The Spiciest Meatball | Semovente M43 105/25 Italian SPG

The Semovente FIAT-Ansaldo M43 da 105/25 was an Italian self-propelled gun developed by FIAT and Ansaldo. It was based on the M42 da 75/18 and used in limited numbers by the Regio Esercito (Eng. Italian Royal Army) before the armistice of 8th September 1943. After the armistice of Cassibile and the occupation of the center and northern parts of Italy by the Germans, the Semoventi were captured and used by the German Army and by the new Italian Collaborationist Army.

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Music gathered from the Half Life 2 OST

Sources:
. J. Jentz and W. Regenberg (2008) Panzer Tracts No.19-1 Beute-Panzerkampfwagen
F. Cappellano and P.P. Battistelli (2012) Italian Medium Tanks 1939-45, Osprey Publishing

An article by Giusti Arturo and Marko Pantelic
Narrated by WOOD
Edited by dv2321

[kampfgruppepeiper]

I like the camouflage patterns on Italian AFV’s.

[Paciat]

Im a simple man. I see spicy meatball, I push like.

[paoloviti]

The Semovente da 105/25 was basically a good tank and quite reliable but was a carryover of the previous variants with the great exception of the powerful cannon. Unfortunately there is very little info regarding this cannon as there is no blueprints or documents but I was quite surprised to find out that there is the only one left at105/25 at Aberdeen  Proving Ground but hopefully it should be at the new museum Benning. Without any doubt it was the best anti-tank gun ever made by the Italians during the war and was valued by the Germans and was rarely used against the partisans as used against the tanks of the allies. It was quite blind with the hatches closed, so so optics, weak armour and chronic lack of spare parts together with the fuel but it was very low. Not for nothing it was called the "Bassotto" or the dachshund! Good job again and looking forward to see your new videos 👍👍

[TiberiusMaximus]

wow 220 produced? thats impressive for Italy

[oddlookinbloke]

Wake up babe, new tank encyclopaedia post

[WildBillCox]

Bassotto . . .
This seems like a good utilization of limited resources. Everyone agreed on the need for a forward direct fire Assault Gun. A three man crew for such a vehicle seems a bit optimistic, but it's a self propelled assault howitzer, not a tank. Once it's onsite it's aim, load, and shoot, just like a split trail piece, but with more armor.
Re support Panzers. My favorite "What If" involves Germany and Hungaria cooperating to produce large numbers of a hypothetical hybrid: the 40mm armed Nimrod turret placed atop the Panzer III chassis. It would have been a very simple conversion and possibly provided a dedicated Fire Suppression "track" in every Panzer Company or Abteilung.

[Flippotycoon]

Such a Shame non are left to be seen in museums today :(

[Careoran]

Interesting video, thanks! the 75/18 was famous/infamous for its very capable HEAT ammunition. Which ammunition did the 105/25 use and what were its penetration capabilities, ranges and hit capabilities?

[UpupaFiorenteSFM]

Wow I didn't know that the Self-propelled M43 105/25 Leoncello had its history in Verona, the city where I live. Thanks you! Anyway It is a pity that there are no surviving specimens left. The most I could see was one of his cannon with spherical mount deposited in a corner, together with other cannons, at the motorization museum at the Caserma Cecchignola in Rome.

[steffenrosmus]

Yep, only Americans could think that meatballs and pasta are an genuine Italian dish.

[infozencentre]

Better video, better narration, clear, not NERDY, music to a minimum, this is professional

[jamesdosher]

Why was ammunition so limited for this excellent SPG considering its superb anti-tank capabilities? You would have thought more of an effort would have been put forth by the Italians ... but, oh well. Fine presentation as always and thank you.

[pukalo]

I love the Italian tanks even though they weren't very good.

[martkbanjoboy]

The fourth crewman must have been the butt of jokes. I would call him 'meat armour' or 'spall guard' lol.

[bluewatson]

SPG…








Stands for spaghetti packaged grenade

[arozin]

I love using these Italian tank destroyers in War Thunder

[lmyrski]

No wonder they lost.
Italy: We'll take 130 of our new tanks. Can you divide it in two lots?
USA: We'll take 130 of our new tanks a month from this one factory. Can you double that number? We need some for our British friends too.

[ThePinkus]

Incidentally, "bassotto", as a dog breed, also refer to being low, from the adjective "basso", with the variation from "basso" to "bassotto" implying something like stocky or sturdy.

[enigma]

How is it the Italians managed to build such a reliable and powerful vehicle when many German tanks couldn't even manage to get to the battle scene without the engine, transmission, or both breaking down?

[mr.gunzaku]

I think these are everybody's favorite Italian armored fighting vehicles. The armored cars and scout vehicles of the Italian army are very much worth note and I like quite a few of those as well 👍

The very limited nature of Italy's manufacturing base however, meant that everything that they produced was limited in number except for a few things like their truck park. I believe they had the third largest fleet of trucks during World war II which meant they could get troops and heavy equipment to the front very quickly.