Super Hellcat

This page is about the American light tank Super Hellcat. For other versions, see M18 Hellcat (Family).

Super Hellcat

Super Hellcat

USA

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.3	6.3	6.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Light tank

Purchase:6 090

Show in game

Description

Following the introduction of the M36 90 mm GMC into the American tank destroyer units, there was a desire to implement as many 90 mm guns as possible to improve the overall American anti-tank firepower. One proposed method was to install the 90 mm gun into the M18 GMC to utilize the M18's great mobility. The design came about by simply placing the M36 turret onto the M18 hull. This configuration, nicknamed "Super Hellcat", proved suitable but World War II ended prior to the design entering production and issuance.

Introduced in Update 1.51 "Cold Steel", the M18 90-mm Gun Motor Carriage (or the Super Hellcat) presents the firepower advantage from the M36 with the mobility of the M18. The 90 mm would allow the Super Hellcat more firing opportunities, penetrating more armour that the original's 76 mm may not be able to go through. The biggest benefit is the availability of the M82 shell, which coupled with the Super Hellcat's great ability to flank around the enemy can allow the shell to penetrate frequently into the enemy tank's side armour, utilizing its potent post-penetration damage to quickly neutralize the targets in as little as one shot.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull12 / 12 / 12

Turret76 / 31 / 25

Crew5 people

Visibility82 %

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	12.7 mm (63°)	12.7 mm	12.7 mm	8.0 mm
Turret	31.75 mm Turret front 76.2 mm Gun mantlet	31.75 mm	25.4 mm	N/A

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB90 / 29 km/h

RB and SB81 / 26 km/h

Number of gears6 forward

2 back

Weight22.0 t

Engine power

AB763 hp

RB and SB400 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB34.7 hp/t

RB and SB18.2 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	90	29	22	620	763	28.18	34.68
Realistic	81	26		354	400	16.09	18.18

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB2 010

RB2 417

SB3 115

Crew training10 000

Experts340 000

Aces890

Research Aces1 140 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 120 / 150 / 200 %

2 × 178 / 178 / 178 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment	Horizontal Drive 90mm_us_M82_APCBC_ammo_pack Adjustment of Fire Airstrike 90mm_us_M304_APCR_ammo_pack Elevation Mechanism Improved optics Artillery Support

Armaments

Main armament

90 mm M3 cannon

Ammunition45 rounds

First-order11 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

9.7 → 7.5 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 20°

90 mm M3					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	45	-10°/+20°	±180°	N/A	22.8	31.6	38.4	42.5	45.2	9.75	8.63	7.95	7.50
Realistic					14.3	16.8	20.4	22.6	24.0

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
T33 shot	APBC	175	172	160	146	134	122
M82 shot	APCBC	185	182	169	155	142	130
M304 shot	APCR	287	281	259	234	211	191
M71 shell	HE	20	20	18	17	16	16

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%
T33 shot	APBC	853	10.91	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°
M82 shot	APCBC	853	10.91	1.2	14	137.2	48°	63°	71°
M304 shot	APCR	1,021	7.62	-	-	-	66°	70°	72°
M71 shell	HE	823	10.55	0.2	0.1	1,210	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Super Hellcat

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
45	41 (+4)	36 (+9)	31 (+14)	26 (+19)	19 (+26)	12 (+33)	1 (+44)	No

Notes:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• Rack 7 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 11 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
• This rack is also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 7 - 1 - 2 - etc. until 6.
• Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1-6 into rack 7. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready rack.
• Side racks empty: 26 (+19) shells.

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB machine gun

Ammunition800 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate575 shots/min

Vertical guidance-10° / 70°

Horizontal guidance-60° / 60°

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	800 (200)	577	-10°/+70°	±60°

Usage in battles

The Super Hellcat should be very familiar to those who play the M18 GMC. It is very fast, equipped with a hard-hitting cannon, but at a cost of armour. Thus, the M18 Super Hellcat is a mobile hit-and-run vehicle, popping out from behind a cover and blasting the enemy with a shot before retreating. Change up the firing location often to avoid being hit if someone has located the Super Hellcat's position. The Hellcat won't hold the line by standing and absorbing shots, but it can if it is picking off each attacker one by one like a sniper.

The main focus of gaining the Super Hellcat is the 90 mm upgrade, and it is absolutely beautiful. The main round recommended using well be the M82 APCBC round, the reason being reliable one shot knock-outs. The M82 has enough penetration to penetrate a Tiger I through the front plate.

In an offensive and defensive position, the Hellcat should still remain behind cover and be constantly changing firing positions. Once a shot was fired, retreat back to cover and wait out until the next round is reloaded. In an offence, pop out from the cover occasionally and snipe at the enemy. In a defence, remain behind cover and catch the enemy off guard as they approach by letting them shoot a different target first and hit them while they are reloading. Another way is to let them move right into the Hellcat's line of sight, which should at best expose their sides, allowing for a shot to land an M82 APCBC round into them.

A more aggressive play style is as a flanker and a point-capturer. The Hellcat's great speed can allow it to get around an enemy concentration and shoot them on the sides while they are focused at allies in front of them. They may eventually catch on to Hellcat's presence, and the Hellcat should take a more conservative action by returning back to the shoot-and-scoot tactic behind cover. The Hellcat's speed can also be used to rush towards the point. Though not recommended due to exposing the Hellcat's to enemy fire, the speed can ensure the Hellcat will be the first on the point, with a 90 mm gun to defend itself. If lucky, the enemy team is too slow and the Hellcat will capture the point. If unlucky, the enemy will swarm the point, outnumber and constrict the Hellcat and destroy it. Thus it is not recommended to play as a point-capturer.

With good shots, the cheeks of a Tiger II (P) can be hit. Penetrating the Panther series (up to the Panther II) will require a clean shot to the mantlet and for the Panther II, a hit the flat of the turret. Same principles apply on Soviet mediums like the T-44, hit the cheeks and turret ring. For Soviet heavy tanks, hit the lower glacis or the turret cheeks. Using the standard AP shot as a primary round isn't recommended as the fragmentation is minimal, same goes for APCR, which should be used only on the toughest enemies. Despite that, AP is useful against some enemies like the Tiger II (H) as the regular APCBC can penetrate the flat sides of the turret front. Use AP if there is a clean shot on the flat part of Tiger II (H) turret as it cant be penetrated by APCBC but if the turret is angled even a little AP well bounce so then use APCR same on Soviet heavy tanks. Little hint when using AP or APCR on German/Soviet heavy tanks aim for the right side to hit the gunner and commander, giving precious seconds to escape. AP and APCR isn't recommended to shoot the angled front plates of the German Panther and Tiger II's as the angle is steep enough to absorb the shot unless at point-blank range. The reload with a max reloading skill is 9.5 seconds which gives it a decent rate of fire.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Fantastic 90 mm gun with a very lethal M82 APCBC round
• Pintle .50 cal machine gun is effective for anti-air purposes
• High mobility

Cons:

• Despite being on the same chassis as the regular hellcat, the super hellcat has, for some reason, very slow acceleration
• Open-topped vehicle with paper-thin armour, vulnerable to overpressure
• Exposed crew, watch out for machine gun and artillery
• A penetrating round, even if inflicting minimum crew damages, has a high chance of disabling the transmission or engine
• Ammunition always stored in hull sides

History

Development

During World War II, the M18 "Hellcat" tank destroyer was very effective in its role in American service. Despite that, an attempt to upgrade the vehicle with a better gun took effect around 1944. Instead of the 76 mm gun that it originally had, it would take the 90 mm gun that was going into service at the time.

The attempt to construct this focused on the turret to mount the heavier and larger gun. The M18's turret was then replaced with the turret from the M36 GMC to mount the 90 mm gun. Tests with this variant showed that the installation of the new turret did not hinder the speed performance of the M18, but the recoil of the 90 mm gun would cause the tank to bounce back heavily when fired, going back by at least 2 feet even with the muzzle brake attached on the 90 mm gun. The recoil force would also shake the entire tank hull and crew inside. The modified M18 mounting the 90 mm gun was nicknamed the "Super Hellcat"

Testing and cancellation

Despite the drawbacks, it was deemed an acceptable vehicle to use on the battlefield. The 90 mm gun would provide a very large firepower advantage over the 76 mm gun the M18 had originally, which could not penetrate the front of the Panther tank unless in close range with HVAP ammo. The 90 mm could take out most of the late war German tank designs with ease. However, the war ended before the "Super Hellcat" could be deployed for combat use, and the project was cancelled along with the disbanding of the tank destroyer doctrine.

Archive of the in-game description

An experimental version of the M18 antitank vehicle armed with a 90 mm M3 cannon. Only one model was ever built. The impetus for the creation of this model was that 76mm guns had been shown to be ineffective against German heavy tanks on the Western Front. The re-equipping project was carried out on the Aberdeen training ground, which is where the vehicle's gun was also fired. Based on the results, the gun was equipped with a massive muzzle break.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Super Hellcat from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #171 - Metal Beasts section at 00:32 discusses the Super Hellcat.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] T-34-100 and Super Hellcat

Buick Division of General Motors
Tank Destroyers	M18 GMC · M18 "Black Cat" · Super Hellcat
Export	␗M18 GMC · ▄M18
Note	Buick is a division of General Motors (GM).