My dad was a member of an m36 crew, in fact his unit was the first to train on it and use it. The open design was for visibility, allowed having more ammo available , and also reduced weight which allowed for better maneuverability and speed. It also was otherwise miserable in bad weather. I have a framed picture of an m36 taken on January 1945 in Luxembourg early in the month, and it just radiates misery, snow, cloudy, you can feel it. My dad was operating in that area at the time ( for all I know it could have been the one he was on). My dad hated the cold and as he put it, it was the coldest winter in 25 years, figured..... And they maintained a 24 hour watch on it, 2 hours on, 2 off. As far as facing Tigers, my dad confirmed what a lot of people said, they were rarely seen, he also said that crews knew the difference between a tiger and other German tanks. He said he could see crews first facing them could get confused, but that once you saw one you knew the difference. I think that they saw every tank as a tiger is like the derisive stuff about the Sherman tank, it is part of the popular myths about WWII. Hollywood has a lot to blame for that.
2 days ago | 55
American forces once they got off the beach "WATCH OUT IT'S A TIGER!" The devious Panzer II:
2 days ago | 119
The M10 was always a stopgap vehicle. The M18 Hellcat was Leslie McNairs ideal tank destroyer. A version of the M18 with the M36 turret was tested but never adopted
2 days ago | 34
That is why they made the M36B2 to protect the turret inside from snow to make the situation more pleasant in snowstorms.
2 days ago | 3
The M36 Jackson was my favorite tank destroyer to use in World of Tanks.
1 day ago
| 4
not only better visibility but ergonomics too from the added space, especially for the weapon loading since it was tasked with tank destroying
2 days ago | 28
Favourite WWII AFV. Sherman's mobility with better firepower than a Tiger I
2 days ago
| 2
Had to suck in winter. Also if splinters were flying everywhere. It just goes to show, if you think you have enough gun, you probably should pack more gun, just in case.
2 days ago | 17
Obviously the kind of vehicle designed by someone who had absolutely no intention of ever getting in one.
5 hours ago | 0
The M36 was actually based on the Ford GAA-engined M10A1. The same engine powered the M4A3 Sherman and in fact 187 M36B1s were built by mating M36 turrets with M4A3 hulls.
1 day ago | 0
The Tank Museum
The M10 and M36 used the same hull, based on that of the M4 Sherman tank. As Tank Destroyers, they were more lightly armoured and faster than tanks, but carried heavier firepower.
When American forces encountered some of the heavier German tanks of the Second World War, they found the M10 wasn’t up to the task. This led to the development of the M36 (seen here), which used the M10’s hull but was fitted with a new turret and a powerful 90mm gun.
Unfortunately for the crew, the turret had no roof. This improved visibility and gave them more space to work in — but it left them vulnerable to artillery and made life far less pleasant during a snowstorm.
For more on Allied tank destroyers, see our Tank Chat on the Achilles here: https://youtu.be/icR4UKOLr5A
2 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 5,228