American Ground Vehicle History

Historic Overview

World War I

In 1917, the United States joined World War I. At this point in time, the tank had only just been developed by Britain, and was first used in the battle of the Somme in 1916. They first achieved success at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, again under British service. General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force, saw the potential of the tank, and wanted the creation an American tank corps. The first tank to see service with the United States was the Renault FT, a French light tank. The first mass produced tank in America was the M1917, which was basically a copy of the Renault FT. It was ready at the end of 1918, but it was too late to take part in the war. By the end of 1918, the Tank Corps had 20,000 men.

Interwar

After World War 1 ended, the Tank Corps was shrunk to only 300 men. Only a few tanks, the M1 and M2 light tanks and the M2 medium tank, entered production between the World Wars. The M2 light tank was developed into the M2A4 in 1939, which had increased armament and armour. Very few of these tanks were produced.

World War II

Light Tanks

When World War II broke out in Europe, the tanks in the US arsenal were outdated, and had been surpassed by German designs. The old designs were unable to compete with contemporary tanks, so the M2 light tank was replaced by the M3 light tank. The M3, known as the Stuart, was basically an upgraded M2 light tank, with superior armor and firepower. In turn, the M3 Stuart was upgraded. The most progressive upgrade became known as the M5 Stuart. It had a completely redesigned hull with sloped armor, and a modified turret. Through the Lend-Lease Act, the M3 was sent to Britain, who used it in the North African Campaign. It proved to not have an adequate armament to deal with German tanks, so the M3 and M5 saw limited use in Europe and Africa, mostly in the reconnaissance role. Many Stuarts were sent to the Pacific Theater, where there were very few enemy tanks to deal with. In 1941, the British military requested a light tank, capable of being transported by air. The M22 Locust was subsequently designed and shipped to Britain. They saw very little combat as they were deemed inadequate, for the same reasons as the M3/M5 Stuart. In order to replace the Stuarts, the M24 Chaffee was developed. The Chaffee had a dramatic increase in firepower and mobility when compared to the Stuart.

Medium Tanks

As the M2 medium tank was unable to compete with German panzers, a new medium tank design was necessary. The result was the M3 Lee/Grant. Thousands of M3s were given to Britain via the Lend-Lease Act. These first saw service in North Africa, and were liked because they were able to compete with contemporary German tanks. But, they had many shortcomings, and so, needed a replacement. This replacement became one of the most famous and well known tanks of the war, the M4 Sherman. It had numerous differences and improvements from the M3. One of the greatest advantages of the M4 was that it was versatile, and also that it was able to be modified and upgraded very easily. Later upgrades had improved engines, armour, firepower, and many other improvements. One other advantage of the M4 is that it was able to be mass produced quite easily, with over 50,000 made during the war. Although the Sherman proved to be an effective tank, it was still under powered when compared to late war German tanks such as Tigers and Panthers. In order to better combat these German tanks, the M26 Pershing was developed. It was a large improvement over the Sherman. It had superior armour and firepower, allowing it to take on late war German tanks an near-even ground. It was introduced in 1945, though, and saw little combat.

Tank Destroyers

The American tank destroyer force was created during World War II. One of the first designs was the M10 GMC, sometimes referred to as the Wolverine. It used a modified Sherman chassis, but had a completely new turret and was up-gunned, compared to the Sherman. The M10 was decided to be insufficient against late war German tanks, and was later replaced. The M18 Hellcat was another tank destroyer design that supplemented the M10. It was lighter and more mobile than the M10, but had very little armour whatsoever. It was designed to use mobility and firepower to avoid enemy fire and outmaneuver the enemy. The M18 was used to great effect against enemy tanks, but the gun struggled against the front of late war German tanks. Because the M10 was insufficient against the German tanks it faced, it was mostly replaced during the war by the M36 Jackson. The M36 was also based on the Sherman chassis, but had a new turret, with a more powerful gun mounted. The M36 could knock out most German tanks at very long range, and was used very effectively during the war.