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.

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.

M-10 Tank Destroyer Photos

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

US Seventh Army M10 Tank Destroyer crossing the Rhine RIver on a pontoon bridge near Worms, Germany, circa 26 March 1945.

Soldier in fox hole hurls a hand-grenade at an M-10 Tank Destroyer, Commando Training camp, Camp Carson, CO, 24 April 1943.

Gun Motor Carriage M10 (tank destroyer), used to blast pillboxes on Kwajalein, circa 31 January 1944. The M10 was mounted on the medium tank chassis and had a 3-inch gun M17 in a semiopen turret, and a .50-caliber machine gun at the rear of the turret for protection against low flying planes.

A truck mounted crane lifts the barrel of an 8-inch gun from its transport wagon, ready for transfer to its carriage, ETO, circa early 1945. Full-Track Prime Mover M35 to the left, produced as a variant of the M10 Tank Destroyer.

M-10 tank destroyer, Fisher motor carriage, with 3-inch gun, weight 57,000 pounds, entering LST-346 bound for destination code BLOT, Pier 5, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, Newport News, VA, 22 April 1943.

An M4 Sherman tank and an M10 Tank Destroyer, Aachen, Germany, 10 October 1944.

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. Photo: Courtesy of Bob Pettit.

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