The 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle produced during World War II.
About this creation
The M7 "Priest" was an American self propelled howitzer built on the M4 Sherman chassis. It was designed after U.S. Army observers realized that they would need a self-propelled artillery vehicle with sufficient firepower to support armored operations. Lessons learned with half-tracks also showed that this vehicle would have to be armored and fully tracked
While the first M7s were produced for the U.S. Army, supply was soon diverted to support the Lend-Lease program. Ninety M7s were sent to the British 8th Army in North Africa, who were also the first to use it in battle during the Second Battle of El Alamein. The M7 soon proved successful and the British requested 5,500 of them, an order which was never fully completed.
A total of 3,490 M7s were built and they proved to be reliable weapons, continuing to see service in the U.S. and allied armies well past World War II.
In U.S. service, the M7 was a great success. Each U.S. armored division had three battalions of M7s, giving them unparalleled mobile artillery support.
Below is an M37 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage at the museum where I work. It was designed to replace the M7 Priest and was built off of the M24 Chaffee chassis.