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M18 Hellcat
The 76mm Gun Motor Carriage M18
M18
General Historical Information
Place of origin USA
Designer Harley Earl
Manufacturer Buick of General Motors
Produced In 1943 - 1944
Category Tank Destroyer
Debut in FHSW v0.4
Speed 97 km/h
Armour 5 - 25 mm
Main armament 76mm M1A2 AT
(45 rounds)
General Ingame Information
Used by USA
Crew in‑game 2
Ammunition ↑ AP
↓ HE
Seat 2 .50 M2HB Browning
(100 rounds)
Seat 3 Passenger Seat
Seat 4 Passenger Seat
Historical Picture
M18 Hellcat

The M18 is a fast tank destroyer. Production began in July of 1943. Unlike the M10 tank destroyer, which used the chassis of the M4 Sherman, the M18 was designed completely from scratch to be a tank-destroyer. Besides previous American designs it was influenced by the Soviet T-34 and KV tanks for its road wheels and the suspension respectively. Its first taste of combat was in Italy, but the Hellcat also saw action in both north-west Europe, and in the Pacific. However, due to the poor quality of Japanese armor, the M18 was used in more of a fire support role.

Armed with a 76mm gun and powered by Wright R-975 engine, the Hellcat was the fastest tracked vehicle of World War II, with top speeds reaching 60 mph (97 kph). This proved especially useful when flanking German tanks, since most had a fairly slow turret traverse speed. The M18 did have some drawbacks though. Mainly, it had very thin armor and could not take on the heavier German tanks in head-to-head engagements. Its open top also left the 5-man crew not only exposed to grenades and shell fragments, but the weather as well. Hovewer, Hellcat crews took advantage of the vehicle's speed to protect against hits to its thin armor. Many German Panther and Tiger tanks were destroyed because they could not turn their turrets fast enough to return fire.

A number of variants were developed but most ended up being cancelled, including the T88 HMC featured in FHSW.

Trivia[]

The tank destroyer model is provided by BattleGroup42 mod team under a content trade agreement.

Super Hellcat[]

Super Hellcat
90 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18
M18 90mm GMC
General Historical Information
Place of origin USA
Designer Harley Earl
Manufacturer Buick of General Motors
Category Tank Destroyer
Speed 97 km/h
Armour 5 - 25 mm
Main armament 90mm M3 AT
(45 rounds)
General Ingame Information
Used by USA
Crew in‑game 2
Ammunition ↑ AP
↓ HE
Seat 2 .50 M2HB Browning
(100 rounds)
Seat 3 Passenger Seat
Seat 4 Passenger Seat
Historical Picture
File:.jpg

An unique custom vehicle in the map Operation Unthinkable combining the 90 mm gun housed in the turret of the M36 Jackson and the light and mobile M18 Hellcat. The design was a proposed variant of the M18 Hellcat which was cancelled as the war ended.

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