M36 tank destroyer

90 mm Gun Motor Carriage M36
M36 tank destroyer moving in heavy fog on 20 December 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge, Belgium.
TypeSelf-propelled anti-tank gun
Place of originUnited States
Service history
WarsWorld War II
First Indochina War
Korean War
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Iran–Iraq War
Slovenian War 1991
Croatian War 1991-95
Bosnian War
Kosovo War
Production history
DesignerU.S. Army Ordnance Department
Designed1943
ManufacturerGeneral Motors
Massey-Harris
American Locomotive Company
Montreal Locomotive Works
Unit costUS$51,290 (equivalent to $887,734 in 2023) (M36)
Produced
  • April–August 1944
  • October–December 1944
  • May 1945
No. built2,324 (all models)
VariantsSee Variants
Specifications (90 mm Gun Motor Carriage M36[1])
Mass63,000 lb (32 short tons; 29 t)
Length
  • 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m) hull
  • 24 ft 6 in (7.47 m) including gun
Width10 ft 0 in (3.05 m)
Height10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) over antiaircraft machine gun
Crew5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, assistant driver)

Armor0.375 to 5 in (9.5 to 127.0 mm)
Main
armament
90 mm gun M3
47 rounds
Secondary
armament
.50 caliber (12.7 mm) Browning M2HB machine gun
1,000 rounds
Engine
  • M36, M36B1:Ford GAA V8 gasoline engine
    • 450 hp (340 kW) at 2,600 rpm
  • M36B2:General Motors 6046 twin inline diesel engine
    • 375 hp (280 kW) 375 hp at 2,100 rpm
Power/weight15.2 hp (11.3 kW)/metric ton
Transmission
SuspensionVertical volute spring suspension (VVSS)
Fuel capacity192 US gallons (727 litres)
Operational
range
150 mi (240 km)
Maximum speed 26 mph (42 km/h) on road

The M36 tank destroyer, formally 90 mm Gun Motor Carriage, M36, was an American tank destroyer used during World War II. The M36 combined the hull of the M10 tank destroyer, which used the M4 Sherman's reliable chassis and drivetrain combined with sloped armor, and a new turret mounting the 90 mm gun M3. Conceived in 1943, the M36 first served in combat in Europe in October 1944, where it partially replaced the M10 tank destroyer. It also saw use in the Korean War, where it was able to defeat any of the Soviet tanks used in that conflict. Some were supplied to South Korea as part of the Military Assistance Program and served for years, as did re-engined examples found in Yugoslavia, which operated into the 1990s. Two remained in service with the Republic of China Army at least until 2001.[citation needed]

The vehicle is also known under the unofficial nickname Jackson, but this designation appears to be a postwar appellation that was never used by the US Army.[2]

  1. ^ 90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36 American Fighting Vehicle Database
  2. ^ Zaloga (2002) p.2 "The M36 is sometimes referred to as the Jackson, but this appears to be an entirely specious, postwar invention."

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