Italian armored equipment has never received the level of coverage than armored equipment from other countries has gotten. This book is part of recent efforts to correct that historical trend.

The book has 3 main sections: the walk-around of three preserved self-propelled units (two M 41 and one M 42), a section with line drawings, and a brief historical summary, with period photos.

The walk-around is clearly the most important part of the book. It covers three surviving Semoventi, the M 41 da 75/18 at Rome, the M 41 da 75/18 at La Spezia (this one is a full running Semoventi), and the M42 da 75/18 located in Rimini. The last one is in German markings and built to German specs, after the Italian surrender.

The pictures are in full color (for a total of 171 pictures among the three Semoventi), including interior pictures. They show every detail from the running gear to the weaponry, armor plates, external brackets, etc.

The technical drawing section covers the M 41 and M42 with the standard 75/18 weapon, and they are both in 1/35 and 1/48 scale. The drawings are 5-view (front/back, left/right and top).

Finally, the last section has a high-level description of the Semoventi design, service, and camouflage and markings. All the pictures in the last section are b&w period photos. Some of them are probably staged, but most of them are of actual Semoventi in operations or after capture by Allied troops.

This book is priceless for the modeler interested in Italian self-propelled guns. It has a very detailed (full color) walk-around and line drawings for both versions of the Semoventi. Considering the M 41 and M 42 were built on the Italian medium tank chassis, the walk around has value beyond just the Semoventi versions.

Highly recommended for modeler and armor enthusiasts.

I would like to thank Casemate Publishing and IPMS/USA for the review sample.