The Museu do Caramulo has just enriched its collection of historic military vehicles with the addition of a copy of the M7B1 Howitzer Motor Carriage ‘Priest’, one of the most emblematic self-propelled howitzers used by the Allies during the Second World War.
Like the other veterans of history’s greatest conflict that have been arriving at the Museu do Caramulo, this vehicle will strengthen the collection’s focus on the Second World War, as well as forming part of a major immersive exhibition, unprecedented in Portugal, which will mark 80 years since the end of history’s greatest conflict.
About the M7B1 Howitzer Motor Carriage ‘Priest’
Developed by the US Army after the first campaigns of the European conflict, the M7 ‘Priest’ arose from the need to provide the Allied forces with mobile artillery capable of accompanying combat vehicles and mechanised infantry. Initially based on the M3 Lee tank platform, the project evolved into the more modern and reliable M4 Sherman chassis.
The M7B1 version, now on display at the Museu do Caramulo, is equipped with a 500-horsepower Ford GAA V8 engine, which gave it greater mobility and reliability in combat. The designation ‘Priest’ was given to it by the British troops, who considered that the turret of the machine gun resembled a pulpit.
With a 105mm cannon and a remarkable rate of fire, the ‘Priest’ played a key role in theatres of operations as diverse as North Africa, Western Europe, where it had been in action since D-Day, and the Pacific.
After the war, it continued to serve in various Allied armies and also distinguished itself in the Korean War.
