Today in WW II: 24 May 1941 Battle of the Denmark Strait: German battleship Bismarck sinks British battlecruiser HMS Hood, flagship of the Home Fleet, killing all but 3 of the 1418 crew. More ↓

24 May 1943 Dr. Josef Mengele, German SS officer and physician, becomes the medical officer at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
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M-18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer

The M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer was used during World War II in Europe, 1944-1945. It featured high speed and a low silhouette giving its crews an advantage over the slower and heavier German Panzers. U.S. units with the Hellcat adopted hit and run tactics to knock out German tanks before they could respond.

The M18 Hellcat (also called the 76mm Gun Motor Carriage M18) was armed with a 76mm M1A1C main gun and a .50 cal. machine gun, able to penetrate the armor of almost any German tank. The 18.5 ton vehicle was powered by a Continental R975-C4 400hp radial engine that gave the M18 Hellcat a road speed of up to 55 mph. About 2,507 M18 Hellcats were produced.

The M18 Hellcat Gun Motor Carriage chassis was the basis of the M-39 Armored Utility Vehicle (AUV).

Find additional photos and hi-res versions of the M-18 Tank Destroyer at the Olive-Drab Military Mashup:

Tank maintenance post, established in abandoned farmhouse, North Apennines, Italy, winter 1944-45. During the long winter stalemate, time was utilized to make major repairs on armored vehicles. Minor repairs, such as thrown tracks, were made at forward maintenance posts as pictured here which was located only about 400 yards behind the front lines. Visible vehicles include M4/M4A1 Sherman medium tanks, M18 76mm Gun Motor Carriage (tank destroyer), and Tank Recovery Vehicle M31.

M18 76mm Gun Motor Carriage (tank destroyer) being loaded onto Liberty Ship, THOMAS NELSON PAGE (HR-469), North Side of Pier 2, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, Newport News, VA, 20 July 1944.

M-18 Tank Destroyer (Hellcat) photographed at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA.

76mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 (Tank Destroyer) guarding a street intersection in Brest, on the Brittany peninsula, France, early September 1944.

M-18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer supporting 2nd Infantry Div. operations in Krinkelt, Belgium, circa late January 1945.

M-18 tank destroyers from the 637th TD Bn are driven around a driving course laid out in a coral pit to familiarize the crews with the vehicles handling, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, 22 August 1944.

M-18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer Photo Gallery

M-18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer at 4th Infantry Division Museum, Ft. Hood, TX, 2 December 2005. Photo: Courtesy of Bob Pettit.

M-18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer on its way to a demonstration at open house, Camp Edwards, MA, 23 Oct 2010.