SELF-PROPELLED HOWITZER. This is the M7 howitzer motor carriage mounting a 105-mm. howitzer which was used for high angle as well as direct fire. The .50-caliber machine gun is mounted in a raised pulpit-like structure which gave the vehicle the nickname Priest. (Mounted on M3 tank chassis.)] [Illustration: SICILY THE LONG TOM. This was the largest U. S. piece of artillery in Sicily. A 7½-ton 6 x 6 prime mover truck towing a gun into position (top). Firing from a camouflaged position in an orchard (bottom). (155-mm. gun with standard carriage.)] [Illustration] [Illustration: SICILY OBSERVING FIRE ON SICILIAN TOWN. The officer at right is in telephone communication with the artillery command post. The man in the center is using a battery commander’s telescope (BC scope). U. S. field glasses and artillery sights of all kinds were greatly improved by the end of the Tunisian fight. Fine sand managed to work its way into the moving parts of optical equipment, obscuring the image and interfering with the mechanical operation. Moisture condensed on the inside of the lens elements and, combined with dust, cut down the optical effectiveness. Corrections were made by sealing the instruments wherever possible and by placing a moisture-absorbing chemical between the elements.] [Illustration: SICILY SHERMAN TANKS ENTERING PALERMO on the day the city surrendered, 22 July 1943.] [Illustration: SICILY THE CITY OF PALERMO. The port had been damaged by Allied bombing raids, and the Germans before withdrawing had demolished some of the installations. After the arrival of U. S. troops the port was quickly made serviceable and was used as a supply base for troops advancing from here eastward along the coast toward Messina. It was later used as one of the embarkation ports for the invasion of Italy.] [Illustration: SICILY SIGNAL CORPS MEN REPAIRING COMMUNICATIONS LINES. Maintaining communications and other public utilities behind the lines were problems that fell within the scope of Allied Military Government. In Sicily the U. S. Army was called upon to furnish personnel and supplies, though native labor and materials were used whenever possible.] [Illustration: SICILY SICILIAN CHILDREN RECEIVING CANDY FROM A SOLDIER. U. S. soldiers were universally popular with children of all classes. The individual soldier gave a good portion of his ration of sweets and chewing gum to native children.] [Illustration: SICILY