The Italian Semovente M41M da 90/53 Tank Destroyer Part I – Factory Photos

The Semovente M41M da 90/53 Tank Destroyer was built in response to an urgent request from the Italian Army for a weapon capable of countering Russian tanks such as the T-34 and KV-1. Italian tanks deployed to the Eastern Front were armed with guns of 47mm or less which had proven incapable of penetrating the armor of the Russian types.

The Semovente was designed using the hull of the Carro Armato M14/41 as a starting point. The chassis was lengthened by 17 inches and the engine was moved to the center of the hull. At the rear of the vehicle a powerful Cannone da 90/53 Modello 1939 anti-aircraft gun was fitted. Pictured here is the modified chassis fitted with a wooden mock-up of the gun and shield outside the Ansaldo-Fossati factory in January 1942.

The design was approved with improvements made to the gun shield to increase protection for the gunners. Here is a line-up of Semovente M41Ms outside the Ansaldo-Fossati plant.

A rooftop view of the same vehicles. Ansaldo-Fossati produced a total of thirty conversions.

An overhead view showing the general layout. The driver and commander sat in the center of the vehicle with the engine behind them, the gun pointer and trainer sat on either side of the gun behind the shield. The gun was loaded from the rear by additional crewmen standing on the ground. The factory finish is overall Gray Green with a standard white air recognition circle painted on the gun shield roof.

While the vehicle had a low profile, armor was thin with maximum thicknesses of only 30mm on the transmission cover and front-facing plates making the Semovente vulnerable to artillery and even the smallest anti-tank guns. The 90mm/53 gun was the vehicle’s strong point, it compared quite favorably to the German 88mm FlaK and the American M1 90mm guns.

Another photo taken on the Ansaldo-Fossati grounds showing the Semovente from the rear. The two rectangular hatches on the rear of the hull held ready service ammunition, a total of eight rounds were all that was carried on the vehicle. The base of a single round is visible in the right storage bay.

A slightly different perspective taken of the same vehicle, this photo has all the hallmarks of an airbrush-enhanced illustration for a manual. The Semovente’s radio equipment was mounted inside the vehicle on the port side of the shield and is clearly visible in this view.

The paltry on-board ammunition capacity was a recognized deficiency, in order to correct this a specialized ammunition vehicle was modified to accompany the gun. This is the Carri Armati L6/40 Trasporto Munizioni. It carried twenty-six rounds of 90mm ammunition and a crew of two who served as loaders. One round protrudes precariously from the rack on the side. This vehicle is also seen on the cobblestones outside Ansaldo-Fossati.

Another view of a Carri Armati L6/40 Trasporto Munizioni. The specially-designed trailer seen here could carry an additional forty rounds, giving the combination a total capacity of sixty-six rounds.

Part II here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2025/12/10/the-italian-semovente-m41m-da-90-53-tank-destroyer-part-ii-training/