They Called Them "Hellcats"

They Called Them "Hellcats". The M18 Tank Destroyer. , Officially known as the M18 76mm Gun Motor Carriage was hardly comparable to the horse and buggy. It was the jaguar of heavy armor during World War II. Nicknamed the "Hellcat" by the men who served in them, the M18 could reach speeds of 50mph on the open plain. It also carried quite a punch with a 76mm gun capable of firing a variety of ammunition that could knock out most enemy tanks. The M18 Tank Destroyer quickly gained a reputation among the anti-tank battalions as an effective "tank killer," infantry support was unintended and often created problems of mobility. The Hellcat lost its advantage of speed when it had to support a slogging infantry., The Hellcat only had three deficiencies. The open turret was susceptible to ground and aircraft fire. To achieve its incredible speed, it sacrificed armor plating, with as little as one inch, as compared to the M4 Sherman Tank's four inches. Finally, the M18 used a smaller, Continental nine-cylinder gasoline engine, as compared to larger and more powerful diesels that were coming into service. The M36 Tank Destroyer was the diesel-driven replacement M18. All Hellcats were built by the Buick Motors Division.,

M18 Tank Destroyer. Gun: 76mm , Length: 22 feet , Width: 9 feet , Height: 8.5 feet , Ammunition: A.P., H.E. , The torsion bar suspension, like a luxury car, gave the tank destroyer the smooth ride necessary to reach high speeds.

, [Captions:] , Crew of an M18 from the Fifth Army, Visomo, Italy, celebrate the arrival of their Christmas Dinner, 1944., An M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer of the 4th Armored Division, Third U.S. Army, uses a treadway bridge to cross the Moselle River in Germany, March 15, 1945