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The T51 25pdr Howitzer Motor Carriage was produced in response to a British request for a self-propelled mount for the 25pdr gun, similar to the M7 105mm Howitzer Motor Carriage 'Priest'
The T51 was produced in June 1942 by mounting a 25pdr Mk II on the second of the T32 pilots (the prototype for the M7 Priest). The first version of the T51 used a riveted gun cradle, but this failed during tests at the Aberdeen Proving Ground.
A new welded gun cradle was produced and installed on the T51 prototype, and the testing resumed. Tests continued into 1943, but the programme was cancelled in March 1943 because of the success of the Canadian Sexton.
The Sexton was actually a very similar design to the Priest or the T51. It was based on the Canadian Ram tank, which used the chassis of the M3 Lee medium tank, but with a revised superstructure and that rather resembled the M4 Sherman. Perhaps inevitably given this background the Sexton closely resembled the M7, with a new open fighting compartment and low mounted howitzer. The min visual different was the lack of the anti-aircraft 'pulpit' that had given the Priest its name.