M43 "G.C.Leoncello"

M43 "G.C.Leoncello"

M43 "G.C.Leoncello"

Italy

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.0	3.0	3.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Tank destroyer

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

STORE

This page is about the premium tank destroyer M43 "G.C.Leoncello". For the regular version, see 105/25 M43

Description

The Semovente 105/25 M43 G.C."Leoncello" is a Rank III Italy tank destroyer with a battle rating of 3.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.85 "Supersonic".

General info

Survivability and armour

Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat?

If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.

Mobility

Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability as well as the maximum speed forward and backward.

Armaments

Main armament

105 mm Cannone Ansaldo da 105/25
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
48			-10°/+16°	±18°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	12.3	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	8.3	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
13.0	__.__	__.__	__.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
Granata Perforante da 105	APC	90	88	80	71	63	56
Effeto Pronto mod.43	HEAT	120	120	120	120	120	120

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
Granata Perforante da 105	APC	500	16	0.8	28	275	°	48°	63°	71°
Effeto Pronto mod.43	HEAT	510	14	0.0	0.1	1.8	°	62°	69°	73°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
XX	XX (+XX)	XX (+XX)	XX (+XX)	No

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful 105mm gun that can fire HEAT rounds.
• Low profile can make it difficult to spot in RB/SB.
• Reasonably fast.
• Good gun depression.

Cons:

• The mantlet armor can be penetrated by the majority of the guns at its Rank.
• No turret.

History

In mid-1942, the Italian Army put out a set of requirements for a new vehicle that could double up as both an infantry support vehicle as well as a tank destroyer, depending on the situation. In response to this, Fiat-Ansaldo and OTO both began developing prototypes around these requirements in parallel.

The two competing designs primarily differed in the chassis choice. OTO picked the newer chassis of the P40 heavy tank whilst Fiat-Ansaldo chose to opt for a newer and larger version of the chassis already in production for their Semovente M42.

This decision allowed Fiat-Ansaldo to complete their prototype much sooner. In February 1943, the Semovente 105/25 M43 was presented to military officials and was soon afterwards ordered into production, following successful trials.

Production began in April 1943, with a planned production run of over 800 vehicles. However, with Italy’s industry at this late stage of the war being severely crippled, production was slow and reaching such high production goals was more than unlikely.

Just prior to the signing of the armistice in September, the 30th vehicle rolled off the assembly line. The Semovente 105/25 M43 proved itself in combat during the defence of Rome, where the SPGs successfully engaged German forces trying to retake the city.

After the occupation of northern Italy by German forces, the Fiat-Ansaldo company restarted production of the Semovente 105/25, this time however, for the Germans. Germany only used a limited number of these vehicles under the designation Sturmgeschütz M43 mit 105/25 853(i), of which most were no longer in use by late 1944.

Around 120 Semovente 105/25 M43s were built by 1944, primarily serving with Italian or German forces. By the late stages of the war, only a limited number was still in service and after the end of WW2, the vehicle was retired from service.

- From Devblog

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] Semovente 105/25 M43: Low Profile, High Power