TLDR; This Suggestion is for an M10 (Mk I or Mk II), as used by British, Commonwealth, and Polish forces in the Italian and Northern European theatres during WW2.
- Yes
- No
Fig.1 A 3in SP Mk II of 20 Anti-Tank Regiment RA provides cover to infantry from 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment as they advance from Queen Red Beach, SWORD Area, 6 June 1944. Colourisation by Julius Backman Jääskeläinen.
Overview
(Gun) 3 inch, Self Propelled Mark I or Mark II is the British Army designation for the M10 Gun Motor Carriage, a tank destroyer developed in 1941-42 by the U.S. Army Ordnance Department. The M10 is equipped with the 3-inch gun M7, a high-velocity anti-tank gun, and an M2HB Browning .50 caliber anti-aircraft machine gun.
Lend-Leased from the United States in late 1943, the 3in SP was used to great effect by the British and Commonwealth armies in Italy before deploying in Operation Overlord. Over 200 3in SPs landed between the 6th and 28th June 1944, gradually being replaced from December 1944 by the 17pdr SP Achilles IIC and 17pdr SP Archer as they became available to combat the heavy late-war German armour, with the 3in SPs being “handed down” to the Infantry Divisions.
Some units would doggedly retain their 3in SPs to the end of the war.
US Service
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Developed from the T35E1, the M10 was standardised in June 1942. Over 600 vehicles were produced by the end of the year, and in March 1943 the M10 would see its first use in combat against Axis forces in Tunisia.
On 23 March 1943 at El Guettar, around fifty tanks of the 10th Panzer Division attacked American positions and performed a minor breakthrough of the 1st Infantry Division before becoming bogged down in a minefield. A counter-attack by US anti-tank troops with artillery support, including 31 M10s, succeeded in destroying 60% of the German force. The panzers were forced to retreat, and subsequent German attacks later in the day were disrupted with heavy artillery fire.
In US service, the M10 was used in the North African, European and Pacific theatres, where it was able to successfully employ the 3-inch gun in direct and indirect fire in support of infantry. The M10 was superseded by the 90mm-armed M36 GMC in late 1944, after lacklustre performance against heavy German vehicles in the Battle of the Bulge.
British Service
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Over 1,600 M10s or “3in SPs” were supplied by the United States to the British and Commonwealth armies, in two versions, from late 1943. M10s with the earlier “wedge” type counterweight were referred to as 3in SP Mk I, and those with the later “duck-bill” counterweight were named 3in SP Mk II. While the US Army considered the M10 a tank destroyer and developed their doctrine with mobility and counter-attack in mind, the British regarded SPs as mobile anti-tank guns, issuing them to the Royal Artillery Anti-Tank Regiments to complement their existing 6pdr and 17pdr towed anti-tank guns. In particular in the Italian Campaign, the SPs would find themselves providing indirect fire support more often than engaging enemy armour.
Fig.2 A 3in SP Mk I of 72 Anti-Tank Regiment RA occupies an indirect fire position in the Arno valley, near Florence, Italy. Picture by Sgt Radford, No.2 Army Film & Photographic Unit, 11-14 August 1944.
Northwest Europe
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Fig.3 A 3in SP Mk II of 20 Anti-Tank Regiment RA advances inland on Queen Red Beach, SWORD Area. Picture by Sgt Mapham, No.5 Army Film & Photographic Unit, 6 June 1944.
Approximately 216 3in SPs were deployed to Normandy from D-Day +0 to D-Day +22, in the attached Anti-Tank Regiments of the three Assault Divisions;
- 3rd Infantry Division - 20th Anti-Tank Regiment RA
- 3rd Canadian Division - 3rd Anti-Tank Regiment RCA
- 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division) - 102nd (Northumberland Hussars) Anti-Tank Regiment RA (TA)
And the three Armoured Divisions;
- Guards Armoured Division - 21st Anti-Tank Regiment RA
- 7th Armoured Division - 65th (Suffolk & Norfolk Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment RA (TA)
- 11th Armoured Division - 75th Anti-Tank Regiment RA
And the two Corps Troops Anti-Tank Regiments;
- I Corps - 62nd (6th London) Anti-Tank Regiment RA (TA)
- II Canadian Corps - 6th Anti-Tank Regiment RCA
- VIII Corps - 91st (Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders) Anti-Tank Regiment RA (TA)
- XII Corps - 86th (5th Devon) Anti-Tank Regiment RA (TA)
- XXX Corps - 73rd Anti-Tank Regiment RA
The Anti-Tank Regiments of the Assault Divisions were equipped with a single SP Troop of four vehicles in each of their four Batteries for 16 SPs per Regiment, while the Anti-Tank Regiments in the Armoured Divisions and Corps Troops were equipped with two full SP Batteries for a total of 24 SPs per Regiment.
Fig.4 A 3in SP Mk I of 3 Anti-Tank Regiment RCA operates in support of a Centaur IV of the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group, LtCol Moulton of 48 Commando stands in the foreground. Picture by Lt Handford, No.5 Army Film & Photographic Unit, 7 June 1944.
Specifications
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Length: 6.146 m
Width: 3.048 m
Height: 2.470 m
Combat Weight: 29,937 kg
Crew: 5
Engine: General Motors 6-71 dual Diesel Engine Model 6046, producing 375 hp @ 2,100 rpm
Armament:
- 1x M7 3 in (76.2 mm) anti-tank gun
- 1x M2HB .50 in (12.7 mm) machine gun
Ammunition:
- Shot, M79 3" AP-T
- Shot, M62 3" APCBC/HE-T
- Shot, M62 3" APCBC-T
- Shell, M42A1 3" HE
Gallery
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Authorised ammunition types for the Gun, 3-inch, M7, from TM 9-752. The M79 AP, M62 APCBC fused and un-fused variants, and three fuse variants for M42/M42A1 HE are shown.
A 3in SP Mk I of 3rd Anti-Tank Regiment RCA drives through the town of Courseulles-sur-Mer, Normandy, in 1944.
3in SP Mk IIs and infantry advance near Troarn, Normandy. Picture by Sgt Christie, No.5 Army Film & Photographic Unit, 20 July 1944.
A 3in SP Mk I of 3rd Anti-Tank Regiment RCA takes cover between the iron gates of a French Barracks in Vaucelles, Normandy. Picture by LtCol Bell, Canadian Army Film & Photo Unit, 23 July 1944.
A 3in SP Mk I of 2nd New Zealand Division, 7th Anti-Tank Regiment, passing through the town of San Casciano in Val di Pesa, Italy. Picture by George Kaye, New Zealand Public Relations Service, 1 August 1944
Crewmen from 65th Anti-Tank Regiment inspect the idler wheel bearing on their 3in SP Mk II during a maintenance period in La Vallée, Normandy. Picture by Sgt Gee, No.5 Army Film & Photographic Unit, 12 August 1944.
A 3in SP Mk I of 72nd Anti-Tank Regiment RA, firing in the indirect fire support role. Picture by Sgt Lambert, No.2 Army Film & Photographic Unit, 12 August 1944.
A 3in SP Mk I of 93rd Anti-Tank Regiment RA passes infantry of the 2/5th (Derbyshire) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters, during the advance to the Gothic Line. Picture by Sgt Lupson, No.2 Army Film & Photographic Unit, 27-28 August 1944.
3in SP Mk Is of 6th South African Armoured Division’s 1st/11th Anti-Tank Regiment SAAC parade on the racetrack at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Italy. 14 May 1945. In South African service the 3in SP was called the “Grouse”.
A 3in SP Mk II of 2nd Canadian Infantry Division advances near Xanten, Germany. Picture by LtCol Bell, Canadian Army Film & Photo Unit, 15 May 1945.
Sources
- TM 9-752 3-INCH GUN MOTOR CARRIAGE M10
- TM 9-1750L HULL and TURRET, ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS, TRACKS and SUSPENSION FOR 3-INCH GUN MOTOR CARRIAGES M10 and M10A1, 9 Dec 1943
- TM 9-731B MEDIUM TANK M4A2, 13 Jan 1943
- Battery in an Assault Division January 1944 - The Royal Artillery 1939-45
- Anti-Tank Regiments - The Royal Artillery 1939-45
- Tanks Encylopedia - 3in Gun Motor Carriage M10
- T24 3in Gun Motor Carriage - History of War
- M9 3in Gun Motor Carriage - History of War
- M10 3in Gun Motor Carriage - History of War
- ANTI-TANK - Nigel F Evans
- SCENES IN THE NORMANDY BEACH-HEAD D+1, D+2 (PART 7) [Allocated Title] | Imperial War Museums
- M10 Tank Destroyers in South African Service
See Also
- M10A1 GMC: the Wolverine that never saw combat, by @TomLiu126
- M10 SA50, Israeli Wolverine, by @CaID
- M10 Type 91 105 mm Howitzer, Chinese Nationalist heavy modification of the Wolverine, by @CaID
- Semovente da 76/50 M10, by @Il_Signor_Regio
- M4A2, M10 GMC, and Variants engine hp and rpm too high - Community Bug Reporting System