M24 Chaffee Light Tank British Army, 1946 (1:72)

Originally designated as Light Tank T24 during development the tank became the M24 when it went into production in 1944. The total weight of the vehicle was kept less than 20 tons by using light armor that was sloped. The designers kept the silhouette low but managed to make it a three-man turret. A new lighter weight 75mm gun was developed and it was all carried on wide tracks and a torsion bar suspension. The last of the 4,731 M24s was produced in August 1945.

Since the M24 was late entering WWII there weren�t many of these tanks exported under the Lend Lease program. The British Army received 302 M24s between 1944 and 1945 and labelled them the Chaffee. These were deployed in April 1945 to replace the M5A1 Stuarts that proved to be woefully inadequate. Some British units that received the M24 were the recon squadrons of 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoons Guards and the 8th Hussars with the 7th Armoured Division. At the end of WWII the 7th had lost at least two M24s and still had 28 M24s in their inventory.

Specifications M24 Chaffee

Type: Light Tank

Country of Origin: United States

Length of production: 1944 � August 1945
Number produced: 4,731

Weight: 40,500 lb (18.4 tonnes)

Performance
Engine: 2 X Cadillac Series 44T24, 16 cylinder 300/220 hp (220/164 kW)
Power/weight: 16.09 hp/tonne
Suspension: Torsion bar
Range: 100 mi (161 km)
Speed:
Off road � 25 mph (40 km/h)
On road � 37 mph (56 km/h)

Dimensions
Length:
With gun � 18.24 ft (5.56 m)
Without gun � 16.5 ft (5.03 m)
Width: 9.84 ft (3 m)
Height: 9.08 ft (2.77 m)

Crew: 5 X (Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, Co-driver)

Armor: 0.37 in - 1.49 in (9.5 mm � 25 mm)

Armament
Primary � 1 X 75 mm M6 gun with 48 rounds
Secondary -
1 X .50 cal Browning M2HB machine gun with 440 rounds
2 X .30-06 Browning M1919A4 machine guns with 3,750 rounds