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M-10 Tank Destroyer

Tank Destroyers were specialized units designed to engage and destroy enemy armor, opening the way for Allied tanks to exploit the gaps. During WW II, tanks did not have sufficient firepower for this task leading to the concept of a separate tank destroyer platform. The M-10 (standard nomenclature 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage, M10) was built on the chassis of the M4A1 Sherman diesel tank with an M7 3-in. gun in an M5 mount placed in the pentagonal welded turret. To balance the turret for the weight of the gun, 3,600 pounds of counterweights were attached to the top, rear of the turret. 4,993 M-10 Tank Destroyers were produced at the General Motors tank arsenal during WW II, beginning in September 1942.

The M-10 Tank Destroyer was also equipped with a .50 cal. machine gun. The 30 ton vehicle was powered by twin General Motors 6-71 diesel engines, reaching a road speed of 25 mph.

The M10A1 Tank Destroyer used the chassis of the M4A3 Sherman medium tank, powered by the Ford GAA gasoline engine. The M10A1 was the base vehicle for the M-36 Tank Destroyer, standardized in June 1944. The M10A1 Tank Destroyer without a turret was equipped and used as an artillery tractor, designated Full-track Prime Mover, M35 in this configuration.

A British modification of some of their late-model M10s, equipped with a heavier gun, the Mark 5 17-pounder, was designated the Achilles IIC by the British and was used during the later months of World War II in Europe.

See also the M-36 Tank Destroyer.

Today in WW II: 17 Sep 1939 Soviet troops invade Poland from the east.  More ↓
17 Sep 1944 Thousands of Allied planes begin airborne assault on Holland, Operation Market Garden.
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M-10 Tank Destroyer Photos

Find additional photos and hi-res versions of the M-10 Tank Destroyer at the Olive-Drab Military Mashup:

143rd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division, M10 tank destroyer, Rohrwiller, France, 4 February 1945.
Tenth Mountain Division M-10 Tank Destroyer emerges from the woods, Italy, 1945.
773rd TD Bn. M10 Tank Destroyer (3-inch GMC), camouflaged for snow, near Benonchamps, Belgium, 21 January 1945.
An M4 Sherman tank and an M10 Tank Destroyer, Aachen, Germany, 10 October 1944.
M10 Tank Destroyer equipped with the T1E1 Rhinoceros hedgerow cutter, prior to Operation Cobra, in France, circa mid-July 1944.
M31 Tank Recovery Vehicle pulling disabled Tank Destroyer M10 out of mine field near Cisterna di Littoria, circa Jan-Feb 1944. Front of tank destroyer is still smoking from effect of mine blast. In the left background is a disabled Sherman tank. To the right are a ruined German Mark IV tank and a personnel carrier.

M-10 Tank Destroyer Photo Gallery

M-10 Tank Destroyer
M10 Tank Destroyer.

M-10 Tank Destroyer at 4th Infantry Division Museum, Ft. Hood, TX, 2 December 2005
M-10 Tank Destroyer at 4th Infantry Division Museum, Ft. Hood, TX, 2 December 2005. Photo: Courtesy of Bob Pettit.

M-10 Tank Destroyer at 4th Infantry Division Museum, Ft. Hood, TX, 2 December 2005
M-10 Tank Destroyer at 4th Infantry Division Museum, Ft. Hood, TX, 2 December 2005. Photo: Courtesy of Bob Pettit.

M-10A1 Tank Destroyer at 4th Infantry Division Museum, Ft. Hood, TX, 2 December 2005
M-10A1 Tank Destroyer at 4th Infantry Division Museum, Ft. Hood, TX, 2 December 2005. Photo: Courtesy of Bob Pettit.

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