90mm self-propelled gun M36 “Slugger”
90mm self-propelled gun M36 “Slugger”M36, Slugger or Jackson
Such characteristics of the gun allowed the SPG to successfully fight almost all enemy tanks. The sights installed in the tower made it possible to fire both direct fire and from closed positions. To protect against air attacks, the installation was armed with a 12,7-mm anti-aircraft machine gun. The placement of weapons in an open top rotating turret was typical for other American SPGs. It was believed that in this way visibility was improved, the problem of combating gas pollution in the fighting compartment was removed and the weight of the SPG was reduced. These arguments served as the reason for the removal of the armor roof from the Soviet installation of the SU-76. During the war, about 1300 M36 self-propelled guns were produced, which were used mainly in individual tank-destroyer battalions and in other anti-tank destroyer units.
In October 1942, it was decided to investigate the possibility of converting a 90-mm anti-aircraft gun into an anti-tank gun with a high initial projectile velocity for placement on American tanks and self-propelled guns. At the beginning of 1943, this gun was experimentally installed in the turret of the M10 self-propelled guns, but it turned out to be too long and heavy for the existing turret. In March 1943, development began on a new turret for a 90 mm cannon to be mounted on the M10 chassis. The modified vehicle, tested at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, turned out to be very successful, and the military issued an order for 500 vehicles, designated the T71 self-propelled gun.
In June 1944, it was put into service under the designation M36 self-propelled gun and used in North-Western Europe at the end of 1944. The M36 proved to be the most successful machine capable of fighting the German Tiger and Panther tanks at long distances. Some anti-tank battalions using the M36 achieved great success with little loss. A priority program to increase the supply of the M36 to replace the M10 self-propelled artillery mount led to their modernization.
M36. The initial production model on the M10A1 chassis, which in turn was made on the basis of the chassis of the M4A3 medium tank. In April-July 1944, Grand Blanc Arsenal built 300 vehicles by placing turrets and M10 guns on the M1A36. American Locomotive Company produced 1944 self-propelled guns in October-December 413, having converted them from serial M10A1s, and Massey-Harris produced 500 vehicles in June-December 1944. 85 were built by Montreal Locomotive Works in May-June 1945 .
M36V1. In accordance with the requirement for a tank with a 90-mm anti-tank gun (tank destroyer), a vehicle was built using the hull of an M4A3 medium tank equipped with an M36-type turret open from above. Grand Blanc Arsenal produced 187 vehicles in October-December 1944. M36V2. Further development using the M10 hull instead of the M10A1. There were some improvements, including an armored visor for an open top turret on some vehicles. 237 cars converted from M10 at the American Locomotive Company in April-May 1945. 76 mm T72 self-propelled gun. An intermediate design in which they tried to balance the M10 turret.
Performance characteristics
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Serial production of the plant began in 1943. It was created as a result of the modernization of the M10A1 self-propelled gun on the chassis of the M4A3 tank. The modernization consisted primarily in the installation of a 90-mm M3 gun in a cast open-top turret with circular rotation. More powerful than the M10A1 and M18 installations, a 90-mm gun with a barrel length of 50 calibers had a rate of fire of 5-6 rounds per minute, the initial speed of its armor-piercing projectile was 810 m / s, and the sub-caliber - 1250 m / s.
