Danish Army
Specific: 48 M10 17pdr SP Guns
were delivered from Canada in 1955 under the MDAP. Before delivery, they had been
rebuilt at the Montreal Locomotive Works where some were
fitted with CDP tracks.
It was superseded along with the M24
Chaffee in 1962 by
the M41
Walker Bulldog,
and finally demobbed in 1982.
Historical: In April 1942 it was decided to make
a tank destroyer based on the Sherman, and a prototype
known as the T35 was made by Fisher Body Co. Later the
T35E1, which had thinner armour and a five-sided welded
turret was introduced and in June 1942 it was approved by
the US Tank Destroyer Command and designated M10 3in GMC.
The M10, which were the first production vehicle to
benefit of the use of sloping armour, went into
production by Fischer in September 1942.
At the same time the new M4A3 chassis (with a Ford GAA
petrol engine) was identified for the project and
designated the M10A1. Production of the A1 took place by
Ford from October 1942.
A design flaw became apparent almost immediately - the
weight of the barrel unbalanced the turret to such an
extent that it could not be traversed easily (or at all).
The initial response to the problem was to move the
track-grouser storage points from the hull sides to the
upper-rear turret plates and mount a 0.50 cal. machine
gun on the turret rear. Later on a counter weight
solution were introduced.
Although the M10 had been fitted with bosses for the
attachment of appliqué armour, no such additional armour
was ever produced.
Only the M10 was deployed to Europe and North Africa, and
the A1 were retained in the US for training purposes.
Production of the M10 ceased at the end of 1943 after
4.993 had been build. Production of the A1 continued into
January 1944 by which time 1.713 had been manufactured.
The M10, known to the Americans as the
"Wolverine", was superseded by the M36 90 mm
GMC in 1944.
The M10 Achilles IC was a M10 modified in Britain by
replacing the original 3 inch gun with a quick-firing
(QF) 17 pounder Mk I. The conversion of the first 160 vehicles was carried out at
the REME workshop attached to the Fighting Vehicle Proving Establishment
and then the remaining by the Royal Arsenal site at Woolwich. Around
1.000 M10 was modified to Achilles standard.
Besides being used by the Royal Artillery Anti-tank
Regiments, the Achilles was also used by the Canadian
Army.
Length: 7.27 m (284 inches).
Width: 3.05 m (119 inches).
Height: 2.82 m (110 inches).
Weight: 30.000 kg (66.000 lb.).
Armour: 10 - 41 mm.
Engine: 1 12-cylinder, type GM M6046 (2 6-cylinder
GM, type 6-71), 13.931 cm3 (850 cubic inches)
displacement, air cooled, GM fuel injection.
Horsepower: 210 ea. at 2.100 rpm.
Transmission: 5-speed.
Transfer case: N/A.
Electrical system: 24 V.
Brakes: Mechanical, external contracting.
Fording depth:
without preparation: 1.00 m (39 inches).
with deep water fording kit: N/A.
Fuel type: Diesel.
Fuel capacity: 624 liter (137 gallons).
Range: 225 km (140 miles).
Crew: 5.
Armament: Armed with a British 76 mm gun
and 12.7 mm (cal. .50) machine-gun.
Additional: Carrying 50 rounds of 76 mm
and 420 rounds of 12.7 mm ammunition. Mounted with 1
SCR-508 radio.
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