T48 Gun Motor Carriage

T48 gun motor carriage
A T48 in Moscow on Poklonnaya Hill.
Type	Self-propelled anti-tank gun
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1943–45
Used by	United States, Soviet Union, and Britain
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Aberdeen Proving Grounds
Designed	1940–41
Manufacturer	Diamond T
Produced	1942–43
No. built	962
Specifications
Mass	9.45 t (20,800 lb)
Length	21 ft 0 in (6.40 m)
Width	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Crew	5 (commander, gunner, driver, loader, and a radio operator)
Armor	hull:6 mm windscreen visor and gun shield: 12.7 mm
Main armament	57 mm gun M1 with 99 rounds
Engine	White 160AX, 386 in3 (6,330 cc), six cylinder, gasoline, compression ratio 6.3:1, 128 hp (95 kW)
Power/weight	15.8 hp/ton
Suspension	Half-track, vertical volute springs
Fuel capacity	60 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.