The 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 was an American

self-propelled gun Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled ...

vehicle produced during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It was given the official service name 105 mm Self Propelled Gun, Priest by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

, due to the pulpit-like machine gun ring, and following on from the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

and the contemporary

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

self-propelled guns.

Design and development

During the early stages of World War II,

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

observers realized that they would need a self-propelled artillery vehicle with sufficient firepower to support armored operations. Lessons learned with half-tracks (such as the T19 Howitzer Motor Carriage (HMC) with a 105 mm howitzer on the

M3 Half-track The M3 half-track was an American armored personnel carrier half-track widely used by the Allies during World War II and in the Cold War. Derived from the M2 half-track car, the M3 was extensively produced, with about 15,000 standard M3s and mo ...

chassis) also showed that this vehicle would have to be armored and fully tracked. It was decided to use the

M3 Lee The M3 Lee, officially Medium Tank, M3, was an American medium tank used during World War II. The turret was produced in two forms, one for US needs and one modified to British requirements to place the radio next to the commander. In British C ...

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpar ...

as the basis for this new vehicle design, named T32.Bishop, p. 120. The pilot vehicles used the M3 chassis with an open-topped superstructure, mounting an M2A1 105 mm

howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...

, with a machine-gun added after trials. The T32 was accepted for service as the M7 in February 1942 and production began that April. The British Tank Mission had requested 2,500 to be delivered by the end of 1942 and a further 3,000 by the end of 1943, an order which was never fully completed. As the M4 Sherman tank replaced the M3, it was decided to continue production using the M4 chassis (the M4 chassis was a development of the M3). The M7 was subsequently supplanted by the

M37 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage The M37 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage is a 105 mm howitzer self propelled gun developed by the United States. It saw combat in the Korean War and remained part of the U.S. military until being replaced in the late 1950s. Approximately 300 w ...

(on the "Light Combat Team" chassis that also gave the

M24 Chaffee The M24 Chaffee (officially Light Tank, M24) was an American light tank used during the later part of World War II; it was also used in post–World War II conflicts including the Korean War, and by the French in the War in Algeria and the Firs ...

light tank).Chamberlain & Ellis ''British and American Tanks of World War II'' 1969 p. 138

Operational history

A total of 3,489 M7s and 826 M7B1s were built. They proved to be reliable weapons, continuing to see front-line service in the US and other armies well past the end of World War II.

North Africa

During the North African campaign, 90 M7s were received by the British Eighth Army in North Africa, which was also the first to use it, during the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented th ...

, alongside the

, a self-propelled gun based on the 87.6 mm calibre

Ordnance QF 25-pounder The Ordnance QF 25-pounder, or more simply 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was the major British field gun and howitzer during the Second World War. Its calibre is 3.45-inch (87.6 mm). It was introduced into service just before the war started, combin ...

gun-howitzer.Bishop, p. 121. The British Commonwealth armies had logistical problems in supplying the M7, as it used US ammunition that was not compatible with standard British artillery pieces or tank guns, and had to be supplied separately. Whereas the Sexton – a rival self-propelled gun developed in Canada - featured the standard British QF 25-pounder (on an M3 or M4 chassis). Despite supply problems, British Commonwealth forces used the M7 throughout the campaigns in North Africa and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

North-West Europe

During the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, from June 1944, the artillery regiments of the British

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * H ...

and 50th divisions, and the Canadian 3rd Division were equipped with the M7; however, these were replaced by towed 25-pounder guns in early August. The British Army in the Normandy Campaign 1944 B6657

The British Army in the Normandy Campaign 1944 B6657

During the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

, each US armored division had three battalions of M7s, giving them unparalleled mobile artillery support.

Pacific War

The M7 was also used by US and British forces in Pacific and Asian theaters. During the Burma campaign, the Priest played a significant role, in particular, at the

Battle of Meiktila A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

and the advance on Rangoon (1945). From early 1944 it was used in the

South West Pacific theater The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia and its mandate Territory o ...

, by the US Sixth Army in the later stages of the campaign in New Guinea and surrounding islands. The M7 also saw action in the Philippines campaign, with the US Eighth and Sixth armies.

After World War II

Korean War
M7 Priests remained in use during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, where their flexibility, compared to towed artillery units, led the US Army on the path to converting fully to self-propelled howitzers. The limited gun elevation of the M7 (35 degrees) hampered its ability to shoot over the tall Korean mountains, so 127 M7B1s were modified to permit the full 65 degrees elevation in a model known as the M7B2. After the Korean War, many of these were exported to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

countries, notably Italy and Germany. Israel
Israel acquired a number of M7 Priests during the 1960s and employed them in the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 ...

, the

War of Attrition The War of Attrition ( ar, حرب الاستنزاف, Ḥarb al-Istinzāf; he, מלחמת ההתשה, Milhemet haHatashah) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies fro ...

and the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...

where three M7 units, the 822nd, 827th and 829th Battalions in the IDF Northern Command, supported the occupation of the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

. West Germany
The new West German

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

received 127 Priests as its first self-propelled artillery vehicle. They entered service in 1956 and were used until the early 1960s.

Surviving vehicles

* Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster (German Tank Museum, Munster). * Australian Armour and Artillery Museum, in

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, in a World War II US Army paint scheme. * Vermont National Guard Library and Museum,

Colchester, Vermont Colchester is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Colchester was 17,524. It is the fourth-most populous municipality and second-most populous town in the state of Vermont. Colchester bor ...

* General George Patton Museum of Leadership, Fort Knox, Kentucky * National Guard armory,

Starkville, Mississippi Starkville is a city in, and the county seat of, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. Mississippi State University is a land-grant institution and is located partially in Starkville but primarily in an adjacent unincorporated area de ...

. * An M7B1 and an M7B2 at the

Texas Military Forces Museum The Texas Military Forces Museum (officially the Brigadier General John C.L. Scribner Texas Military Forces Museum'')'' is a history museum in Austin, Texas. It is hosted by the Texas Military Department at Camp Mabry and is part of the United ...

in Camp Mabry,

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. * An M7 which was used in the Austrian ''Bundesheer'' (Army) after World War II is in the private Robert Gill Collection in Austria. * An M7 by the main entrance outside the barracks of West Virginia Army National Guard base Camp Dawson in Kingwood, West Virginia. * Unrestored hulk in kibbutz Kineret, Israel. * Displayed outdoors at the Third Infantry Division Museum at Fort Stewart, GA. * Display outdoors at National Guard Armory,

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

Variants

;M7 :The first M7s produced were based on modified M3 Lee medium tank chassis. To maintain a low silhouette, the howitzer elevation had to be restricted to 35°. In May 1942, after only a month of production, the vehicle was altered to increase its ammunition stowage from 57 to 69 rounds. This was achieved by placing seven rounds on the left wall and five on the right. The M7 also went through a fairly rapid shift from being based on the M3, to having more commonality with the

M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It ...

. The first major example was an adoption of the M4's three-piece housing, single-piece casting and suspension. In British service, some M7s carried a radio set, which took the place of 24 rounds of ammunition.Norris, John (2012
World War II Tanks and Trucks
The History Press. ;M7B1 :Completing the shift, the M7B1 was fully based on the M4A3 Sherman chassis. 826 M7B1 were produced from March 1944 to February 1945. ;M7B2 :During the

, the limited elevation of the howitzer became noticeably problematic. 127 M7B1 were modified to permit an elevation of 65° to increase the effective range of the howitzer. The machine gun mount also had to be raised to give a 360° firing arc. ;"Defrocked Priest" :As one part of the Allied effort to capture

Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, France * Falaise, Calvados, France ** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise escarpment in Quebec ...

and break out from the Normandy beachhead, 72 M7s had their main guns removed in the field for service as

armoured personnel carriers An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

and were first used in

Operation Totalize Operation Totalize (also spelled Operation Totalise in recent British sources) was an offensive launched by Allied troops in the First Canadian Army during the later stages of Operation Overlord, from 8 to 9 August 1944. The intention was to bre ...

. These field modified vehicles were referred to as "Defrocked Priests", "Unfrocked Priests" or as "Holy Rollers". The work was done in one week by 250 personnel from 14 British and Canadian Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer units. 36 vehicles each were allocated to the 4th Infantry Brigade of the

2nd Canadian Division The 2nd Canadian Division (2 Cdn Div; french: 2e Division du Canada) is a formation of the Canadian Army in the province of Quebec, Canada. The present command was created 2013 when Land Force Quebec Area was re-designated. The main unit housed ...

and the 154th (Highland) Brigade of the

51st (Highland) Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...

, which led the attack. ;Kangaroo :A Canadian armored personnel carrier conversion of the M7 for use by British and Commonwealth units in northern Europe.Jones, Richard. ''Tanks''. Zenith Imprint, 2004. P.44 The

Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...

could carry 20 infantry plus a crew of two. A total of 102 were converted between October 1944 and April 1945. The name "Kangaroo" became generic for all conversions of armored fighting vehicles into personnel carriers, including

Ram tank The Tank, Cruiser, Ram was a cruiser tank designed and built by Canada in the Second World War, based on the U.S. M3 Medium tank chassis. Due to standardization on the American Sherman tank for frontline units, it was used exclusively for tra ...

conversions. ;25pdr Howitzer Motor Carriage T51 :M7 fitted with 25 pounder gun in July 1942.Chamberlain & Ellis,p139

British SPG naming scheme

A British self-propelled gun armed with the

in design from 1941 was nicknamed

as its appearance was said to resemble a bishop's

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

and a replacement, the US 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7, was called "Priest", as part of its superstructure was said to resemble a pulpit. Following this line of names, a 1942 self-propelled gun armed with the

QF 6 pounder 6-pounder gun or 6-pdr, usually denotes a gun firing a projectile weighing approximately . Guns of this type include: *QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss, a 57 mm naval gun of the 1880s; a similar weapon was designed by Driggs-Schroeder for the US Navy ...

was named

and a 1943 weapon carrier with the QF 25-pounder was called Sexton.

Notes

References

* Doyle, David. Standard Catalog of U.S. Military Vehicles. Krause Publications, 2003 * Bishop, Chris. The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2002 * Collins, Michael. King, Martin. Voices of the Bulge: Untold Stories from Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge. MBI Publishing Company, 2011 * Jones, Richard. Tanks. Zenith Imprint, 2004 * TM 9-2800 Standard Military Motor Vehicles. dated 1 September 1943 * TM 9-731E * TM 9-1725 * TM 9-1750A * TM 9-1750B * TM 9-1750C * TM 9-1750D * TM 9-1750K * TM 9-1751 * TM 9-1825A * TM 9-1825B

External links

AFV Database
)
World War II Vehicles

* https://salutetofreedom.org/ny.html {{Authority control Self-propelled howitzers of the United States Self-propelled artillery of the United States World War II self-propelled artillery World War II armored fighting vehicles of the United States Cold War armored fighting vehicles of the United States M007 105 mm artillery Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944