Every so often an armoured vehicle is produced that seems to be the perfect balance of design for the purpose for which it was intended
Hailed by armour experts as one of the finest US tank designs of World War Two, the M24 Chaffee’s late arrival in the conflict, unfortunately, limited its combat service, but its modernity ensured export around the world and its use in many post-war conflicts.
British battle experience in North Africa and US experience in the Philippines and Tunisia showed shortcomings in the M3 Stuart light tank, especially in the power of the 37mm main gun armament. A search began to produce a light tank with a 75mm gun. The M3 and M5 tanks could not mount the larger gun and the armour was too thin for the battlefield. A new design called the T7 was developed but its weight grew to more than 25 tons and was considered too heavy for a light tank. In April 1943 the Ordnance Corps and Cadillac, which manufactured the M5 light tank, started work on a totally new project called Light Tank T24. The weight was to be kept under 20 tons by having relatively thin armour. The glacis plate was only 25mm thick but well sloped to give much better resistance to incoming shot. The sides also recei…
