M10 Wolverine
| M10 Wolverine | |
|---|---|
M10 of the 1st French Army as a memorial in Illhaeusern , France (2007) |
|
| General properties | |
| crew | 5 (commander, driver, gunner, loader, machine gunner) |
| length | 6.83 m |
| width | 3.05 m |
| height | 2.57 m (tower top) |
| Dimensions | 29.6 tons |
| Armor and armament | |
| Armor | 8-57 mm |
| Main armament | 1 × 76.2mm L52 M7 cannon |
| Secondary armament | 1 × cal .50 Fla-MG Browning M2 |
| agility | |
| drive | variants |
| suspension | Vertical cone suspension |
| Top speed | 51 km / h |
| Power / weight | 9.3 kW / t |
The Gun Motor Carriage M10 , and M10 Wolverine , was the first tank destroyer of the United States , which in the Second World War was used. In addition, it was used in several other armies. The models M10 and M10A1 were produced .
history
At the end of the 1930s, the US military requested a tank destroyer to form a tank destroyer force. It was not until 1942, however, that work began on the vehicle, for which the chassis of the M4A2 battle tank was initially used and which was given the designation T35 . The cast turret intended for the T1 battle tank was adopted . The result was not yet entirely satisfactory, so changes were necessary. The vehicle was now given a lighter turret that was open at the top, the hull was rebuilt and improved in combat value with sloping surfaces. The latter was achieved by creating a protruding slope above the chain, which, after a kink, turned into an inward slope. This reached up to the top edge of the tub and roughly corresponded to the slope of the tower side wall. The ratio between the protruding and the recessed area was about 1: 4. The current vehicle was called the T35E1 and series production began in June 1942 as the M10 .
Between September 1942 and December 1943 were 4993 M10 and 1441 M10A1 produced about 1100 vehicles of both types have been in the UK for Achilles rebuilt.
technology
The M10A1 was created as the successor to the M10; however, the differences were only visible from behind at the rear (exhaust and radiator arrangement), as only the engine changed with the use of the M4A3 chassis. The vehicles were equipped with different engines:
- Chrysler A 57 "Multibank" - in-line star engine with 30 cylinders (the construction with 20.6 liters displacement and an output of 425 hp consisted of five coupled rows with six cylinders each, which were arranged in a three-quarters circle around the gearbox)
- Ford GAA V8 petrol engine with 18 liters displacement and 450, later 500 hp.
- Wright Continental R-975EC2 petrol engine with 350 hp
- Wright Continental R-975C1 petrol engine with 400 hp
- General Motors GMC 6046 6-71 Twin Diesel Diesel engine with 420 HP
(Depending on the source, there are different details about the engine of the vehicle. Most vehicles seem to have been equipped with the General Motors GMC 6046 6-71 Twin Diesel or the Ford GAA petrol engine.)
Many vehicles of this model did not leave the United States because they were used as training vehicles. In others, the turret was removed and used as a tractor for the 240 mm howitzer or the 203 mm cannon . A connector chain with removable rubber pads or a hinged chain without padding was used as the chain .
In addition to the USA, the M10 was also used by France , Italy and Denmark (the vehicles were in service here until the end of the 1960s).
Armament
The Wolverine was armed with a 76.2 mm M7 L52 cannon . This was originally an anti-aircraft gun from 1918, which was so heavy that a counterweight of 1134 kg had to be attached to the turret stern in order to ensure the balance of the turret. The cannon reached a muzzle velocity of 792 m / s and a range of around 14,500 meters. A tank shell penetrated 102 mm armor steel at a distance of 910 meters. Further technical development was no longer possible. Due to its original purpose, the cannon did not have a muzzle brake .
The British Army built its own QF 17-pounder cannons (76.2 mm) and a British 7.92 mm BESA machine gun into the M10, which they received under the Lend Lease Act ; these tank destroyers were designated as 17 pdr SP Achilles . Outwardly, they differed little from the standard model.
Further technical data
- Gradeability: 60%
- Ground pressure : 0.95 kg / cm²
- Wading depth: 0.91 m
- Climbing ability: 0.61 m
- Trench crossing ability: 2.29 m
Conclusion
The armament of the M10 turned out to be too weak against the German Tiger and Panther tanks . That is why it was replaced on the European theater of war a few months before the end of the war by the more powerful M36 Jackson .
All 106 tank destroyer battalions of the US Army were equipped with the vehicle. Since one had come to the conviction that a tank could also be fought with just one tank, the leadership was more and more skeptical of the concept of the tank destroyer and their tactics. For this reason, the M10 was used more and more as an attack vehicle and for infantry support, although the tank destroyer force nominally existed at least until the end of the war. At the beginning of 1945 the tank hunter battalions were reclassified into normal tank battalions with the same tasks.
M10 Wolverine during trials (March 1943)
Achilles IIC of the British Army
Achilles in Israeli usage
M10 with clearly visible counterweight on the turret rear
Tower interior view
See also: M18 Hellcat
Remarks
- ↑ so the official name of the US Army
- ↑ (German "wolverine")
- ↑ this increased the vehicle width
- ↑ Possibly only for vehicles delivered to England
- ↑ Otherwise the tower, which had to be rotated by hand, could no longer have been moved.
Web links
- Gun Motor Carriage M10 (English)
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