| Wikipedia: M10 tank destroyer |
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| 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10 | |
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| Type | Tank destroyer |
| Place of origin |  United States |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 29.6 tonnes (65,000 lb) |
| Length | 6.83 m (22.41 ft) (w/ gun) 5.97 m (19.6 ft) (w/o gun) |
| Width | 3.05 m (10 ft) |
| Height | 2.57 m (8.43 ft) |
| Crew | 5 (Commander, (3×) gun crew, driver) |
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| Armor | 9 to 57.2 mm (0.3 to 2.3 in) |
| Primary armament |
3" (76.2 mm) Gun M7 54 rounds |
| Secondary armament |
.50 cal Browning M2HB machine gun 300 rounds |
| Engine | General Motors 6046 Twin Diesel 6-71 375 hp (276 kW) |
| Power/weight | 12.5 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | Vertical Volute Spring Suspension (VVSS) |
| Operational range |
300 km (186 mi) |
| Speed | 51 km/h (32 mph) |
The M10 tank destroyer, formally 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage, M10 was a United States tank destroyer of World War II. US troops also called them TDs (a nickname for any tank destroyer). The M10 was christened the Wolverine by the British, although unlike other vehicles such as the M4 Sherman, the name was not widespread among American soldiers.[1][2]
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Development
US combined-arms doctrine on the eve of WW2 held that tanks should be designed to fulfill the infantry support and exploitation roles. The anti-tank warfare mission was assigned to a new branch, the tank destroyer force. Tank destroyer units were meant to counter German blitzkrieg tactics. Tank destroyer units were to be held as a reserve at the Corps or Army level, and were to move quickly to the site of any enemy tank breakthrough, maneuvering aggressively to destroy enemy tanks. This led to a requirement for very fast, well-armed vehicles. Though equipped with turrets (unlike most tank destroyers of the day), the typical American design was more heavily gunned, but more lightly armored, and thus more maneuverable, than a tank. The idea was to use speed and agility as a defense, rather than thick armor, to bring a powerful self-propelled gun into action against enemy tanks.
The 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage T35 was the prototype of the M10. It was equipped with a 3-inch (76.2 mm) gun in a new sloped, circular, open-topped turret, developed from the Heavy Tank T1/M6 turret, and mounted on an early-production Medium Tank M4A1 hull.
This prototype was further developed by sloping the hull, using an M4A2 chassis, and replacing the circular turret with a pentagonal version; this model was designated 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage T35E1. In June 1942 the T35E1 was finalized as the 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10 and ordered into full production.
A British variant, designated "17pdr SP Achilles", was developed by mounting the successful 17-pounder anti-tank gun in a modified turret. The 17 pounder was of a similar bore but had far superior armor penetration capability. It was used by the British, Canadian and Polish armies in Italy and North-West Europe.[3]
Armament
The M10 used a Medium Tank M4A2 chassis (M10A1s used M4A3 chassis) with an open-topped turret mounting a 3" (76.2 mm) Gun M7. This gun fired the Armor Piercing (AP) M79 shot that could penetrate 3 inches of armor at 1,000 yards at 30 degrees from vertical. Other ammunition carried throughout its service life included the Armor Piercing Capped Ballistic Cap (APCBC) M62 projectile, High Velocity Armor Piercing (HVAP) M93 shot, and Armor Piercing High Explosive (APHE); 54 rounds of 3-inch ammunition were carried. The rear of the turret carried two large counterweights which gave it a distinctive shape.
A .50 cal Browning M2HB machine gun could be mounted on the top rear of the turret for use against enemy infantry and for anti-aircraft use, along with 1000 rounds. The crew were also equipped with their personal weapons for self-protection.
Combat use
The M10 was numerically the most important U.S. tank destroyer of World War II. In its combat debut in Tunisia in 1943 during the North African campaign, the M10 was successful as its M7 3-inch gun could destroy most German tanks then in service. The M10's heavy chassis did not conform to the tank destroyer doctrine of employing very light high-speed vehicles, and starting in mid-1944 it began to be supplemented by the 76mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 "Hellcat". Later in the Battle of Normandy the M10's gun proved to be ineffective against the frontal armor of the newer German Tiger and Panther tanks, and although it remained in service until the end of the war, by the fall of 1944 it was beginning to be replaced in US service by the improved 90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36. In the Pacific war, US Army M10s were used for infantry support but were unpopular due to their open-topped turrets, which made them more vulnerable than a fully-enclosed tank to Japanese close-in infantry attacks.
Approximately 54 M10s were supplied to the USSR though their use by the Red Army service is largely unrecorded. The M10 also equipped units of the Free French Army; one M10 named Sirocco, part of the Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers Marins composed of French sailors, famously knocked out a Panther on the Place de la Concorde during the liberation of Paris. British M10s were designated as (Gun) 3 inch Self Propelled Wolverine (3in SP Wolverine) or "M10 3 in SP" and as with all British self-propelled guns were operated by Royal Artillery units. They saw action in Italy and France, including some upgunned with the more effective 17-pounder gun (as the 17pdr SP Achilles).
The M10's open-topped turret left the crew vulnerable to artillery and mortar fire as well as infantry close assault, especially in urban combat and wooded areas. By the end of the war its armor was too thin to provide protection from the newer German tanks and anti-tank guns. The other main disadvantage of the M10 was its very slow speed of turret rotation, as the turret traverse was unpowered and the crew had to hand-crank the turret round. It took approximately two minutes to rotate a full 360 degrees. U.S. tank destroyers fired many more high-explosive shells than anti-tank ammunition, indicating that they were employed much like the tanks they were supposed to support.[citation needed]
The post-war American film star Audie Murphy earned his Medal of Honor at the Battle of the Colmar Pocket when he used the heavy machine gun of an abandoned and burning M10 to repel German infantry despite the vehicle taking several more hits from tanks or artillery.
Variants
- 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage T35 (Prototype): Early production Medium Tank M4A2 chassis.
- 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage T35E1 / 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10 (3in SP, Wolverine in British service[4]): Diesel engine (~5000 vehicles)
- 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10A1: M4A3 chassis, Ford GAA gasoline engine (~1700 vehicles)
- 17pdr SP Achilles: M10 equipped with an Ordnance QF 17 pounder Mark V gun as used on the Sherman Firefly and British tanks. They can be identified by the muzzle brake at the end of the barrel and a counterweight behind the muzzle brake.
- Diesel-engined M10 became 17pdr SP Achilles IC,
- Petrol-engined M10A1 became 17pdr SP Achilles IIC
- Full-Track Prime Mover M35: Turretless M10A1 used as an artillery tractor
- 3in SP Wolverine: Proposed Canadian-built version using a Ram tank chassis — a single prototype was built in 1942.[5]
* SP = Self-Propelled
See also
- List of U.S. military vehicles by model number
- SP 17pdr, A30 (Avenger) - British tank destroyer of 1945
Notes
- ^ Bryan Perrett (2003), Impossible Victories], p 98, Barnes & Noble, ISBN 9780760735336
- ^ Chris Henry & Brian Delf (2004), British Anti-tank Artillery 1939–45], p 23, Osprey, ISBN 9781841766386.
- ^ M10 Achilles IIC
- ^ British and American Tanks Of World War Two: The Complete illustrated history of British, American and Commonwealth tanks: 1939–1945, Peter Chamberlain & Chris Ellis
- ^ AFV News Vol. 41, No. 2 May-Aug 2006
References
- US Army Technical Manuals
- TM 9-2800[clarification needed]
- TM 9-752A - Carriage, Motor, 3-inch, M10
- TM 9-1750 - Power train unit (3-piece differential case)
- TM 9-1750B - Power train unit (1-piece differential case)
- TM 9-1750G - General Motors twin diesel
- US Army Supply Catalogue "Standard Nomenclature List"
- SNL G130 - for Carriage, Motor, 3-inch, M10
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: M10 Wolverine |
- 3" Gun Motor Carriage M10 - AFV Database
- M10 3" Gun Motor Carriage - WWII Vehicles
- (French) M35 Prime Mover - 2iemeguerre.com
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