I think the next vehicle that should be implented into the roster M10 Achilles/ wovlerine with the 17 pdr anti tank gun.
this thing was a tank killer and it was fast.
M10
Type self-propelled anti-tank gun
Place of origin United Kingdom
Production history
Manufacturer converted by Royal Arsenal, Woolwich
Number built 1,100
Specifications
Weight 29.6 tonnes (65,000 lb)
Length 7.01 m (23 ft 8¼ in) including gun
5.97 m (19 ft 7 in) excluding gun
Width 3.05 m (10 ft)
Height 2.57 m (8 ft 2 in)
Crew 5 (Commander, 3 gun crew, driver)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armour 9 to 57.2 mm (0.3 to 2.3 in)
Primary
armament Ordnance QF 17 pounder (76.2 mm)
50 rounds
Secondary
armament .50 cal Browning M2HB machine gun (AA Configuration)
420 rounds
Bren light machine gun[1]
Engine General Motors 6046 Twin Diesel 6-71
375 hp (276 kW)
Power/weight 12.5 hp/tonne
Suspension Vertical Volute Spring Suspension (VVSS)
Operational
range 300 km (186 mi)
Speed 51 km/h (32 mph)
The 17 pdr SP Achilles was little more than a modified M10. The main difference between the Achilles and the original M10 was the gun. The main armament of the Achilles was the Ordnance QF 17 pounder, a gun with greatly superior anti-tank performance over the standard American 3" anti-tank gun.
The 17 pounder mounted on the Achilles was able to penetrate some 140 mm of armour at 500 m (550 yd) and 131 mm at 1,000 m (1,100 yd) using standard Armour Piercing, Capped, Ballistic Capped (APCBC) ammunition impacting at a 30 degree angle. When supplied, Armour-piercing discarding sabot (APDS) ammunition could penetrate some 209 mm (8 inches) of armour at 500 metres and 192 mm at 1,000 metres at a 30 degree angle. In comparison the 3-inch (76 mm) gun on the standard M10 using the same type of ammunition (APCBC) would penetrate 98 mm of armour at 500 m at a 30 degree angle, and 88 mm of armor at 1,000 meters at a 30 degree angle. Only with HVAP ammunition did the 3-inch (76 mm) gun compare with the 17 pounder, the ammunition being able to penetrate 140 mm at 500 m at a 30 degree angle, and 127 mm at 1,000 m at a 30 degree angle. However HVAP ammunition was in very short supply and it only just compared with the standard 17 pounder ammunition that was available in huge amounts for the British.
The 17 pounder required a counterweight fitted behind the muzzle brake on its long barrel. This gave the Achilles a distinctive appearance compared to the M10 and there were attempts to disguise this by painting the brake and counterweight in order to disguise them.
The only other change carried out on the Achilles was the addition of 17 mm (0.67 in) thick armour plates welded to the front and sides of the M10 to increase armour protection, as well as a 20 mm thick shield fitted to the top of the turret to provide protection from overhead threats that resulted from the M10 having an open top turret.
Unlike the Americans, who saw the M10 as a tank hunter, the British viewed the Achilles as a mobile anti-tank gun. The standard anti-tank gun used alongside infantry units in the British Army was the 6 pounder anti-tank gun, a small, light, yet effective gun able to defeat the more common German Panzer IV and Sturmgeschütz with regular ammunition, but not the heavier Tigers and Panthers. The next generation British gun, the 17 pounder anti-tank gun, was an extremely effective gun able to deal with Tigers and Panthers, but at the same time a very heavy and unwieldy weapon that could take over 12 hours to move into position and properly dig in and camouflage. The British knew from experience that the Germans often would immediately launch a counterattack against any taken objectives, and it simply took too long to set up the 17 pounders before the German heavy tanks could overrun the infantry's position.
As a result, the British used the Achilles as a quickly deployable anti-tank gun, able to quickly reinforce a position taken by infantry and immediately lay down devastating fire with their 17 pounders on counter-attacking German forces while the slower towed 17 pounders were pulled up and dug in for a more long-term defensive presence. This setup also had the additional advantage of somewhat neutralizing the vulnerability of weak armour protection of the Achilles, as being used defensively usually allowed it to fire the critical, and often lethal, first shot. Usually, the only time the British used the M10 and Achilles offensively was in support of Churchill tank units as they did not have associated 17 pdr armed tanks like Sherman and Cromwell tank troops did.
Achilles went ashore on D-Day, equipping units of the Royal Artillery and Royal Canadian Artillery in Anti-tank Regiments. Perhaps the most successful action of the Achilles was conducted by B troop, 245th Battery, 62nd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery attached to the Hamilton Light Infantry during Operation Charnwood. A mixed German force of Mark IVs and Panthers from the 12th SS Panzer Division attempted to retake the town of Buron that had been captured earlier by the Canadians. The eight Achilles of B troop had however set up in an orchard looking south towards Abbaye d'Ardenne, and were ideally placed when the Panzers began their counter-attack. In the brief action, 13 German tanks were knocked out and the attack fell apart.
