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Description
Ok, it's time to end this, grinding through the very last designs!

This design was proposed after it was deliberated that the Italian troops in Russia (first an army corps, and then a whole army) would need anti-tank support against the excellent Soviet tanks that had impressed so much even the Germans (like the T-34 and the KV series). Unfortunately, Italy was a bit short of efficient anti-tank guns; however, it had a gun that had by all means the same performance of the legendary FlaK 18, both against aircrafts and against tanks, the Cannone da 90/53. It was suggested that a tracked self-propelled design would be better than a towed one and be more successful, and this was approved.

The Semovente M.41M da 90/53 was the result. Given the dimensions of the gun, it was impossible for it to fit into the chassis of the only tank speedily available for such a conversion, the M14/41, so it had to be mounted on top, protected by a mere shield of limited thickness; the lack of space meant that two crewmembers could not travel on the vehicle and had to accompany it on another. Moreover, it was impossible to carry more than 6 shells, so eventually some special ammunition carriers were obtained from the chassis of the L6/40 tank, which could carry (along with a trailer) a total of 86 shells. Armor was very limited, as at its maximum it was 30 mm thick; the engine was the same of the M14/41 tank, meaning that maximum speed was limited operationally to 25 km/h (15,5 mph).
The Regio Esercito probably recognized that, despite the excellent firepower they could boast, the drawbacks were very heavy, because after the initial production run of 30 units no more were ordered.

However, by the time those vehicles and their units were ready for deployement, the Allied invasion of Italy had already begun, so instead of fighting against the Red Army twenty-four of them (grouped in three "Gruppi") were sent to Sicily; during Operation Husky most were lost because of technical issues or other non-combat causes, but those that did meet Allied tanks managed to prove that its 90 mm gun was every bit as lethal as the feared German 88. All eighteen were lost, with one salvaged by the US Army for evaluation purposes (it survives to this day at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds); the other six, left in reserve at Nettuno (near Rome) were captured by the Germans after the Italian Armistice, but little is known about their service.

This vehicle has always been pointed out as proof that the Italian Army had some weapons of good quality; while this is undoubtedly true about the Cannone da 90/53 (respected by all experts yet eclipsed by the fame of its German counterpart), in my opinion this Semovente isn't the best example. As powerful as its gun was, the virtual lack of protection and the need of auxiliary vehicles for the crew and the ammunition load proves that this was nothing more than a stopgap design; while it could fight well (and in a few occasions it did, according to American after battle reports), it cannot be considered a design suitable for mass production, because its many vulnerabilities made it not worth of the effort.

Description
Ok, it's time to end this, grinding through the very last designs!

This design was proposed after it was deliberated that the Italian troops in Russia (first an army corps, and then a whole army) would need anti-tank support against the excellent Soviet tanks that had impressed so much even the Germans (like the T-34 and the KV series). Unfortunately, Italy was a bit short of efficient anti-tank guns; however, it had a gun that had by all means the same performance of the legendary FlaK 18, both against aircrafts and against tanks, the Cannone da 90/53. It was suggested that a tracked self-propelled design would be better than a towed one and be more successful, and this was approved.

The Semovente M.41M da 90/53 was the result. Given the dimensions of the gun, it was impossible for it to fit into the chassis of the only tank speedily available for such a conversion, the M14/41, so it had to be mounted on top, protected by a mere shield of limited thickness; the lack of space meant that two crewmembers could not travel on the vehicle and had to accompany it on another. Moreover, it was impossible to carry more than 6 shells, so eventually some special ammunition carriers were obtained from the chassis of the L6/40 tank, which could carry (along with a trailer) a total of 86 shells. Armor was very limited, as at its maximum it was 30 mm thick; the engine was the same of the M14/41 tank, meaning that maximum speed was limited operationally to 25 km/h (15,5 mph).
The Regio Esercito probably recognized that, despite the excellent firepower they could boast, the drawbacks were very heavy, because after the initial production run of 30 units no more were ordered.

However, by the time those vehicles and their units were ready for deployement, the Allied invasion of Italy had already begun, so instead of fighting against the Red Army twenty-four of them (grouped in three "Gruppi") were sent to Sicily; during Operation Husky most were lost because of technical issues or other non-combat causes, but those that did meet Allied tanks managed to prove that its 90 mm gun was every bit as lethal as the feared German 88. All eighteen were lost, with one salvaged by the US Army for evaluation purposes (it survives to this day at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds); the other six, left in reserve at Nettuno (near Rome) were captured by the Germans after the Italian Armistice, but little is known about their service.

This vehicle has always been pointed out as proof that the Italian Army had some weapons of good quality; while this is undoubtedly true about the Cannone da 90/53 (respected by all experts yet eclipsed by the fame of its German counterpart), in my opinion this Semovente isn't the best example. As powerful as its gun was, the virtual lack of protection and the need of auxiliary vehicles for the crew and the ammunition load proves that this was nothing more than a stopgap design; while it could fight well (and in a few occasions it did, according to American after battle reports), it cannot be considered a design suitable for mass production, because its many vulnerabilities made it not worth of the effort.