Vehicles Tank destroyer battalion (United States)

m18 hellcat of 824th tank destroyer battalion in action @ wiesloch, germany, 1 april 1945.

the experience of employing m3, m6 , m10 in north africa fed plans next generation tank destroyer, saw service m18 gmc, nicknamed hellcat . equipped newly designed 76 mm gun—firing same shell (from different cartridge case) on m10—mounted on all-new chassis. new design allowed ten tonnes lighter m10, allowed remarkable road speed of on 50 mph. however, still lightly armored—indeed, had half armor of m10—and suffered many of survivability problems of predecessors. m18 began see service in mid-1944.

90mm gmc m36 during battle of bulge in january, 1945.

the final tank destroyer enter service m36 gmc. development of m10 hull new turret mounting 90 mm high-velocity gun, powerful anti-tank weapon carried american forces in europe. prototype constructed in 1942, experiment, , design standardized in june 1944. in july, european command requested m10 battalions converted m36s, , first vehicles reached front lines in september. proved more capable of countering heavy tanks – recorded disabling panther tank @ 3,200 yards – , roots in m10 meant possessed greater survivability m18. modification of m18 upgunned 90mm never approved series production.