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This page details tank production by the United States of America during World War II.
| This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
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This page details tank production by the United States of America during World War II.
By the time the United States entered the Second World War in December 1941 it had only two tank designs ready for combat: the M1 Combat Car and the M2 Light Tank. Originally both tanks only came equipped with machine guns but in 1940, the M2A4 was upgraded to a 37mm anti-tank gun. The machine gun-armed tanks were never used in combat, and only a handful of cannon-armed vehicles saw service in the Pacific; but their design formed the basis of the later M3/M5 Light Tank. The British officially called their M3s Stuarts, and often referred to them as "Honeys".
| 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | 34 | - | - | - | - | - | 34 |
| M2 | 325 | 40 | 10 | - | - | - | 375 |
| M3 | - | 2,551 | 7,839 | 3,469 | - | - | 13,859 |
| M5 & M8 HMC | - | - | 2,825 | 4,063 | 1,963 | - | 8,851 |
| Total | 359 | 2,591 | 10,674 | 7,532 | 1,963 | - | 23,119 |
Notes:
The M22 Locust was specially designed to British requirements as an airmobile tank, to be delivered to the battlefield by glider. Production was delayed and by the time it entered service, it was considered obsolete.
The M24 Chaffee was intended as a replacement for the M3 and M5 series;
| 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M22 Locust | - | - | - | 680 | 150 | - | 830 |
| M24 Chaffee | - | - | - | - | 1,930 | 2,801 | 4,731 |
| M18 GMC | - | - | - | 812 | 1,695 | - | 2,507 |
| Total | - | - | - | 1,492 | 3,775 | 2,801 | 8,068 |
In 1939, the USA had manufactured 18 examples of the Medium M2 tank. This tank was never to see combat service, but its chassis and suspension were used as a basis for the Lee and Sherman tanks. Following the German invasion of France in 1940, a small number of Medium M2A1 tanks (an improved model) were manufactured for training. A better tank (which was eventually to become the Medium M3 Lee) was designed as an interim until the M4 could be produced. The M3 was ordered in large numbers by the British to a slightly different specification but by the time Lend-Lease was introduced the two variants were more alike except for the turret. Over half of M3 production would be supplied to the US's allies - the UK and USSR.
The Lee was superseded by the Medium M4 Sherman. This originally carried a 75 mm gun; later versions of the Sherman were armed with a 76 mm gun or a 105 mm howitzer.
On the Sherman hull, the M10 and M36 tank destroyers (officially called "Gun Motor Carriages") were produced.
The M7 Howitzer Motor Carriage was originally built on the M3 medium tank chassis, but later versions were built on the similar M4 tank chassis.
| 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M2A1 | 6 | 88 | - | - | - | - | 94 |
| M3 | - | 1,342 | 4,916 | - | - | - | 6,258 |
| M4 | - | - | 8,017 | 21,231 | 3,504 | 651 | 33,403 |
| M4 (76) | - | - | - | - | 7,135 | 3,748 | 10,883 |
| M4 (105) | - | - | - | - | 2,286 | 2,394 | 4,680 |
| M10 GMC | - | - | 639 | 6,067 | - | - | 6,706 |
| M36 GMC | - | - | - | - | 1,400 | 924 | 2,324 |
| M7 HMC | - | - | 2,028 | 786 | 1,164 | 338 | 4,316 |
| M12 GMC | - | - | 60 | 40 | - | - | 100 |
| M30 Cargo Carrier | - | - | 60 | 40 | - | - | 100 |
| Total | 6 | 1,430 | 15,720 | 28,164 | 15,489 | 8,055 | 68,864 |
Notes:
The Pershing heavy tank (named after General Pershing) was the only heavy tank used in combat by the US armed forces during World War II. An earlier design, the Heavy Tank M6, was not accepted for large scale production and only 40 were produced. Work began in early 1945 to develop a significantly heavier variant of the M26 Pershing, the T32 Heavy Tank, but after the end of the World War II, the project was cancelled and the four prototype vehicles were scrapped.
| 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy M26 Pershing (90 mm M3 gun) | - | - | - | 40 | 2,162 | 2,202 |
| 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 150 | 99 | 18 | 365 | 4,021 | 26,608 | 37,198 | 20,357 | 88,816 |
The M3 Lee, officially Medium Tank, M3, was an American medium tank used during World War II. The turret was produced in two forms, one for US needs and one modified to British requirements to place the radio next to the commander. In British Commonwealth service, the tank was called by two names: tanks employing US pattern turrets were called "Lee", named after Confederate general Robert E. Lee, while those with British pattern turrets were known as "Grant", named after Union general Ulysses S. Grant.
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.
The 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 was an American self-propelled gun vehicle produced during World War II. It was given the official service name 105 mm Self Propelled Gun, Priest by the British Army, due to the pulpit-like machine gun ring, and following on from the Bishop and the contemporary Deacon self-propelled guns.
The M10 tank destroyer was an American tank destroyer of World War II. After US entry into World War II and the formation of the Tank Destroyer Force, a suitable vehicle was needed to equip the new battalions. By November 1941, the Army requested a vehicle with a gun in a fully rotating turret after other interim models were criticized for being too poorly designed. The prototype of the M10 was conceived in early 1942 and delivered in April that year. After appropriate changes to the hull and turret were made, the modified version was selected for production in June 1942 as the 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10. It mounted a 3-inch gun M7 in a rotating turret on a modified M4 Sherman tank chassis. An alternate model, the M10A1, which used the M4A3 variant chassis, was also produced. Production of the two models ran from September 1942 to December 1943 and October 1942 to November 1943, respectively.
The M4 Sherman tank was produced in several variants, a result of mass production spread across several manufacturers and several years. It was also the basis for a number of related vehicles and Shermans have been modified by several nations, ranging from upgrades to complete hull conversions for another task. Originally designed in 1941, M4 variants were still used by Israel during the 1967 and 1973 wars with its Arab neighbors.
The M101A1 howitzer is an artillery piece developed and used by the United States. It was the standard U.S. light field howitzer in World War II and saw action in both the European and Pacific theaters and during the Korean War. Entering production in 1941, it quickly gained a reputation for accuracy and a powerful punch. The M101A1 fires 105 mm high explosive (HE) semi-fixed ammunition and has a range of 12,330 yards (11,270 m), making it suitable for supporting infantry.
The 37 mm gun M3 is the first dedicated anti-tank gun fielded by United States forces in numbers. Introduced in 1940, it became the standard anti-tank gun of the U.S. infantry with its size enabling it to be pulled by a jeep. However, the continuing improvement of German tanks quickly rendered the 37 mm ineffective and, by 1943, it was being gradually replaced in the European and Mediterranean theaters by the more powerful British-developed 57 mm gun M1. In the Pacific, where the Japanese tank threat was less significant, the M3 remained in service until the end of the war, but some 57mm guns were issued.
The 3-inch gun M1918 was a United States 3-inch anti-aircraft gun that entered service in 1918 and served until it was largely superseded by the 3-inch anti-aircraft gun M3 in 1930, though the M1918 remained with some National Guard units until early in World War II. The M3 was subsequently replaced by the M1 90mm AA gun early in World War II, primarily during 1942. The M3 3" gun was later adapted for the anti-tank role, serving as the main armament of the M10 tank destroyer during World War II.
The 155 mm Gun Motor Carriage M40 was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle built on a widened and lengthened Medium Tank M4A3 chassis, but with a Continental engine and with HVSS, which was introduced at the end of the Second World War.
The 76 mm gun M1 was an American World War II–era tank gun developed by the U.S United States Ordnance Department in 1942 to supplement the 75 mm gun on the basic Medium tank M4. It was also used to arm the M18 Hellcat tank destroyer.
The 75 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M8 was a self-propelled howitzer vehicle of the United States in use during World War II. It was developed on the chassis of the M5 Stuart tank and was equipped with a M116 howitzer in an M7 mount.
The 75mm Pack Howitzer M1 was a pack howitzer artillery piece used by the United States. Designed to be moved across difficult terrain, gun and carriage could be broken down into several pieces to be carried by pack animals.
The United States has produced tanks since their inception in World War I, up until the present day. While there were several American experiments in tank design, the first American tanks to see service were copies of French light tanks and a joint heavy tank design with the United Kingdom.