M24 Chaffee
Encyclopedia : M : M2 : M24 : M24 Chaffee
 Light Tank M24 | |
| Ligh Tank M24 | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 4 or 5 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver (could double as loader)) |
| Length | 5.56/5.03 m |
| Width | 3 m |
| Height | 2.77 m |
| Weight | 18.4 tonnes |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | Hull: 13-25 mm Turret: 13-38 mm |
| Main armament | 75 mm Gun M6 48 rounds |
| Secondary armament | 1 x .50 cal MG, 2 x .30 cal MG 3,750 rounds |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | 2 x Cadillac Series 44T24 300/220 hp (220/164 kW) |
| Suspension | torsion bar |
| Road speed | 37 mph, 56 km/h |
| Power/weight | hp/tonne |
| Range | 161 km |
The Light Tank M24 was an American light tank used during World War II and in postwar conflicts including the Korean War. In British service it was designated Chaffee, after the United States Army General Adna R. Chaffee, Jr., who helped develop the use of tanks in the United States armed forces.
Development and production history
Combat experience indicated several shortcomings of the Light Tank M3/M5, the most important of them being weak armament. The T7 design, which was initially seen as a replacement, evolved into a mediocre Medium Tank M7 and was eventually rejected in March 1943, which prompted the Ordnance Committee to issue a specification for a new light tank, with the same powertrain as the M5A1 but armed with a 75 mm gun.In April 1943 the Ordnance together with Cadillac division of General Motors started work on the new project, designated Light Tank T24. Every effort was made to keep the weight of the vehicle under 20 tons. The armor was kept light, with glacis plate only 25 mm thick (but sloped at 60 degrees from the vertical). A new lightweight 75 mm gun was developed, a derivative of the gun used in the B-25H Mitchell bomber. The gun had the same ballistics as the M3, but used a thin wall barrel and different recoil mechanism. The design also featured wider (16 inch) tracks and torsion bar suspension. It had relatively low silhouette and a three-man turret.
On October 15, 1943 the first pilot vehicle was delivered and production began in 1944 under the designation Light Tank M24. It was produced at two sites; from April at Cadillac and from July at Massey-Harris. By the time production was stopped in August 1945, 4,731 M24s had left the assembly lines. Some of them were supplied to the British forces.
Combat history
The First M24s reached Europe in December 1944. Two of them took part in the Battle of the Bulge with the 740th Tank Battalion of the US First Army. The M24s were intended to replace the Light Tank M5 which were used entirely for scouting and screening along the flanks of the main armored forces. They were slow in reaching the front line combat units, and by the end of the war many armored divisions were still mainly equipped with the M5. Some armored divisions did not receive their first M24s until after the end of the war. Reports from the armored divisions that received them prior to the end of hostilities were generally positive. Crews liked the improved off-road performance and reliability, but were mostly appreciative of the 75 mm main gun, as a vast improvement over the 37 mm. The M24 was not up to the challenge of fighting German tanks, but the bigger gun at least gave its crews a chance to fight back when it was required. The M24s light armor made it vulnerable to virtually all of the German tanks, anti-tank guns, and hand-held anti-tank weapons. The contribution of the M24 to winning the war in Europe was insignificant, as they arrived too late and in too few numbers to replace the worn out M5s of the armored divisions.In the Korean War, M24s were the first US tanks to see combat against the North Korean T-34-85s. The M24 fared poorly against these much better-armed and armored medium tanks. M24s were more successful later in the war in their reconnaissance role, when they were supported by heavier tanks such as the M4, M26, and M46.
Like other successful World War II designs, the M24 was supplied to many armies around the globe and was used in local conflicts long after it had been replaced in the US Army by the M41 Walker Bulldog. France employed its M24s in Indo-China in infantry support missions, with good results. They employed the M24 in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. In December 1953 ten disassembled Chaffees were transported by air to provide fire support to the garrison. They fired about 15,000 shells in the long siege that followed before the Viet Minh forces eventually overran the camp in May 1954. The last known time the aging tank saw action was in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, where some 66 Pakistani Chaffees stationed in Bangladesh were easy prey for the Indian Army T-55s, PT-76s and anti-tank teams. Although both Iran and Iraq had M24s prior to the Gulf War, there is no account of their use in that conflict.
In the mid-70s Norway upgraded some of their M24s, installing a 90-mm French gun and modern fire controls. These vehicles, known as NM-116, served in the Norwegian Army until 1992-93.
Similarly, the Chilean Army upgunned the tank during the mid-70s to the IMI-OTO 60mm Hyper Velocity Medium Support (HVMS) gun, with comprable performance to a standard 90mm gun. Chile operated this version until 1999.
Uruguay continues to use the M24, although also with a French 90 mm gun.
Variants
- Light Tank T24 - prototype, was standardized as Light Tank M24.
- Light Tank T24E1 - prototype with Continental R-975-C4 engine and Spicer torque converter transmission. One vehicle was converted from the original T24 prototype and tested in October 1944. The vehicle had superior performance compared to the M24, but suffered from transmission reliability problems.
- 40 mm Gun Motor Carriage M19
- Engine moved to the center of hull, twin 40 mm M2 AA mounted at hull rear (336 rounds). 904 were ordered in August 1944, but only 285 were delivered.
Operators
Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Chile, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Laos, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Vietnam, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UK, Uruguay, USA.See also
References
- Hunnicutt, R. P. Stuart: A History of the American Light Tank. Novato, California: Presidio Press, 1992. ISBN 0891414622.
- Zaloga, Steven, and Jim Laurier. M24 Chaffee Light Tank 1943–85 (New Vanguard 77). Botley, England: Osprey Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1841765406.
External links
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