Tank Destroyers | The Sherman Tank Site

WWII Variants, Other Than Tanks, Based on the Sherman: The Main being TDs like the M10 and M36

Tank Destroyers: Tank Hunters, Failed Role, Successful Killers

They did great things but the whole idea was bad. The TD Battalions of the US Army had very good combat records, but the whole concept was flawed. The idea of holding back battalion-size units to be rushed in to fight the tanks in a major attack just didn’t work in practice, and since the US Army was on the attack most of the time, the TD units ended up being used a lot like the separate Tank Battalions, just not as good at it.

The Vehicles themselves proved useful and often found themselves attached to Tank Divisions, and used in ways never planned for, like direct infantry support.

M10: The First M4 Based TD to See Combat.

Click the link above for a dedicated page on the M10. ↑

A late production M10 with duckbill counterweights on the turret and wading trunks engages targets in France.

M10: The First Good American TD

The M10 was a tank destroyer mounting a 3-inch anti-tank gun. It used the M4A2 chassis with the GM 6046 to power it. These tanks only had an M2 .50 caliber machine gun other than their main gun. The turret lacked a power traverse. It had a five-man crew and was generally liked by its crew. The American TD force was deemed a failure, but not because the men or vehicles performed badly, it was the doctrine that failed to pan out, the battalions themselves performed well overall. It was used until the end of the war, and many TD battalions preferred it over the faster M18. The TDs lacked a co-ax machine gun, this and their open-top made them more vulnerable to infantry than a tank. Even so, these units were often given tank missions. The open-top did offer a big advantage in finding any enemy tanks to shoot, and spotting close infantry.

One aspect of the design that shows how rushed it was, is the driver’s hatches. They were larger than the Shermans, but could not be opened or closed if the turret was forward. So the crew had to make a choice if the driver and co-driver were going to be able to see well or be buttoned, before the battle or movement. The M10 lacked a turret basket, so the driver and co-driver had an easier time getting out of the roofless turret. Like all American designs, it went through a series of upgrades through its service life. The turret was upgraded and balanced better, and the crews liked to add their own roofs. Extra machine gun mounts were a common modification. A power turret drive was never added to the tanks in US service.

The M10A1 version of this vehicle had a Ford GAA engine. There was no difference other than and minor improvements between an M10 and M10A1. Crews added on armored roofs to their turrets, often all hinged so they could open up to really see what was going on, in the field. It was not uncommon for TD units to be used as fixed artillery for several days. This was common practice in the MTO.

The M10 Turret went through several changes, the first versions were badly out of balance, and they tried to solve this by mounting the grousers for the tracks on the back of the turret. This didn’t work well and wedge-shaped counterweights were added. This helped, but eventually, the final production M10 turrets were widened, and even bigger counterweights were added with a distinct duckbill look to them. They came up with a full roof armor kit for the final turret, and a half cover for the early turrets that could be field retrofitted. In spite of these minor issues, the M10 started out popular with the troops, and never lost that affection.

The M10 and M10A1 had all the gear aboard to be used at artillery. A few TD battalions spent almost as much time as artillery as they did in their TD role. This capability was used often in Italy because the 3 inch gun on the M10 didn’t tear up the vital roads as much as the larger guns did. I would be surprised to find out the M36 didn’t have the same gear. They built 4993 M10s and 1713 M10A1s. At first, only M10 TDs were authorized for service overseas, and the M10A1, even though found to be automotively superior, was to be used in stateside training only. There was some doubt about the usefulness of the motorized TD before the Normandy landings, and production of the M10 was halted as many TD units were converted back to towed gun units or disbanded.

The M10 saw action in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Northern Europe, and various Pacific Campaigns, the most notable being the retaking of the Philippines. It wasn’t really until the action started after the Allies went into Normandy that it really saw a lot of anti-armor use. In the MTO the TD units spent an awful lot of time being used as artillery units, to the point they had to learn how to swap barrels on their 3-inch guns after wearing the tubes out. The M10 in northern Europe saw lots of action but was also being replaced by the M18 and M36. The M36 was very popular, the M18 was mixed, some units love it, some units refused to give up their trusty M10s. The M10 was not popular in the Pacific, the thinner armor, lack of hull and co-ax machine guns and open top made for a much easier target destroy for Japanese troops.

M10_Wolverine_St_Fromond_France_703_TDBn_3ADiv — **An M0 on the move in St Fromond France. The M10 is with the 703 TDB attached to the 3rd Armored Division.**

M10_Wolverine_Tank_Destroyers_30th_Infantry_Division_Magdeburg_Germany_1945 — **A pair of M10 TDs supporting the 30th Infantry in Magdeburg Germany in 1945**

M10_Wolverine_Tank_Destroyers_Head_For_Front_In_Tunisia_1943 — **A semi-early M10 with wedge-shaped counterweights on the way to the front in Tunisia, 1943**

M10_Wolverine_77th_Infantry_Division_Leyte_Island_1944 — **An M10 or M10A1 supporting the 77th Infantry Division on Leyte 1944**

M10_M4_Jeep_And_2_12_Ton_Truck_76th_Infantry_Division_Speicher_1945 — **M36 GMC moving through Speicher in 1945 supporting the 76th ID(Good Eye Stephen Weaver)**

M10_Wolverine — **An early M10, maybe at the Ford plant.**

M10_Wolverine_And_M4_Sherman_77th_Infantry_Division_Leyte_Island_1944 — **Another M10 supporting the 77th ID on Layte in 1944**

M10_Wolverine_32nd_Infantry_Division_Tank_Destroyers_At_Aitape_New_Guinea_1944 — **M10 supporting the 32nd ID near At Aitape New Guinea**

M10_Moving_Thru_Hurtgen_Forest_893rd_Tank_Destroyer_Battalion — **An M10 with the 893rd TDB moving down a snow and mud covered road in the Hurtgen Forest**

M10_Wolverine_Tank_Destroyer_77th_Infantry_Division_632_Bn_Ormoc_Leyte_Philippines_December_1944 — **Late production M10 supporting the 77th ID near Ormoc in the Philippines 1944**

Destroyed_M10_Tank_Destroyer_35th_Infantry_Division_454th_Tank_Destroyer_Bn_Livarchamps_Belgium_Battle_Of_Bulge_1945 — **An early M10 with the 454th TDB knocked out during the fighting at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge**

M10_Tank_Destroyer_And_Jeep_Enter_Fresnes_France_1944 — **This is an M10 entering Fresnes France in 1944, unit known.**

M10_Tank_Destroyer_Moves_Into_Artena_Italy_1944 — **An M10 moves into Artena Italy in 1944, unit unknown.**

Crew_Of_A_Us_Army_Repair_Unit_Working_On_A_Shell-Damaged_Tank_Destroyer_At_An_Ordnance_Depot_Near_Anzio_Italy_1944 — **This image shows a repair crew fixing an M10 damaged by artillery or mortar fire near Anzio, Italy 1944**

Us_Marine_M10_Tank_Destroyer_Advance_On_Pto — **An Army M10 somewhere in the PTO probably in the Philipines.**

Us_Tank_Destroyer_M10_GI_With_Bazooka_Fontainebleau_France_23_August_1944 — **An M10 supporting US troops entering Fontainebleau France in August of 1944**

M10_Tank_Destroyer_Heads_To_Battle_Lines_At_Bir_Marbott_Pass_East_Of_El_Guettar_In_Tunisia_1943. — **An early M10 heading to the fighting near Bir Marbott past, east of El Guettar Tunisia, in 1943.**

M10_Wolverine_Givenchy-En-Gohelle_Calais_1944 — **M10 in the French town of Givenchy En Gohelle near Calais France, 1944**

M10_Tank_Destroyers_At_Ford_Plant_In_Detroit_1943 — **M10 tank destroyers rolling out of the Ford Factory in Detroit, 1943**

M10_And_M4_Tanks_On_Production_Line_At_Ford_Plant_1943 — **M10 and M4A3 Shermans being built side by side at Fords plant in 1943**

M10_Wolverine_Tank_Destroyers_On_Production_Line_At_Ford_Plant_1943 — **Another shot of the Ford M10 line in 1943**

M5_And_M10_Wolverine_2nd_Armored_Division_In_Tesey_Sur_Vire_France_1944 — **An M10 supporting the 2nd Armor Division near Tesey Sur Vire France, 1944**

KO_M10_Wolverine_803rd_Tank_Destroyer_Battalion_Ubach_Germany_1944 — **An M10 with the 803rd TDB in Ubach Germany late 44**

M10_773rd_Tank_B_90th_Div_Mainz_Germany_1945 — **An M10 with the 773rd TD Battalion, supporting the 90th ID near Mainz Germany in 1945**

30th_Infantry_Division_And_823rd_Tank_Destroyer_Battalion_M10_Germany_1945 — **30th ID doughs ride on 823rd TDB M10 in Germany, 1945**

M10_32nd_Infantry_Division_632nd_Tank_Destroyer_Battalion_At_Aitape — **This is an M10 in the Pacific, the crew is cleaning the gun, and the TD is with the 632 TDB on At Aitape**

157th_Infantry_Regiment_Supported_By_M10_Tank_Destroyers_Of_A_Company_645th_Td_Bn_Under_Fire_In_Town_Of_Niederbronn_France — **M10 of A Company, 645th TDB, Supporting the 157th Infantry Regiments, in the Town Of NiederbronnFrance**

Camouflaged_M10_Tank_Destroyer_And_Harley_Davidson_In_Percy_France_08_1944 — **M10 in Percy France in 1944**

M10_Wolverine_Aachen_1944 — **M10 in Aachen 1944**

M10_Free_French_3rd_Algerian_Division_In_Omia_Italy_1944 — **M10 serving with the Algerian Free French 3rd Division in Omnia Italy in 1944**

M10_Wolverine_Tank_Destroyer_Halloville_France_November_1944 — **An M10 near Halloville France, November of 1944**

M36: The M10 With A Much Better Gun

Click the link above for a dedicated page on the M36. ↑

Another tank destroyer based on the Sherman chassis, basically an M10A1 with a new turret mounting a bigger gun. These tanks mounted the 90mm M3 gun. Often this tank’s turret was fitted to otherwise stock M4A3 hulls due to a shortage of M10 hulls. These TDs had full power traverse. These TDs were well-liked because the M3 worked well on both armor and soft targets since the M3 had a nice HE shell.

This TD suffered all the same problems dealing with infantry the M10 did, except in the M36 B1, since it was built on an M4A3 hull, it had a bow machine gun. This was as close to a factory produced 90mm Sherman during the war. It was also upgraded in a lot of units with some form of roof armor. It solved the drivers and co-drivers hatch problems and always had a power turret drive though.

There was a diesel-powered version based on the base M10 chassis powered by the GM 6046. There were 1413 M36s, 187 M36B1s, and 724 M36B2s. They produced it on the M4A3 and M10 hulls because they ran out of M10A1 hulls, and no more were going to be produced. Demand for the vehicle was so great they used what they had available. As far as I can tell they saw use only in Europe with the US Army, but the French used them in Indo-China (Vietnam).