Tankopedia
WW2Tank DestroyerUnited States

M18 Hellcat

In service 1943 - 1960s (foreign service)

The fastest tracked armoured vehicle of the war, built around the doctrine of ambushing tanks and racing away.

Built byBuick (General Motors)

M18 Hellcat
M18 hellcat side — Benzene at English Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5

Development history

The Hellcat embodied US tank destroyer doctrine: torsion-bar suspension, a huge power-to-weight ratio and an open-topped turret, with armour thin enough to be pierced by heavy machine guns. Used properly from cover it achieved a favourable kill ratio, most famously at Arracourt where Hellcat crews mauled German panzer brigades in fog. The doctrine died with the war, but the chassis lived on as the M39 carrier.

Variants

One canonical record, 2 recorded variants.

  1. M18 GMC

    1943

    Production standard with the 76 mm M1A1 in an open turret.

  2. M39 Armored Utility Vehicle

    1944

    Turretless carrier and prime mover version.

Notable actions

  • Anzio (1944)
  • Arracourt (1944)
  • Siege of Bastogne (1944)