SOMUA MCG
| SOMUA MCG | |
|---|---|
|
MCG5 on display at Musée des Blindés | |
| Type | Artillery tractor, armor recovery vehicle |
| Place of origin |
 France |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 6.8 t |
| Length | 5.30 m |
| Width | 2.17 m |
| Height | 2.85 m |
| Crew | 2 + 8 passengers |
|
| |
| Armor | none |
| Engine |
4-cylinder, petrol, 4712 cc 60 hp |
| Payload capacity | 1500 kg |
| Speed | 31 km/h |
The SOMUA MCG was a half-track artillery tractor and recovery vehicle of the French forces during World War II.
It was used to tow medium artillery pieces such as the 155 mm mle 1917 howitzer and the 105 mm mle 1936 field gun, as well as their specific ammunition trailers. Of this main version 345 were produced: 264 until 1 September 1939 and another 81 until the end of May.
There was also a recovery version, fitted with a crane, to recover broken-down tanks, of which about 440 were produced.
Foreign use
After France surrender, many Somua MCG and MCL halftracks were captured by the Germans and put to use in the German army. Some were used as artillery tractors. Most were converted by Major Alfred Becker's workshop (Baustokommando Becker) into armoured halftracks. These were used to fill a variety of roles in 21st Panzer Division, when it was reformed after its destruction in North Africa. Variants of these included an armoured rocket launcher with a 8 cm R-vielfachwerfer, a self-propelled mortar mounting a 8 cm Reihenwerfer multiple mortar array and a tank destroyer version with a 75 mm Pak 40 anti-tank gun.
Gallery
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Somua MCG recovery in Lussinpiccolo 1943
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SOMUA MCG with PaK 40 in north Italy.
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Armoured SOMUA MCG modified by Alfred Becker for use by the Wehrmacht
See also
References
- Vauvillier, F. & Touraine, J.-M. L'automobile sous l'uniforme 1939-40, Massin, 1992, ISBN 2-7072-0197-9
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