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M24 Chaffee — Best Light Tank of WWII?
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
USMC6094
Professional
I would say no, because it arrived in theater so late that there were less than 10 on the Continent (Europe) before the 1945 New Year.......
And I have no idea the numbers that made it to the Philippines before cessation of hostilities in the Pacific.
Technically, yes it was far superior to the M3/M5, but it didn't have numbers to quantify being branded as "best", at least not IMHO.....
And I have no idea the numbers that made it to the Philippines before cessation of hostilities in the Pacific.
Technically, yes it was far superior to the M3/M5, but it didn't have numbers to quantify being branded as "best", at least not IMHO.....
Talyn
Emissary
The M24 served in Germany and Italy for the last five months of the war.
The first frontline unit to receive the Chaffee was the 744th Tank Battalion, one of only two tank battalions still equipped exclusively with light tanks (battalions at the time normally had three companies with Shermans and one with M5 Stuart light tanks).
It reequipped in January 1945 and first deployed them in combat in late February during Operation Grenade, the crossing of the Roer river. Cavalry reconnaissance squadrons, which badly needed the increased firepower of the M24, generally had priority, followed by the tank battalions of the armored divisions.
The independent tank battalions attached to infantry divisions received only a few. A small number went to units in Italy.
M24 strength in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO) increased from 128 in early February to 1,163 in early May when the fighting ended. That was about a third of the total light tank strength in the ETO.
tanks-encyclopedia.com
Among the units equipped with the M24 was the 761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers.
A tank crew from the 761st sit in their M24 Chaffee tank in a snowy
field around Bastogne, waiting to engage German forces during
the Battle of the Bulge. c.1944 U.S. Army
The first frontline unit to receive the Chaffee was the 744th Tank Battalion, one of only two tank battalions still equipped exclusively with light tanks (battalions at the time normally had three companies with Shermans and one with M5 Stuart light tanks).
It reequipped in January 1945 and first deployed them in combat in late February during Operation Grenade, the crossing of the Roer river. Cavalry reconnaissance squadrons, which badly needed the increased firepower of the M24, generally had priority, followed by the tank battalions of the armored divisions.
The independent tank battalions attached to infantry divisions received only a few. A small number went to units in Italy.
M24 strength in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO) increased from 128 in early February to 1,163 in early May when the fighting ended. That was about a third of the total light tank strength in the ETO.
Light Tank M24 Chaffee - Tank Encyclopedia
The Chaffee was the last American light tank of WW2, designed to replace the Stuart and had a long career postwar, in Indochina, Korea, and elsewhere.
tanks-encyclopedia.com
Among the units equipped with the M24 was the 761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers.
A tank crew from the 761st sit in their M24 Chaffee tank in a snowy
field around Bastogne, waiting to engage German forces during
the Battle of the Bulge. c.1944 U.S. Army
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