Tank destroyer
This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2009) |
A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of
While tanks are designed for
Since
World War II
Dedicated anti-tank vehicles made their first major appearance in the Second World War as combatants developed effective armoured vehicles and tactics. Some were little more than stopgap solutions, mounting an
Except for most American designs, all tank destroyers were turretless vehicles with fixed or casemate superstructures. When a tank destroyer was used against enemy tanks from a defensive position such as by ambush, the lack of a rotating turret was not particularly critical, while the lower silhouette was highly desirable. The turretless design allowed accommodation of a more powerful gun, typically a dedicated anti-tank gun (in lieu of a regular tank's general-purpose main gun that fired both anti-tank and high explosive ammunition) that had a longer barrel than could be mounted in a turreted tank on the same chassis. The lack of a turret increased the vehicle's internal volume, allowing for increased ammunition stowage and crew comfort.[2] Eliminating the turret let the vehicle carry thicker armour, and also let this armour be concentrated in the hull. Sometimes there was no armoured roof (only a weather cover) to keep the overall weight down to the limit that the chassis could bear. The absence of a turret meant that tank destroyers could be manufactured significantly cheaper, faster, and more easily than the tanks on which they were based, and they found particular favor when production resources were lacking.
Germany
The first
German tank destroyers based on the Panzer III medium tank and later German tanks had more armour than their tank counterparts. One of the more successful German tank destroyers was designed as a self-propelled artillery gun, the Sturmgeschütz III. Based on the Panzer III tank chassis, the Sturmgeschütz III was originally fitted with a short barreled low-velocity howitzer-like gun, and was assigned to the artillery arm for infantry fire support as an assault gun. Later, after encountering Soviet tanks, it was refitted with a comparatively short-barreled high-velocity anti-tank gun, usually with a muzzle brake, enabling it to function as a tank destroyer. The Sturmgeschütz III from its 1938 origin used a new casemate-style superstructure with an integrated design, similar to the later Jagdpanzer vehicle designs' superstructure, to completely enclose the crew. It was employed in infantry support and offensive armoured operations as well as in the defensive anti-tank role. The StuG III assault gun was Germany's most-produced fully tracked armoured fighting vehicle during World War II, and second-most produced German armoured combat vehicle of any type after the Sd.Kfz. 251 half-track.
Although the early German Panzerjäger carried more effective weapons than the tanks on which they were based, they were generally lacking in protection for the crew, having thinly armoured open-topped superstructures. The "open-topped" design format of the Panzerjäger vehicles was succeeded by the
Facing an increasingly defensive war, the German Army turned to larger and more powerfully armed Jagdpanzer designs, and in July 1944 the first Jagdtiger rolled off the production line; it was the heaviest German armoured fighting vehicle to go into active service.[3] The Jagdtiger was based on the Tiger II heavy tank featured a very large 128 mm PaK 44 cannon and heavy armour protection. Only 88 Jagdtiger vehicles were produced, barely matching the total number of the earlier Ferdinand / Elefant vehicles. They were first deployed to combat units in September 1944.
The decision of German armoured vehicle designers to use a casemate-style superstructure for all tank destroyers had the advantage of a reduced silhouette, allowing the crew to more frequently fire from defilade ambush positions. Such designs were also easier and faster to manufacture and offered good crew protection from artillery fire and shell splinters. However, the lack of a rotating turret limited the gun's traverse to a few degrees. This meant that the driver normally had to turn the entire tank onto its target, a much slower process than simply rotating a powered turret.[4] If the vehicle became immobilized due to engine failure or track damage, it could not rotate its gun to counter opposing tanks, making it highly vulnerable to counterfire.[5] This vulnerability was later exploited by opposing tank forces. Even the largest and most powerful of German tank destroyers were found abandoned on the field after a battle, having been immobilized by one or more hits by high explosive (HE) or armour-piercing (AP) shells to the track or front drive sprocket.[6]
Italy
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2024) |
The most famous Italian tank destroyer of the Second World War was a self-propelled gun. The Semovente da 75/18, based on the M13/40 frame, was developed to support front-line infantry, and therefore had fixed armament: a 75 mm gun in casemate. However, thanks to its low height (185 cm) and the caliber of its gun the 75/18 also had good results in anti-tank combat, fighting against British and American (but not Soviet) units. After the Armistice of 1943, the 75/18 remained in use by German forces.
Built on the same frame, the Semovente da 105/25 was equipped with a 105 mm gun and known as "bassotto" (Italian for dachshund) due to its lower height.[7] As manufacturing began in 1943, the 105/25 was used by German forces. A further development was the Semovente da 75/46, which had a longer gun than the 75/18 and inclined armour 100 mm thick, making it similar to Sturmgeschütz III. Only 11 of these were manufactured. Before the Semovente da 75/18, the L40, built on an L6/40 light tank chassis, saw action in Africa and in Russia, but with disappointing results.
Japan
The Type 1 Ho-Ni I was the first self-propelled gun design of the Imperial Japanese Army.[8] They were meant to be self-propelled artillery and tank destroyers for armoured divisions.[9][10] The plan was for the Type 1 Ho-Ni I gun tank to form part of a fire support company in each of the tank regiments.[10] The Type 1 Ho-Ni I was developed by using the existing Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank chassis and engine, and replacing the gun turret with a Type 90 75 mm field gun mounted in an open casemate with frontal and side armour only.[11] They entered service in 1942 and were first deployed in combat at the Battle of Luzon in the Philippines in 1945. Some were used in static entrenched positions.[12]
A variant, known as the Type 1 Ho-Ni II mounted a Type 91 105 mm howitzer and had a slightly changed superstructure as far as the side armor with re-positioned observation visors.[13] Production began in 1943, with only 54 completed.[11]
The other variant produced was the
The
The
Soviet Union
As with the Germans of 1943, most of the
United States
Only
All American tank destroyers were officially known by exactly the same collective term used for American self-propelled artillery ordnance, "gun motor carriage". The designs were intended to be very mobile and heavily armed. Most of the tank-hull based designs used special open-topped turrets of a differing design from the original tank it was based on, which was meant to both save weight and to accommodate a larger gun. The earliest expedient design was mounting an
The M3 was first used against the Japanese in the Philippines and then in the Tunisian campaign of the war in North Africa. Some were supplied to British units who used them within armoured car reconnaissance regiments for fire support. The M6 GMC was unarmoured and the 37mm gun was infective against most enemy tanks by the time it entered service.
By far the most common US design, and the first that was fully tracked and turreted (which became the American hallmark of World War II "tank destroyer" design) was the
Of these tank destroyers, only the 90 mm gun of the M36 proved effective against the frontal armour of Germans' larger armored vehicles at long range.
The expectation that German tanks would be engaged in mass formation was a failed assumption. In reality, German attacks effectively used combined arms on the ground, fighting cohesively. American tank destroyer battalions comprised three tank destroyer companies supported by nine security sections. The single-purpose tactics of the tank destroyer battalion failed to account for non-tank threats.[28]
In the 1950s the goal of providing airborne forces with a parachute-capable self-propelled anti-tank weapon led to the deployment of the M56 Scorpion and M50 Ontos. The concept later led to the M551 Sheridan light tank of the mid-1960s.
United Kingdom
British tanks in the early years of the war, both
Towed anti-tank guns were the domain of the Royal Artillery and vehicles adapted to mount artillery, including anti-tank self-propelled guns such as the Deacon (6pdr on an armoured wheeled truck chassis) and Archer (17pdr on tracked chassis) and US-supplied vehicles, were their preserve rather than the Royal Armoured Corps.
The self-propelled guns that were built in the "tank destroyer" mould came about through the desire to field the QF 17 pounder anti-tank gun and simultaneous lack of suitable standard tanks to carry it. As a result, they were of a somewhat extemporized nature. Mounting the gun on the
In 1942 the General Staff agreed on investigating self-propelled mountings of the 6-pounder, 17-pounder, 3-inch 20cwt guns and the 25-pounder field gun/howitzer on the Matilda II, Valentine, Crusader and Cavalier (Cruiser Mark VII) tank chassis. In October 1942 it was decided to progress using the Valentine chassis with a 17-pdr (which would become Archer) and 25-pdr (which entered service as Bishop).[30]
While there was a general move to a general purpose gun that was usable against both tanks and in supporting infantry, there was a need to put the 17 pdr into a tank for use against the enemy's heavy tanks. The
The closest the British came to developing an armoured tank destroyer in the vein of the German Jagdpanzers or Soviet ISU series was the Churchill 3-inch Gun Carrier—a
By 1944, a number of the
Romania
Until 1942, the Romanian tank force was equipped exclusively with obsolete R-1, R-2 and R35 tanks. Having faced big problems against Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks on the Eastern Front, the Romanian Army leadership sought for ways to improve its anti-tank capabilities. The initial plan was the creation of a tank comparable in characteristics to the T-34;[32] instead, Romania went for a number of tank destroyers, since they were more adequate for its industry.
The
Other Romanian tank destroyers include the
Poland
Variants of the Polish
France
Due to the quick defeat of France, few French vehicles were built. The Laffly W15 TCC (Chasseur de chars) was an attempt to quickly build a light tank destroyer by mounting a 47 mm SA37 anti-tank gun onto a lightly armoured Laffly W15T artillery tractor. Other French tank destroyers were being developed, including the SOMUA SAu-40, ARL V39 and various ad hoc conversions of the Lorraine 37L.[citation needed]
Subsequent developments
Missile-based tank destroyers
In the face of the Warsaw Pact, a general need for extra firepower was identified. In the late 1960s, West Germany developed the
With the development of flexible
Many forces'
There have also been dedicated anti-tank vehicles built on ordinary
A US Army combined arms battalion has two infantry companies with TOW missile-armed Bradley IFVs and can bring a large concentration of accurate and lethal fire to bear on an attacking enemy unit that uses AFVs. They can be complemented by mobile units of AH-64 Apache helicopters armed with Hellfire antitank missiles.
Missile carrying vehicles are often referred to as
Postwar gun-based tank destroyers
Despite the proliferation of ATGMs, some gun-armed tank destroyers remain in use. China has developed the tracked
Italy and Spain use the Italian-built
Russia, meanwhile, uses the Russian-built 2S25 Sprut-SD, operating as an amphibious light tank/tank destroyer armed with a 125 millimeters (4.9 in) cannon.
The
The U.S. Army utilized the wheeled
See also
Notes
- ^ von Senger and Etterlin (1960), The World's Armored Fighting Vehicles, p. 9.
- ^ Perrett 1987, p. 84.
- ^ a b Forty and Livesey 2006 p. 33
- ^ Irwin, John P. Another River, Another Town, New York: Random House Publishers (2002), pp. 61–61
- ^ Irwin, pp. 61–61
- ^ Irwin, pp. 61–62: Even the U.S. M4 Sherman could disable a Jagdpanther's track or fracture the front drive sprocket with a 75 mm HE shell. As the crew abandoned their vehicle, they were easy targets for enemy machinegun fire.
- ^ Giusti, Arturo; Pantelic, Marko (28 July 2021). "Semovente M43 da 105/25". The Tank Encyclopedia. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007, p. 15.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007, p. 3.
- ^ a b Zaloga 2012, p. 34.
- ^ a b c Zaloga 2007, p. 19.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 37–39.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007, pp. 10, 20.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 19, 21.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007, pp. 9, 27.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007, pp. 7–8.
- ^ a b Zaloga 2007, p. 20.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007, p. 8.
- ^ a b c Zaloga 2007, p. 21.
- ^ "History of War: Type 2 Ho-I Gun Tank".
- ^ Tomczyk 2007, p. 9.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007, pp. 11, 13, 23–26.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 38, 39.
- ^ Trewhitt 1999, p. 108.
- ^ Forty and Livesey 2006 p. 329
- ^ Forty and Livesey 2006 p. 392
- ^ Forty and Livesey 2006 p. 117
- ISBN 9781428915770. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- ^ Forty and Livesey 2006 p. 116
- ^ "S-P 17pdr, Archer (E1969.43)".
- ^ Chamberlain & Ellis, 1969. p68-69
- ^ Axworthy, Scafeș & Crăciunoiu 1995, p. 221.
- ^ Axworthy, Scafeș & Crăciunoiu 1995, p. 233.
- ISBN 978-1-78096-020-3.
- ^ Axworthy, Scafeș & Crăciunoiu 1995, p. 228-235, 237.
- ^ Axworthy, Scafeș & Crăciunoiu 1995, p. 221-225.
- ^ Axworthy, Scafeș & Crăciunoiu 1995, p. 225-228.
- ^ A. Jońca, R. Szubański, J. Tarczyński, Wrzesień 1939 Pojazdy Wojska Polskiego, Wyd. WKiŁ, Warszawa 1990, s. 72.
- ^ Gelbart 1996 p137-8
- ^ "M1128 Stryker MGS 1:72 Display Model - Dragon Models DM-63007 - $44.95".
References
- Chamberlain, Peter; Ellis, Chris (1981) [1969]. British and American Tanks of World War II. Arco Publishing.
- Axworthy, Mark; Scafeș, Cornel; Crăciunoiu, Cristian (1995). Third Axis Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941-1945. London: Arms and Armour. ISBN 9781854092670.
- Harry Yeide, (2005) The Tank Killers: A History of America's World War II Tank Destroyer Force. Havertown, PA: Casemate. ISBN 1-932033-26-2
- Perrett, Bryan (1987). Soviet Armour Since 1945. London: Blandford Press. ISBN 0-7137-1735-1.
- Gelbart, Marsh (1996). Tanks: Main battle and light tanks. London: Brassey's. ISBN 1-85753-168-X.
- Forty, George; Livesy, Jack (2006). The Complete Guide to Tanks & Armoured Fighting Vehicles. London: Anness Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84681-110-4..
- Tomczyk, Andrzej (2007). Japanese Armor Vol. 5. AJ Press. ISBN 978-8372371799.
- Trewhitt, Philip (1999). Armoured Fighting Vehicles. Dempsey-Parr. ISBN 978-1840843286.
- ISBN 978-1-8460-3091-8.
- Zaloga, Steven J. (2012). M4 Sherman vs Type 97 Chi-Ha: The Pacific 1945. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1849086387.
External links
- Tankdestroyer.net
- Popular Science, April 1940, Tanks Can Be Destroyed article on early US Army concepts for tank destroyers
- Tank Destroyer List