M36 Jackson
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The Gun Motor Carriage M36 was an American tank destroyer in World War II. It was known as the Jackson or Slugger.
History
With the advent of heavy German armor such as the Panther and Tiger, the standard U.S. tank destroyer, the M10 Wolverine, was rapidly becoming obsolete, because its main armament, a 3 inch gun, was not powerful enough to engage these new tanks. This was foreseen however, and in September 1942 American engineers had begun designing a new tank destroyer armed with the formidable M3 90 mm gun.
The M36 was the result. On the M10A1 hull a new turret was mounted, with the 90 mm gun and a .50 inch machine gun in AA mount. Like in many other tank destroyers, the turret was open-topped to save weight. To provide some protection from shrapnel, a folding armored roofkit was developed. The M36 had a large bustle at the rear of its turret which provided a counterweight to its large gun. Inside, eleven additional rounds of ammunition were stored.
It wasn't until the fall of 1944 that the vehicle first began to appear in the European Theater of Operations, and they did not arrive in appreciable numbers until late 1944. Only around 1,400 M36's were produced during the war. The need for 90-mm gunned tank destroyers was so urgent that, in the fall of 1944, about 300 conversions of standard Sherman hulls were done. These vehicles, designated M36B1, were rushed to Europe and used in combat alongside standard M-36s.
The M36 was well liked by its crews, being one of the few armored fighting vehicles available to Americans that could take out heavy German tanks from distance.
Variants
- M36 - 90 mm gun turret on M10A1 hull (M4A3 chassis); standard model.
- M36B1 - 90 mm gun turret on M4A3 Sherman hull and chassis; expedient model.
- M36B2 - 90 mm gun turret on M10 hull (M4A2 chassis, diesel); expedient model.
External links
| American armored fighting vehicles of World War II |
|---|
| Light tanks |
| M2 Light Tank | M3/M5 Stuart | M22 Locust | M24 Chaffee | Marmon-Herrington CTLS |
| Medium and heavy tanks |
| M2 Medium Tank | M3 Lee | M4 Sherman | M26 Pershing |
| Self-propelled artillery |
| M7 Priest | M8 Scott | M12 Gun Motor Carriage | M40 GMC M3 Gun Motor Carriage | M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage |
| Tank destroyers |
| M10 Wolverine | M18 Hellcat | M36 Jackson |
| Armored half-tracks |
| M2 Half Track Car | M3 Half Track Personnel Carrier M4 Mortar Carrier | M5 Half Track Personnel Carrier |
| Amphibious vehicles |
| Landing Vehicle Tracked | DUKW |
| Armored cars |
| M8 Greyhound | M3 Scout Car | M20 Armored Utility Car T17 Deerhound / Staghound | T18 Boarhound |
| Experimental vehicles |
| M38 Wolfhound | M6 Heavy Tank | T-28 Tank/T-95 GMC | T14 Heavy Tank |
| American armored fighting vehicle production during World War II |