By November 1941, the Army requested a vehicle with a gun in a fully rotating turret after other interim models were criticized for being too poorly designed. It proved itself vastly superior to the M10, and was arguably the finest American tank hunter of World War Two, with a long postwar career. Top (turret) 0–25 mm /90 °, M36 (standard): 3″ GMC M10A1 hull (M4A3 chassis, 1,298 produced/converted) Tank destroyer, a highly mobile lightly armoured tank-type vehicle that was used to fight tanks in World War II.Tank destroyers tended to have relatively thin side and rear armour, and the gun was mounted in an open turret or in a casemate that had only a limited traverse.This made tank destroyers lighter, faster, and easier to manufacture, but it also rendered them more vulnerable to enemy fire. After appropriate changes to the hull and turret were made, the modified version was selected for production in June 1942 as the 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10. To accommodate the new weights, the design of the upper rear of the turret was changed from sloped inwards to nearly vertical. It lacked protection, mobility and had the limitations of an SPG. As the cast turret was found to be difficult to manufacture, the design of the turret was changed to a sloped pentagonal shape made of welded armor plate. These extensions often got in the way of fitting "duckbill" extended end connectors, used to reduce ground pressure on soft ground, and were often removed, along with the front fenders, by maintenance units. The M36 was based on the upgraded M10A1 Wolverine hull, whereas the B2 was based on the regular M10 chassis/M4A3 diesel. He was provided with a second periscope at the edge of the hull for this purpose. As was the case with other tank destroyers used by the United States, the M18 had an open turret, which left the crew vulnerable to snipers, grenades, and shrapnel. For the ordnance top brass, thinking of maintenance, shipping and training, using the M4 chassis for a tank hunter was not only feasible but also highly desirable. The T86 and T86E1 amphibious tank destroyers, as well as the T87 105 mm (4.13 in) amphibious Howitzer Motor Carriage, the T88 105 mm (4.13 in) Howitzer Motor Carriage and the Super Hellcat mounting the turret from the M36 turret were all tested, but none proceeded to production before war’s end. The other four crew members were armed with M1 carbines, each carrying as much ammunition on their person as they saw fit. However, like other US tanks hunters, it was still vulnerable to shell fragments and snipers due to its open-top turret. M36 Jackson, early type in trials in UK, summer 1944. The hull ball-mounted machine gun on the co-driver’s side was a postwar addition to all surviving M36s, and later an M3A1 90 mm gun (shared with the M46 Patton) was mounted instead of the 90 mm M3. Inspired designs on t-shirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more by independent artists and designers from around the world. M10 GMC from the 636th Tank Destroyer Battalion, Salerno, September 1943. As a result, the M10A1 was kept in the United States for training. The commander, gunner, and loader were all located in the turret. US 5th Armored Division M36 & Personnel near Schriefersmühle, Germany - March/April 1945. Unlike the M4 Shermans it was based upon, the M10 lacked an auxiliary generator, which forced the crew to run the main engines in order to recharge the vehicle's batteries. The M10 carried 54 rounds of 3-inch ammunition, 48 of which were stowed in four racks in the sponsons, and 6 rounds in the upper rear of the turret. This gun was also used by the M26 Pershing. The running gear was comprised of three bogies with Vertical Volute Spring Suspension (VVSS), 12 rubberized roadwheels, with front idlers and rear drive sprockets. One tactical theory was that the two towed batteries would form a gun line, while an M10 battery remained mobile on each flank to drive or lead enemy tanks to the static gun line. Indeed, in September 1942, it was already foreseen that the standard 75 mm (3 in) M7 gun of the M10 was only efficient at short range (500 m) against the enemy vehicles. With the rise of the tank came the rise of the dedicated 'Tank Destroyer', armored and well-armed combat vehicles developed with a single-minded battlefield purpose. In the Pacific war, due to the lack of serious Japanese tank opposition, US Army M10s were not used as tank destroyers, but as mobile artillery and infantry support. Production of the M18 started on January 7th, 1943, when 1,000 units were ordered. It was standardized as the M93 in February 1945. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The M10s were repaired and entered service in 1955. Its gun left little smoke when firing. M10 Wolverine. Notice the counterweight and improvised camouflage, made of sand glued with a brush. If one of the engines was damaged or destroyed, it could be disconnected and the other engine used to move the vehicle. In addition, between October and December 1944, 187 conversions of standard Medium Tank M4A3 hulls into M36s were performed at the Grand Blanc Arsenal. The first batch arrived in 1951, being in very bad shape. The M7 gun fired M79 AP shots that could penetrate 3 inches (76 mm) of 30° sloped armor at 1,000 yards (915 m). Of note is that neither the British nor the US armies called the 3 inch GMC M10 tank destroyer the “Wolverine”. The M10 with the "wedge" counterweight was known as the 3in SPM M10 Mk I and the M10 with the "duck bill" counterweight was designated the 3in SPM M10 Mk II. The 17-pounder was of a similar bore to the 3-inch gun M7, but was longer and used a larger propellant charge; it had far superior armor penetrating capabilities. The crew also had their personal weapons for self-defense. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. It was designed by Harley Earl at Buick. The armor consisted of rolled and cast homogeneous steel, as follows: Gun shield .75 inch (1.9 cm) from 0-60 degrees; Front (cast) 1 inch (2.5 cm) 23 degrees; Sides .5 inch (1.3 cm) 20 degrees; Rear .5 inch (1.3 cm) 9 degrees; Top (none); and floor 0.25 in (6 mm). The last 300 vehicles received the new M1 76 mm (3 in) gun, which had better muzzle velocity and could fire heavier ammunition. The 773rd Tank Destroyer Battalion also claimed to have destroyed 113 panzers, with the 702nd Tank Destroyer Battalion claiming 103. The glacis plate was 1 1⁄2 inches (38 mm) thick, sloped at 55 degrees from the vertical. Formally called the “3-inch Gun Motor Carriage, M10”, it was the most important U.S. tank destroyer of the second world war and it combined a reasonable adequate anti-tank weapon with a turreted platform. British 17pdr SP Achilles Ic, Italy, 1944. The M36 Jackson was the last dedicated American tank hunter of the war. The gunner, on the left side of the gun, normally stood to operate it, but he was also provided with a folding seat. The M10 had a crew of five and a top speed of about 48.2 km/h. The tandem engine produced 375 horsepower (280 kW) at 2,100 rpm. However, as most US WWII tanks, it was used in the Korean War and proved well capable of destroying the T-34/85s fielded by the North Koreans. The commander sat on a folding seat at the right rear. They resembled an upside-down "duck bill" shape when viewed from the side. M36s were prioritized for the Military Assistance Program transfer towards South Korea over the more modern but similarly armed M26/M46. As the threat never materialized, these were used for infantry support until 1956. Though equipped with turrets (unlike most self-propelled anti-tank guns of the day), the typical American design was more heavily gunned, but more lightly armored, and thus more maneuverable, than a contemporary tank. [19] A nickname used within the Department of Tank Design for both the 3-inch and 17-pounder versions was "Achilles"; the name was not used by troops during the war. The grouser racks and indirect fire equipment were often retrofitted to earlier vehicles. The 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage T35 combined an early-production M4A2 medium tank hull with the 3-inch gun M7 from the M6 Heavy Tank in a cast, circular, open-topped turret. In 1942, the head of staff was actively searching for a fully tracked tank hunter, using the M4 chassis. Since the track grousers could not be stored on the rear of the turret anymore, grouser racks that could be attached to the appliqué armor bosses on the hull were added to vehicles beginning in early April 1943. Being based on the M4 Sherman, spare parts were generally easy to acquire and repair was straightforward.… Not designed for these roles, the M18 nevertheless did excellent work supplementing the artillery of these infantry divisions. UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II, The European Theater of Operations – “THE LORRAINE CAMPAIGN” Hugh M. Cole. Indeed, against the threat of a possible Chinese intervention and use of the IS-2 heavy tank, a Panther was first tested without success, and M36B2s were sent instead with the RBCEO and custom modifications (roof plates and additional .30 cal) in 1951. One advantage of the GM 6046 was that the engines could be disconnected at will from the crankshaft and run independently. Sub-types were the Diesel/Gasoline powered Ic and IIc. Welcome to the largest single resource of U.S. The tank destroyer battalions in the Third Army claimed the destruction of 686 tanks and 238 self-propelled guns. Tigers were harder to handle and needed to be engaged at smaller ranges. After the partition of the country, existing M36s were passed to the successor states and saw heavy action, in particular in the Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995, withdrawn in 1995) but also with the Serbian forces in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo War as decoys for NATO air strikes. The army then changed their request to a vehicle mounting a 57 mm (2.24 in) gun, thus the designation changed to the T49 57 mm Gun Motor Carriage. One was that a highly mobile tank destroyer force needed to be held in reserve to deal with sudden Panzer breakthroughs as they occurred, rather than keep anti-tank forces at the front. This vehicle would become the M18 Hellcat. It did not go into production. In an engagement with a German Panther tank at 1500 yards, an M36 of the 776th TD Battalion was able to penetrate the turret armor which became the commonplace preferred target, along with the sides, rather than the glacis. Some years later, as the M10's guns were worn out, Israel decided to install 17-pounder guns and also French high-velocity 75 mm CN 75-50 guns that had just been bought. The M10's heavy chassis did not conform to the quickly evolving tank destroyer doctrine of employing very light high-speed vehicles, and starting in the summer of 1944 it began to be supplemented by the fast M18 tank destroyer. We dedicate the site to the men that served in the U.S. It also had a crew of five men and it had a 3 speed forward, 1 speed reverse transmission. Exposed to battlefield conditions which almost never resembled the feared blitzkrieg that spawned tank destroyer doctrine and development in the first place, the M18 was used more as a tank, and a lightly armored one at that. Dedicated anti-tank vehicles made their first major appearance in the Second World War as combatants developed effective armored vehicles and tactics. By late June 1943, it was realized that Fisher's initial counterweights were too heavy. After the early, soon obsolete M10 Wolverine and the superfast M18 Hellcat, the US Army needed a more powerful gun and better armored vehicle to hunt down the latest developments in German tanks, including the Panther and Tigers. The engine was specific to this vehicle, made of twin GM 6-71s diesels mated on a common crankshaft and specific transmission. The M36 Jackson was the last dedicated American tank hunter of the war. Mediums were relatively easier prey until the end of the war. The original concept called for battalions to be concentrated in tank destroyer brigades and groups for employment en masse against an armored threat. Born of a desperate need to counter the mechanized might of the so-called blitzkrieg, tank destroyer doctrine involved the pooling of anti-tank weapons into . Hull protection counted on 13 mm thick add-on bolted armored panels like the M10 and ranged from 9 mm (035 in) to 108 mm (4.25 in) on the gun mantlet and front hull glacis plate. The M10 initially lacked any provision for indirect fire. If unable to destroy the enemy force or to force them to retreat, then speed and agility would be used to avoid enemy fire until the TDs could withdraw, preferably to move up and deploy for another ambush. These conversions, into the new 17pdr SP “Achilles” tank hunter, counted about 1100 machines, done by the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich. After... Development (1943-44). Instead, "Armored Champion" hedges its bets by spreading them. The M10 and M10A1 were mechanically identical except for their power plants. Two battalions of tank destroyers did see service in the invasion of the Philippines using Hellcats. Until then, one of the vehicles used as such was the T12 GMC, a conversion of the M3 half-track with a shielded M1897A4 75 mm (2.95 in) gun. The M10 was initially successful as its M7 3-inch gun could destroy most German tanks then in service. The T71, which would become the M36, was completed in March 1943. Military History. These were assimilated as SPGs, operated by Royal Artillery units, and saw service in 1944 in Italy and France (especially with the Canadians and Poles). These vehicles would be held in reserve until an enemy tank breakthrough and were then deployed quickly, using fast maneuvers and firepower to destroy the opposing vehicles.