1,017 of the vehicles were up-gunned with the powerful 17-pounder gun from May 1944 to April 1945. M10 U.S. By March 1945, about 18,000 rounds of this special ammunition had been delivered to the European Theater, 58 percent of which were 3-inch projectiles. your own Pins on Pinterest During World War II, the primary user of the M10 tank destroyer was the United States, but many were Lend-Leased to the United Kingdom and Free French forces. The open top also made escape easier when the vehicle was hit and improved communications with accompanying infantry. The prototype of the M10 was conceived in early 1942, being delivered in April of that year. Article from tanks-encyclopedia.com. 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. A tracked tank-hunter was already improvised and tested on the M3 Lee chassis. The vehicle could carry 54 rounds. From Wikipedia “Michigan is, by tradition, known as “The Wolverine State,” and the University of Michigan takes the wolverine as its mascot. your own Pins on Pinterest These cookies do not store any personal information. Feb 29, 2016 - This Pin was discovered by Sealution. In general, the statistics showed that the M10 spent far more HE rounds than AP ones, indicating they were more usually used in tank roles, rather than as pure tank hunters. [3][4] They simply called it a "TD" (a nickname for any tank destroyer in general) beyond its formal designation. Turretless M10A1s built by Fischer were used as artillery tractors and improvised APCs for the gun crews. 3inch GMC M10. Free French Forces M10 Sirocco, 2nd DB, taking part in the liberation of Paris, August 1944. The M10 tank destroyer was an American tank destroyer of World War II. The sides were sloped 15 degrees inward from the vertical and were 1 inch (25 mm) thick. It needed a staggering two minutes to rotate a full 360 degrees. The armor and turret were completely new. There was a waterproof canvas, which could be deployed on top of this open space. The M10 and M10A1 were mechanically identical except for their power plants. As a result, it was smaller, lighter, more comfortable, and significantly faster, but carried the same gun as the Sherman 76 mm models. The plans to retain any towed battalions at all were canceled after their generally poor performance and high losses in 1944, especially during the Battle of the Bulge. The first batch arrived in 1951, being in very bad shape. Their tactics were called "shoot and scoot". Already in Normandy, the threat of bocage ambushes urged the crews to improvise armored rooftops with panels cut out from enemy tanks. In May 1943, an azimuth indicator and gunner's quadrant were added to the M10. Some Achilles were later used by the Israeli in the 1956 and 1967 wars. The rear upper hull plate was used for storage of the vehicle's pioneer and maintenance tools: a 5-pound (2.3 kg) axe, a 5-foot (1.5 m) crowbar, a mattock handle and head, a double-sided 10-pound (4.5 kg) sledgehammer, and a track tensioning wrench. They also converted several other chassis for this role and pressed many new specialized models into action. Another flaw noted in close-quarter combat was the slow turning rate of the turret, which was hand-cranked. [6] In June 1942, the modified T35E1 was standardized as the 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. It combined thin but sloped armor with the M4 Sherman's reliable drivetrain and a reasonably potent anti-tank weapon mounted in an open-topped turret. 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. However, this naval-derived round had a small charge, lacked initial velocity and often failed to penetrate standard 50-70 mm (1.97-2.76 in) armor.” Are you talking about the M3 75mm gun used on M4 Shermans here or is it a typo and you meant the M7 gun? ! The 773rd Tank Destroyer Battalion also claimed to have destroyed 113 panzers, with the 702nd Tank Destroyer Battalion claiming 103. M10A1, winter 1944 – Inspiration: E. Boldyrev, battlefield.ru . After US entry into World War II and the formation of the Tank Destroyer Force, a suitable vehicle was needed to equip the new battalions. January 30 at 11:36 AM. They also converted several other chassis for this role and pressed many new specialized models … This new test vehicle was designated the 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage T35E1. Despite its obsolescence in the face of more powerful German tanks like the Panther and the introduction of more powerful and better-designed types as replacements, the M10 remained in service until the end of the war. Israel bought M10s from scrapyards and dumping grounds in Europe after 1948. Soon after reaching production, it was realized that the barrel of the 3-inch gun M7 was too heavy,[7] to the point where it prevented traverse of the turret on a slope of more than four degrees. A secondary cal.50 (12.7 mm) machine-gun was mounted on top, both for AA and ground defense. It was, in mid-1944, the second most common British/Commonwealth tank hunter after the Firefly. The Armor Piercing Capped Ballistic Cap (APCBC) M62 was introduced later, as well as the High Velocity Armor Piercing (HVAP) M93 shot and Armor Piercing High Explosive (APHE) shells. There was an anecdote about an 86th Anti-Tank Regiment (XII Corps) British tank which had its turret crew killed and replaced three times, but the driver and tank itself remained safe. But the crews loved it anyway, because observation was easier, both to spot enemy tanks and to fire, they could communicate more easily with the infantry, and in case their tank was disabled, they could escape quite quickly, compared to the Sherman and other Allied tanks. Production of the two models ran from September 1942 to December 1943 and October 1942 to November 1943, respectively. In UK service, one M10 in the 86th Anti-Tank Regiment (XII Corps) in Normandy drove back out of action three times with the turret crew dead. The M10 did not see much tank-to-tank action for the rest of the North African campaign, and instead was used as mobile fire support. The Tank Destroyer board began to examine several hundred Ordnance Department prototype proposals for a tank destroyer mounting a 3-inch gun, initially focusing the most interest on two: Meanwhile, as the final design developments of these two tank destroyers were underway, the Ordnance Department became dissatisfied and by November 1941 had issued an additional specification for a tank destroyer with a 3-inch gun in a rotating turret. Three expeditions were launched, but all failed, not so much due to the British troops stationed there, bu… Required fields are marked *. The glacis plate was 1 1⁄2 inches (38 mm) thick, sloped at 55 degrees from the vertical. Mar 26, 2020 - This Pin was discovered by Martin. Article from tanks-encyclopedia.com. M10 3in GMC from the 776th Tank Destroyer Battalion, Tunisia, March 1943. M10A1, late production version, unknown unit, France, summer 1944. The M10's open-topped turret left the crew vulnerable to artillery and mortar fire and fragments. M10 Achilles tank history Faced with the destructive power of the German tanks, the British sought to reinforce their armored fleet at the beginning of the Second World War: they wanted to equip themselves with armored tank fighters, which they were sorely lacking at the time. 1 Background Story 2 Playstyle 3 Pros 4 Cons 5 Trivia 6 Historical Trivia The M10 Achilles is a British converted M10 Wolverine better designed for its purpose due to being upgunned to the 17 PDR rather than the American 76mm because of British lacking ammunition for the American 76mm. They resembled an upside-down "duck bill" shape when viewed from the side. It was sloped at 45 degrees from the vertical and horizontal. During the liberation of Paris in August 1944, a single M10 of General Leclerc's 2nd Armored Division named "Siroco" disabled a Panther in the Place de la Concorde from under the Arc de Triomphe on the Place de L'Etoile, at 1800 m. French M10s also saw action on the French-German border around Strasbourg and in southern Germany; the Free French First Army led by General De Lattre received some when they were a part of the Sixth United States Army Group. The sides received well-sloped flat armor plates with a “>” section, held in place, like the turret plates, by massive nuts. I do not own the rights nor soundtrack of this video, which is displayed solely for educational purposes. Prototypes of these two vehicles were delivered to Aberdeen Proving Ground in April 1942, and the Army selected the T35E1 for further development on 2 May 1942. Notice the counterweight and improvised camouflage, made of sand glued with a brush. The driver and assistant driver (who also operated the vehicle's radio) were seated in the front hull and provided with periscopes. Based on these requirements, the first prototype was based on the M3 chassis, and later the production was swapped to the M4 standardized chassis. 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 M10 was initially successful as its M7 3-inch gun could destroy most German tanks then in service. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. As the 3-inch M7 gun is becoming less potent against the newer German tanks, the British decided to upgrade their M10 Wolverine with the 17-pounder anti-tank gun, resulting in the 17pdr SP Achilles.. A third folding seat was provided in the turret for the assistant driver in case he needed to assist the loader for any reason. Tank Encyclopedia's Creator, webmaster and illustrator since 2010. The engine was specific to this vehicle, made of twin GM 6-71s diesels mated on a common crankshaft and specific transmission. 5380 were built in 1942, but it was not a success, and it was considered obsolete by 1943. They also saw action on the French-German border around Strasbourg and in southern Germany, and Indochina after the war. [12] The gunner stood or sat on the left side of the gun, and aimed it using the M51 or M70G telescope. [5] The side and rear upper hull armor of the T35E1 was thinned from 1 inch (25.4 mm) to 0.75 inches (19 mm) in order to reduce the weight of the vehicle. Their firepower was more than adequate against any IJN tanks, but they proved disadvantaged in wooded areas due to their open-top turret, because of the Japanese practice to have hidden snipers in top trees, and close combat suicidal antitank Japanese infantry tactics. 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