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The M36 tank destroyer, formally 90 mm Gun Motor Carriage, M36, was an American tank destroyer used during World War II. The M36 combined the hull of the M10 tank destroyer, which used the M4 Sherman's reliable chassis and drivetrain combined with sloped armor, and a new turret mounting the 90 mm gun M3. Conceived in 1943, the M36 first served ...
The M3 90 mm cannon used as a towed anti-aircraft and anti-tank gun, and later mounted in the M36 tank destroyer and finally the late-war M26 Pershing, could penetrate the Tiger's front plate at a range of 1,000 m using standard ammunition, and from beyond 2,000 m (6,600 ft) when using HVAP.
The superior frontal armor of this tank, along with the Tiger I, Tiger II, and newer Panzerjägers, made the 75mm armed US tanks and tank destroyers less effective. The presence of these German tanks expedited the development and production of US armored vehicles armed with 90mm guns - the first to be introduced being the M36 tank destroyer .
However, the tank losses experienced in the Battle of the Bulge against a concentrated German tank force composed of some 400 Panther tanks, [41] as well as Tiger II tanks and other German armored fighting vehicles, revealed the deficiencies in the 75 mm-gunned M4 Shermans and tank destroyers in the American units. This deficiency motivated the ...
The Tank Destroyer Command eventually numbered over 100,000 men and 80 battalions each equipped with 36 self-propelled tank destroyers or towed guns. The first US tank destroyer was a 75 mm gun on a half-track chassis M10 tank destroyer. Only a few shots were expected to be fired from any firing position. Strong reconnaissance elements were ...
90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36 – tank destroyer based on M10A1 hull (M4A3 chassis); standard model. 90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36B1 – tank destroyer based on M4A3 Sherman hull and chassis; expedient model.
On the Sherman hull, the M10 and M36 tank destroyers (officially called "Gun Motor Carriages") were produced. The M7 Howitzer Motor Carriage was originally built on the M3 medium tank chassis, but later versions were built on the similar M4 tank chassis.
As a tank gun it was the main weapon of the M36 tank destroyer and M26 Pershing tank, as well as a number of post-war tanks like the M56 Scorpion. It was also briefly deployed from 1943–1946 as a coast defense weapon with the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps. Each gun cost roughly $50,000 to make in 1940 and utilized up to 30 separate ...