M10 Wolverine

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3in Gun Motor Carriage M10
3in Gun Motor Carriage M10
General characteristics
Crew	5 (Commander, (3x) gun crew, driver)
Length	6.83 / 5.97 m
Width	3.05 m
Height	2.57 m
Weight	30 t
Armour and armament
Armour	Hull: up to 51 mm Turret: up to 57 mm
Main armament	M7 3-inch (76.2 mm) gun 54 rounds
Secondary armament	.50 inch M2 Machine Gun 300 rounds
Mobility
Power plant	General Motors Twin Diesel 6-71 375 hp (276 kW)
Suspension	vertical volute spring
Road speed	51 km/h
Power/weight	12.5 hp/tonne
Range	300 km

The 3in Gun Motor Carriage M10, was a US tank destroyer of World War II. US troops also called them "TDs" (a nickname for any tank destroyer), and Wolverine, a name adapted from the official designation given by the British to their lend lease 3in GMC M10s.

Description

American doctrine planned for tank destroyers to engage enemy tanks while tanks were used principally to support infantry. The M10 used an Medium Tank M4A2 chassis (M10A1s used M4A3 chassis') with a special open-topped turret that carried an M7 3-inch gun. The gun fired the AP M79 armour-piercing shell that could go through 3 inches of armour at 1000 yards, 54 rounds of 3in ammunition were carried aboard. The back of the turret carried a large counterweight which gave it a distinctive shape.

For local defence a heavy .50 cal M2 machine gun was mounted on rear of the turret, 300 rounds of .50cal ammunition was carried. The crew were also equipped with their personal weapons, for self protection.

Combat use

The M10 was numerically the most important US tank destroyer of World War II. In its combat debut in the North African campaign, the M10 was successful as its M7 3-inch gun could penetrate most German tanks at long range. The heavy chassis did not conform to the tank destroyer doctrine of employing very light, high-speed vehicles, thus it began to be supplemented by the 76mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 early in 1944. Later in the Battle of Normandy the M10's gun proved to be inadequate against the frontal armor of the numerous German Panther tanks encountered and by the fall of 1944 the improved 90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36 was beginning to replace it, though it remained in service until the end of the war. In the Pacific, US Army M10s were used for traditional infantry-support missions and were unpopular due to their open topped turrets. The Japanese tactic of very close-in infantry attacks against US AFVs made the M10 much more vulnerable than a fully-enclosed tank.

Approximately 54 M10s were supplied to the USSR though their usage in Red Army service is largely unrecorded. The M10 also equipped units of the Free French Army; one M10 named "Sirocco", crewed by a regiment composed of French sailors, famously knocked out a German Panther tank on the Place de La Concorde in Paris. British M10s were designated 3in SP, Wolverine and saw action in Italy and France, including some re-armed with 17-pounder guns which gained the designation 17pdr SP. Achilles.

The M10 had an open-topped turret and thin armor, making it very vulnerable to German anti-tank guns, tanks, and artillery. In urban combat, like other open-topped vehicles it was vulnerable to close-in infantry attack. US tank destroyers fired much more HE than anti-tank ammunition, indicating that they were employed much like the tanks they were supposed to support.

Variants

• 3in GMC M10 (3in SP, Wolverine) - diesel engine (~5000)
• 3in GMC M10A1 - Ford GAA petrol engine (~1700)
• 17pdr SP. Achilles - 3in GMC M10 equipped with a 17 pounder Mk V gun as used on the Sherman Firefly and British tanks. They can be identified by the muzzle brake at the end of the barrel and a counterweight bolted a little way back.
• * Diesel engined M10 became 17pdr SP. Achilles IC,
• * Petrol engined M10A1 became 17pdr SP. Achilles IIC
• Full-Track Prime Mover M35 - Turretless M10A1 used for towing heavy guns.

See also

• 3in Gun Motor Carriage T35 - Prototype TD's that would become the 3in GMC M10.
• Medium Tank M4 - Medium Tank whos chassis was used for the M10s chassis

Notes

The post-war American film star Audie Murphy won his Medal of Honor at the Battle of the Colmar Pocket when he used the heavy machine gun of an abandoned and burning M10 to repel German infantry despite the vehicle taking several more hits from tanks or artillery.

External links