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Patton
Joined: Jul 24, 2007
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Fri Dec 28, 2007 12:40 pm |
 
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Obtained the nickname "Hellcat" for being the fastest armored tracked vehicle of WW2, reaching speeds of 55mph. That speed comes with a price however, in the form of lighter armor, and a 76mm gun that often lacked penetrating power vs German armor. High velocity ammunition helped it late in the war, but such ammo was also in short supply; and for the most part unavailable.
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Montgomery
Joined: Dec 29, 2007
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Wed Jan 23, 2008 11:42 am |
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The Hellcat also had an airplane engine which had some advantages, such as no radiator or coolant to worry about, but was miserable in cold weather. Often referred to as a refrigerator, since the engine was fan cooled it would suck in air through the hatches of the tank.
Tank crews would often sleep outside the tank on the ground because it was just too damn cold inside. |
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"The U.S. has broken the second rule of war. That is, don't go fighting with your land army on the mainland of Asia. Rule One is don't march on Moscow. I developed these two rules myself."
(US approach to the Vietnam War) |
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Zhukov
Joined: Dec 29, 2007
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Thu Jan 24, 2008 4:37 pm |
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| Patton wrote: |
Obtained the nickname "Hellcat" for being the fastest armored tracked vehicle of WW2, reaching speeds of 55mph. That speed comes with a price however, in the form of lighter armor, and a 76mm gun that often lacked penetrating power vs German armor. High velocity ammunition helped it late in the war, but such ammo was also in short supply; and for the most part unavailable.
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I'm pretty sure since the main role of the M18 was as a tank destroyer, and had the same 76mm gun of the Sherman, it did usually have the high velocity ammo. |
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Montgomery
Joined: Dec 29, 2007
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Last Shout: SaS: [YouTube] [YouTube] [YouTube] [YouTube]
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Sat Jan 26, 2008 11:07 pm |
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Not only was the hellcat the fastest tracked fighting vehicle of WW2, it still has a higher top speed than the current  Abrams battle tank. Although it's armor could be penetrated by heavy machine gun fire so it relied greatly on that speed.
M18 Hellcat of the 824th Tank Destroyer Battalion firing its 76 mm main gun in Wiesloch, Germany, in support of the 2d Battalion / 397th Infantry Regiment, 1 April 1945. |
_________________
"The U.S. has broken the second rule of war. That is, don't go fighting with your land army on the mainland of Asia. Rule One is don't march on Moscow. I developed these two rules myself."
(US approach to the Vietnam War) |
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Planetshakers
Joined: Jul 12, 2011
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Fri Sep 02, 2011 10:13 pm |
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