M18 Hell-Cat

Looking for a combination of speed and firepower, the fledgling U.S. Tank Destroyer Force wanted something other than the M10, a tank destroyer built on a Sherman chassis. Buick came up with T70 which would become the M18 and carried the same 76mm gun used on the Sherman on an all-new platform that could hit 50 mph. First used in Italy, the Hell-Cat became a potent tank destroyer with one of the best kill-to-loss ratios among U.S armor in World War II. It's been a popular modeling subject, spurred on by the recent release of a 1/35 scale kit from Tamiya.

For information and inspiration to build one of these vehicles, try M18 Hell-Cat: 76mm Gun Motor Carriage in World War II by David Doyle. Part of Schiffer’s Legends of Warfare Ground series the 112-page hardcover is chockful of information and photos of the tank destroyer.

The first chapter charts the Hell-Cat’s development with dozens of photos of the T70 prototype and early production vehicles as well as a fascinating series of images shot on the production line showing M18s in various states of construction. It is complemented by photos of a surviving Hell-Cat. In the second section, Doyle looks at some of the vehicles derived from the M18, including the widely used M39 armored utility vehicle, a mortar carrier, and a self-propelled flamethrower.

The meat of the book is the third section that shows the tank destroyer in action from Italy, France, the Ardennes, and Germany to the Pacific and Korea. The large photos provide lots of detail about weathering, mud, how stowage was packed, crew positions, maintenance, and whitewash. I saw a couple of photos that would make great dioramas.