Only after the Nazis invaded Poland and France did the United States Government authorise mass production of tanks. By the end of the War American industry had built nearly 90,000 tanks, more than Germany and Great Britain combined. The first big order in May 1940 was for 365 M2A4 light tanks, the initial iteration of the Stuart series, with almost 24,000 constructed. The Stuart series was supplemented by almost 5,000 units of the M24 Chaffee light tank. There was also the failed M22 Locust light tank intended for airborne operations. The M4 series of medium tanks, best known as the Sherman, were the most numerous with some 50,000 in service with not only the American military but British and other Allied armies. It was not until later in the war that the M26 Pershing heavy tank was built. Initially the US Army doctrine saw tanks as primarily for the exploitation role. Later the concept of tank destroyers evolved to counter large scale German armored offensives. These defensive AFVs included the half-track-based 75mm Gun Motor Carriage M3 and the full-tracked M10, M18, and M36. This comprehensive and superbly illustrated book describes in authoritative detail the characteristics and contribution to victory of these formidable fighting vehicles. AUTHOR: Michael Green is the author of numerous acclaimed books in the Images of War series including Armour in Vietnam, US Navy Aircraft Carriers, US Battleships, US Navy Submarines, The Patton Tank, US Naval Aviation, American Infantry Weapons, MI Abrams Tank, Combat Aircraft of the USAF, Allied Tanks of the Second World War, Allied AFVs of the Second World War, Axis Tanks of the Second World War , Axis AFVs of WW2, US Military Helicopters, United States Airborne Divisions 1942-2018, US Marine Corps in Vietnam, US Army Armoured Divisions and US Marine Corps in the Korean War. Most recently he compiled American Artillery From 1775 to the Present Day in a stand-alone format. He lives in California.
200 b/w illustrations