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The 37 mm GMC M6 saw limited employment with U.S. forces (the 601st and 701st Tank Destroyer Battalions) during the campaign in Tunisia in late 1942 and early 1943. The vehicle was not well liked because it lacked armor and carried an anti-tank gun that was largely ineffective against German tanks of the period.
Front view of M6, with several early M3 light tanks in the background Side view By October, the US developers reached the same conclusion as their European counterparts. The armament was changed to a single vertically stabilized 3-inch (76.2 mm) gun and a coaxial 37 mm gun in a single three-man turret with both manual and electric traverse.
The battalion then saw service in the Tunisia Campaign as an independent unit, equipped with M3 Gun Motor Carriage and M6 Fargo tank destroyers. On 23 March, it was engaged at the Battle of El Guettar , where it broke up an attack by strong elements of the 10th Panzer Division , destroying 37 tanks and receiving the Presidential Unit Citation .
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 ...
The tank destroyer units were formed in response to the German use of massed formations of armored vehicles units early in WWII. The tank destroyer concept envisioned the battalions acting as independent units that would respond at high speed to large enemy tank attacks. In this role, they would be attached in groups or brigades to corps or ...
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 M10 tank destroyer, formally known as 3-inch gun motor carriage M10 or M10 GMC, was an American tank destroyer of World War II.After US entry into World War II and the formation of the Tank Destroyer Force, a suitable vehicle was needed to equip the new battalions.
By 1942, M3 GMCs were being used by tank destroyer battalions in the North African Campaign, each of which consisted of 36 M3s and four 37 mm M6 GMCs. The M3 GMCs, which were designed for ambushing tanks, proved to be inadequate for this task in the battles of Sidi Bou Zid and Kasserine Pass, mainly due to poor tactics.