The HORRORS of American Tank Destroyer Crews

Описание: During World War II, the US Army built tanks and tank destroyers. Logically, you'd think the tank destroyers were supposed to be better at destroying tanks. They weren't. The whole concept was such a disaster that by the end of the war, every single tank destroyer battalion was dissolved and the entire branch was scrapped for good.

This video covers how America watched France get overrun by German armor and panicked into creating a separate branch to handle enemy tanks. You'll learn why the doctrine treated tank destroyers like a fire department, held in reserve until armored spearheads broke through, and why the vehicles built around that doctrine had open-top turrets and thin armor because speed was supposed to be their protection. The M10 needed 80 seconds to rotate its hand-cranked turret. The M18 Hellcat was the fastest tracked vehicle of the war but had half an inch of armor. And when both met the Panther in Normandy, their guns bounced off the frontal plate at 200 yards.

The video gets into Kasserine Pass, the Bocage, the Hürtgen Forest where tree bursts turned those open turrets into death traps, and Bastogne, the one time in the entire war that tank destroyer doctrine actually worked as intended. A force of 100,000 men was built for a concept that succeeded exactly once. By war's end, commanders unanimously agreed they'd rather have a real tank.

Chapters:

0:00 The doctrine and early gun motor carriages
5:05 M10 and the first combat tests
9:45 M18 Hellcat and the open turret problem
14:16 Normandy, the Panther crisis, and the M36
20:30 The Bulge and the end of the branch




Script written by:   / andreja-rakocevic  

Contact: [email protected]

Unbelievable True Stories covers the forgotten and surprising corners of history.

Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61587274704384

X: x.com/UTStoriesYT

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/utsproducti...


Unbelievable True Stories covers the forgotten and surprising corners of history.

© Unbelievable True Stories 2025