looks at more open-topped German artillery vehicles.
Another week, another 28mm Bolt Action vehicle release! This time, U.S. forces get a helping hand against those German big cats in the form of the potent M36/B1 Tank Destroyer…
With the advent of heavy German armor such as the Panther and Tiger, the standard U.S. tank destroyer, the 3″ Gun Motor Carriage M10, was rapidly becoming obsolete because its main armament, the 3″ M7 gun, had difficulty engaging these new tanks past 500 meters. This problem was foreseen, however, and in September 1942, American engineers had begun designing a new tank destroyer armed with the M3 90mm gun.
The first M36 prototype was completed in March 1943, with a new turret mounting the 90mm M3 gun on a standard M10 chassis. Like all U.S. tank destroyers, the turret was open-topped to save weight and provide better observation.
It was not until September 1944 that the vehicle first began to appear in the European Theater of Operations. The need for 90mm gunned tank destroyers was so urgent that, during October-December 1944, 187 conversions of standard Medium Tank M4A3 hulls were produced by Grand Blanc Arsenal.
These vehicles, designated M36B1, were rushed to the European Theater of Operations and used in combat alongside standard M36s. The M36 was well liked by its crews, being one of the few armored fighting vehicles available to U.S. forces that could destroy heavy German tanks from a distance.