108Close Combat

Marder III Self-Propelled Antitank Gun

Weight 9,700 kg (21,340 lbs)

Maximum speed 42 km/h (26 mph)

Main gun 76.2-mm Pak 36

Armor 10 to 50 mm (0.4 to 1.97 in.)

The Marder III was one of several German self- propelled artillery designs based on the Czech LT-38 light tank chassis. Its 76.2-mm Pak 36 antitank gun was actually a captured Russian FK296 gun modified to fire the German Pak 40 artillery round. The Germans built 344 of these hybrid vehicles in 1942 and made 19 more by modifying existing tanks. The Marder III first served in the North African campaign in 1942.

M10 Tank Destroyer

Weight 29,938 kg (66,013 lb)

Maximum speed 48 km/h (29.8 mph)

Main gun 76.2 mm (3 in.)

Armor 12 mm to 37 mm (0.47 to 1.46 in.)

The Gun Motor Carriage M10 was a tank destroyer based on the M4A2 (and later the M4A3) Sherman tank. The top of the hull was flattened to lower the profile, and lighter armor gave the M10 increased mobility. Its open-topped turret carried a converted 76.2-mm antiaircraft gun. Between June 1942 and December 1943, 7,000 M10s were built; they figured prominently in the fighting in Normandy, where their mobility and firepower were put to the test.

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Microsoft Close Combat manual M10 Tank Destroyer, Marder III Self-Propelled Antitank Gun