1:100 Autocannone Lancia 3Ro da 90/53 Italian SPG Platoon

A desert improvisation that became a terror

The Cannone da 90/53 belonged to the best that Italian arms industry built during the Second World War. It was designed as an anti-aircraft gun, but in North Africa it turned out that the long barrel and the high muzzle velocity would take apart even British infantry tanks, against which the smaller Italian calibers did not suffice. The towed version was heavy, however, and moving it took a long time. The solution was mounting it on the bed of the heavy Lancia 3Ro truck: a mobile firing platform came about which could move along a road under its own power and fire practically straight after stopping.

How it was fought with

The price of the mobility was utter vulnerability. The crew stood in an open space without protection, so the whole tactic rested on distance and on who fired first. These vehicles therefore worked from ambush, at long ranges, and changed position immediately after firing. Only a few dozen were built, which makes them one of the most interesting and at the same time least covered subjects of the Italian theater.

Four vehicles in one carton

The package is aimed at players and builders of scenes who need to build a whole battery at once. Desert camouflage with a sand base and brown patches is the commonest choice on these machines, and at a small size soft transitions prove better than sharp edges of the pattern.