90/53 M41M
Contents
Description
The Semovente da 90/53 (introduced in Update 1.85 "Supersonic".) was a self propelled gun mainly made to provide support infantry and take out light and medium tanks that were used by the allies. It's main armament was mounted on the rear of a lengthened M14/41 hull and chassis. The 90 mm 90/53 mod.41 was made by modifying an anti-air cannon. It would have its first combat debut during the allied landings in Sicily where it proved itself, however due to the sheer allied power both in the air and ground, the little numbers produced of this platform wouldn't be enough for Italy to defend itself. In game the Semovente 90/53 is one of the early tank-destroyer vehicles availible to players grinding the tree. It has a very potent main armament able to deal with any enemy player vehicle at its battle rating. It mobility isn't the best however, the best playstyle for this vehicle is as a sniper where you won't have to be moving a lot. You can set up ambushes as the vehicle is not too tall or wide to be easily spotted. Reload rates need to be considered when engaging multiple enemies, not only that but the vehicle does not carry a lot of ammunition on the vehicle so you need to pick you targets very carefully and make sure every hit counts. Once spotted the vehicle does not have enough armour to protect itself from the majority of enemy attacks. The crew placement means most shots directed towards your turret will mean a quick trip back to the hangar. One major weakspot that you don't want enemies to take advantage of is your behind, as your ammo and crew are completley exposed, and can be taken out by machine gun fire. Being flanked in this vehicle means you usually wont be able to make it out alive from engagements. Overall, just play smart with the Semovente da 90/53, do not go out in the open and attack only when absolutely needed.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour (hull)
- Cast homogeneous armour (gun shield)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 30 mm (19-68°) Upper glacis - top section 25 mm (80°) Upper glacis - bottom section 30 mm (cylindrical°) Lower plate |
25 mm (8°) Top 25 mm Bottom 30 mm (9-12°) MG bulge |
25 mm Upper part 25 mm (16°) Lower part |
25 mm (10°) Front glacis 25 mm (10°) Driver compartment 25 mm (15°) Engine compartment 5-25 mm (10°) Radiator vents 15 mm Gun platform |
| Gun shield | 150 mm Gun breech 30 mm (29°) Shield front 6 mm (15-27°) Overlapping hull shield |
15 mm (0-18°) | N/A | 8 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick and bogies 10 mm thick.
- The belly is 14 mm thick.
- The gun mount is 15 mm thick.
- Mudguards are 4 mm thick.
Armour is not great, but the gun shield protects from .50 cal heavy machine gun fire from the front and the sloped hull armour can bounce shots. The back is very vulnerable as your crew sits unprotected and can be knocked out by anything, including a single artillery shell behind you can disable the 90/53 M41M.
Despite that, it has better survivability than what people may expect from such a thinly-armoured vehicle. Because of its layout, the 90/53 M41M separates the crew into two different areas, the front compartment of the hull and the rear turret, with the engine bay in between. This also gives additional protection from the front side to the ammunition storage area, and so being destroyed by an ammo explosion is not a frequent occurence.
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 | 38 | 6 | 15.7 | 227 | 305 | 14.46 | 19.43 |
| Realistic | 35 | 6 | 142 | 160 | 9.04 | 10.19 | |
The mobility is good on flat terrain and even on some slopes, about the same as other Italian tanks on the same chassis. Due to the 90° horizontal fire angle, the 90/53 M41M can drive diagonally while aiming.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
| 90 mm 90/53 mod.41 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 8 | -5°/+19° | ±45° | N/A | 9.7 | 13.4 | 16.3 | 18.0 | 19.2 | 10.40 | 9.20 | 8.48 | 8.00 |
| Realistic | 6.6 | 7.7 | 9.4 | 10.3 | 11.0 | ||||||||
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 da 90 | APCBC | 152 | 149 | 139 | 126 | 115 | 105 |
| Granata da 90 | HE | 20 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 14 |
| Granata Perforante mod.43 | APCBC | 145 | 143 | 134 | 123 | 114 | 105 |
| 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 da 90 | APCBC | 758 | 12.16 | 1.2 | 14 | 347 | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
| Granata da 90 | HE | 830 | 10.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 871 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| Granata Perforante mod.43 | APCBC | 773 | 11.25 | 1.2 | 14 | 347 | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 5 (+3) | 1 (+7) | No |
Notes:
- Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
- Pack 8 shells as your ammo capacity is very limited.
Usage in battles
Due to its high penetration at close ranges, excellent turret traverse and surprising survivability, the 90/53 can perform quite well in CQC combat in an urban environment. The 90/53 is quite lethal to most tanks it comes across and can deal quite easily with vehicles other tanks typically struggle with, such as KV-1s. This comes at the sacrifice of an exposed rear, so it is typically advised to make sure that your rear is always secure and not to overextend from your allies. Alternatively, the high calibre of the shell does make the 90/53 viable at range, but the lack of ammunition and machine guns for rangefinding make this task quite difficult. When entering battle, a full load of Granata Preforante mod.43 is typically advised.
The 90/53 is extremely vulnerable to AA guns as they can typically shred the 90/53's thin armour and should be avoided at all costs. Strafing from planes is also a common annoyance, as its lightly armoured and semi-exposed crew are easy targets from the air. Try to avoid open areas and stick to places with limited visibility from the air, such as forests and towns where planes will have trouble spotting you. If a plane is targeting you it might be wise to back your exposed rear into a solid object, like a wall or a cliffside to prevent the plane from hitting your rear.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Wide traverse angle
- Exceptionally lethal APHE shells with outstanding penetration
- Acceptable reloading time
- If a shot penetrates the front, the engine and fuel tanks would absorb most of the fragmentation
- 4 widely spaced out crew members increases chance of surviving strafing runs
Cons:
- Poor gun depression
- Extremely poor ammunition capacity (8 rounds)
- Poor armour & exposed crew members in the turret
- Poor dispersion, especially without upgrades
- Mediocre mobility
- If you have 3 crew members and a plane strafes from behind, you're most likely dead
History
The Semovente M41M da 90/53 consisted of a 90 mm anti-aircraft gun mounted on the rear of a lengthened M14/41 hull and chassis. The engine was moved from the rear of the vehicle to a central position. Conceived and built specifically for anti-tank use on the Eastern Front after it was clear Italian forces had no answer to Russian tanks like the T-34, was hurriedly designed and rushed into production in early 1942. In practice the large gun overstressed the chassis and engine, so production stopped after 30 were produced and none were ever sent to Russia. Only a handful of rounds could be carried on the vehicle; it had to be accompanied by a turretless L6/40 tank used as its ammunition carrier.
Twenty-four surviving vehicles were formed into the 10th Self-Propelled Gun Unit (Raggruppamento Semoventi), divided into 3 gruppi. It was sent to Sicily in June, 1943, and was deployed against the US 7th Army in fighting in the Licata area, losing all but two of its vehicles. These last two vehicles were abandoned and captured in Messina when Sicily fell. The few left behind in Italy were seized and used by Germany.
One of these two Semovente was brought to Aberdeen proving ground to be evaluated. In 2012, it was moved to the U.S. Army Field Artillery museum in Fort Sill, Oklahoma where it was restored. It is likely the only surviving example.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
- SU-85A
- Breda 90/53 Same cannon but on an unarmored truck chassis
- Breda 501 Same cannon but on an armored truck chassis
External links
- [Wikipedia] Semovente da 90/53
- [Tanks Encyclopedia] Semovente da 90/53
- [US Army] Army FA museum adds WWII artillery pieces
| 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 |
| Italy tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Italy | |
| M41 | 75/18 M41 · 75/32 M41 · 90/53 M41M |
| M42 | 75/34 M42 |
| M43 | 105/25 M43 · M43 "G.C.Leoncello" · 75/34 M43 · 75/46 M43 |
| Wheeled | Lancia 3Ro (100/17) · AS 42/47 · Breda 90/53 · Breda 501 |
| Other | L3/33 CC · 47/32 L40 |
| Germany | ▄StuG III G |
| USA | M36B1 · ▄M109G · M113A1 (TOW) |
| Hungary | |
| Zrínyi | Zrinyi I · Zrinyi II |
| USSR | ◔2S1 |
