M7 Priest Howitzer Motor Carriage

Italeri 1/35.

Description

NEW GLUABLE RUBBER TRACKS - DECALS FOR 4 VERSIONS - COLOR INSTRUCTIONS SHEET

CONTAINS 1 FIGURE

The deployment of self-propelled
artillery during the Second World War was very quickly adopted by all of
the combatants. Following the innovative use of mobile artillery by the
German army at the outset of the conflict, the need for artillery
pieces to be as mobile as tank battalions was universally recognised.
The Allies initially mounted their first self-propelled artillery units
on half-track vehicles, but the most effective solution manifested
itself with the introduction of the M7 Priest. Using the hull of the M3
Lee medium tank the M7 was armed with a 105mm M2A1 howitzer. It was
deployed operationally for the first time in 1942 by British troops who
gave it the nickname "Priest", due to the position of the machine gun in
the front of the vehicle which resembled a Church pulpit. Robust and
reliable, it had a plentiful supply of ammunition and provided effective
indirect support fire. It was used by both the American army and the
U.S. Marines on all fronts throughout the course of the war.