I'd like to see those specifications. So is what I am gathering from you, wrongway, is that they are indeed 2 different cartridges and are not interchangeable???
I've searched the intardnet and cannot find specifications.
My only references are the Osprey Books on the M10 and M36 and M18 Hellcat, both by Steven J. Zaloga.
From
M10 and M36 Tank Destroyers 1942-53 p.18:
During development of the rival M18 76mm GMC, Ordinance designed a new, lighter-weight 76mm gun better suited for use in tanks or tank destroyers. Tj=his gun fired the same projectile as the 3-inch gun, but was labeled as a 76mm gun since it used a different ammunition type with a new propellant casing that would not fit in the 3-inch gun,....
Pp.34-35 RE: HVAP ammo:
In September 1944, ETOUSA headquarters cabled back to the United States that they needed 43,000 rounds split evenly between 3-inch and 76mm guns, by January 1945, and 10,000 rounds monthly after that. However, tungsten was in such short supply that through early March 1945, only about 18,000 rounds arrived in Europe, including about 10,500 rounds for the M10 tank destroyers.
From
M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer 1943-97 Pp.23-24:
RE: HVAP production order as above:
The production was to be equally divided between 76mm and 3-inch, the latter for the M10 3-in. tank destroyer.
RE: HVAP distribution:
By early march 1945, a total of about 18,000 rounds of HVAP had been delivered to the ETO of which about 7,550 were 76mm rounds (42 percent) and the rest 3-in. ammunition for the M10 tank destroyers.
Essentially, since both books are by the same author, probably using the same research, it is only one source.
wrongway
