From OMGWiki
| M10 Tank Destroyer Visual Identification
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The 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage (GMC) M10 was a United States tank destroyer of World War II. US troops also called them TDs (a nickname for any tank destroyer). The M10 was called the Wolverine in British service.
History
Once it became apparent that American medium tanks were no match for the German heavy tanks, and that it would be quite some time before an adequate US heavy tank could be developed, the interim solution was to rely on the cheaper, less technically advanced tank destroyer. Though equipped with turrets (unlike conventional tank destroyer doctrine of the day), the typical American design was more heavily gunned, but more lightly armored, and thus more maneuverable, than a true tank. The idea was to use speed and agility as a defense, rather than thick armor, to bring a powerful self-propelled gun into action against enemy tanks. Tank destroyer platoons were a combination of recon troops riding in jeeps or M20 utility vehicles, and the M10 tank destroyers which waited in hidden positions until the recon element discovered enemy tanks. This practice was dubbed Seek, Strike, and Destroy, but in practice it didn't fit with the rest of the US Army's doctrine, and so the M10 often was thrown into situations more suited for a proper tank.
The 3 inch Gun Motor Carriage T35 was the prototype of the M10. It had a 3 inch gun (76.2 mm) in a new sloped, circular, open topped turret, that was developed from the turret used on the Heavy Tank T1/M6, it was mounted on an early production Medium Tank M4A2 hull. The design may have been motivated by the success of the Soviet T-34, which it resembles in many ways including the similar armor thickness and slope and the choice of main gun.
The T35 was improved upon; it was given a sloped hull built on the M4A2 chassis, and had its circular turret replaced with a pentagonal turret, this model was designated the 3 inch Gun Motor Carriage T35E1. In June 1942 the 3 inch GMG T35E1 had its designation changed to become the 3 in Gun Motor Carriage M10, and ordered into full production.
Tactics & Tips
- A properly handled M10 can use its medium crush to kill many Axis infantry. Use reverse orders to maximize the bloodshed.
- Use an M10's speed to flank slower rotating Axis Heavy Tanks.
- When facing infantry in a building it may be faster to just ram the wall´s on 3 sides of the building to make it collapse. This works especially well when 1-2 walls are already damaged.
Manpower
Ammunition
Fuel
Population
3in Tank Destroyer
Level 1
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