History
The latest tank destroyer developed and built by the United Stated Army during World War Two was the 90 mm Gun Motor Carriage, M36. The U.S. Army noticed that the M10 Wolverine tank destroyer was not capable of taking out the newer German tanks like the Panzerkampfwagen V, Panther, and Panzerkampfwagen VI, Tiger, tanks at higher distances. The standard tank destroyer with its 76.2 mm – M7 gun was rapidly becoming obsolete.
Although the M10 had a reliable chassis and suspension, the 3 inch gun was not powerful enough to make a difference. The U.S. army developed an updated tank destroyer carrying a 90 mm gun in 1942. The M3 – 90 mm gun was too heavy for the M10’s turret so it had to be redesigned. Construction started after tests and approval from the Army Group Forces and the first M36 Tank destroyers left the factories in 1944.
The Ordnance Department assigned the nickname “General Jackson” or “Jackson” for use in newspapers and publicity purposes but the name seems not to be used by the troops.
Versions
There were three versions built during the war. At first the 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10A1 Wolverine chassis was used to construct the 90 mm Gun Motor Carriage M36. The M4A3 Sherman chassis was used to build the 90 mm Gun Motor Carriage M36B1 and the hull of a M10 was used to build the 90 mm Gun Motor Carriage M36B2. The prototype was called 90 mm Gun Motor Carriage T71.
In total there were 2324 M36’s produced.
– 1413 x M36
– 187 x M36B1
– 724 x M36B2
There were two other trials known, a 90 mm Gun Motor Carriage T53 and a 90 mm Gun Motor Carriage T53E1 but these did not make it to the production line.
Specifications
The M36 had a crew of five, driver, assistant driver, gunner, loader and commander. It was 3.05 meters wide, 3.28 meters high (with a machine gun) and 7.47 meters long (with a gun). It weighed 29.000 kilograms. The main gun was 90 mm with 47 rounds and it had a .50 caliber (12.7 mm) Browning M2HB machine gun with 1000 rounds and 12 handgrenades. Its operational range was 240 kilometers and the tank destroyer reached a top speed of 42 km/h on roads. It had an armor of 9.5 mm at its weakest poin to 127 mm frontal armor.
The 90 mm M3 gun had an armor penetration – with the HVAP M304 (APCR-T) shell – at 30 degrees obliquity of 221 mm at 460 meters, 199 mm at 910 meters, 176 mm at 150 1370 meters and 156 mm at 1820 meters. Enough to penetrate the armor of even the most heavy German tanks.
This specific M36 Jackson
The 90 mm Gun Motor Carriage M36 Jackson “Big Chief” on the photos is a M36 based on a M10A1 build in 1943 (serial number 2338). It was converted to a M36 GMC in 1944 (serial number 1180). TheM36 Jackson was used in Yugoslavia after the war and the Yugoslav army installed a Russian T-55 diesel engine in the tank destroyer. It was completely restored to its old self in 2017-2018 with as American 8 cylinder Ford GAA engine. The M36 Jackson was formerly known as “Tiger Tamer” before its name was changed into “Big Chief”.
