M18 Hellcat

History

After observing events in North Africa, it was decided that the 37 mm gun was inadequate and the design changed to use a 57 mm gun instead. During a series of prototypes and tests, the design was upgunned to a 75 mm gun, and then to the 76 mm gun. The Christie suspension was also dropped and replaced with a torsion bar suspension. The design was standardized in February 1943 and production began in July.

The M18 first saw combat in north-west Europe and Italy during the summer of 1944. It excelled at ambush or hit-and-run tactics. Its low silhouette, high firepower and great speed gave it the capabilty of destroying all but the heaviest of German vehicles, although it was too lightly armoured to stand and fight. One notable instance was that of the 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion. In July of 1944 they reported the destruction of 53 Panthers and Tigers, and 15 self-propelled guns for a loss of only 17 M18's.

In contrast to the M10 Wolverine, which used the chassis of the M4 Sherman, the M18 Hellcat was designed from the start to be a tank destroyer. As a result it was smaller, was only half the weight, was significantly faster and still carried a powerful gun. There was also more internal stowage; it was able to accomodate a five man crew as well as 45 rounds of ammunition and a M2 machine gun.

There was only one variant of the M18 which saw any real production, the Armored Utility Vehicle M39. It was a turretless variation of the M18 that was used to transport personnel, cargo or as a gun tractor.

The M18 continued in production until October 1944, when the war was nearing its end. Around 2,500 were produced by that time. Though discontinued by the U.S. after the war, surplus M18's continued to see limited service. The primary example is that of Yugoslavia, which was using them up to the early 1990s.

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