The functional durability of each tank varies in combat, depending on its component layout and armor thickness[note]. F, M10 Tank Destroyer and SU-85 share an HP value of 1700. The M18 Hellcat was an American tank destroyer of World War II. An unknown number of these vehicles were modernized by a Yugoslavian firm in 1991. The M18 was the fastest armoured vehicle in WW2, it could go 60 mph on good roads, and even for 2 decades after the war. When the Americans entered the war in 1941, they began to supply China with armored vehicles, including the M18 Hellcat. Very few reached the field in time for the war, but some saw action in Korea. Ce n'est bien entendu pas un Panzer mais j Later in the day, the 113th pressed its attack in the direction of Réchicourt -la-Petite, but was met once again by Company C, which blunted an assault on 4th Armored Division’s command post. The M18s of the 705th were integral in the defense of Bastogne. Although sustained travel at road speeds was hardly ever used outside of the Allied response during the Battle of the Bulge,[2] 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 a shot instead into the enemy's thinner side or rear armor. As a curious note, the M-18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer was the fastest American armored vehicle until the turbine-powered M1 Abrams main battle tank appeared decades later. The platoon continued to fire and destroyed ten more German tanks while losing another two M18s. M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer is ranked 52,323 rd in the world and 49 th in Resuscitation for Most Extreme, scoring 26.67 on the Paul-Nader Subjective Decentrality Index. Independent tank destroyer groups were to counter concentrate, to stop enemy tanks from penetrating deeply. When the 15th Panzer Division attacked positions held by the 101st Airborne Division on Christmas Day, the 705th and its M18s helped hold the Germans at bay. M18 Hellcat Esercito Italiano (Italian Army 1946-now) Italy Military Academy 18 VIII 29526 EI: 107102 Italy Military Academy olive drab US Army (1784-now) 1944 World War 2 - Pacific olive drab 643 Tank Destroyer Bn. The majority of Hellcats may have been used like their cousin the Sherman, but unlike the venerable M4, the Hellcat did not undergo substantial changes throughout the war, although designers did experiment with variants and mission-specific designs. M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer's national animal is the Hellcat. American prewar armored doctrine was based on the assumption that enemy armored attacks would be delivered at a time and place of the enemy's choosing against an American defense. In the shooting that followed, the three platoons of Company C knocked out four German tanks before pulling pack, only to give chase once the German panzers and panzer grenadiers retreated. Team Desobry's high speed highway journey to reach the blocking position is one of the few documented cases[2] wherein the legendary top speed of the M18 Hellcat (55 miles per hour (89 km/h), faster than today's M1A2 Abrams) was actually used to get ahead of an enemy force. In contrast to the M10 tank destroyer, which used the chassis of the M4 Sherman, the M18 Hellcat was designed from the start to be a fast tank destroyer. Lt. Edwin Leiper led one M18 platoon of C Company to Rechicourt-la-Petite, on the way to Moncourt. Like in Europe, however, tactical use of M18s in the Pacific deviated from the original tank destroyer concept, with the Hellcat used more in infantry support and bunker-busting operations. M18 Hellcat tank destroyer - WWII American tanks - The M18 Hellcat was the last version of tank destroyer accepted in the U.S. Army. Utilizing the M18 chassis and doing away with the turret, the M39 was designed and built in limited quantities for use as a command and control vehicle, as well as a prime mover and armored personnel carrier. In fact, the only variant to catch on would be the M39 Armored Utility Vehicle. An M18 from the 603d Tank Destroyer Battalion, Combat Command B, 6th Armored Division, guards an intersection in Luneville, France, 22 September 1944. The fastest armored fighting vehicle employed by any side during the war, the M18 nevertheless suffered from a main gun that lacked the ability to consistently serve its main purpose—killing German tanks. [4] About 100 M39s were transferred to the West German Bundeswehr in 1956, where they were used to train the reestablished Panzergrenadier armored infantry units.[5]. “M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer” is a typical Osprey New vanguard publication with 48 numbered pages - of which 3 are devoted to publishing information, the table of contents, and the index. The doctrinal priority of high speed at the cost of armor protection thus led to a relatively unbalanced design. Even before Nazi Germany’s declaration of war on America on 11 December 1941, the U.S. Army was coming to terms with the need to adapt its arsenal and operational doctrines to the evolving European battlefield. M18 Hellcat of the 824th Tank Destroyer Battalion in action at Wiesloch, Germany, April 1945. These, along with M3 Stuarts and M4 Shermans, trickled in through Burma and formed part of the several well-equipped, well-trained armies that the Chinese Nationalists deployed. U.S. tanks were expected to fight any hostile tanks they encountered in their attack, but the mission of destroying massed enemy armored thrustswas assigned to a new branc… Buick engineers brought the Hellcat to life from the design team’s sketches and developed an innovative torsion bar suspension that provided a steady ride. While deployed in Italy, initial use of the T70 revealed design flaws which would come to limit the M18’s usefulness as a tank killer later in the drive across Europe. The Christie suspension requirement was also dropped, and replaced with a torsion bar suspension. Though all tank destroyer units were disbanded by the U.S. after the war, surplus M18s continued to see limited service. These concerns were fresh in the minds of those in Lieutenant General Omar Bradley’s staff during the lead-up to Operation Overlord, so much so that the First Army commander resisted the option of converting tank destroyer battalions under his command to the M18. The origin of the M18 dates to these first few weeks before the United States’ entry into World War II, when, on 27 November, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew D. Bruce assumed command of the Tank Destroyer Tactical and  Firing Center at Fort Meade, Maryland. However, as German panzers tracked further into Eastern Europe, refinement of the tactics and development of the vehicles with which to blunt the new method of warfare still lagged. We seek to educate future Americans to fully appreciate the sacrifices that generations of American Soldiers have made to safeguard the freedoms of this Nation. These units were instrumental in stopping numerous Japanese attacks during the later phases of the war. As a result it was smaller, lighter, and significantly faster, but carried the same gun as the Sherman 76 mm models. Speed was essential in order to bring the Hellcats from the rear to destroy incoming tanks. 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. During fighting in North Africa, the vehicle's original 37 mm gun was inadequate and the design was upgraded with a British 57 mm gun. The M-18 Tank Destroyer, nicknamed the "Hellcat" by the Soldiers who crewed them, earned a reputation of being one of the most effective tank killers in the Army during World War II. It was the fastest U.S. armored fighting vehicle on the road. Despite the preference for the M36, a number of units converted from the M10 to the M18. A handful of tank destroyer battalions saw action halfway around the world against the Japanese. The Super Hellcat is an American tier 7 premium turreted tank destroyer. The Hellcat had very little armor, and the use of high flash powder made the Hellcat a highly visible and vulnerable target for German tank crews. While Panthers in defense were formidable, Panthers in the attack had great difficulty not exposing their vulnerable large side profiles. The Hellcat would have one more opportunity to prove itself against the heavy panzers of the Wehrmacht when the Germans launched their last-ditch offensive through the Ardennes in December 1944. Due at least somewhat to a lack of a concerted German panzer counteroffensive immediately after D-Day, the delay in the M18’s meeting with the Panther and Tiger tanks of the Wehrmacht may have been for the best. When so attached, defending tank destroyer units supplemented organic antitank weapons (bazookas and 57mm towed guns).[8]. Our funding helps to acquire and conserve Army historical art and artifacts, support Army history educational programs, research, and publication of historical materials on the American Soldier, and provide support and counsel to private and governmental organizations committed to the same goals. Of course, the M18 also required unique tests of its ability to ford six feet of water, climb small walls, and ram through structures. 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. Fighting in the Ardennes convinced the Army of the need to reequip its towed tank destroyer battalions in favor of self-propelled systems like the M18. In December 1941, the Ordnance Corps issued a requirement for the design of a fast tank destroyer using a Christie suspension, the Wright/Continental R-975 engine, and a 37 mm gun.The M18 originated in the design studio of Harley Earl from the Buick motor company division of General Motors, whose team also worked extensively on early camouflage paint. Our funding helps to acquire and conserve Army historical art and artifacts, support Army history educational programs, research, and publication of historical materials on the American Soldier, and provide support and counsel to private and governmental organizations committed to the same goals. Serving as an infantry support weapon and used extensively in clearing pillboxes and fortified enemy positions within towns, the M18, like the M10 before it, was seldom ever concentrated in the massed battalion formation designed for anti-armor operations. High quality Hellcat Tank Destroyer gifts and merchandise. Under the fearless direction of Captain Tom Evans, the lead platoon of Company C served as an attractive target for the German tanks, which failed to notice the other two platoons of Hellcats advancing on their flanks. It was first accepted in 1943 and it appeared on the battlefield in 1944. Like all self-propelled tank destroyer battalions, those fitted with the M18 were composed of a headquarters company, reconnaissance company, three gun companies, and a medical detachment. On September 19, 1944, in the Nancy Bridgehead near Arracourt, France, the 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion was attached to the 4th Armored Division. [7] On December 19–20, the 1st Battalion of the 506th PIR was ordered to support Team Desobry, a battalion-sized tank-infantry task force of the 10th Armored Division (United States) assigned to defend Noville[3] located north-northeast of both Foy and of Bastogne just 4.36 miles (7 km) away. The M10, based on the M4 Sherman chassis, was a reliable fighting vehicle to match the medium German panzers in the deserts of North Africa, but it was not the long-term solution Bruce had in mind. If facing a Panther, a Hellcat would be facing a tank with roughly 140mm of line-of-sight armor frontally that could not be pierced at any range, with a 100mm manlet that could be pierced at suicidally close range. Similarly, American armored attacks would be delivered at a time and place of friendly forces choosing against an enemy defense. [3] M39s saw combat during the Korean War, primarily as armored personnel carriers and munitions carriers, and were finally declared obsolete on February 14, 1957. A Military Channel historian credited the M18 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 the battlefield, confused and slowed the German attack, which finally stalled, leaving the Americans in control of the town overnight.[2]. The M18 served primarily in Western Europe, but was also present in the Pacific. It was often given the nickname Hellcat and is recorded as being the fastest tracked armored fighting vehicle during the war, and for a while after that. During the development process, the design was further upgraded to a utilize a 75 mm gun, and then finally to the 76 mm gun. The Hellcat was not intended to engage in protracted combat but to quickly respond to breakthroughs in the line by enemy armor. The M18 Hellcat was produced by Buick and it was meant to be a more armored tank destroyer rather than the M10 Tank Destroyer or the M36 Tank Destroyerwhich was produced to la… The M18 Hellcat was an American tank destroyer of World War II, also used in the Korean War. It was not designed to do so, but it proved impossible to seal off the crew compartment entirely from engine induced drafts. These were rebuilt and refurbished by Brown & Root in northern Italy in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and bear data plates that indicate those rebuilds. Favoring a vehicle with greater speed, cost effectiveness, and mobility, while at the same time not sacrificing firepower, Bruce secured the test models for his ideal panzer hunter with the T70 prototype. A-15 1944 The open-topped turret — a characteristic which it shared with nearly all fully tracked American tank destroyers — left the crew exposed to snipers, grenades, and shell fragments. On that day, M18s were credited with destroying  twenty-seven German tanks, with only six M18s lost. Capable of top road speeds in excess of fifty miles per hour, the twenty-ton, second generation tank destroyer packed a high-velocity 76mm main gun with the same stopping power as the M10’s 3-inch gun. The M18 Hellcat's first prototype was the T49 GMC (Gun Motor Carriage) and it featured a 57mm main gun. He saw a German tank gun muzzle appearing out of the fog 30 feet away, and deployed his platoon. Although by 1945, the preference was to reequip units with the newer M36, which packed a 90mm gun capable of destroying a Panther at longer ranges than the 76mm gun of the M18. The transmission could also easily be removed and rolled out onto a front deck plate to facilitate quick inspection and repairs. Other experiments included an attempt in the autumn of 1944 to adopt the design for use as a self-propelled howitzer, but this and other tests were abandoned with the ending of World War II. However, due to the comparative rarity and poor quality of Japanese armor the M18 was often used in a fire support role instead of as a tank destroyer. On 19 September, Company C , 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion, attached to the 4th Armored Division’s Combat Command A, helped defend the town of Arracourt when attacked by elements of the 113th Panzer Brigade. Three of these vehicles were deployed in the reconnaissance company of the 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion, participating in breakthrough operations at Anzio in late May. Worried about the threat to its left flank in Bastogne, it organized a major joint arms attack to seize Noville. One example was used on an armored train named the "Krajina express" (Krajina Ekspres). The M18 Hellcat (M18 GMC) was an American tank destroyer of World War II, used in the Italian and European theatres. Un « Hellcat » du 827th Tank Destroyer Battalion, ayant récement rejoint la 12th Armored Division au moment de la prise de cette photo à Sarrebourg (France) le 13 décembre 1944. M18 Hellcat of the 824th Tank Destroyer Battalion in action at Wiesloch, Germany, April 1945. No ISBN number, "Tank Action" by George Forty P195.ISBN 0-7509-0479-8, "Tank Tactics: From Normandy to Lorraine" by Roman Jarymowycz, Ch. The M10 tank destroyer was an American tank destroyer of World War II. Two battalions of tank destroyers did see service in the invasion of the Philippines using Hellcats. The 603d, 704th, and 705th of Lieutenant General George S. Patton’s Third Army all came ashore in Normandy by late July 1944. Hellcat tank destroyer turned out to be a very unusual piece of weaponry. As defined by revised Field Manual (FM) 18-5 issued in July 1944, the three gun companies each contained three platoons of four guns, giving the entire battalion a total of thirty-six tank destroyers. The M-18 Hellcat, formally known as the “76mm Gun Motor Carriage M18” was an American tank destroyer used in World War II, in Italian, European and Pacific theaters, and in the Korean War. Obviously this would make it harder for an armored force to achieve a deep breakthrough, a main objective of armor, if the enemy had tanks. During the battle for Italy, tank destroyers compensated for a shortage of 155mm artillery ammunition by using their 3 inch or 76mm guns in indirect fire role. A total of 2,507 vehicles were produced from July 1943 through October 1944. France, only three would be equipped with the Hellcat prior to landing in Normandy. The tank destroyer became the fastest armored vehicle, of this type, of World War II. When the fighting ended a few days later, the victorious American Hellcats accounted for thirty-nine panzers destroyed or disabled. [ About online shopping pre-order sales ] Releases … The M18’s service in combat began as it was still being standardized, with five of the new T70 models being sent to the Italian campaign that same spring. Even before the T70 had been standardized as the M18, the 76mm GMC was already serving as a prototype for an amphibious version that would eventually be designated the T-86. Complaints about the open turret configuration and exposed .50 caliber machine gun were common, while the lack of a coaxial machine gun afforded little protection to the exposed heads of the tank driver and assistant driver. In a five-minute period, five German tanks of the 113 Panzer Brigade were knocked out for the loss of one M18. Top speed testing was done on a paved, banked oval and ride quality tests were done over specially developed stretches of bumps. 1/35 M18 Hellcat GMC Tank Destroyer by Airfix $41.20 USD $60.60 USD Qty Add to cart Add to wishlist Description This is an injection-plastic military vehicle model kit. The M18 GMC was a response to the problem to provide the tank destroyer force with a very fast tank destroyer. All work on the three amphibious models was canceled after the end of the war. While effective in these secondary operations, the new role of the M18 came at a cost. Evans himself manned the gun of a disabled M18 and was able to knock out two panzers, earning the Distinguished Service Cross in the process. The Hellcat's 76mm gun often could not penetrate the thick sloped front armor of German Panther tanks. Along with the light armor and lack of penetration power of the main gun, these flaws remained enduring weaknesses of the M18 and underscored the contradictory nature of tank destroyer doctrine. While ordnance tests back in the States concluded the 76mm gun could pierce the frontal armor of a Tiger at ranges up to 2,000 yards, the tests were marred by flaws which underscored the overmatched firepower of the M18. Having witnessed the rapid advances of armored and mechanized forces in the German Blitzkrieg across Poland, the Low Countries, and France, War Department planners, including the future commander of Army Ground Forces (AGF), Lesley J. McNair, set out to amend a strategy based around static and localized anti-armor defense beginning in the latter stages of 1940. This doctrine was not entirely used as it would create a small window of time of weakness in the armored battalion until tank destroyers moved to the front. This version was armed with a single M2 machine gun on a flexible mount. Bruce, a respected planner from the War Department’s G-3 section, immediately set out to develop a vehicle fast enough to maneuver around the flanks of enemy columns to attack from the rear, and with enough killing power to distinguish it from the infantry support oriented tanks like the M4 Sherman. The M18 continued in production until October 1944, when the war was nearing its end. One of the platoon's M18s commanded by Sgt Henry R. Hartman knocked out six of the German tanks, most of which were the much-feared Panthers. Inspired designs on t-shirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more by independent artists and designers from around the world. Likewise, the awkward interior layout of the M18’s turret made reloading the main gun cumbersome and slow in combat situations. The main disadvantages of the M18 were its very light armor, and the inconsistent performance of its 76 mm gun against the frontal armor of later German designs such as the Tiger and Panther. AFV Club 1/35 scale M18 Hellcat tank destroyer 0 FROM THE March 1998 ISSUE AFV Club 1/35 scale M18 Hellcat tank destroyer By Ron Poniatowski | March 1, 1998 Kit: No. [2] This problem was not helped by the fact that the air-cooled engine pulled a percentage of its cooling air through the crew compartment, creating in effect, a large armor-plated refrigerator. The 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 was an United States tank destroyer of World War II. Tank destroyers, such as the Hellcat, were to be used against tanks that had already penetrated the front lines. In December 1941, the Ordnance Corps issued a requirement for the design of a fast tank destroyer using a Christie suspension, the Wright/Continental R-975 engine, and a 37 mm gun. 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