The self-propelled artillery mount M10 Wolverine had the abbreviated designation GMC (3-in. Gun Motor Carriage) M10 and belonged to the class of tank destroyers. In the American army, this self-propelled gun received its unofficial nickname Wolverine (English wolverine), which was borrowed from the British allies, this tank destroyer was supplied to the UK under Lend-Lease. ACS M-10, like many self-propelled guns of the Second World War, was created on the chassis of a medium tank, in this particular case "Sherman" M4A2 (modification M10A1 - based on the M4A3 tank). In total, from September 1942 to December 1943, the American industry produced 6706 of these anti-tank self-propelled guns.
Unlike German and Soviet self-propelled guns of the Second World War, in American self-propelled guns, the gun was not installed in an armored jacket, but in a rotating turret, like on tanks. For the armament of the M-10 ACS, a 3-inch (76, 2 mm) M7 cannon was used, which was housed in an open-top turret. A special counterweight was mounted at the stern, which gave the tower a characteristic and easily recognizable silhouette. To combat armored targets, a caliber armor-piercing projectile without a ballistic tip M79 was used. This projectile at a distance of 1000 yards (900 m) at a meeting angle of 30 ° relative to the normal penetrated 76 mm of armor. The full ammunition load of the self-propelled guns consisted of 54 shells. For self-defense and repelling air attacks, the self-propelled gun was equipped with a 12, 7-mm M2 Browning machine gun, which was installed at the rear of the tower. The machine gun ammunition consisted of 300 rounds, in addition to this, the crew had personal weapons for self-defense.
History of creation
By the beginning of World War II, the American army at an emergency pace was working on the creation and adoption of 2 tank destroyers - M3 and M6. At the same time, both vehicles were only a forced temporary measure and were poorly suited to combat tanks. The army needed a full-fledged self-propelled gun - a tank destroyer. The development of such a machine in the United States began in November 1941. The project provided for the installation of a gun on the base of the M4A1 tank with a cast hull and a gasoline engine, but already in December 1941 this project was revised in favor of another modification of the M4A2 Sherman tank, which differed from the previous version with a welded hull and a diesel engine.
The prototype of the self-propelled guns was named T35. In January 1942, a wooden mock-up was made, followed by the assembly of the first tank destroyers in metal. At the same time, the body of the M4A2 tank underwent a number of changes - the car lost its course machine gun, the thickness of the frontal armor remained the same, and from the sides it was reduced to 1 inch. The armor in the transmission area was additionally reinforced with overlays of 2 armor plates, which were welded at an angle of 90 degrees. 76.2mm gun was mounted in a circular open turret, which was borrowed from the prototype of the T1 heavy tank.
In the midst of work on the T35, the military put forward new requirements - the sloped armor of the superstructure of the hull and the low silhouette of the vehicle. The designers presented 3 different versions of the ACS, of which one was chosen, which received the T35E1 index. The new version of the vehicle was based on the chassis of the M4A2 tank, the armor thickness decreased, additional slopes appeared at the superstructure; instead of a round tower, a tower from the M35 was installed. In January 1942, Chrysler's Fischer Tank Division began work on two prototypes of the T35E1. Both vehicles were ready for the spring of 1942. Their tests proved the advantage of the sloped armor of the hull, but the cast turret of the self-propelled guns caused criticism from the military. In this regard, it was decided to develop a new tower, which was made in the form of a hexagon welded from rolled armor plates.
Tests of the T35E1 self-propelled guns were completed in May 1942. The machine was recommended for production after the elimination of a number of minor design issues.
- The military demanded to reduce the reservation, for the sake of greater speed. The American concept of tank destroyers assumed that speed was more useful than good armor protection.
- Make a hatch to accommodate the driver.
- The differential should be covered with armor not from 3 parts, but from one.
- It should be possible to install additional armor on the forehead and sides of the hull, as well as the turret.
The standardized and improved T35E1 tank destroyer was put into production in June 1942 under the designation M10. The crew of the vehicle consisted of 5 people: the commander of the self-propelled guns (located on the right in the tower), the gunner (in the tower on the left), the loader (in the tower behind), the driver (in the front of the hull on the left) and the assistant driver (in the front of the hull) on right). Despite the desire of the military to launch the production of the M10 as soon as possible, they had serious difficulties with the design of the hexagonal tower. In order not to postpone the release, a temporary pentahedral tower was made, which went into series. As a result, all M10 tank destroyers were produced with it, and it was decided to abandon the hexagonal turret. It is also worth noting one drawback that the M10 Wolverine ACS possessed. The hatches of the driver and his assistant, it was impossible to open at the moment when the gun was directed forward, the opening of the hatches was prevented by the gun mask.
The main weapon of the self-propelled guns was a 3-inch 76, 2-mm M7 cannon, which had a good rate of fire - 15 rounds per minute. The aiming angles in the vertical plane were from -10 to +30 degrees, in the horizontal - 360 degrees. The ammunition load of the tank destroyer consisted of 54 rounds. 6 combat rounds were placed in two stowages (3 in each) on the rear wall of the turret. The remaining 48 shots were in special fiber containers in 4 stacks in sponsons. According to the state, the ammunition was supposed to consist of 90% of armor-piercing shells and 10% of high-explosive shells. It could also include smoke shells and buckshot.
Combat use
The M10 self-propelled guns were produced from 1942 to the end of 1943 and, above all, entered service with tank-destroyer battalions (54 self-propelled guns in each). The American doctrine of warfare assumed the use of tank destroyers to destroy enemy tanks, while its own tanks were supposed to be used to support infantry units in battle. The M10 Wolverine became the most massive anti-tank SPG in the American army during World War II. The combat debut of a tank destroyer took place in North Africa and was quite successful, since its three-inch cannon could easily hit most German tanks operating in this theater of operations from long distances without any problems. At the same time, the low-speed and heavy chassis did not correspond to the doctrine adopted in the United States, according to which faster and lighter self-propelled guns were to be used in the role of tank destroyers. Therefore, already at the beginning of 1944, the M10 tank destroyers began to be replaced by the more lightly armored and high-speed M18 Hellcat self-propelled guns.
Serious tests fell on the M10 ACS during the landing in Normandy and the battles that followed. Due to the fact that the M10 possessed a more or less anti-tank 76, 2-mm cannon, they were actively involved in the fight against German tanks. We quickly found out that the M10 could not successfully fight the new German tanks "Panther", "Tiger" and even more so with the Royal Tigers. Some of these Lend-Lease self-propelled guns were transferred to the British, who quickly abandoned the American low-power 76-mm cannon and replaced it with their 17-pounder cannon. The English modification of the M10 was named Achilles I and Achilles II. In the fall of 1944, these installations began to be replaced with more advanced M36 Jackson tank destroyers. At the same time, the remaining M10s continued to be used until the end of the war.
About 54 of these self-propelled guns were sent to the USSR under Lend-Lease, but nothing is known about their use in the Red Army. Also, these machines were received by the combat units of the Free French army. One of these machines, called "Sirocco", which was under the control of French sailors, became famous for knocking out the "Panther" in the Place de la Concorde in Paris in the last days of the Paris uprising.
The experience of combat use showed that the M10 self-propelled gun turret, open from above, makes the vehicle very vulnerable to artillery and mortar fire, as well as to infantry attacks, especially during combat in forests and urban settings. So even the most ordinary hand grenade could quite easily disable the self-propelled crew. The self-propelled gun's reservation also caused criticism, since it could not withstand the German anti-tank guns. But the biggest drawback was the very low turret traverse speed. This process was not mechanized and was carried out manually. In order to make a full turn, it took at least 2 minutes of time. Also, contrary to the accepted doctrine, American tank destroyers used up more high-explosive fragmentation shells than armor-piercing shells. Most often, self-propelled guns performed the role of tanks on the battlefield, although on paper they had to support them.
The M10 Wolverine proved to be the best in defensive battles, where they were significantly superior to towed anti-tank guns. They were also successfully used during the Ardennes operation. Battalions armed with M10 tank destroyers were 5-6 times more effective than units armed with towed anti-tank guns of the same caliber. In those cases when the M10 strengthened the defense of the infantry units, the ratio of losses to victories was 1: 6 in favor of the tank destroyer. It was in the battles in the Ardennes that self-propelled guns, despite all their shortcomings, demonstrated how much they were superior to towed artillery, from that moment in the American army began an active process of re-equipping anti-tank battalions with self-propelled guns.
Performance characteristics: M10 Wolverine
Weight: 29.5 tons.
Dimensions:
Length 6, 828 m, width 3, 05 m, height 2, 896 m.
Crew: 5 people.
Reservation: from 19 to 57 mm.
Armament: 76, 2-mm rifled gun M7
Ammunition: 54 rounds
Engine: two-row 12-cylinder diesel liquid-cooled 375 hp
Maximum speed: on the highway - 48 km / h
Progress in store: on the highway - 320 km.
