M7 Priest Artillery Battery (Plastic)

While towed artillery is fine for the infantry divisions, an armored force requires a good self-propelled artillery piece which can keep up with the tanks as they advance.

The Allies have the fascists on the run in North Africa, but the fight is not over yet. The United States is the newest army to enter the war. They boast some of the best tanks in the world, backed up by well-equipped infantry, either marching to battle on foot or riding in half-tracks, and the latest deadly tank destroyers. Their troops are inexperienced, but they have trained hard and are eager to prove themselves. They will need to learn quickly, as they face a cunning and battle-hardened enemy.

Click here to find out more about Fighting First...

Following the events of the war the U.S. Army came to the conclusion that there was a need for a self propelled artillary vehicle with the firepower to support armored tank opperations. With the lessons learned from half-track vehicles such as the T19 Howitzer Motor Carriage and the M3 Half-track Chasis they decided the M7 would be not only armored but also full tracked

It was decided to use the M3 Lee chassis as the basis for this new vehicle design, which was designated T32. The pilot vehicles used the M3 chassis with an open-topped superstructure, mounting an M1A2 105 mm howitzer and, following trials, adding a machine gun, the T32 was accepted for service as the M7 in February 1942 and production began that April. As the M4 Sherman tank replaced the M3, it was decided to continue production using the M4 chassis instead.