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 deployed to Normandy during 1944. Sold Out!

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

Release Date: December 2020

Historical Account: "Shoot 'n Scoot" - On September 19th, 1944, in the Nancy bridgehead near Arracourt, France, the 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion was attached to the 4th Armored Division. Lt. Edwin Leiper led one M18 platoon of C Company to Rechicourt-la-Petite, on the way to Moncourt. He saw a German tank gun muzzle appearing out of the fog 30 feet away, and deployed his platoon. In a five-minute period, five German tanks of the 113th Panzer Brigade were knocked out for the loss of one M18. The platoon continued to fire and destroyed ten more German tanks while losing another two M18s. One of the platoon's M18s commanded by Sgt Henry R. Hartman knocked out six of the German tanks, most of which were the much-feared Panthers.

The M18 Hellcat was a key element during World War II in the Battle of the Bulge. From December 19th-20th, Team Desobry, a battalion-sized tank-infantry task force of the 10th Armored Division was assigned to defend Noville located north-northeast of both Foy and of Bastogne, just 4.36 mi (7.02 km) away. With just four M18 tank destroyers of the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion to assist, the paratroopers of 1st Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment attacked units of 2.Panzer Division, whose mission was to proceed by secondary roads via Monaville (just northwest of Bastogne) to seize a key highway and capture, among other objectives, fuel dumps -- for the lack of which the overall German counter-offensive faltered and failed. Worried about the threat to its' left flank in Bastogne, it organized a major joint arms attack to seize Noville. Team Desobry's high-speed highway journey to reach the blocking position is one of the few documented cases in which the top speed of the M18 Hellcat -- 50 mph (80 km/h) -- was actually used to get ahead of an enemy force.