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151-640: The M18 Hellcat (officially designated the 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 or M18 GMC ) is a tank destroyer used by the United States Army in World War II and the Korean War . Despite being equipped with the same main gun as some variants of the much larger Sherman tank, the M18 attained a much higher top speed of up to 55 mph (89 km/h) by keeping armor to a minimum, and using

302-456: A 3-inch anti-aircraft gun . Although a number were ordered and fifty delivered in 1942, they were not put into service as the immediate threat passed. The design was rejected in favor of developing a 17 pounder armed Cromwell tank variant, ultimately leading to the Comet tank . The Tortoise "heavy assault tank", intended for use in breaking through fixed defensive lines, was well armoured and had

453-577: A 90 mm gun. As Soviet designs became more heavily armoured, the 90 mm gun became ineffective and the Kanonenjagdpanzers were retrofitted for different roles or retired. Some provisions were made for the fitting of a 105 mm cannon, and many of the vehicles were modified to fire HOT or TOW missiles in place of a main gun. These upgraded variants remained in service into the 1990s. With the development of flexible anti-tank missiles , which were capable of installation on almost any vehicle in

604-529: A camouflage research and training division at General Motors, one consequence of which was a 22-page document called Camouflage Manual for General Motors Camouflage . A decade before, two former World War I camouflage artists, Harold Ledyard Towle (a U.S. Army camoufleur) and McClelland Barclay (who created the Fisher Body ads, and contributed to U.S. Navy camouflage during both World Wars) had worked as designers at General Motors. Among Earl's apprentices

755-429: A battery-powered heating unit that drew fuel from the left fuel tank in order to produce hot air for heating the back of the engine, transmission and differential and their oil coolers, the vehicle battery, and the auxiliary generator in extreme cold conditions was installed. The network of hot air tubes was installed in the factory, but the heater power (blower) and burner units, their fuel pipe and connecting air tube, and

906-563: A battle, having been immobilized by one or more hits by high explosive (HE) or armour-piercing (AP) shells to the track or front drive sprocket. The most famous Italian tank destroyer of the Second World War was a self-propelled gun. The Semovente da 75/18 , based on the M13/40 frame, was developed to support front-line infantry, and therefore had fixed armament: a 75 mm gun in casemate. However, thanks to its low height (185 cm) and

1057-416: A coachbuilder of the buyer's choice. The executives at General Motors at the time, including engineers, division heads, and sales executives, viewed Earl's conceptual ideas as flamboyant and unfounded. Earl struggled to legitimize his design approach against the tradition- and production-oriented executives. As head of the newly formed "Art and Colour Section" in 1927, he was initially referred to as one of

1208-433: A comparatively short-barreled high-velocity anti-tank gun, usually with a muzzle brake , enabling it to function as a tank destroyer. The Sturmgeschütz III from its 1938 origin used a new casemate-style superstructure with an integrated design, similar to the later Jagdpanzer vehicle designs' superstructure, to completely enclose the crew. It was employed in infantry support and offensive armoured operations as well as in

1359-498: A cruising speed of 20 mph (32 km/h). The engine speed was governed such that the vehicle normally could not exceed 55 mph (89 km/h) in third gear. The M18 carried a five-man crew, consisting of a commander, gunner, loader, driver, and assistant driver. The driver and assistant driver were seated in the front left and right of the hull, respectively. Uniquely, the driver and assistant driver were provided with identical sets of controls and either could be used to operate

1510-623: A fast tank destroyer using a Christie suspension , a Wright-Continental R-975 radial aircraft engine, and a 37 mm gun on the chassis of the Light Airborne Tank T9 as the 37 mm Gun Motor Carriage T42 . In April 1942, the Army requested that the 37 mm gun be replaced with a 57 mm and a coil spring suspension be substituted for the Christie suspension as the 57 mm Gun Motor Carriage T49 , and authorized

1661-559: A few shots were expected to be fired from any firing position . Strong reconnaissance elements were provided so that TDs could use pre-arranged firing positions to best advantage. Flanking fire by TDs was emphasized, both to penetrate thinner enemy side armour, and to reduce the likelihood of accurate enemy return fire. All American tank destroyers were officially known by exactly the same collective term used for American self-propelled artillery ordnance, "gun motor carriage". The designs were intended to be very mobile and heavily armed. Most of

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1812-514: A key highway and capture, among other objectives, fuel dumps—for the lack of which the overall German counter-offensive faltered and failed. Worried about the threat to their left flank in Bastogne, the Americans organized a major joint arms attack to seize Noville. Team Desobry's high-speed highway journey to reach the blocking position is one of the few documented cases in which the top speed of

1963-646: A lightly armoured Laffly W15T artillery tractor. Other French tank destroyers were being developed, including the SOMUA SAu-40, ARL V39 and various ad hoc conversions of the Lorraine 37L . In the face of the Warsaw Pact, a general need for extra firepower was identified. In the late 1960s, West Germany developed the Kanonenjagdpanzer , essentially a modernized World War II Jagdpanzer mounting

2114-410: A longer barrel than could be mounted in a turreted tank on the same chassis. The lack of a turret increased the vehicle's internal volume, allowing for increased ammunition stowage and crew comfort. Eliminating the turret let the vehicle carry thicker armour, and also let this armour be concentrated in the hull. Sometimes there was no armoured roof (only a weather cover) to keep the overall weight down to

2265-494: A more sweeping aircraft-inspired look. This decision would prove a wise one as bathtub styling, a concept rooted in late 1930s-early 1940s design trends, quickly became dated. The styling of the 1948 Cadillac would prove far more predictive of 1950s trends and secured GM's place at the cutting edge of automotive design. Inspiration for the fins came from the Lockheed P-38 Lightning , but it extended beyond

2416-399: A much slower process than simply rotating a powered turret. If the vehicle became immobilized due to engine failure or track damage, it could not rotate its gun to counter opposing tanks, making it highly vulnerable to counterfire. This vulnerability was later exploited by opposing tank forces. Even the largest and most powerful of German tank destroyers were found abandoned on the field after

2567-486: A semblance of continuity. This practice also ensured that used GM cars had the highest resale values of any American automotive make. Earl also avoided extreme or radical styling choices that would become dated quickly and alienate conservative-minded customers. These ideas are largely taken for granted today, but were unusual at the time. In 1939, the Styling Division, under Earl's instruction, styled and built

2718-721: A somewhat extemporized nature. Mounting the gun on the Valentine tank chassis in a fixed superstructure gave the Archer , looking somewhat like the light-chassis German Marder III in appearance. The 17 pounder was also used to re-equip the US-supplied M10 tank destroyer , replacing the American 3-inch gun to produce the 17pdr SP Achilles . In 1942 the General Staff agreed on investigating self-propelled mountings of

2869-476: A sports car. Design work on "Project Opel" began as a secret project. He first offered the project to Chevrolet general manager Ed Cole . Cole accepted the project without hesitation, and the car was offered to the public in 1953 as the Chevrolet Corvette . Earl retired in 1958 upon reaching the then-mandatory retirement age of 65. His final project was overseeing the design of 1960–62 models. He

3020-428: A tank destroyer was used against enemy tanks from a defensive position such as by ambush, the lack of a rotating turret was not particularly critical, while the lower silhouette was highly desirable. The turretless design allowed accommodation of a more powerful gun, typically a dedicated anti-tank gun (in lieu of a regular tank's general-purpose main gun that fired both anti-tank and high explosive ammunition) that had

3171-548: A three-sided gun shield for crew protection. For instance, 202 obsolete Panzer I light tanks were modified by removing the turret and were rebuilt as the Panzerjäger I self-propelled 4.7 cm PaK(t) . Similarly, Panzer II tanks were used on the eastern front. Captured Soviet 76.2 mm anti-tank guns were mounted on modified Panzer II chassis, producing the Marder II self-propelled anti-tank gun. The most common mounting

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3322-583: A turretless variation used as a gun tractor or command and reconnaissance vehicle. In March 1944, the Ordnance Department authorized the construction of two prototypes; the T41 was a prime mover for the 3-inch Gun M5, while the T41E1 was a command and reconnaissance vehicle that could also be easily converted into a prime mover. The T41E1 configuration was found superior and development of the T41 version

3473-412: A vehicle using the weapons (the 37 mm, 57 mm, 3-inch, 75 mm and finally the lightweight 76 mm of 1942–1943) and technology available, including mounting the 3-inch gun on the fast M3 light tank chassis. The M18 was the end product of a long line of research vehicles aimed at providing the desired machine. In December 1941, the Ordnance Department issued a requirement for the design of

3624-635: A very powerful 32-pounder (94 mm) gun, but did not reach service use. By 1944, a number of the Shermans in British use were being converted to Sherman Fireflies by adding the QF 17 pounder gun. Initially this gave each troop (platoon) of Shermans one powerfully armed tank. By war's end—through the production of more Fireflies and the replacement of Shermans by British tanks—about 50% of Shermans in British service were Fireflies. The Sherman Firefly, however,

3775-620: Is available for export). The PTL02 is built on the 6×6 wheeled chassis of the WZ551 APC. Italy and Spain use the Italian-built B1 Centauro , a wheeled tank destroyer with a 105 mm cannon. Russia, meanwhile, uses the Russian-built 2S25 Sprut-SD , operating as an amphibious light tank/tank destroyer armed with a 125 millimeters (4.9 in) cannon. The Sabrah Pandur II is a wheeled tank destroyer variant of

3926-723: Is displayed at the National Military Museum in Bucharest . Another conversion was the VDC R-35 , Romania's only turreted tank destroyer. Two other proposed tank destroyers existed: the TACAM R-1 and TACAM T-38 . Variants of the Polish TKS and TK-3 tankettes up-armed with 20 mm gun (23–26 vehicles) were operationally deployed in the invasion of Poland . They were used as an anti-tank component of

4077-574: Is not considered a tank destroyer since it could still perform the other duties of the regular M4 Sherman , albeit the Firefly was less capable due to the late development of a HE round for the QF 17 pounder. Until 1942, the Romanian tank force was equipped exclusively with obsolete R-1 , R-2 and R35 tanks. Having faced big problems against Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks on the Eastern Front,

4228-460: The 10th Armored Division was assigned to defend Noville located north-northeast of both Foy and of Bastogne , just 4.36 mi (7.02 km) away. With just four M18 tank destroyers of the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion to assist, the paratroopers of 1st Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment attacked units of the 2nd Panzer Division , whose mission was to proceed by secondary roads via Monaville (just northwest of Bastogne) to seize

4379-504: The 2S25 Sprut-SD , armed with a current-issue 125 mm tank gun that is also capable of launching missiles like the 9M119 Svir , and Israeli-modified Pandur IIs , which is to enter service with the Philippine Army by 2022 armed with an Elbit Turret and a 105 mm gun. Many forces' infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) carry anti-tank missiles in every infantry platoon, and attack helicopters have also added anti-tank capability to

4530-578: The 306th Infantry Regiment . M18s were not issued to U.S. Marine Corps units. The M39 armored utility vehicle , which was converted from the M18, was used as a prime mover, infantry carrier, and ammunition carrier in Korea. After World War II, many M18s were sold to other countries. Many intended for European countries under the Mutual Defense Assistance Act were rebuilt and refurbished by Brown & Root in northern Italy in

4681-472: The 75 mm gun M3 mounted on the M4 Sherman tank, it did not have the high explosive firepower of the former when used for infantry support missions. Muzzle blast from 76 mm guns not equipped with muzzle brakes was also a complaint. There was also a desire for an armored roof over the turret, and it was concluded that additional armor up to one ton in weight would not impair the automotive performance of

M18 Hellcat - Misplaced Pages Continue

4832-566: The 76 mm gun motor carriage M18 (Hellcat) , based on a unique hull and powertrain design, with a slight visual resemblance to what was used for the later M24 Chaffee light tank. The M18 came closest to the US ideal; the vehicle was very fast, small, and mounted a 76 mm gun in a roofless open turret. The M36 Jackson GMC possessed the only American-origin operational gun that could rival the German 8.8 cm Pak 43 anti-tank gun and its tank mounted variant,

4983-473: The 90 mm M3 gun , and the M36 remained in service well after World War II. The only dedicated American casemate hull design fighting vehicle of any type built during the war, that resembled the German and Soviet tank destroyers in hull and general gun mounting design, was the experimental T28 super-heavy tank , which mounted a 105 mm T5E1 long-barrel cannon. This gun had a maximum firing range of 12 miles (20 km), and

5134-943: The BRDM reconnaissance car, the British FV438 Swingfire and FV102 Striker and the German Raketenjagdpanzer series built on the chassis of the HS 30 and Marder IFV. India fielded NAMIS (Nag Missile System) equipped with Nag Missiles . A US Army combined arms battalion has two infantry companies with TOW missile-armed Bradley IFVs and can bring a large concentration of accurate and lethal fire to bear on an attacking enemy unit that uses AFVs. They can be complemented by mobile units of AH-64 Apache helicopters armed with Hellfire antitank missiles. Missile carrying vehicles are often referred to as anti-tank missile carriers instead of tank destroyers. Despite

5285-600: The Buick Motor Division of General Motors . Previously, basic designs for other kinds of vehicles had mostly originated from within the Ordnance Department. Buick's engineers used a torsion bar suspension that provided a steady ride. The first pilot was delivered in April 1943, and all six were completed by July. Once developed, the Hellcat was tested in the same manner as passenger cars before and after it, at

5436-560: The Buick Y-Job , the motor industry's first concept car . While many one-off custom automobiles had been made before, the Y-job was the first car built by a mass manufacturer for the sole purpose of determining the public's reaction to new design ideas. After being shown to the public, the Y-job became Earl's daily driver. It was succeeded by the 1951 General Motors Le Sabre concept car. In 1942, during World War II , Earl established

5587-536: The Deacon (6pdr on an armoured wheeled truck chassis) and Archer (17pdr on tracked chassis) and US-supplied vehicles, were their preserve rather than the Royal Armoured Corps . The self-propelled guns that were built in the "tank destroyer" mould came about through the desire to field the QF 17 pounder anti-tank gun and simultaneous lack of suitable standard tanks to carry it. As a result, they were of

5738-704: The General Motors Milford Proving Ground . Although the Hellcat was "relatively mature" when it came to automotive performance, problems had to be rectified that included issues with the engine and new automatic transmission, weak front shock absorbers, and the position of the gun to provide more working space for the gunner. Top speed testing was done on a paved, banked oval and ride quality tests were done over specially developed stretches of bumps. The M18 also required tests of its ability to ford six feet of water, climb small walls, and ram through structures. Though it weighed about 20 tons,

5889-512: The M3 Gun Motor Carriage (a 75 mm gun installed in the bed of an M3 half-track). Despite its T70 prototypes requiring several improvements, the 704th had a "superlative" testing record, and the unit was later issued production Hellcats after many of their suggestions were integrated into the vehicle. The testing phase of the Hellcat proved that teamwork was an essential element of the new light tank destroyer units, and replaced

6040-645: The Philippines Campaign in the last year of World War II . Remaining units were deployed to Okinawa in ones and twos for island defense during the Battle of Okinawa , but were severely outnumbered by American artillery. As with the Germans of 1943, most of the Soviet designs mounted anti-tank guns, with limited traverse in casemate-style turretless hulls, in a general design format looking much like

6191-622: The Sabrah light tank developed by the Elbit Systems of Israel for the Philippine Army 's future combat systems. Harley Earl Earl's Buick Y-Job was the first concept car. He started "Project Opel", which eventually became the Chevrolet Corvette , and he authorized the introduction of the tailfin to automotive styling. During World War II , he was an active contributor to the Allies' research and development program in advancing

M18 Hellcat - Misplaced Pages Continue

6342-705: The StuG III G , against which it competed. Those facts suggest that the Mareșal would have been an effective tank destroyer, had it been deployed into combat. There were, however, also critics of the vehicle, especially among high-ranking Romanian officials. It never saw action because the invading Soviet army had stopped its production. Other Romanian tank destroyers include the TACAM R-2 and TACAM T-60 , which were converted from R-2 and T-60 light tanks respectively. Both of them saw action. One TACAM R-2 survives today and

6493-521: The gun turret with a Type 90 75 mm field gun mounted in an open casemate with frontal and side armour only. They entered service in 1942 and were first deployed in combat at the Battle of Luzon in the Philippines in 1945. Some were used in static entrenched positions. A variant, known as the Type 1 Ho-Ni II mounted a Type 91 105 mm howitzer and had a slightly changed superstructure as far as

6644-528: The " Krajina express " ( Krajina Ekspres ). The Military of the Republic of China received 214 M18s, and operated them until their chassis and hulls were worn out, at which point the turrets were salvaged and installed onto surplus hulls of M42 Duster anti-aircraft vehicles to produce Type 64 light tanks. The Greek Army received 127 M18s from 1952 to 1954. Initially, these were organized in three Tank Destroyer Regiments numbered 397, 398 and 399. In 1959

6795-566: The "pretty picture boys", and his design studio as being the "Beauty Parlor". In 1937, the "Art and Colour Section" was renamed the Styling Section. Sloan eventually promoted Earl to vice president, making him, to the best of Sloan's knowledge, the first styling person to be a VP at a large corporation. After the early 1930s, Earl seldom drew sketches or did design work himself, usually functioning as an overlord who supervised GM stylists, although he would retain ultimate authority over

6946-680: The 105/25 was used by German forces. A further development was the Semovente da 75/46 , which had a longer gun than the 75/18 and inclined armour 100 mm thick, making it similar to Sturmgeschütz III . Only 11 of these were manufactured. Before the Semovente da 75/18, the L40 , built on an L6/40 light tank chassis, saw action in Africa and in Russia, but with disappointing results. The Type 1 Ho-Ni I

7097-770: The 1950s. Philippine Army received 50 units from American Stocks. Upon the outbreak of the Korean War , United Nations' request came in, the Philippines deployed 16 M4A1 Sherman tanks and one M18 Hellcat tank destroyer. This small armored force augmented the other Allied armor during the early days of the Korean conflict. The small Filipino armored force was brought in by then-2LT Francisco S. Tamondong, along with two noncommissioned officers, in July 1950. The Venezuelan military operated M18s beginning in 1954, when they purchased 40. They were refurbished in 1983–1984, and at least one

7248-664: The 1960s and 1970s show the extent to which Earl influenced an entire industry and culture. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1986. One of his concept car designs, the turbine -powered Firebird I , is reproduced in miniature on the Harley J. Earl Trophy , which goes to the winner of the season-opening Daytona 500 NASCAR race. Harley Earl was used in a brief advertising campaign for Buick , particularly during its reconstruction period between 2001 and 2002. Actor John Diehl , portraying Earl (or his ghost)

7399-521: The 1960s, the concept of the tank destroyer has morphed into light vehicles with missiles. With the weight of main battle tanks growing to the forty to seventy-tonne range, airborne forces were unable to deploy reasonable anti-tank forces. The result was a number of attempts to make a light vehicle, including the conventional ASU-85 , M56 Scorpion , the recoilless rifle-armed Ontos , and missile-armed Humber Hornet armoured truck and Sheridan light assault vehicle. The recent entries into that category are

7550-460: The 37 mm gun was ineffective against most enemy tanks by the time it entered service. By far the most common US design, and the first that was fully tracked and turreted (which became the American hallmark of World War II "tank destroyer" design) was the 3-inch gun motor carriage M10 , later supplemented by the 90 mm gun motor carriage M36 —both based on the M4 Sherman hull and powertrain—and

7701-467: The 57 mm Ordnance QF 6 pounder when that became available. There was extra impetus given to the development of anti-tank weaponry, which culminated in the 76mm Ordnance QF 17 pounder , widely considered one of the best anti-tank guns of the war. Towed anti-tank guns were the domain of the Royal Artillery and vehicles adapted to mount artillery, including anti-tank self-propelled guns such as

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7852-517: The 6-pounder, 17-pounder, 3-inch 20cwt guns and the 25-pounder field gun/howitzer on the Matilda II , Valentine , Crusader and Cavalier (Cruiser Mark VII) tank chassis. In October 1942 it was decided to progress using the Valentine chassis with a 17-pdr (which would become Archer) and 25-pdr (which entered service as Bishop ). While there was a general move to a general purpose gun that

8003-505: The German tanks, most of which were the much-feared Panther. By the time the Battle of Arracourt ended three days later, the 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion had knocked out 39 German tanks, for the loss of four M18s destroyed and three more damaged. The M18 Hellcat was a key element during the Battle of the Bulge. On 19–20 December, Team Desobry , a battalion-sized tank-infantry task force of

8154-588: The Germans' own Jagdpanzer vehicles. The results were smaller, lighter, and simpler to build weapons that could carry larger guns than any contemporary tank, including the King Tiger. The Soviets produced high numbers of the 85 mm SU-85 and 100 mm SU-100 self-propelled guns based on the same chassis as the T-34 medium tank; the heavier-duty powertrain and hull of the IS-2 heavy tank were instead used to produce

8305-402: The Hellcat was 25.4 mm (1.00 in) thick on the front (at a 23-degree angle from the vertical) and 12.7 mm (0.50 in) thick on the sides (also at a 23-degree angle from the vertical) and rear (angled at 9 degrees from the vertical) The front of the turret was further protected by a rounded cast gun mantlet which was 19 mm (0.75 in) thick. Another disadvantage of the M18

8456-476: The Hellcat was capable of traveling at 55 mph (89 km/h). Its power came from Wright R-975, a nine-cylinder, 350 to 400 hp (260 to 300 kW) radial aircraft engine, the same as that used on the M4 Sherman tank, paired to a 900T Torqmatic automatic transmission. The first models of the tank destroyer were tested by the US Army's 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion. The unit had originally been trained on

8607-613: The Ho-Ni series were 111 units. Most of the Ho-Ni units were retained within the Japanese home islands to form part of the defenses against the projected American invasion , and did not see combat before the surrender of Japan . The Type 2 Ho-I Gun tank used the Type 1 Chi-He medium tank chassis. It was designed as a self-propelled howitzer , mounting a short barreled Type 99 75 mm gun to provide close-in fire support. For deployment,

8758-400: The ISU-152. The ISU-152 built as a heavy assault gun, relied on the weight of the shell fired from its M-1937/43 howitzer to defeat tanks. In 1943, the Soviets also shifted all production of light tanks like the T-70 to much simpler and better-armed SU-76 self-propelled guns, which used the same drive train. The SU-76 was originally designed as an anti-tank vehicle, but was soon relegated to

8909-479: The M18 Hellcat also had drawbacks, including thin armor and a poor high explosive shell for its main gun. Historian Steven J. Zaloga characterized the overall design of the M18 as "poorly balanced" and stated that "the Hellcat's combat record is attributable to the training and dedication of its crews, not to its ill-conceived design." When the Tank Destroyer Force was organized in 1941, their commander, Lieutenant Colonel (later General) Andrew Davis Bruce envisioned

9060-564: The M18 Hellcat, 55 mph (89 km/h), was actually used to get ahead of an enemy force. The attack of 1st Battalion and the M18 Hellcat tank destroyers of the 705th TD Battalion near Noville together destroyed at least 30 German tanks and inflicted 500 to 1,000 casualties on the attacking forces, in what amounted to a spoiling attack. A Military Channel historian credited the M18 tank destroyers with 24 kills, including several Tiger tanks, and believes that in part, their ability to " shoot and scoot " at high speed and then reappear elsewhere on

9211-559: The M18 directed that vehicles below serial number 685 be returned to the Buick factory for modification, and vehicles with serial numbers 685 through 1096 be modified before overseas shipment. The rest of the M18s built featured an improved transmission. 640 of the vehicles returned to Buick were eventually converted to M39 armored utility vehicles , and ten into T41E1 command and reconnaissance vehicles (see M18 Hellcat § Variants ). Hellcats with serial numbers 1350 and below (registration numbers 40108110–40109109 and 40144883–40145226) had

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9362-408: The M18 during the summer of 1944; it was the only battalion in the Italian campaign to be fully equipped with the M18. In January 1944, General Omar Bradley , commander of the First U.S. Army , refused the new M18s when he was first offered them; his older tank destroyer battalions in England had been equipped with the M10 tank destroyer for some time, and he was more interested in the development of

9513-406: The M18 that served in the Pacific Theater of Operations included the 637th, 670th, and 671st, although only the 637th saw combat, most notably participating in the Battle of Manila where it earned a Distinguished Unit Citation . During the Battle of Okinawa , General Andrew Bruce, who was by then the commander of the 77th Infantry Division , located eight M18s to re-equip the Antitank Company of

9664-406: The M18 was retired from U.S. service immediately after the end of World War II, a variant, the M39 armored utility vehicle , served in the Korean War, and M18s continued in service with some countries until 1995. The M18 Hellcat was an example of the balancing act among firepower, armor, and mobility in armored fighting vehicle design. Despite its excellent mobility and reasonably powerful main gun,

9815-405: The M18 were curtailed to 2,507 vehicles, including the six pilot models. The reasons behind the reduction (in no particular order) were: Production of M18 Hellcats ran from July 1943 until October 1944, with 2,507 built. In March 1944, the T70 was standardized by the Ordnance Department as the 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 . There were three production contracts for the Hellcat: RAD-563 covered

9966-457: The M18. Many battalions considered the assistant driver redundant, and removed him, or stated that the vehicle should be equipped with a bow machine gun. Many crews also added additional machine guns to the turret roofs of their M18s. M18s served in tank destroyer battalions and other units supporting US Army infantry divisions in the latter stages of the Pacific war, notably in the Philippines and Okinawa. Tank destroyer battalions equipped with

10117-462: The M36 tank destroyer than he was in the M18. As a result, the three M18 battalions initially shipped to England (the 603rd, 704th, and 705th) were assigned to General George S. Patton 's Third U.S. Army . On 19 September 1944, near Arracourt , France, across the Moselle from Nancy , the 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion was attached to the 4th Armored Division . Lieutenant Edwin Leiper led an M18 platoon of Company C to Réchicourt-la-Petite , on

10268-414: The Romanian Army leadership sought for ways to improve its anti-tank capabilities. The initial plan was the creation of a tank comparable in characteristics to the T-34 ; instead, Romania went for a number of tank destroyers, since they were more adequate for its industry. The Mareșal is probably the best known Romanian AFV from the war; historians Steven Zaloga and Mark Axworthy state that it inspired

10419-424: The Second World War as combatants developed effective armoured vehicles and tactics. Some were little more than stopgap solutions, mounting an anti-tank gun on a tracked vehicle to give mobility, while others were more sophisticated designs. An example of the development of tank destroyer technology throughout the war are the Marder III and Jagdpanzer 38 vehicle, that were very different in spite of being based on

10570-404: The TD crews significantly better visibility than their opponents, many of which were German tank destroyers that did not have revolving turrets and were handicapped by poor lateral visibility. In general, Hellcat crews were complimentary of their vehicle's performance and capabilities but did complain that the open top created a cold interior in the Northern European winter of 1944–45. This problem

10721-443: The Tank Destroyer Regiments were reorganized in three Tank Destroyer Battalions with the same numbers. Most of the M18s were retired by the end of the 1960s, but a few remained in service until the mid-1970s for training. The hulls of the M18s were dismantled and the turrets were used as gun emplacements on the northern borders of Greece and the Aegean islands. One M18 is preserved in the Greek Army Tank Museum. Iran received 55 M18s in

10872-841: The West German Bundeswehr in 1956, where they were used to train the reestablished Panzergrenadier armored infantry units. Tank destroyer A tank destroyer , tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle , predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire artillery gun , also known as a self-propelled anti-tank gun , or missile launcher , also called an anti-tank missile carrier . The vehicles are designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks , often with limited operational capacities. While tanks are designed for front-line combat, combining operational mobility and tactical offensive and defensive capabilities and performing all primary tasks of

11023-407: The advantage of a reduced silhouette, allowing the crew to more frequently fire from defilade ambush positions. Such designs were also easier and faster to manufacture and offered good crew protection from artillery fire and shell splinters. However, the lack of a rotating turret limited the gun's traverse to a few degrees. This meant that the driver normally had to turn the entire tank onto its target,

11174-494: The air intake shutter to close off the engine compartment were to be installed when necessary in the field. Beginning with M18 serial number 1858 (registration number 40145734), the original gun travel lock on the turret roof which had a swinging arm held by a fastening pin was replaced by one that had a rotating ball stud with a retaining clamp operated by a handle. In October 1944, heavier shock absorbers were introduced. Later vehicles also featured an M20 azimuth indicator next to

11325-515: The armoured troops, the tank destroyer is specifically designed to take on enemy tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles. Many are based on a tracked tank chassis , while others are wheeled. Since World War II , gun-armed powerful tank destroyers have fallen out of favor as armies have favored multirole main battle tanks . However, lightly armoured anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) carriers are commonly used for supplementary long-range anti-tank work. The resurgence of expeditionary warfare in

11476-482: The battlefield, confused and slowed the German attack, which finally stalled, leaving the Americans in control of the town overnight. After the Battle of the Bulge, since numbers of the M36 tank destroyer were slow in arriving to the European Theater and towed tank destroyer battalions equipped with the 3-inch Gun M5 had uniformly performed very poorly in the battle when compared to self-propelled units, it

11627-462: The caliber of its gun the 75/18 also had good results in anti-tank combat, fighting against British and American (but not Soviet) units. After the Armistice of 1943 , the 75/18 remained in use by German forces. Built on the same frame, the Semovente da 105/25 was equipped with a 105 mm gun and known as " bassotto " (Italian for dachshund ) due to its lower height. As manufacturing began in 1943,

11778-463: The chassis, hulls, and drive systems of ninety-one Porsche VK4501 (P) heavy tanks, mounting a long-barreled 88 mm cannon in an added casemate, more like the earlier Panzerjägers had with their added-on armour shielding for the gun crew, but in the Ferdinand completely enclosing the gun and firing crew in the added casemate, as the later purpose-built Jagdpanzers would. However, the Ferdinand

11929-472: The confined space of the turret. 45 rounds of main gun ammunition were carried, 9 in the turret to the right of the gun, and 18 in each sponson. A .50 caliber M2 Browning machine gun with 800 rounds of ammunition was mounted on the left rear of the turret in a flexible ring mount. Each crew member was provided with an M1 carbine with 90 rounds for self-defense, and six Mk 2 grenades , six M50 white phosphorus smoke grenades, and six smoke pots were also carried in

12080-470: The construction of two pilot models. The Tank Destroyer Force, meanwhile, concluded that the same 75 mm gun M3 as used on the M4 Sherman medium tank would be better for a tank destroyer. The second pilot T49 was built with the 75 mm gun in an open-topped turret as the 75 mm Gun Motor Carriage T67 and was delivered in November 1942. After testing, it was revealed that a more powerful engine

12231-518: The country, including Lee. Fisher met Earl at Lee's dealership and observed him at work. Fisher, whose automotive career began with coachbuilder Fisher Body , was impressed with Earl's designs and methods, including the use of modeling clay to develop the forms of his designs. Fisher commissioned Earl to design the 1927 LaSalle for Cadillac's companion marque. The success of the LaSalle convinced General Motors president Alfred P. Sloan to create

12382-406: The crew excellent visibility, which was of importance in the killing of tanks, the intent of tank destroyers being primarily ambush weapons. The doctrinal priority of high speed at the cost of armor protection thus led to a relatively unbalanced design. While the M18 was capable of high road speeds, this attribute was difficult to use successfully in combat. Although sustained travel at high speeds

12533-485: The crew, having thinly armoured open-topped superstructures. The "open-topped" design format of the Panzerjäger vehicles was succeeded by the Jagdpanzer ("hunting tanks"), which mounted the gun in true casemate-style superstructures, completely enclosing the crew compartment in armor that was usually integral to the hull. The first of these Jagdpanzer s was the 70-ton Ferdinand (later renamed Elefant ), based on

12684-534: The decision that the main anti-tank units—the Tank Destroyer (TD) battalions —should be concentrated and very mobile. In practice, such German attacks rarely happened. Throughout the war, only one battalion ever fought in an engagement like that originally envisaged (the 601st , at the Battle of El Guettar ). The Tank Destroyer Command eventually numbered over 100,000 men and 80 battalions each equipped with 36 self-propelled tank destroyers or towed guns. Only

12835-456: The defensive anti-tank role. The StuG III assault gun was Germany's most-produced fully tracked armoured fighting vehicle during World War II, and second-most produced German armoured combat vehicle of any type after the Sd.Kfz. 251 half-track . Although the early German Panzerjäger carried more effective weapons than the tanks on which they were based, they were generally lacking in protection for

12986-530: The deployment of the M56 Scorpion and M50 Ontos . The concept later led to the M551 Sheridan light tank of the mid-1960s. British tanks in the early years of the war, both infantry tanks and cruiser tanks , were (with the exception of the pre-war Matilda I design) equipped with a gun capable of use against contemporary enemy tanks—the 40 mm Ordnance QF 2 pounder . This was replaced with

13137-434: The design of the later German Hetzer . Standing at only around 1.5 m tall, which would have made it very difficult to hit for its enemies, the Mareșal was a lightly armored, but highly mobile vehicle. It was armed with the Romanian 75 mm Reșița M1943 anti-tank gun, which proved to be among the best of its class during World War II, according to Mark Axworthy. During tests, the Mareșal proved to be superior in many aspects to

13288-536: The drivetrain mounting, and sliding the entire assembly out of the hull on the rails. For access to the bottom of the engine without having to remove it completely from the hull, it was possible to slide the engine out onto a rail system integrated with the rear hull access door. The 900T Torqmatic transmission had three forward gears, with ranges of up to 16 mph, 12 to 34 mph, and 30 to 60 mph (corresponding to cruising speeds of 12 mph, 25 mph, and 45 mph, respectively), and one reverse gear with

13439-551: The effectiveness of camouflage . Harley Jarvis Earl was born in Hollywood, California . His father, J.W. Earl, began work as a coachbuilder in 1889. The senior Earl eventually changed his practice from horse-drawn vehicles to custom bodies and customized parts and accessories for automobiles, founding Earl Automobile Works in 1908. Earl began studies at Stanford University , but left prematurely to work with, and learn from, his father at Earl Automotive Works. By this time,

13590-565: The event, few...appear to have been retrofitted with the muzzle brake during the war." Beginning in June 1944, roughly the last 700 Hellcats received the M1A2 gun equipped with a muzzle brake, which also incorporated a faster rifling twist. M18s prior to serial number 1701 (registration number 40155577) did not have any winterization equipment installed at the factory. Beginning with M18 serial number 1701, an engine oil dilution valve and provisions for

13741-470: The first two decades of the 21st century has seen the emergence of gun-armed wheeled vehicles, sometimes called "protected gun systems", which may bear a superficial resemblance to tank destroyers, but are employed as direct fire support units typically providing support in low-intensity operations , as was done in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan . Dedicated anti-tank vehicles made their first major appearance in

13892-399: The fixed, rigid structure of other units with a much more flexible command structure that allowed adapting to more complicated tasks. The M18's new design incorporated several innovative labor-saving maintenance features. Drivetrain maintenance was performed by removing a large access plate on the front of the hull, disconnecting the drivetrain from the driveshaft, attaching extension rails to

14043-482: The gun tank was intended to be used in a fire support company for each of the tank regiments. No Type 2 Ho-I gun tanks are known to have engaged in combat prior to Japan's surrender. The prototype was built in 1942 and 31 units were produced in 1944. The Type 4 Ho-Ro self-propelled artillery used a modified Type 97 chassis. On to this platform, a Type 38 150 mm howitzer was mounted. The main gun could fire Type 88 APHE rounds and HEAT rounds. Given its breech loader,

14194-571: The gunner's controls, allowing for easier performance of indirect fire missions. On late production vehicles, the towing pintle mounting was redesigned to allow it to swivel when towing a trailer over uneven ground. In July 1943, the AGF directed the Armored Board to consider the T70 for use as a light tank by comparing it with the existing requirements for a light tank. In January 1944, the proposal

14345-607: The heavier-hitting 122 mm -armed ISU-122 and 152 mm -armed ISU-152 , both of which had impressive anti-tank capabilities earning each of them the Russian nickname Zveroboy ("beast killer") for their ability to destroy German Tigers , Panthers and Elefants . The predecessor of the ISU 152 was the SU-152 , built on the KV-1s chassis and shared many similarities (including its gun) with

14496-406: The infantry-support role. U.S. Army and counterpart British designs were very different in conception. U.S. doctrine was based, in light of the fall of France , on the perceived need to defeat German blitzkrieg tactics, and U.S. units expected to face large numbers of German tanks, attacking on relatively narrow fronts. These were expected to break through a thin screen of anti-tank guns, hence

14647-618: The innovative Torqmatic automatic transmission . The M18 Hellcat was the culmination of the development of various prototypes of fast tank destroyers dating back to 1941. Entering production in summer 1943, the M18 first saw combat service in spring 1944. The M18 served primarily in Western Europe , but was also present in smaller numbers in Italy and the Pacific . Production continued until October 1944, with 2,507 built. The Hellcat

14798-596: The late 1940s and early 1950s, and bear data plates that indicate those rebuilds. One of the users was Yugoslavia , which received 260 Hellcats during the Informbiro period and kept some of them in reserve until the early 1990s. A number of these vehicles were later used by the Serbian Army of Krajina and Army of Republika Srpska during the Yugoslav Wars . One example was used on an armored train named

14949-544: The left rear of the turret. An SCR-610 radio was placed in the rear of the turret. An escape hatch was provided in the hull floor directly underneath the turret. In contrast to the M10 and M36 tank destroyers, which used the heavy chassis of the M4 Sherman , the M18 Hellcat was designed from the start to be a fast tank destroyer. As a result, it was smaller, lighter, more comfortable, and significantly faster, while carrying

15100-505: The limit that the chassis could bear. The absence of a turret meant that tank destroyers could be manufactured significantly cheaper, faster, and more easily than the tanks on which they were based, and they found particular favor when production resources were lacking. The first German tank destroyers were the Panzerjäger ("Tank Hunters"), which mounted an existing anti-tank gun on a convenient chassis for mobility, usually with just

15251-454: The maximum rate of fire was only 5 rounds per minute. The gun's elevation was restricted to 30 degrees by the construction of the chassis. Other design issues included the fact that although the gun crew was protected by a gun shield with armour thickness of 25 mm at the front, the shield only extended a very short distance on the sides; leaving the rest of the sides and back exposed. They were rushed into service, deployed and saw combat during

15402-492: The modern battlefield. But there are still dedicated anti-tank vehicles with very heavy long-range missiles, and ones intended for airborne use. There have also been dedicated anti-tank vehicles built on ordinary armoured personnel carrier or armored car chassis. Examples include the U.S. M901 ITV (Improved TOW Vehicle) and the Norwegian NM142 , both on an M113 chassis, several Soviet ATGM launchers based on

15553-593: The more successful German tank destroyers was designed as a self-propelled artillery gun, the Sturmgeschütz III . Based on the Panzer III tank chassis, the Sturmgeschütz III was originally fitted with a short barreled low-velocity howitzer-like gun, and was assigned to the artillery arm for infantry fire support as an assault gun . Later, after encountering Soviet tanks, it was refitted with

15704-537: The naturally-aspirated R975-C1 engine, which produced 350 horsepower. The rectangular ventilation grate for the transmission and differential oil coolers located behind the driver's hatch initially had an angled cylinder-like shape, protruding above the line of the upper hull. Beginning in March 1944, M18s with serial numbers 1351 and above (registration numbers 40145227–40146389) had the internally-modified supercharged R975-C4 engine, which produced 400 horsepower; at roughly

15855-496: The number of German tanks encountered by American forces steadily decreased throughout the war, most battalions were split up and assigned to infantry units as supporting arms, fighting as assault guns or being used essentially as tanks. In this sense they were an alternative to the Independent tank battalions that were attached to various Infantry Divisions. The expectation that German tanks would be engaged in mass formation

16006-773: The open fighting space. This version was armed with a single M2 machine gun on a flexible mount. In November 1944, it was standardized as the M39. At the request of the European Theater in early 1945, ten more of the Hellcats were modified into the T41E1 configuration for testing, although they were never standardized. M39s saw combat during the last days of World War II in Europe and during the Korean War, primarily as armored personnel and munitions carriers and were finally declared obsolete on 14 February 1957. About 100 M39s were transferred to

16157-504: The proliferation of ATGMs, some gun-armed tank destroyers remain in use. China has developed the tracked PTZ89 and the wheeled PTL02 tank destroyers. The PTZ89 is armed with a 120 mm smoothbore cannon while the PTL02, developed by NORINCO for the PLA's new light (rapid reaction) mechanized infantry divisions, carries a 100 millimeters (3.9 in) one (a version armed with a 105 mm rifled gun

16308-424: The reconnaissance units. There were also 37 mm armed TKS-D (2 experimental vehicles) and 47 mm armed TKD (4 experimental vehicles). It is not certain whether they were used operationally at all. Due to the quick defeat of France, few French vehicles were built. The Laffly W15 TCC ( Chasseur de chars ) was an attempt to quickly build a light tank destroyer by mounting a 47 mm SA37 anti-tank gun onto

16459-583: The same chassis: Marder was straightforwardly an anti-tank gun on tracks whereas the Jagdpanzer 38 traded some firepower (its 7.5 cm Pak 39 , designed to operate within the confines of a fully armoured fighting compartment, fires the same projectiles from a reduced propellant charge compared to Marder's 7.5 cm Pak 40 ) for better armour protection and ease of concealment on the battlefield. Except for most American designs, all tank destroyers were turretless vehicles with fixed or casemate superstructures. When

16610-454: The same gun as the Sherman 76 mm models. The turret could rotate through 360 degrees in 24 seconds using an electro-hydraulic traverse mechanism, and the 76 mm gun could depress 10 degrees, and elevate 20 degrees. The maximum firing rate was 20 rounds per minute. The breech block of the gun was tilted 45 degrees to the right to aid the gunner in manipulating and inserting ammunition in

16761-411: The same time as the change in engine type, the shape of the ventilation grate was changed to be flush with the upper hull. The model of 76 mm gun fitted to most Hellcats kicked up large amounts of dust when fired. This was enough to impede the vision of the crew, who had to wait until the muzzle blast cleared to fire accurately again. To solve this problem, a muzzle brake that directed the blast to

16912-467: The shop was building custom bodies for Hollywood movie stars, including Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Tom Mix . Earl Automotive Works was bought by Cadillac dealer Don Lee , who kept Harley Earl as director of its custom body shop. Lawrence P. Fisher, general manager of the Cadillac division who was one of the brothers who started Fisher Body , was visiting Cadillac dealers and distributors around

17063-451: The side armor with re-positioned observation visors. Production began in 1943, with only 54 completed. The other variant produced was the Type 3 Ho-Ni III , which mounted a Type 3 75 mm tank gun in a completely enclosed armored casemate to address the issue of crew protection in close combat. The welded superstructure had sloped armour and the gun mount had additional stamped armour plate. The total number produced of all three types in

17214-599: The sides was standardized in February 1944, but a sufficient number were not produced to allow them to be incorporated onto production lines until the summer. In the interim, M18s produced in the spring of 1944 received the M1A1C gun, which was threaded to accept a muzzle brake, but was not so equipped; in October 1944, a maintenance work order was issued by the Ordnance Department to retrofit M1A1C guns with muzzle brakes, but "in

17365-500: The six pilot models. T-6641 was for the first 1,000 vehicles, and T-9167 was for the final 1,507 vehicles. The M18 experienced various changes throughout its production, both to refine the design from a mechanical standpoint and incorporate features that would enhance its combat effectiveness. M18s with serial numbers 1–1000 and 1007–1096 (registration numbers 40108110–40109109 and 40144883–40144972) experienced problems with their transmission gear ratios. The same action that standardized

17516-419: The styling department until his retirement in 1958. Harley Earl and Sloan implemented "Dynamic Obsolescence" (essentially synonymous with planned obsolescence ) and the "Annual Model Change", tying model identity to a specific year, to further position design as a driver for the company's product success. At the same time, Earl was careful to not depart too radically from the previous year's styling to maintain

17667-416: The tank-hull based designs used special open-topped turrets of a differing design from the original tank it was based on, which was meant to both save weight and to accommodate a larger gun. The earliest expedient design was mounting a 75 mm M1897 field gun in a limited-traverse mount on an M3 half-track , which was designated 75 mm gun motor carriage M3 . Another, considerably less successful, early design

17818-562: The turret traverse was also far faster when compared to the M10, which had a manually-rotated turret. Ease of maintenance of the engine and transmission was also noted. One M18 commander said that his vehicle "operating under combat conditions and averaging 80–100 miles (130–160 km) a day during the Third Army drive from St. Lô to the German border near Strasbourg ...was driven 1,870 miles (3,010 km). No repairs were necessary either to

17969-442: The units being equipped with something faster than a tank, with a better gun but less armor to allow for speed; a cruiser rather than a battleship. He objected to the 3-inch M10 gun motor carriage because it was too heavy and slow for his needs, and later on to the 90 mm M36 gun motor carriage because it was essentially an M10 with a bigger gun. The United States Ordnance Department made several failed attempts to provide such

18120-513: The unwieldy Elefant , now fitted to the chassis of the medium Panther tank , providing greatly improved armour-penetrating capability in a medium-weight vehicle. Facing an increasingly defensive war, the German Army turned to larger and more powerfully armed Jagdpanzer designs, and in July 1944 the first Jagdtiger rolled off the production line; it was the heaviest German armoured fighting vehicle to go into active service. The Jagdtiger

18271-517: The vehicle or engine; only minimal attention was paid to moving parts...M18 engine performance was excellent under the most trying conditions and was highly thought of by all men in my and other M18 tank destroyer outfits." Conversely, the main gun was considered inadequate against the frontal armor of later German tanks like the Tiger and Panther, especially before the introduction of HVAP ammunition. In addition, even though it could pierce more armor than

18422-405: The vehicle was originally designed as a very heavily armoured self-propelled assault gun to breach Germany's Siegfried Line defenses. Of these tank destroyers, only the 90 mm gun of the M36 proved effective against the frontal armour of Germans' larger armored vehicles at long range. The open top and light armour made these tank destroyers vulnerable to anything greater than small-arms fire. As

18573-400: The vehicle's speed, battalion members were also impressed with the power of the 76 mm gun, but were less complimentary of the T70's thin armor and small internal volume, which they felt affected crew confidence in battle, and made living inside the vehicle and handling main gun ammunition awkward, respectively. The 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion, originally a towed gun unit, re-equipped with

18724-415: The vehicle, but only the driver's set of steering levers could be used as parking brakes. The commander, gunner, and loader were positioned in the turret; the commander at the left rear, the gunner at the left front, and the loader on the right. The turret crew were all provided with seats, and the commander could stand on his seat to operate the .50 caliber M2 Browning machine gun on a flexible ring mount on

18875-480: The vehicle. One disadvantage of the M18 was the inconsistent performance of its 76 mm gun against the thick and steeply sloped frontal armor of later German designs such as the Tiger and Panther . The problem of the main gun performance was somewhat remedied with High Velocity Armor Piercing (HVAP) ammunition beginning in fall 1944, which allowed the 76 mm gun to achieve greater armor penetration, but this

19026-553: The war, during the age when space rockets captured the popular imagination in the 1950s and 1960s. The style caught on throughout Detroit and eventually led to competition between Harley Earl and his counterpart at Chrysler , Virgil Exner , over the size and complexity of tailfins, culminating with those on the 1959 Cadillac models. Influenced by the English and European sports cars being raced on road racing circuits after World War II, Earl decided that General Motors needed to make

19177-409: The way to Moncourt . He saw a German tank gun muzzle appearing out of the fog 30 feet away, and deployed his platoon. In a five-minute period, five German tanks of the 113th Panzer Brigade were knocked out for the loss of one M18. The platoon continued to fire and destroyed ten more German tanks while losing another two M18s. One of the platoon's M18s commanded by Sgt. Henry R. Hartman knocked out six of

19328-477: The “Art and Colour Section” of General Motors, and to name Earl as its first director. Prior to the establishment of the "Art and Colour Section", American automobile manufacturers did not assign any great importance to the appearance of automobile bodies. Volume manufacturers built bodies designed by engineers, guided only by functionality and cost. Many luxury-car manufacturers, including GM, did not make bodies at all, opting instead to ship chassis assemblies to

19479-529: Was 75 years old. He is remembered as the first styling chief in the United States automobile industry, the originator of clay modeling of automotive designs, the wraparound windshield, the hardtop sedan, factory two-tone paint, and tailfins . He said in 1954, "My primary purpose for twenty-eight years has been to lengthen and lower the American automobile, at times in reality and always at least in appearance." The extremely low and long American cars of

19630-623: Was English designer David Jones, who worked at its British division at Vauxhall Motors and served in the camouflage section of the Royal Engineers during World War II. Harley Earl authorized the Frank Hershey design for the 1948 Cadillac, which incorporated the first automotive tailfin. Many of the new 1948-49 cars such as Hudson, Nash, and Lincoln adopted fastback or ponton "bathtub" styling. Although Earl considered this for Cadillac, he ultimately decided against it and went for

19781-634: Was a German 75 mm anti-tank gun on the Czech Panzer 38(t) chassis as the Marder III . The Panzer 38(t) chassis was also used to make the Jagdpanzer 38 casemate style tank destroyer. The Panzerjäger series continued up to the 88 mm equipped Nashorn . German tank destroyers based on the Panzer III medium tank and later German tanks had more armour than their tank counterparts. One of

19932-450: Was a failed assumption. In reality, German attacks effectively used combined arms on the ground, fighting cohesively. American tank destroyer battalions comprised three tank destroyer companies supported by nine security sections. The single-purpose tactics of the tank destroyer battalion failed to account for non-tank threats. In the 1950s the goal of providing airborne forces with a parachute-capable self-propelled anti-tank weapon led to

20083-525: Was based on the Tiger II heavy tank featured a very large 128 mm PaK 44 cannon and heavy armour protection. Only 88 Jagdtiger vehicles were produced, barely matching the total number of the earlier Ferdinand / Elefant vehicles. They were first deployed to combat units in September 1944. The decision of German armoured vehicle designers to use a casemate-style superstructure for all tank destroyers had

20234-485: Was cancelled, although subsequently, the prime mover version of the T41E1 was referred to as the T41, and the command and reconnaissance vehicle as its original designation of T41E1. 640 of the early production M18s that had been returned to the Buick factory for modification were converted into the T41 prime mover configuration between October 1944 and March 1945 by removing the turret and fitting seats for up to eight men in

20385-533: Was decided to re-equip many of them with the "surplus" of M18s that were then in the theater, with the new M36s mostly re-equipping former M10 units. M18 strength in the European Theatre of Operations varied from 146 in June 1944 to a high of 540 in March 1945. Losses totaled 216. The M18 was generally well received by its crews. They gave high praise to its mobility when compared to the heavier M10, such as speed and flotation in mud and snow. The speed of

20536-529: Was delayed until post war before entering service. A cut-down 17 pdr, the 77mmHV was used to equip the Comet tank in the last year of the war. The closest the British came to developing an armoured tank destroyer in the vein of the German Jagdpanzers or Soviet ISU series was the Churchill 3-inch gun carrier—a Churchill tank chassis with a boxy superstructure in place of the turret and mounting

20687-414: Was exacerbated because the air-cooled engine pulled some of its cooling air through the crew compartment, creating, in effect, a large armor-plated refrigerator; it proved impossible to seal off the crew compartment entirely from engine-induced drafts. Original plans called for a total of 8,986 M18s to be supplied: 1,600 for Lend-Lease to other countries and 7,386 for the U.S. Army. The production plans of

20838-457: Was hardly ever used outside of the Allied response during the Battle of the Bulge , most Hellcat crews found the higher speeds especially useful in a sprint to flank German tanks, which had relatively slow turret traverse speeds, and such maneuvering allowed the tank destroyer crew to direct a shot into the enemy's thinner side or rear armor. The open top proved an advantage in terms of allowing

20989-722: Was heavily modernized by a Yugoslavian firm in the 1990s, but it is unclear if more conversions took place. M18 Hellcat "Amaz N Grace" is on loan to the Museum of American Armor in Old Bethpage, New York, from the US Military Museum. An M18 is on display at the Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania . The only M18 variant produced in significant numbers was the armored utility vehicle M39,

21140-413: Was its very light armor protection and open-topped turret. In testing of the T70 for possible use as a light tank, 9 out of 30 armor-piercing .30 caliber bullets penetrated the side of the turret at a range of 75 yards (69 m). The open-topped turret —a characteristic which it shared with all American tank destroyers—left the crew exposed to snipers , grenades , and shell fragments , however it gave

21291-546: Was mechanically unreliable and difficult to maneuver, and once all ninety-one unturreted "Porsche Tiger" hulls/drive systems were converted, no more were built. The German Army had more success with the Jagdpanther . Introduced in mid-1944, the Jagdpanther, of which some 415 examples were produced, was considered the best of the casemate-design Jagdpanzer designs. It featured the same powerful PaK 43 88 mm cannon used on

21442-638: Was necessary, and the 76 mm gun M1A1 being developed for the M4 Sherman had also impressed the Tank Destroyer Force. The T67 project was closed in January 1943, and the Ordnance Department directed that six pilot models of the 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage T70 be built with torsion bar suspensions, more powerful engines, new turrets and minor changes to the hull front. What became the M18 originated in Harley Earl 's design studio, part of

21593-516: Was never available in quantity. The 76 mm gun with standard ammunition could penetrate the frontal turret armor of Panther tanks only at very close ranges, whereas the HVAP ammunition gave it a possibility of effectively engaging some of the heavier German tanks and theoretically penetrating the front of the Panther turret at ranges of about 1,000 m (1,100 yd). The armor of the M18 Hellcat

21744-447: Was only 4.8 mm (0.19 in) thick. The upper front hull also had an angled construction to form the Hellcat's sloping glacis ; two plates were angled at 38 and 64 degrees from the vertical, respectively. The upper hull armor was also 12.7 mm (0.50 in) thick, being angled at 23 degrees from the vertical on the sides and 13 degrees from the vertical at the rear. The hull roof was 7.9 mm (0.31 in) The cast turret of

21895-402: Was quite light to facilitate its high speed, and only provided protection from small arms fire. The lower hull armor was 12.7 mm (0.50 in) thick all around, vertical on the sides, but sloped at 35 degrees from the vertical at the lower rear and angled twice at the lower front to form a nearly rounded shape; 53 degrees from the vertical and then 24 degrees from the vertical. The hull floor

22046-456: Was rejected because it was felt that the T70 had insufficient armor and secondary armament. Five T70 prototypes were sent to Italy in the spring of 1944 for testing and saw combat during the breakout from the Anzio beachhead with the 601st (two) and 894th Tank Destroyer Battalions (three). The 894th employed them in the battalion's Reconnaissance Company because of their high speed. In addition to

22197-550: Was succeeded as vice-president with responsibility for the Design and Styling Department by Bill Mitchell , under whose leadership GM design became less ornamental. Before Earl retired, General Motors became the largest corporation in the world, and design was acknowledged as the leading sales factor within the automotive industry. Harley Earl suffered a stroke and died in West Palm Beach, Florida , on April 10, 1969. He

22348-627: Was the M6 gun motor carriage which mounted the US 37 mm anti-tank gun facing to the rear on the bed of a Dodge 3/4-ton light truck. The M3 was first used against the Japanese in the Philippines and then in the Tunisian campaign of the war in North Africa. Some were supplied to British units who used them within armoured car reconnaissance regiments for fire support. The M6 GMC was unarmoured and

22499-478: Was the first self-propelled gun design of the Imperial Japanese Army . They were meant to be self-propelled artillery and tank destroyers for armoured divisions . The plan was for the Type 1 Ho-Ni I gun tank to form part of a fire support company in each of the tank regiments. The Type 1 Ho-Ni I was developed by using the existing Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank chassis and engine, and replacing

22650-679: Was the most effective U.S. tank destroyer of World War II. It had a higher kill-to-loss ratio than any other tank or tank destroyer fielded by U.S. forces in World War II. Kills claimed were 526 in total: 498 in Europe, 17 in Italy, and 11 in the Pacific. The kills-to-losses ratio for Europe was 2.3 to 1, and the overall kill to loss ratio was 2.4 to 1. M18s were "...not primarily used for tank fighting, but were committed more often to improvised roles, usually direct fire support for infantry." Although

22801-539: Was usable against both tanks and in supporting infantry, there was a need to put the 17 pdr into a tank for use against the enemy's heavy tanks. The Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger was a project to bring a 17 pdr tank into use to support the Cromwell cruiser tank . Delays led to it being outnumbered in use by the Sherman Firefly —but a derivative of Challenger was the more or less open-topped variant Avenger , which

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