| M24 Chaffee |
| M24 Chaffee Light Tank Crew: 5 Armament: one 75mm gun, one .50cal mg, two .30cal mg's Armor: 63.5mm maximum, 9mm minimum Weight: 18,400 kg Performance: 34 mph road speed, 100 miles range History: Entered service with the US army in 1944. The M24 entered the scene late in the war. It can probably be considered the best light tank of the era. It was carefully and thoughtfully developed, and included many advances in the field of light tanks. Its 75mm gun gave it more firepower then almost any tank at the beginning of the war, yet it retained the high maneuverability and speed of a light tank. It had a low silhouette, and armor that was well sloped and lacked any shot traps. The 75mm gun functioned equally well as a close support weapon and AT weapon. All in all the Chaffee accomplished everything that was asked of it, and then some. |
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