Leoncello"
Tank Destroyers
L3/33	L3/33 CC
Semovente L40	47/32 L40
Semovente M41	75/18 M41 · 75/32 M41 · 90/53 M41M
Semovente M42	75/34 M42
Semovente M43	105/25 M43 · M43 "G.C.Leoncello" · 75/34 M43 · 75/46 M43
SPAAs	M42 Contraereo