M18 Hellcat TD attacking Japanese fortified positions at Shuri on Okinawa in support of the 306th Infantry Regiment in 1945



by jacksmachiningreveng

4 comments

  1. The [M18 Hellcat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M18_Hellcat) (officially designated the 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 or M18 GMC) is a tank destroyer that was used by the United States Army in World War II and the Korean War. It was the fastest US armored fighting vehicle on the road and speed was attained by keeping armor to a minimum and using the innovative Torqmatic automatic transmission.

    Entering service in 1944, the M18 served primarily in Western Europe, but was also present in the Pacific. M18 strength in the European Theatre of Operations varied from 136 in June 1944 to a high of 540 in March 1945. Losses totaled 216. Kills claimed were 526 in total: 498 in Europe, 17 in Italy, and 11 in the Pacific. The kills-to-losses ratio for Europe was 2.3 to 1 and the overall kill to loss ratio was 2.4 to 1. M18s were not primarily used for tank fighting, but were committed more often to ad hoc roles, usually direct fire support for infantry.

    [extended footage including other theaters of WWII](https://rumble.com/v6sanuj-m18-hellcat-tank-destroyer-in-the-fire-support-role-in-various-wwii-theater.html)

  2. Imagine if ATGM’s were a thing back then. I’d imagine battles like Kursk would’ve been over far more quickly with who had the most missile units.

  3. M18 is my favorite tank of the era.

    The current m10 booker shares a lot of design philosophy: mobility, MBT firepower, small silhouette, air transportable, infantry support gun.

  4. A good reminder of why any time I talked to my grandpa I had to shout.

Comments are closed.