The OTHER Hellcat

Yeah the U.S. had another Hellcat besides the Grumman Zero beater. This one remained firmly planted on Terra Firma however. She was the M-18 Hellcat, member of a unique class of vehicles known as Tank Destroyers. In fact the whole Tank Destroyer concept was unique and short lived, lasting only from 1941 to 1945.

When Germany shocked the world with Blitzkrieg, especially the one that roared through France in Spring 1940, the still existing large armies scrambled to find an answer to the new threat. The U.S.A. frantically geared up to create a large force of tanks, as quickly as possible. One segment of the thinkers envisioned an offshoot of an armored force to be dedicated to stopping an attack by swarms of concentrated enemy armor, like say, a Blitzkrieg. The force would be made up of towed anti-tank guns and mobile, self-propelled units. The first mobile tank destroyers were, shall we say, less than imposing. The 1940 37mm anti tank gun was the heavy hitter. This was mounted on a truck and called the M6. The next lash up was the M3 Halftrack with an updated 75mm French WW1 cannon. This vehicle saw some success but was labeled by others as the "Purple Heart Box". The M-10 was the first appropriate tank destroyer, mounting a 3 inch (76mm) gun and having decent armor and speed. A major characteristic of the M-10 was it's open top turret, this for good vision and situational awareness for the commander, to engage multiple Blitzkriegers with efficiency. But the TD boys wanted more speed and firepower, and Detroit was working on it.

What was wanted was a faster TD, with a better gun. The suspension on the new TD was coil spring with large wheels, the engine a 9 cylinder radial, like the M4 Sherman's. Armor was 12.7 mm only proof against small arms fire and artillery fragments, keeping the vehicle light. The 76mm M1A1 was also used in up gunned Shermans and had adequate armor piercing capability. The object was to have a "shoot and scoot" machine, to use from Ambush, and change position quickly, trying to gain the enemy's flank. The open top turret was retained for fast firing and the power traverse was also quite rapid. The new TD could do 55 mph on roads, and penetrate Panther and Tiger frontal armor at closer ranges. Chances for the TD's to do what they were designed for, stopping massed armor attacks, were few. But when they got the chance, they performed extremely well. Much of their time was spent in supporting infantry, or doing indirect fire missions. When the dust settled, the M-18 was judged the best TD in service, having racked up 498 kills in Europe. After the war. the TD service was disbanded, as the new 90mm tanks could now do it's job. It served in several smaller armies for a few years later.

Tamiya's new kit of the M-18 is as you would expect, and we finally have an accurate Hellcat. The usual high quality engineering and fit is present. Wheels and axles don't wobble on a Tamiya. The tracks are particularly good link and length units, having pins on the rear wheels to line things up. I built mine in 4 parts, 2 halves each side, for painting ease. Precise fit allows this. The turret interior is very busy, I actually had a bit of a problem figuring where a couple of the parts attached, something I never see on a Tam. The thin bar across the top kept getting broken by Mr. Hamfist so I replaced it with some wire. Can't see how the crew had much room to move around in this cage.

Painting started with overall black, then white upper areas and some pre "mottling". Mr. Color Olive drab was base coat, with light and dark shades for variation. A coat of Tamiya acrylic semi gloss was next, then it was decal time. I got a set of Echelon decals for this, and chose the 705th TD battalion, as it was very active in Europe in '44-'45. It also featured a large yellow rimmed Star and the Cool Tank Destroyer "Panther eating a tank" badge, plus the name "Hells Angels". Another semi-gloss coat and it's oil time, streaking done on the upper surfaces with various Abteilung oils. Lowers and trod-upon surfaces were done with good 'ol Tamiya Muds.

American vehicles are always covered with "stowage", so I obliged with mostly Value Gear items using the handy baskets on the turret sides. I made a couple items from Tamiya masking tape and hung them with straps made of the same, and some spare etched buckles. Also made this way were the leather straps to hold the tools onto their brackets. I had some aftermarket tow cable and used this in lieu of Tamiya's rope. The Commander figure provided looks pretty good, I did him up in Vallejo colors, and gave his binoculars a strap. A map is given in the plans and fits his hand just so.

So this fast Cat is on the loose. Actually if you think about it, it's a pretty nasty tomcat, built as it was to tear the fur off of Panthers and Tigers. Maybe I will go back to my built and painted M-10, and actually finish it and her crew. And the half built M3 gun motor carriage, my M3 anti tank gun or an M-36...

                                  "SEEK, STRIKE, DESTROY"      MOTTO OF THE TANK DESTROYERS

9 additional images. Click to enlarge.