M10 GMC (France)

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This page is about the tank destroyer M10 GMC (France). For other versions, see M10 (Family). For other uses, see M10 (Disambiguation).
▄M10 GMC
fr_m10.png
GarageImage M10 GMC (France).jpg
ArtImage M10 GMC (France).png
▄M10 GMC
AB RB SB
3.7 3.3 3.3
Research:14 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:32 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
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Description

France operated a number of ▄3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10 tank destroyers between 1943 and 1945. A total of 227 units of this tank destroyer were received by Free French forces during that time period. The tanks participated in actions in Italy, France, and Western Germany. Particularly remarkable was the M10's role with the French 2nd Armored Division at the Battle of Dompaire, destroying a total of 60 tanks, with the coordination of the TDs, Shermans, and American CAS. It was regarded at the time as the fastest destruction of a Panzer Unit on the western front, with the French forces taking few casualties. The M10s were crucial in the preparation for the battle, attacking German positions at Damas-et-Bettegney.

Introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance", the M10 GMC takes much from the M4A2 which it was derived from. The drivetrain is identical with the drive shaft running from the engine in the rear to the front transmission and sprockets. The hull is sloped to a larger degree. The 76 mm M7 cannon originally mounted on the experimental M6 Heavy Tank lacks the muzzle brake of the 76 mm M1A2 gun used on the later Shermans and the M18 GMC. The turret is a pentagonal shaped M5 Mount type. The M10 suffers from a mediocre turret rotation, but has access to a powerful cannon, it is powerful in defensive positions and in situations with the support of allied units, but its mediocre mobility makes it an uncompetitive brawler.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back
Hull51 / 25 / 25
Turret57 / 25 / 25
Crew5 people
Visibility87 %

The armour of the M10 GMC is essentially decent for the rank, and with proper angling is able to ricochet a lot of shells, however, the armour is not thick enough to resist any of the stronger tank weapons of Rank II and above. The sides and back are quite thin and are not able to resist most weapons stronger than a 12.7 mm machine gun. The front of the turret can often eat shells as the shell will fragment on the initial armour, and the massive breech of the 76 mm cannon will often absorb most if not all of the fragmentation, leaving the crew untouched, allowing for a retreat and repair without crew losses. The turret's top is open and because it that it is quite vulnerable to HE shells and planes, and artillery barrages.

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour
  • Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Transmission carter)
  • Structural steel (Counterweight)
Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 38.1 mm (55°) Upper glacis - Top
50.8 mm (55°) Upper glacis - Bottom
50.8 mm (cylindrical) Transmission carter
50.8 mm (51°) Lower glacis
19.05 mm (38°) Top
25.4 mm Bottom
19.05 mm (28°) Top
25.4 mm (7°) Lower plate
25.4 mm (51°) Lower glacis
38.1 mm (35°) Front glacis
19.05 mm Centre half
9.5 mm Rear half
Turret 25.4 mm (68-89°) Turret front
57.15 mm (44-45°) Gun mantlet
100 mm Gun mantlet
25.4 mm (23°)
25.4 mm (30-47°) Turret rear
50 mm (38°) Counterweight
N/A

Notes:

  • Suspensions wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick while bogies are 10 mm thick.
  • Belly armour is 12.7 mm thick.
  • The turret ring is 25.4 mm thick.
  • An internal 9.5 mm plate separates the crew compartment from the engine compartment.
  • Hull underside above tracks is 9.5 mm thick.
  • Hull sides are protected by add-on tracks and grousers that give 20 mm of extra armour.

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB53 / 6 km/h
RB and SB49 / 5 km/h
Number of gears5 forward
1 back
Weight30.4 t
Engine power
AB782 hp
RB and SB410 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB25.7 hp/t
RB and SB13.5 hp/t
Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock AoA Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 53 6 29.9 0.5 582 782 19.46 25.72
Realistic 49 5 363 410 12.14 13.49

The M10 GMC (France) has essentially the same mobility features as the M4 Sherman tank. When spaded, the tank is able to move quite fast in a straight line, going slightly below or even up to its max speed. The turning speed is not that great and the reverse speed does not have much going for it either. The M10 GMC (France) struggles while driving on inclines due to its narrow tracks. In conclusion, the mobility is average and it is able to reach wanted positions reasonably fast.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB822 → 1 112 Sl icon.png
RB988 → 1 336 Sl icon.png
SB1 198 → 1 620 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications13 960 Rp icon.png
20 050 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost860 Ge icon.png
Crew training9 200 Sl icon.png
Experts32 000 Sl icon.png
Aces270 Ge icon.png
Research Aces250 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
60 / 90 / 120 % Sl icon.png
130 / 130 / 130 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
920 Rp icon.png
Cost:
1 300 Sl icon.png
105 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
620 Rp icon.png
Cost:
890 Sl icon.png
70 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
620 Rp icon.png
Cost:
890 Sl icon.png
70 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
1 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
1 700 Sl icon.png
140 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
1 500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
2 200 Sl icon.png
170 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
1 500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
2 200 Sl icon.png
170 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
920 Rp icon.png
Cost:
1 300 Sl icon.png
105 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
620 Rp icon.png
Cost:
890 Sl icon.png
70 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement fr.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
1 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
1 700 Sl icon.png
140 Ge icon.png
Mods tank additional armor.png
Add-on Armor
Research:
1 500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
2 200 Sl icon.png
170 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
920 Rp icon.png
Cost:
1 300 Sl icon.png
105 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
620 Rp icon.png
Cost:
890 Sl icon.png
70 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
76mm_usa_APCBC_ammo_pack
Research:
620 Rp icon.png
Cost:
890 Sl icon.png
70 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
1 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
1 700 Sl icon.png
140 Ge icon.png

First off, get both protection modifications: Parts and FPE. After that, it is recommended to research the M62 APCBC shell, then move on to other modifications from the Firepower tree: Horizontal Drive, Adjustment of Fire, and the Elevation Mechanism. Lastly research the Mobility tree: Tracks, Filters, Engine, Transmission, Suspension, Brake System.

Armaments

Main armament

Ammunition54 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
7.1 → 5.5 s
Vertical guidance-10° / 30°
Main article: M7 (76 mm)

The 3-inch (76 mm) cannon is a wonderful and powerful gun. The APCBC round can penetrate any tank on the battlefield even from long range. Because the M62 APCBC shell has enough penetration, the M79 AP shot is less useful. It is not a bad idea to carry HE ammo as well to fight lightly-armoured and open top tanks like the M16 MGMC. The powerful gun and potent ammunition make the M10 a good sniper vehicle at its battle rating, especially with its -10° gun depression, giving the M10 the ability to maximize a hull-down position. Unfortunately, even though this tank destroyer does feature a turret, its turret rotation speed is extremely slow (< 4.0°/s) due to its historic configuration of only possessing a hand crank for the turret traverse.

76 mm M7 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 54 -10°/+30° ±180° - 4.0 5.5 6.7 7.4 7.8 7.15 6.32 5.83 5.50
Realistic 2.7 3.2 3.8 4.2 4.5

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
10 m 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
M79 shot AP 134 132 121 109 99 89
M42A1 shell HE 17 16 15 13 12 10
M62 shell APCBC 149 146 133 119 106 94
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
mass (kg)
Fuse delay
(m)
Fuse sensitivity
(mm)
Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
M79 shot AP 792 6.8 - - - 47° 60° 65°
M42A1 shell HE 853 5.84 0.2 0.1 390 79° 80° 81°
M62 shell APCBC 792 7 1.2 14 63.7 48° 63° 71°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M10 GMC (identical).
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
5th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
54 49 (+5) 37 (+17) 25 (+29) 13 (+41) (+53) No

Note:

  • As they are modeled by sets of 2, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire both shells in the set.

Machine guns

Ammunition400 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate575 shots/min
Vertical guidance-10° / 28°
Horizontal guidance-60° / 60°
Main article: M2HB (12.7 mm)
12.7 mm M2HB
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Pintle 400 (200) 575 -10°/+28° ±60°

The turret-mounted M2HB .50 cal heavy machine gun is very good at knocking out tracks, punching through lightly armoured vehicles and shooting down low-flying aircraft. Use it sparsely because of its low ammo count.

Usage in battles

The M10 is a support vehicle. Find a good sniping position and lay behind the team taking out enemy tanks from a distance. Try to stay away from enemy tanks to avoid getting destroyed quickly. To make full use of its decent sniping capacity, find a spot that:

  • overlooks key passageway / street / battle area
  • is not too close to the frontline
  • has slopes, hard covers or bushes
  • is not too hard to get to

With a location like that, the M10 can utilise its -10° gun depression and use hull down. Its turret front and mantlet can consistently cause ricochets especially in a downtier. Looming behind bushes, an M10's well aimed shots should be able to knock out most enemy tanks at the battle rating range from long range. Even if you get spotted, any slope or hard covers will provide protection for you.

If fighting in a close quarter's environment, do not try to push forward without support. Stay behind friendly tanks in order to support them without being shot at. If in an urban scenario on maps like Poland or Normandy, utilize the tank's turning speed to rotate the turret to the right angle. But, the best option is still to find a hull down location. For example, in Normandy, the best location is towards the C point, where there are hills and dips that can be used to hide the hull, while giving a good view of the battlefield.

The M10 has a very slow turret rotation speed, but the M10 can traverse faster than it can rotate its turret and use its high speed when at high gear to produce some interesting skids via the physics engine to swerve the M10 and angle its gun at an enemy tank around the corner. It is recommended to understand and get a good feel of the M10's mobility and horsepower on dirt and paved roads before attempting this stunt. The low turret rotation speed means that a M10 player must always be aware of where the enemy tanks are, because they will not be able to turn the turret quickly if the enemy is able to flank the M10. In addition, the M10's side armour is weak, and the ammunition storage is in the hull sides, so if the enemy is able to shoot the M10 at that location, it is very likely to explode the ammo rack and destroy the tank with one shot.

Enemies worth noting:

  • R3 T20 FA-HS: this vehicle is the exact opposite tank when comparing to an M10: extremely high topspeed, great traverse and fast gun rotation. A well-manoeuvred R3 can easily circle around the M10 and shoot AP shells through the thin side, while the M10 struggles to get the gun on target even when traversing the hull with the gun. If you know an R3 is around, you better turn your hull towards the possible direction and be ready to engage. Move the hull with the gun to target quicker. Even if you miss, the M2 Browning can still penetrate the R3 and knock out its crews. Note that a side shot on the R3 does not guarantee a kill as the fuse might not get triggered, and the crew are pretty separated. The R3 can run away and repair for another attack. A frontal shot, however, is likely to one shot it as the crew are all lined up.
  • 8,8 cm Flak 37 Sfl.: it is rather hard to knock out due to the fact that its armour is so thin that almost every shell will over-penetrate, dealing almost no critical damage. Plus this vehicle mostly face their side to the targets, making it even harder to kill them as the crew are all far apart. So it can usually take quite some hits and take out the shooters one by one. As the shooter, aim for the left side of its turret first to disable its gunner first, then knock out the rest of its crew (right turret & driving compartment). Do not hope that the M2 HB can knock out the crew members, the truck's armour is too thick for any MG to penetrate.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Main cannon penetration and damage is very good for the rank, can knock out many tanks in one hit. For example the Chi-Nu, Pz.IV F2, StuG III F or even the Tiger H1 when aiming carefully
  • Good gun depression of -10°, perfect for hull-down positions
  • Front armour can resist certain shots: front glacis steeply sloped and the huge, V-shaped gun mantlet can often bounce / absorb shells (e.g. 75 mm M3 and 76 mm F-34 / ZiS-5), as well as the large gun breech behind it further protecting the turret crew
  • 5 crew members, plus one more with Crew Replenishment modification
  • Turreted purpose-built tank destroyer allows for wide field of fire compared to casemate designs
  • Pintle-mounted HMG can offer effective anti-aircraft fire
  • Access to the add-on armour modification
  • Has relatively no problem when getting uptiered

Cons:

  • Very poor turret traverse speed combined with its rather sluggish hull traverse "locks" it as a long range sniper for most players- close quarters combat is very difficult and great situational awareness is required, as it often cannot get its gun on target in time. It is also vulnerable to flankers like the Sd.Kfz.234/2
  • Base armour is quite thin, can get easily penetrated by common opponents like the Pz.IV F2 or the US M10 GMC
  • Open-topped, vulnerable to aircraft strafing and overpressure
  • Poor reverse speed can sometimes get the vehicle destroyed

History

Combat usage

The M10 GMC was provided officially to the Free French Forces mostly through the lend-lease program from 1943. 227 M10 were delivered to the Free French Forces. They saw combat action in Italy, France and Western Germany in 1944 and 1945.

Media

Skins

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

External links


U.S. Army Ordnance Department/Corps*
Light tanks  T18E2 · M24 (Designed in collaboration with Cadillac)
M3 Stuart  M3 · M3A1 Stuart · M3A1 (USMC)
M5 Stuart  M5A1
Medium tanks  M3 Lee
M4 Sherman  M4 · M4A1 · M4A2 · M4A3 (105) · Calliope
  M4A1 (76) W · M4A2 (76) W · M4A3 (76) W
M26 Pershing  T20 · T25 · M26 · M26E1 · M26 T99
Patton Series  M46 · M46 "Tiger" · M47
Prototypes  T54E1 · T95E1
Heavy tanks  M103
M4 Jumbo  M4A3E2 · Cobra King · M4A3E2 (76) W
M6 Heavy  M6A1 · M6A2E1 · T1E1
M26 Pershing  T26E1-1 · T26E5
Prototypes  T14
T29  T29 · T30 · T34
T-32  T32 · T32E1
Tank destroyers  M3 GMC · M10 GMC · M56
M8 GMC  M8 HMC · M8A1 GMC
M36 GMC  M36 GMC · M36B2
Prototypes  T28 · T95
SPAAGs 
Production  M19 MGMC · M42
Export/Captured  ␗M8 HMC · SU-57
Stuart  Stuart I · Stuart III · ␗M3A3 Stuart · ␗M3A3 (1st PTG) · ▄M3A3 · ▄M3A3 Stuart · ▃Stuart VI (5th CAD) · ␗M5A1
Lee/Grant  ▂M3 Medium · ▃Grant I · Grant I
M4 Sherman  Sherman II · ▄M4A1 · ␗M4A1 (75) W · ▀M4 748 (a) · ▂M4A2 · ▄M4A3 (105) · ▅M4A3 (76) W · ▄M4A3E2
  ␗M4A4 · ␗M4A4 (1st PTG) · ▄Sherman V · ▄M4A4 · ▄Sherman I Composito
M26 Pershing  M26 "D.C.Ariete" · M26A1
M47 Patton  mKPz M47 G · ▅M47
M10 GMC  ␗M10 GMC · ▄M10 GMC
M36 GMC  ␗M36 GMC · M36B1 · ▅M36 · ▄M36B2
M19 MGMC  ▅M19A1
M42 MGMC  ▅M42 · ␗M42
  *The Ordnance Department was renamed to the Ordnance Corps after the Army Reorganization Act of 1950.

France tank destroyers
Lorraine 40t derivatives  CA Lorraine · Lorraine 155 Mle.50
ATGM  MEPHISTO · AMX-10M
Other  AMR.35 ZT3 · Lorraine 37L · SAu 40 · ARL-44 · ELC bis · AMX-50 Foch · AuF1
USA  ▄M10 GMC · ▄M36B2