M36 Jackson
According to US Army doctrine during World War II, the primary job of medium tanks like the M4 Sherman was to exploit a breakthrough in enemy lines; it was not to take on other tanks. That was the job of the tank destroyer: lightly armored, highly mobile vehicles with a heavy antitank gun. Soon after the United States entered World War II in December 1941, the US Army adopted the M10 as their standard tank destroyer. The M10 was based on the Sherman chassis and used a 76mm gun.
Only a year later, however, the Army received intelligence that the Germans were developing heavy tanks--the Panther and Tiger series--with thick armor that the M10 would not be able to penetrate at anything but close range. Work began on a version of the M10 that armed a 90mm gun, which would be able to destroy any German tank at range. This was designated the M36 Jackson, named for Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.
The Jackson arrived in Europe in September 1944--just in time, since the Shermans were struggling against the Panther and Tiger, to say nothing of the even heavier King Tiger. The 90mm proved capable of destroying Panthers fairly easily; Tigers were a little tougher, and King Tigers could only be destroyed by hitting the same spot twice. M36 crews tried for side and rear shots whenever possible, but were instructed not to duel German tanks: since the Jackson was only thinly armored, a return shot would destroy the M36. The open-topped design used by US tank destroyers, to save weight, was found to be miserable in bad weather, and too vulnerable to German grenades and snipers. A folding overhead armored roof was issued, but most tank destroyer units did not get them before the end of the war and found them cramped in any case. Despite the drawbacks in design, the Jackson was a superb tank destroyer, arguably one of the best of the war.
After World War II, Jacksons would be retired from the US Army, though quite a few served in Korea against Communist T-34s. Others served with the French in Indochina, with Pakistan against India, and with former Yugoslavian forces in the wars of the 1990s. Taiwan did not retire their M36s until 2001.
Seeing this M36 at the National Museum of Military Vehicles was great, as my great-uncle was a gunner on M36s during World War II, serving with the 731st Tank Destroyer Battalion. This Jackson is a bit on the plain side, aside from the name "Avenger" on the turret, but I'd never seen a M36 before. To actually see what my relative rode into war on was really something, and this alone would've made the trip worth it.
M36 Jackson
According to US Army doctrine during World War II, the primary job of medium tanks like the M4 Sherman was to exploit a breakthrough in enemy lines; it was not to take on other tanks. That was the job of the tank destroyer: lightly armored, highly mobile vehicles with a heavy antitank gun. Soon after the United States entered World War II in December 1941, the US Army adopted the M10 as their standard tank destroyer. The M10 was based on the Sherman chassis and used a 76mm gun.
Only a year later, however, the Army received intelligence that the Germans were developing heavy tanks--the Panther and Tiger series--with thick armor that the M10 would not be able to penetrate at anything but close range. Work began on a version of the M10 that armed a 90mm gun, which would be able to destroy any German tank at range. This was designated the M36 Jackson, named for Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.
The Jackson arrived in Europe in September 1944--just in time, since the Shermans were struggling against the Panther and Tiger, to say nothing of the even heavier King Tiger. The 90mm proved capable of destroying Panthers fairly easily; Tigers were a little tougher, and King Tigers could only be destroyed by hitting the same spot twice. M36 crews tried for side and rear shots whenever possible, but were instructed not to duel German tanks: since the Jackson was only thinly armored, a return shot would destroy the M36. The open-topped design used by US tank destroyers, to save weight, was found to be miserable in bad weather, and too vulnerable to German grenades and snipers. A folding overhead armored roof was issued, but most tank destroyer units did not get them before the end of the war and found them cramped in any case. Despite the drawbacks in design, the Jackson was a superb tank destroyer, arguably one of the best of the war.
After World War II, Jacksons would be retired from the US Army, though quite a few served in Korea against Communist T-34s. Others served with the French in Indochina, with Pakistan against India, and with former Yugoslavian forces in the wars of the 1990s. Taiwan did not retire their M36s until 2001.
Seeing this M36 at the National Museum of Military Vehicles was great, as my great-uncle was a gunner on M36s during World War II, serving with the 731st Tank Destroyer Battalion. This Jackson is a bit on the plain side, aside from the name "Avenger" on the turret, but I'd never seen a M36 before. To actually see what my relative rode into war on was really something, and this alone would've made the trip worth it.