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Italeri: 1:72 Rail Station
Price
27.99€
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- Product Code:
- ITAL6162S
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The M12 King Kong was an American self-propelled gun of World War II. The first prototypes of the car were built in 1941, and serial production continued in 1942-1943, ending with the production of about 100 examples of this vehicle. The M12 King Kong was powered by a Continental R-975-C1 engine with 400 HP. It was armed with a single M1917 or M1918 or M1918A1 gun - all of 155 mm caliber.
Work on the M12 began in connection with the pursuit of the US Army command for its extensive mechanization and motorization, based on the experience of the early years of World War II. These experiences showed the need for self-propelled guns of various calibers capable of working with infantry. One of the fruits of the work done in this spirit was precisely the M12 King Kong. To shorten the research process and facilitate production, the modernized chassis of the M3 Lee tank was used. The changes mainly concerned the placement of the engine in the middle of the hull and the placement of a gun mount in the rear of the vehicle. After minor modifications, the M12 King Kong guns participated in the battles in Normandy, France and West Germany in 1944-1945 as part of field artillery detachments, most often subordinated to the commands of the American corps. After 1945, they were quickly withdrawn from service in favor of the M40 self-propelled guns built on the chassis of the M4 Sherman tanks.