A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire artillery gun, also known as a self-propelled anti-tank gun, or missile launcher, also called an anti-tank missile carrier. The vehicles are designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often with limited operational capacities.
The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It was also the basis of several other armored fighting vehicles including self-propelled artillery, tank destroyers, and armored recovery vehicles. Tens of thousands were distributed through the Lend-Lease program to the British Commonwealth and Soviet Union. The tank was named by the British after the American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman.
The Kliment Voroshilov tanks are a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defence commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov who operated with the Red Army during World War II. The KV tanks were known for their heavy armour protection during the early stages of the war, especially during the first year of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In certain situations, even a single KV-1 or KV-2 supported by infantry could halt German formations. The German Wehrmacht at that time rarely deployed its tanks against KVs, as their own armament was too poor to deal with the "Russischer Koloss" – "Russian Colossus".
The Marder I "Marten" was a German World War II tank destroyer, armed with a 75 mm Pak-40 anti-tank gun. Most Marder Is were built on the base of the Tracteur Blindé 37L (Lorraine), a French artillery tractor/armoured personnel carrier of which the Germans had acquired more than 300 units after the Fall of France in 1940.
The 76-mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) was a Soviet 76.2 mm divisional field gun used during World War II. ZiS was a factory designation and stood for Zavod imeni Stalina, the honorific title of Artillery Factory No. 92, which first constructed this gun.
The 122 mm howitzer M1938 (M-30) is a Soviet 121.92 mm (4.8 inch) howitzer. The weapon was developed by the design bureau of Motovilikha Plants, headed by F. F. Petrov, in the late 1930s, and was in production from 1939 to 1955. The M-30 saw action in World War II, mainly as a divisional artillery piece of the Red Army (RKKA). Captured guns were also employed later in the conflict by the German Wehrmacht and the Finnish Army. Post World War II the M-30 saw combat in numerous conflicts of the mid- to late twentieth century in service of other countries' armies, notably in the Middle East.
The 76 mm regimental gun M1927 was a Soviet infantry support gun.
The 76-mm divisional gun M1939 was a 76.2 mm cannon produced in the Soviet Union. It was adopted for Red Army service in 1939 and used extensively in World War II. The gun was designated as "divisional" - issued to batteries under the direct control of division headquarters. The F-22 USV was an intermediate model, coming between the F-22, which had limited anti-aircraft capability, and the simpler and cheaper ZiS-3, which eventually replaced it in production and service.
The 76-mm divisional gun M1936 (F-22) was a Soviet divisional semi-universal gun, adopted for Red Army service in 1936. This gun was used in conflicts between the USSR and Japan on the Far East, in the Winter War and in World War II. Many F-22s were captured by the Wehrmacht, modernized by the Germans and used against Soviet forces.
The 76.2 mm divisional gun model 1902 was a Russian light field gun used in the Russo-Japanese War, World War I, the Russian Civil War, and a number of interwar armed conflicts with participants from the former Russian Empire. Modernized versions of this gun were employed in the early stages of World War II.
The 76 mm mountain gun M1938 was a Soviet gun used in World War II.
The 7.62 cm FK 36(r) and Pak 36(r) were German anti-tank guns used by the Wehrmacht in World War II. The first guns were conversions of the Soviet 76 mm divisional gun M1936 (F-22). Later in the war, the Soviet USV and ZiS-3 76 mm divisional guns were also converted.
The 107 mm divisional gun M1940 (M-60) was a Soviet artillery piece, developed in the late 1930s in order to provide Soviet divisional artillery with a powerful field and anti-tank gun. The weapon entered production in 1940, but soon after the outbreak of the German-Soviet War, production ceased; only a limited number of pieces were built. These guns saw service in the Red Army during the war.
With the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 the Marine Nationale found itself with no 8-inch naval gun for mounting on the designated 10,000-ton cruiser. In order to maintain its position as a major naval power, it decided to develop one from scratch. Starting in 1924 they developed the 203mm/50 Modèle 1924 naval gun for use on the seven Treaty-class cruisers of the Marine Nationale. It was also modified for use on the Surcouf a French submarine built in the 1930s. The gun entered service on the Duquesne in 1928. The gun would remain in active service until 1948, when the last cruiser was placed in reserve. The gun was finally removed for inventory when the last treaty cruiser was towed for scrap in 1976.
The 7.5 cm Feldkanone 7M85 was a field gun used by Germany in World War II.
The TACAM T-60 was a Romanian tank destroyer used during World War II. It was built by removing the turret of captured Soviet T-60 light tanks and building a pedestal to mount a captured Soviet 76.2 mm (3.00 in) M-1936 F-22 field gun in its place. A three-sided fighting compartment was built to protect the gun and its crew. Thirty-four were built in 1943, and they served in the Jassy-Kishniev Offensive, and the Budapest Offensive.
The 7.62 cm FlaK L/30 was a German 76.2 mm anti-aircraft gun produced by Krupp during the First World War.
