75/34 M42

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

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

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

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

Armaments

Main armament

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	__._	__._	24.4	8.45	_.__	_.__	6.50
Realistic					8.3	9.8	__._	__._	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	9	9	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	0.0	0.1	656.64	62°	69°	73°
Granata 75/32	HE	552	6.35	0.4	0.1	600	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the 75/34 M42

Last updated: 1.101.1.16

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

Notes:

• 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 howitzer.

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.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive	EPS M42
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism	Smoke grenade
IV	Transmission	Engine

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

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

History

Intended to use the same gun as the P26 medium tank but on the M15/42 chassis, the 75/34 Semovente variant had not yet become operational when the Germans seized control of northern Italy. The Germans continued its manufacture, completing 116. Saw service along with the other Semovente variants in Italy and the Balkans.

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