M36 tank destroyer: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:28, 1 September 2004

Revision as of 01:31, 1 September 2004

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With the advent of heavy [[German]] armor such as the [[Panther tank|panther]] and [[Tiger tank|tigers]], the standard U.S. tank destroyer, the thinnly armored [[M10 Wolverine]] was rapidly becoming obsolete. This was forseen however, and in September 1942 American engineers had begun designing a new tank destroyer based on the formidable [[90mm gun]].

The M36, based on the M10A1 [[chassis]], was the result. Besides the large increase in firepower, the M36 also had a better engine and frontal armor that was twice as thick then the M10.

It wasn't until mid-1944 that the vehicle first began to appear in [[Western Front (WWII)|Europe]], and only around 1,400 M36's were produced during the war. It was well liked by its crews though, being one of the few [[armored fighting vehicle]]s available to Americans that could take out heavy German tanks from distance, especially seen during the [[Battle of the Bulge]].