T48 Gun Motor Carriage

T48 gun motor carriage
A T48 in Moscow on Poklonnaya Hill.
TypeSelf-propelled anti-tank gun
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1943–45
Used byUnited States, Soviet Union, and Britain
WarsWorld War II
Production history
DesignerAberdeen Proving Grounds
Designed1940–41
ManufacturerDiamond T
Produced1942–43
No. built962
Specifications
Mass9.45 t (20,800 lb)
Length21 ft 0 in (6.40 m)
Width7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Crew5 (commander, gunner, driver, loader, and a radio operator)

Armorhull:6 mm
windscreen visor and gun shield: 12.7 mm
Main
armament
57 mm gun M1 with 99 rounds
EngineWhite 160AX, 386 in3 (6,330 cc), six cylinder, gasoline, compression ratio 6.3:1,
128 hp (95 kW)
Power/weight15.8 hp/ton
SuspensionHalf-track, vertical volute springs
Fuel capacity60 US gal (230 L)
Operational
range
150 mi (240 km)
Maximum speed 45 mph (72 km/h)

The T48 57 mm gun motor carriage was a self-propelled anti-tank gun produced by the Diamond T company in 1943 for the United States. The design incorporated a 57 mm gun M1, a US production of the British Ordnance QF 6 pounder, mounted on an M3 half-track.

A total of 962 vehicles were produced from 1942 to 1943. It had originally been planned that Britain would receive all of the examples produced through Lend-Lease, intending to use them in the Western Desert, but by the time they arrived the campaign was over. Additionally, the purpose-built M10 tank destroyer, armed with a 3-inch gun (and later a 17-pounder gun in British service) had begun to enter production. As a result, the British transferred 650 half-tracks to the Soviet Union under the Soviet Aid Program. Britain retained 30 and the remainder were taken by the US; except for one kept by the U.S. Army, these British and American vehicles were converted back to standard M3 half-tracks.

The Soviets called it the SU-57 (Samokhodnaya ustanovka 57); under this designation it served in Operation Bagration and other fighting on the Eastern Front during World War II.