M10 and M36 Tank Destroyers 1942-53 (New Vanguard) [Paperback]

Steven Zaloga (Author), Peter Sarson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2002 | Series: New Vanguard (Book 57)

The US Army had a unique tactical doctrine during World War II, placing the emphasis for tank fighting on its Tank Destroyer Command whose main early-war vehicle was the M10 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage, based on the reliable M4A2 Sherman tank chassis. This durable and versatile vehicle saw combat service from the North Africa campaign in 1943. By 1944, its gun was not powerful enough and it was rearmed with the new 90 mm gun, becoming the M36 90mm Gun Motor Carriage. This book details one of the only US armoured vehicles capable of dealing with the Panther and Tiger during the Battle of the Bulge.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The unrivalled illustrated reference on fighting vehicles, transport and artillery through the ages. Each volume is illustrated throughout, making these books uniquely accessible to history enthusiasts of all ages.

About the Author

Steven J. Zaloga was born in 1952, received his BA in history from Union College, and his MA from Columbia University. He has published numerous books and articles dealing with modern military technology, especially armoured vehicle development. His main area of interest is military affairs in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the Second World War, and he has also written extensively on American armoured forces.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (August 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841764698
• ISBN-13: 978-1841764696
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #717,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven Zaloga is a senior analyst for Teal Group Corp., an aerospace consulting firm. His professional specialization is the commercial and technological aspects of the international trade in missiles, precision guided munitions, and unmanned aerial vehicles. He also serves as an adjunct staff member with the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federal think-tank.

Mr. Zaloga has published numerous books and articles on military technology and military history. His books have been translated into Japanese, German, Polish, Czech, Romanian, and Russian. He has been a special correspondent for "Jane's Intelligence Review" and is on the executive board of the "Journal of Slavic Military Studies". From 1987 through 1992, he was the writer/director for Video Ordnance Inc., preparing their TV series "Firepower" that aired on The Discovery Channel in the US.

Mr. Zaloga was born in 1952 and received his BA in history from Union College, Schenectady, NY. He received an MA in history from Columbia University specializing in modern East European history, and did graduate research and language study at Uniwersitet Jagiellonski in Krakow, Poland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good History of the M10 Tank Destroyer..., February 2, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: M10 and M36 Tank Destroyers 1942-53 (New Vanguard) (Paperback)

This book describes American tank destroyer development from the unauspicious beginnings with the cheesy M5 that constantly broke down, various prototypes that weren't put in production, and halftrack mounted guns to the effective M10 and M18 76mm gun tank destroyers. Several pages describe the conversion of M10s with a new turret armed with a 90mm gun which became the M36 tank destroyer, the shortage of M10 hulls requiring some to be completed with Sherman tank hulls, as well as the British M10C Achilles armed with the much vaunted 17-Pounder gun.

After reading this book, I feel it should have been titled "The M10 Tank Destroyer...Oh Yeah, And The M36 Too". While I had no idea before reading this book that M36 tank destroyers are mostly converted M10s and also are not officially called 'Jackson', the deployment history of the 90mm M36 series feels abbreviated. Like Zaloga's M4A3(76mm) Sherman 1943-1965 book, post-war use is sparse, with only a page and a quarter of text but several nice pictures and caption commentary filling in for the laconic state of the post-war section. I certainly would have appreciated more details on how some of these foreign customers of the M10 and M36 used them; instead, the nations are described in passing, such as the Western European allies, Egypt, South Korea, Pakistan, and Yugoslavia, with no unit descriptions or how they fared in battle. It really is unfortunate that considering the Zaloga quality of work of the development and deployment of the M10 76mm gun tank destroyer, the M36 90mm gun tank destroyer appears like an afterthought that was appended merely to flesh out a book about the M10.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent treatment on U.S. Tank Destroyers in WWII, October 26, 2004

By 

moviemusicbuff (Walnut, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: M10 and M36 Tank Destroyers 1942-53 (New Vanguard) (Paperback)

Steven Zaloga is one of my favorite writers on AFVs and Tanks. This new series does not disappoint. I was particularly interested in the performances of the M10 and M36 in combat, and Zaloga describes those in detail, in particular the inadequacies of the 76mm gun in combat and the effectiveness of the 90mm, especially against the German Panther and Tiger tanks in the Ardennes. What I really liked were the little charts that Zaloga inserts throughout the book, which shows statistics such as the armor penetration comparisons of the 76mm & 90mm, the production numbers of the M10 and M36 in 1943-1944, the combat losses, and the conversion numbers of M10s into M36s. As usual, the Vanguard series offers great B & W photographs as well as colored illustrations of the vehicles in the middle. Zaloga always includes a good bibliography and notes on the color plates. Zaloga is able to pack it a lot of information in 48 pages of text. This is an excellent treatment of the M10 & M36. If you're an armor enthusiast or a modeler, you'll enjoy this book. Highly recommended!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Summary, June 25, 2010

By 

V. Phipps "vrphipps" (Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: M10 and M36 Tank Destroyers 1942-53 (New Vanguard) (Paperback)

I found the book to be a thorough and complete review of tank destroyers during that time period. Included is a discussion of their usage and history as well as usage in WWII battles where they played a key role.