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11 unusual facts about M18 Hellcat


602nd Tank Destroyer Battalion

It remained in the United States until 1944, when it was moved to the United Kingdom, deploying into Normandy in late August equipped with M18 Hellcats.

603rd Tank Destroyer Battalion

It remained in the United States until 1944, when it was moved to the United Kingdom, deploying into Normandy in late July equipped with M18 Hellcats.

633rd Tank Destroyer Battalion

It deployed into France in April 1945, equipped with M18 Hellcat tank destroyers, attached to 16th Armored Division.

705th Tank Destroyer Battalion

The battalion sailed for Normandy in July, and was landed at Utah Beach on the 18th, equipped with M18 Hellcat tank destroyers.

805th Tank Destroyer Battalion

It re-equipped with M18 Hellcats in the summer of 1944, but continue to be used mainly for indirect-fire missions through the remainder of the war, attached to a variety of different units during the drive north.

809th Tank Destroyer Battalion

It arrived in France on 20 January 1945, equipped with M18 Hellcat tank destroyers.

824th Tank Destroyer Battalion

In the last week of March, the battalion finally withdrew to refit with the M18 Hellcat self-propelled tank destroyer.

After conversion to M18 Hellcat self-propelled tank destroyers, the battalion moved into Germany, helping force a bridgehead over the Neckar River at the Battle of Heilbronn.

827th Tank Destroyer Battalion

It finally returned to a self-propelled unit, equipped with M18 Hellcats.

M18 Hellcat

On September 19, 1944, in the Nancy Bridgehead near Arracourt, France, the 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion was attached to the 4th Armored Division.

In December 1941, the Ordnance Corps issued a requirement for the design of a fast tank destroyer using a Torsion bar suspension, the Wright/Continental R-975 engine, and a 37 mm gun.