The M7 Priest - 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage
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- čas přidán 7. 08. 2023
- An overview of the M7 Priest featuring some movie and TV appearances.
More War Movie Content: / johnnyjohnsonesq
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Movies/Games Featured:
Hogan’s Heroes (Series)
Suppose They a War and Nobody Came? 1970
Garrison’s Gorillas (Series)
Rat Patrol (Series)
The Thin Red Line 1998
Sahara 1995
Winter Kills 1970
World of Tanks (Video Game)
What Did you Do In The War, Daddy? 1966
#ww2 #tanks
A word on its "poor" mobility and armor. Even though it has tracks and armor, this is at the end of the day, a howitzer, manned by Artillerymen, the armor was there to protect against shrapnel and the tracks to maintain operational mobility and decrease time it take to set up and move the gun from firing point to firing point. It was as fast and armored as it needed to be to serve its role and let loose that Steel Rain
That's right. Better to have weight saved for ammunition and fuel, than thicker armor.
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsqIf you get hit by direct fire in the first place then you have done something terribly wrong
@parodyclip36 very true, there's a reason why modern Artillery doctrine is focused on the ability to "Shoot 'n Scoot" or known more semi-officially "Shoot, Move, and Communicate"
@@parodyclip36 Heck, in the artillery if you can see what you're shooting at, something has gone terribly wrong. I laughed so hard at that clip with the .50-cal gunner mowing down bad guys.
And that's why self propelled guys have fits when its called a tank. In AIT a guy had to run laps around the motor pool for that.
"O Lord, bless this thy Howitzer, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy."
The Book of US Artillery is an underrated and explosive addition to scripture.
Amen to that.
Three shall be number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceedeth to three. Five is right out!
“Fire on my mark. One, two, five-“
“Three, sir.”
“-three, fire!”
Three shall the salvo number be... And the number of salvos shall be three.............. Although 5 would be amazing...
My Dad was in the battle of the bulge , he was in the 12th armored division , he was assigned to a M7 crew and told me at one point the 105 was pointing straight into the woods in front of them rather than being elevated for distance , he said it was at night and the big concern was the thin frontal armor , but they had more punching power than a Sherman with the 105 ,,,,, came morning about 30 yards in the woods was a German tiger tank with 2 holes in the front, one of the 105 rounds went in the front and turned in the tiger and exited from the side, the other round came out the back by the engine , but as they were passing through it ignited the ammunition in the tiger and killed the crew , just two damn lucky shots that saved the crew of the M7 .
Anyway ,,,,,, thanks for your video and reading my fathers story.
Thanks for sharing the story. Love hearing these.
But... the m7 didnt get armor piercing shells? Other than HEAT.
@@robertharris6092
The M7s ordinance did include High Explosive Rounds , it's unlikely that a tiger tank would survive direct hits from these shells , especially from 40 or 50 yards .
I'm only reporting the story as I remember it being told to me , 55 years ago .
@@JIMBAYRIDGESCOTT I wouldn't be surprised if the shell cracked the armor and went out ngl
Just a reminder that back then, allied soldiers called panzer IV’s tigers too by mistake.
Any video with John Banner is awesome! Rest in peace, John. We miss you...😢
My aunt is clairvoyant and she actually managed to make contact with John’s spirit. She asked him what heaven was like, he told her that he couldn’t say. My aunt asked why not? John replied, "because I see nothing! I hear nothing! I know nothing!"
@@davemccage7918
@@davemccage7918. 😊
👍👍
The M-7 had an un- usual power plant. It was powered by a radial, air cooled, aircraft type engine. The regular Army motor pool guys were somewhat baffled with these airplane engines inside a tank like vehicle. When the M-7s were breaking down in the Phillipines, the infantry was stuck. My father in law had completed aircraft mechanic school before he was drafted into the ARMY in WWII. The Army, in all their wisdom, had trained him as a machine gunner. After arriving in the Phillipines, but before being sent into combat, he was called into the CO's office one day. The officer there ask him " Did you really go to aircraft mechanic school ? do you know what a Wright R975 is?" He said "Yes sir. Sure I do". He was re -assigned on the spot to repair several M-7 Priests that were out of action due to engine problems. He figures those M-7's probably saved his life. (The life expectancy of machine gunners in combat against the Japanese was very short.)
Not that unusual, that's what power M4 Shermans too, mostly.
@grizwoldphantasia5005 Yeah radials were pretty common in armored vehicles. The Hellcat is another such example, along with the Lee.
Additionally, him fixing those M-7s probably saved a lot of American soldier lives by getting them back in action.
@@grizwoldphantasia5005
not all, the Shermans that had aircraft radials were the basic M4, M4A1 & M4A6 with the Continental R975-C1 or -C4 9 (a copy of the Wright R-975 Whirlwind) for the M4 & M4A1 and the Caterpillar D-200A (a copy of the Wright R-1820 Cyclone).
While the A2, A3 & A4 used different engines with the A2 using the General Motors 6046 twin inline diesel engine, the A3 using the Ford GAA V8 gasoline engine and the A4 using the Chrysler A57 multibank (the 30 cylinder version) gasoline engine.
These were the heavily used ones.
While the basic M4s, M4A1s and M4A6s were hardly used.
The basic M4s & M4A1s were replaced quickly due to them being used poorly during the initial years, these were more expensive to make due to the radial engine and wasn't really cost-effective, they had a shhtt ton of problems due to being the first iterations and lastly, they weren't fuel efficient and drank a shhht ton of fuel for that time.
This is is why much of the basic M4s & M4A1s were given to other "allies" to use while the rest the US had were just spares or relegated to minor roles.
While the M4A6 was never used in combat at all simply because there were problems with the supply of engine and the decision to rationalize engines used meant that none of them were used at all.
The most common M4 variants used during the war were the A2, A3 & A4 and all 3 of them never used an aircraft engine.
The Maybach engines that powered the Panther and Tiger tanks were aircraft engines Brit Cromwells were powered by merlin rolls Royce engines that also powered the Spitfire. The US Stuart, Grant and Sherman had Radial aircraft engines even the ford V-8 tank engine was designed as a V-12 Aircraft engine but it wasn't as good as the Merlin so they cut it down to a V-8 and put it in tanks
There is a M7 in a Normandy museum! Musée des Epaves Sous-Marines at Port en Bessin Huppain.
At the end of WW2 a large number of wrecks rested on the sea floor all along the Normandy coast, particularly at Arromanches the location of Port Winston of the artificial harbour.
In 1970 Jacques Lemonchois, the museum curator is asked by the French state to clear some of the dangerous wrecks. Jacques Lemonchois passion for history enabled him to save and preserve the items now displayed in the museum including a Sherman DD tank, M7 self-propelled gun and many personal effects.
The US sergeant who escaped death swam out of the sinking M7 Priest. In 1984 he came to Normandy again because of the big D-Day commemoration. And saw his stuff from the sent M7 lying there, including a letter he wanted to send home. The American veteran burst into tears.
The US M7 Priest was another vehicle which didn’t make it to shore on D-Day and was salvaged three miles off Omaha Beach. What makes this vehicle even more remarkable is what was found inside. Under the driver’s seat were a set of perfectly preserved maps and other documents belonging to crew member (Sergeant) John H Glass which charted his journey from North Africa to Normandy. These items are now on display inside this brilliant museum.
@@TellySavalas-or5hf
dear Mr. Savalas, this is correct, I visited this M7 priest and the associated war museum in 2013. Incredibly unique museum is that Mr. Telly!
Is US WW2 vet John H. Glass still alive?!
@@paulwee1924dus I think not Paul. But old soldiers never die!
Fun fact about the Priest, along with the M3 Grant's, a lot of them, when they were retired by the Australian and British armies, were bought up by farmers and retrofitted for farm duties like hauling wheat and hay, as well as things like plowing fields. The Australian Grants are a really good example of this. Watch the AusArmor Grant restoration videos for a good look. This was a good video, man!
AusArmor gotta luv those guys
@@HeedTheLorax oh ueah
they did the same with matilda tanks in australia as well
100% true, there is a Valentine tank parked up in the Midwest of Australia by the roadside, with a plaque outlining it’s use, they adapted it with attachments to push over trees to clear land.
Pretty certain mulitple M4 Shermans were modified to be bases for cable logging cranes as well
A good upgrade to the venerable M3 Lee. A solid SPG and a good all around tank. I'm glad that it still got representation in films. I've never seen much of it, but I still hold it in a positive light.
Though it's funny with how much it was used to represent German tanks.
For some weird reason, German tanks were in short supply for American television and film production companies after WWII. That, and the dangers involved with operating a tank with a turret (especially for actors), means that an open-top vehicle is just easier to deal with from a production/safety standpoint.
Wait, why are you using a SPG as a "tank"? Artillery should never be used in any situation that involves direct fire.
@@danielc2701 try some of the Urban maps in WoT. Indirect fire is useless there, and you would just be a wasted player slot, or you can go TD mode, set up ambushes and the like In the, so you at least did something. In the real world ANY vehicle with armor against small arms and a decent cannon is a tank in a pinch.
@@Skyfighter64 .... you are using a computer game to justify real life tactics? SPGs should never ever come close enough to come under direct fire, IIRC they have a 10km range and that is the range they should be firing at. If a battery is about to encounter the enemy, you displace, not act like a Sherman. Hell, even Shermans cannot eat a Panzershrek or RPG much less an SPG so even if you do see infantry, same SOP, you displace.
@@danielc2701 All well and good in theory, but theory rarely survives trial by combat. World of Tanks was used as an example of a very real problem involving SPG's, that being indirect fire in urban settings. Game or not, the problem is a real one. I've found footage of German SPG's on CZcams being used for direct fire in the battle of France. Americans loved using the 155mm SPG's against fortified positions in direct fire mode too. Like I said, Anything that has armor enough for small arms (rifle caliber) and a gun can be a tank to a field commander in a pinch, this includes SPG's and Tank Destroyers like the Hellcat. There's even footage of this happening in the Ukraine-Russian war.
Anywho, the reason to use SPG's on set of post-WWII television goes back to availability, complexity, and safety. Turrets are dangerous and complex to work with, and getting in and out of tanks presents very real risks to costumes and the actors themselves, injury-wise. Open-top vehicles, like the priest were just safer all around, readily available, and perhaps most importantly aren't recognizably a Sherman.
There is still a lot of M7 Priests hidden away as relics on US Army Military Bases. I'm starting to think that everyone just forgets about them. For me growing up as a kid with a parent in the Military you'd always find them somewhere still intact just sitting around and they'd be amazing little playgrounds or forts, one M7 even had the 50. Cal still mounted (Disarmed and everything of course) but it was very fun to man a little fort of a tank.
Came here to mention that. I hate to correct Johnny on anything, but there's probably a hundred M7s in the US alone. Between Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado I've probably photographed 15.
@@PolarizedMechs Yeah, cross checking with wikipedia there are four I've seen personally that aren't listed on the articles' 14 or so examples.
@@PolarizedMechs Helena Montana? There is one at the fairgrounds there. We used to play on it as kids.
We have one here in Topeka at the KS National Guard museum.
The 'Priest'.....was my first artillery shooter model I built..... in 1/35. Don't have it anymore but it was a Quite detailed model from 'Testor'. IF I remember.... it had a few 'ready' shells that you can place in a storage bin inside the carriage!
That's pretty cool
4:18 Call of Duty 3 featured these "Defrocked Priests" in the first Canadian mission, taking place during Operation Totalize and the final Canadian mission, being ambushed by a King Tiger.
Nice to see The Rat Patrol getting some recognition. Not the most accurate but always an entertaining watch!
Never seen it! I'm glad you name dropped it so i can
@@jblob5764 Hope you enjoy!
I'm glad Rat Patrol and Garrison's Guerillas made the cut 2 of my favorites growing up
This thing was shooting holy shots every time
The Priests carried a few HEAT rounds as a defensive measure in case enemy tanks broke through the front lines into rear areas.
The M7 was a beast in Company of Heroes.
The air burst zoning ability was god tier against ai
Hello Johnny some facts related to Indo Pak war related to this :-
By end of Partition , a Large portion of 25 pdr armed Sexton SPGs were in the Hand of Now Indian army , which made a good use of them during the 1947-48 Indo Pak war . Fearing they might be outgunned , Pakistan army later issued an order to purchase large amount of arms and ammo from the US , which also included the 105mm M101 and The M7 Priest which were used bu Pak forces during both 1965 and 1971 Indo Pak war. after this , The Pak army came to realise the need to upgun their existing stocks and purchased 155mm caliber M198 towed , GC-45 Towed , M109 Paladin SPH and 203mm M110 in order to outrange the howitzers of Indian army. It was easy for Pak to get this all because it was a member of CEATO at that time and also a pivot point for good Sino-US relationship and tackle Soviets in Afghanistan .
Indian army at this point , were operating British era 25 pdrs, 3.7 inch mountain guns, Indigenously built 75mm Pack howitzer , 5.5 inch BL howitzer and 7.7 inch Howitzer. Despite good relations with Soviet , so far only 130mm M-46 and 122mm BM-21s have been produced, which cannot be put in effective use against counter artillery fire . After this purchase , Govt of India was rattled with fear and also seek for new 155mm Howitzer and somehow the two prime competitors which were Bofors 155mm vs GC-45. one way or another a scandal occured and that scandal / Bofors scandal almost literally killed the artillery developement for Indian army. till 2015 , no serious attempts were ever made in Indian armed forces history to procure or even develop Howitzers.
I love "Hogan's Heroes." Good shot Johnny.
Interesting Fact:
The Australian Yeramba was a SPG developed in the same way as the M7 Priest and Sexton. However, it was obsolete by the time it entered service in the 1950s and only 14 units were made, making them relatively obscure.
I have an original Kangaroo unit badge that I got in 1980 from a Canadian who was a driver of a Kangaroo in normandy! I loved watching the Rat Patrol as a kid and Hogan's heroes.
"however this man is not armed with scripture, rather a 50.cal machine gun" close enough.
both will help you get closer to God lol
For those in the United States and in the Midwest, the Russell Military Museum on the Illinois/Wisconsin border has an M7 Priest on display in great condition.
My first introduction to the M7 or at least it's 'kangaroo' variant was in COD 3 when we played the first Canadian mission of that game as it's gunner but later on have to dismount. Seeing this brings back those sweet memories of old WW2 shooters bringing some info on the extras section of the game menu where it gives you a brief introduction to weapons, vehicles, aircraft and equipment used during WW2 plus the small details of uniforms used as well.
Sure you’re not thinking of the Polish Sherman tank mission?
@@tacomas9602 Didn't we play as the Canadians as well? The factory defense/attack?
Hello friends! The Alco M7 also in : I Mobster, Movie from 1942. Nice video .
The first use of a tank for a self propelled gun was in WW1 when the British converted a number of tanks to carry the 60 pounder. It was meant to be used while mounted but in many cases the gun was dismounted before use as the artillery viewed it as a method of transporting the gun just as it had been when horse drawn. But gradually the did leave it mounted as this speeded up its use, especially during the 100 Days Campaign when German forces were on the run.
First, there might be only 15 "runners" but there are quite a few "Priests" on display in parks and Museums. Secondly, a piece of trivia: an M7 was used on the front and back album cover for Paul Revere and the Raiders' "Hard 'N Heavy with Marshmallows" in the 1960s. More trivia: you can tell the M7 on a "Lee" chassis as the rear sides are "notched" like the tank, the M7B1 (built on an M4A3 Sherman chassis) doesn't have the notches (like the tank it was based on). The post-WW2 M7B2 has a higher gun mount and a taller MG "pulpit". The M7 had a smaller "cousin", the M37 Howitzer Motor Carriage. The M37 was based on the M24 Chaffee light tank chassis. It was found that the lighter chassis would handle a 105 just as well as the medium tanks used for the M7. The end of the war caused M37 production to stop, so it couldn't fully replace the M7 until newer SP 105s came along in the 1950s. M37s show up in "Patton", and "Battle of the Bulge" and one is in the early part of "Battle of Britain" tricked out as some sort of German assault gun.
One quibble, the British called it a "Priest", because they used ecclesiastical names for all self-propelled artillery (Bishop, Deacon, and eventually the Sexton). The "pulpit" at most made it easy for Americans to "adopt" the name (or at least remember it) since, after Tunesia, the British stopped using the vehicle (at least as SPA).
Direct fire wasn't TOO uncommon, and the M7 probably destroyed more Japanese tanks than any other American vehicle (or at least got most of the kills on Leyte, blasting dug-in Ha-Go and Chi-Ha tanks).
My grandfather was n the RHA and they expected to be fitted out with these but they were not until much later in the war. The reason given was they were already good at moving quickly. The real attraction of these types to the crews is the ability to avoid counter battery. Their shoot and scoot ability made them very much admired by artillery crews.
Yeah. That counted for a lot. Richard Tregaskis, the author of _"Guadalcannall Diary"_ was in, I believe, Italy talking to a Sargent of Artillery - as they fired a mission. He told the Sargent how impressive his battery was and the Sargent replied that - yes - it was impressive but things would be different when the counter battery fire came in. That happened, the Sargent was killed and Tregaskis was severely wounded.
.
@@BobSmith-dk8nw That’s so saddening
Hogan’s Heroes where the only time you Don't see a later model US or Russian tank playing the role of a tiger tank.
Oh an the only show to have 1938 Mercedes-Benz G4.
CoH1 will always be a masterpiece
Man, i love The Rat Patrol as a kid. So nice to see you use some footage from that great show.
We have an M7 Priest (along with a M42 “Duster”) here in Knoxville, TN near the Tennessee college of applied technology campus. It’s not been to taken care of but at least it’s behind a fence and is guarded by security cameras as it is on military property.
My local military museum has one of these posted out front. Amazing piece of machinery.
There’s one in Clackamas OR, at Camp Withycombe, it’s in pretty rough shape, but 80% complete. I took about fifteen photos of it.
3:46
A sentence I thought I would never before hear...
one of my favorite military vehicles! It is a life long dream to one day own one along with a half track.
The 50-cal fired holy bullets
It’s a bit odd that the British consistently named American vehicles. I had no idea the Priest referenced a clergyman’s pulpit. Seems I often learn a tidbit or two from each of your episodes.
The man on the .50 would give sermons, except the gospel was Browning's and the doctrine was suppressing fire.
@@alexanderhenley7307 When Ma speaks, everyone listens.
@@benn454 she tends to poke holes into any opposing arguments.
My understanding is that British equipment typically has names, while American equipment typically had letter/number designations(m1, etc). So the Brits naturally assigned names to the American lend/lease equipment sent to them, and the American troops eventually wound up using the names as well.
The British found it easier to give things names, I mean the American system is so confusing, M3 can mean anything from a trench knife to a Medium Tank! So you have to specify which M3 you mean, so it gets long winded, so much easier to say Lee tank.
I've had the great fortune to reenact alongside a functional example of one of these at an event in Zephryhills, Fl. They asked for some people to help set up a Long Tom as well and you bet your butt I volunteered to help!
I like how in old movies you always hear that bullet hitting rock *ptjeu* *ptjeu* *ptjeu*, from a machinegun shooting nowhere near hard surfaces :)
That armored personnel variant would be hilarious in COH game. 20 dudes just showing up behind everyone in an up armorers tank chassis.
There’s a very nice one on display at the Field Artillery Museum at Fort Sill. There’s a little platform so you can get a good look inside too.
I watched a video yesterday on Sherman tanks that had 3 1-minute YT ads and a 2 minute in-game ad for a game I couldn't care less about in a total 12-minute video. Thanks for this quality content with ZERO ad time. [liked]
The M7 helped advanced the Normandy invasion a week after the landings. Especially in Falaise pocket.
Great video Johnny! I’ve always loved the M7 for some reason
Hogans Heroes is such a legit show.
"Holy Rollers" love it!! 😁
This video and the Krag one made me re-watch Hogan's Heroes. Great vid as always!
Man, I love these vids!!
100%👍👍👍
Brilliant presentation, as usual.
Love these videos❤️
I hope you make more content like these, probably on topics like, Banzai Charges, Vietnamese Tunnels, Huey Helicopters and the likes...
Nice, and you have given me the name of the movie Sahara, I have been meaning to watch it again. Nice pun.
Another great video JJ! I especially like that you mention different nations that used the particular focus of the video(i.e. tanks, firearms, aircraft, etc.,) and when, including examples. Very entertaining and informative stuff! Also, the range of movies you find is really cool. I just wish I knew where to find them in this crazy digital age, lol! Cheers!
The tank museum near me just closed down, but the armor museum on long Island NY just bought the M7 my museum had and plan to get it running again.
1:20 He's preaching the Gospel of John Browning 😂
There was also an M-7 at the beginning of the movie Battle of Britain. British also modified a Valentine chassis for an SPG, they called it the Bishop.
I love it every time you can feature Hogan’s Heroes! That particular episode is a guilty pleasure.
Holy Moley another good one Johnny!
We had 1 of these right outside my barracks window when i was stationed in Ft. Stewart, GA.
Always nice to awake to a new JJ video
Would like to see one on where did the 2023 English summer go
it was 6c this morning
The Americans had Priests, while the British had Bishops,
❤️M7 .. thx for the great vids!
I’ve been lucky enough to see the M7 “Alcatraz” at the 1st AD museum. They are quite large, and imposing, but beauties none the less. It was a good simple SPG platform that aesthetically has no equivalent.
That footage if not mistaken was taken from Patton's 3rd army, 3rd Armored Division, M7 priest artillery battalion. Yes, They are the "Spearhead" Division.
The first to cross the Siegfried line, the first to down a airplane on German soil, the first to fire Artillery into German soil.
Sorry for being late but its great you made a video on some armoured things, anyways keep up the good work johnny :)
I just saw one- in person and operable- at the new GETTYSBURG WW2 Museum.
Finally, some war history vid that doesn't have an AI voice reading a Wikipedia article.
I watched a lot of "Rat Patrol" as a kid. I had completely forgotten that- thanks for the reminder, Johnny!
I love how the priest looks.
I neve heard of the m7 preist
The elevation was increased by raising the gun in the chassis, resulting in the M7A1, which is why the gun seems to be sitting unusually high. Most of the vehicles seen in the clips are this model.
The name, 'Priest' also started the British tradition of giving their SP guns ecclesiastical names.
The Priest, the Grant, and the Lee are my top 3 picks for most interesting vehicles of the war. As much negativity as the Grant or Lee garner, I love the "land ship" concept of battlewagons bristling with weaponry.
There is Sexton in Polish war museum in Warsaw , you could get inside it kinda cool as a kid
Ah memories. The vehicle I used to great effect in BF1942
"Bring forth the Holy Howitzer!
"How does it....um.... work?"
"Consult the Book of Armaments!"
The first Kangaroos were de turreted Ram tanks (a Canadian tank based on the M3 running gear).
The infantry jumped out of the fighting compartment like Joeys.
That is the origin of the nickname.
But there must be more to the naming on ecclesiastical lines because the Bishop predates the Priest.
"Holy Rollers" that is so funny. Those Brit's sure gave some pretty good nicknames to equipment. The info about the Ronson lighter nickname was interesting to say the least. I will remember that tidbit about the vehicle, why? I dun know, ha ha.
Great video
another good mark felton video.
The Montana National Guard base near Kalispell (Hwy 93) used to have one of these parked in front back in the 1980's. It was missing the pulpit and 50 cal. but the 105 was still there.
I like how you changed "Hogans Heroes" to "Hooooogaan" at the end. Nice touch
3:00 NOICE.
the second video on the "holy rollers" released this week. though the tanks the templin institute analysed were quite different
One of these made it onto the cover of not one, but two Paul Revere and the Raiders album covers.
Holy howitzer? Be gone demon by Holy High Explosives shell
I just went to a US Army base in Helena, Montana (home of the first Special Forces Unit) and I saw 2 of the 15 M7 Priests
4:12 Tank stands on ramp with angle it means range angle of cannon on chassis can not operate as close support mortar with steep angle. That is price paid converting regular howitzer on two wheels installed to on tank chassis.
An interesting choice, particularly given the use of the present day versions out east....as always sir ,thank you for sharing this with us all,best wishes from across the pond....😊😊😊...E...
Nice video. And it wasn't too preachy! ;-)
Crew: "HAVE YOU PRAY TODAY?"
*sees a battalion of enemy armor and infantry*
Nah I'd win intensifies
My papa drove and commanded these in the Korean War, but he has described to me one that has a 155mm howitzer on it several times, but I can’t find any records to say that happened
we had one in the playground of the L&C fairgrounds, i remember climbing all over it as a kid
Although only a brief cameo a modified Priest appears in "Ice cold in Alex" as a German AFV with a smaller gun and mantle.
My grandfather was the gunner on a priest in the bulge and said it was so cold you couldn’t even touch the metal of the tank but they were better off than the infantry… awesome to see.
A really interesting piece of armament
Yeah.. I used to play "Steel Panthers" a lot.
I'd have a "brigade" with two tank units, an infantry unit and an artillery unit. I think the units were Company/Battery sized. The individual pieces were - individual tanks and artillery pieces - then Infantry squads (maybe ... in Panzer Blitz I think they were platoons).
I used those Priests a lot when I was playing the Americans in that game. I think I had Hummels when I played the Germans. I didn't play the Russians that much.
I'd lead with my Infantry - and find the enemy. Then I'd call in Artillery on them while the tanks maneuvered.
Reverse slopes worked well in that game. You'd have your infantry on the back slope with their armor right behind them and the artillery farther back. The enemy could come over the crest and get blown to hell at short range by the tanks.
I miss that game.
.
And thus began the time honored tradition of strapping a big fucking gun to some kind of vehicle and pretending it ISNT there to blow up traffic (we all know it really is, though)
I love the no-nonsense practicality of American WW2 era vehicles.
There are 2 on display at Ft.Hood. they're in need of some restoration but are in good shape overall
I know people that have been to just about every military vehicle museum in Europe. And none of them have a M-7, mostly state side and very few left. The one at Camp Withycombe is pretty rough, I almost got tossed off the base for climbing on it and getting pics of the inside, the projectile bins were still intact.
There's one used as a monument outside the Military Museum at Ft Missoula in Montana that's in decent shape.
Another that's in pristine running is the one at the American Heritage Museum in Marlboro Massachusetts.
There's another running one at the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum in Everett Washington.
Finally another great specimen is at the National Museum of Military Vehicles in Fremont County Wyoming.
TY!