"Seek, strike and destroy."
- Motto of the US Tank Destroyer Forces during World War II

In December 1941, the War Ordnance Department issued a requirement for the design of a fast tank destroyer which used the Christie suspension, the Wright Continental R-975 engine, and a 37mm gun.

After observing events in North Africa, it was decided that the 37mm gun was inadequate and the design changed to accommodate a 57mm gun instead. During a series of prototypes and tests, the design was further upgunned to a 75mm gun, and then to the 76mm gun. The Christie suspension was also dropped and replaced with a torsion bar suspension. The design was eventually standardized in February 1943 and production began in July.

The M18 first saw combat in northwest Europe and Italy during the summer of 1944. It excelled at ambush and hit-and-run tactics. Its low silhouette, high firepower and great speed gave it the capability of destroying all but the heaviest of German armor, although it was too lightly armored to stand and fight. One notable instance was that of the 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion. In July 1944, they reported the destruction of 53 Panthers and Tigers, along with 15 self-propelled guns for a loss of only 17 M18's.

In contrast to the M10 Wolverine, which used the chassis of the M4 Sherman, the M18 Hellcat was designed from the start to be a tank destroyer. As a result it was smaller, half the weight, and significantly faster yet still carried a powerful gun. There was also more internal stowage capacity, able to accommodate a five-man crew as well as 45 rounds of ammunition and a M2 machine gun.

There was only one variant of the M18 which saw any real production, the Armored Utility Vehicle M39. It was a turretless variation of the M18 that was used to transport personnel and cargo or act as a gun tractor.

The M18 continued in production until October 1944, when the war was nearing its end. At that time, some 2,500 vehicles had been produced.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a US M18 Hellcat light tank destroyer that was attached to the 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 5th Armored Division, then deployed to Italy during 1944. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 3-3/4-inches
Width: 1-3/4-inches

Release Date: August 2013

Historical Account: "Hard Fighting" - The 5th Armored Division plunged into combat in August 1944, when it was charged with seizing Le Mans in France. The unit swept between Coutances and St Lo, then across the Selune River thus starting the organization's 300 mile exploitation behind the German Seventh Army. Le Mans fell and the 5th pursued the enemy, wrecking their armor and inflicting heavy casualties all the way to the Seine River. The Euro-Seine Campaign, waged toward the end of August, was the culmination of a successful strike to the south bank of the Seine.

When September opened, the 5th began a 130-mile push from Paris north to Belgium. The Division cut through the Compiegne Forest, crossed the Olse and Aisne Rivers, and then the Somme. New orders sent the unit racing another 100 miles to the Meuse River, advancing southeast below the Belgium border. Speeding onward, the 5th figured in the freeing of Luxembourg. On September 11th, the Our River was crossed in the vicinity of Stalzembourg, and Germany had been entered. In November, the 5th Armored Division, along with the 90th Inf Division, participated in the original crossing of the Moselle River. Retarded by the terrain, weather and thousands of mines, the tankers and infantrymen fought a slow, hacking foot-by-foot engagement through the Huertgen Forest. They lived in mud, rain and ice and were constantly exposed to tremendous artillery fire. Fighting hard in December during the 'Bulge' period, the 5th greeted 1945 by continuing to advance through Germany and by crushing enemy armor within XV Corps objectives. At Coblenz, the unit smashed and then mopped up all enemy resistance. By Spring 1945, the Division had rolled to the Wesser River and in May, driving north of Brunswick, it reached the Elbe, fanning out in the vicinity of Tangermuonde, 50 miles northeast of Magdeburg. In crossing the Elbe the 5th became the nearest US unit to Berlin just prior to V-E Day.