CMK RA016 M41 Howitzer Motor Carriage

The M41 Howitzer Motor Carriage (HMC) Gorilla was an American self-propelled gun from the Second World War and the Cold War. The first prototypes were built in 1944, and serial production only continued in 1945. In total, about 85 examples of this vehicle were built. The M41 was powered by two engines Cadillac 4T24 V8 110 HP each. It was armed with a single 155 mm M1 howitzer and a single 12.7 mm M2 machine gun.

The M41 was created in response to a demand from the US Army in 1943 for a new, light SPG using a 155mm howitzer. In order to shorten the implementation work and put the vehicle into production as quickly as possible, the chassis and many components of the M24 Chaffee tank were used. Despite this, work on the prototype dragged on and it was not until December 1944 that it underwent field tests of the US Army. As the production of the new car only started in May 1945, it did not take part in World War II. However, it was used by American units during the Korean War in 1950-1953. The M41 HMC was characterized by high mobility, low curb weight, high top speed for this class of vehicles and general mechanical reliability. The M41 HMC vehicles also served in the French army.