Development
The German victory over France in 1940 using armored divisions profoundly impressed the United States Army. Realizing that defense against tanks was essential, an urgent requirement was issued for the development of tank destroyers for the U.S. Army. In June 1941, an M3 Half-track was mated with a 75 mm gun M1897A4, which was an American version of the famous "French 75" of World War I fame. This experimental vehicle was known as the T12, and proved to work remarkably well given the speed with which it was developed. Standardized in October 1941 as the 75 mm GMC M3, over 2,200 75 mm GMC M3s were produced until April 1943. However, a large number of them were converted back to standard halftracks before issue to troop units, resulting in only 842 seeing field service. The GMC M3A1 was a variant that used a different gun mount. The 75 mm GMC M3 was reclassified first as limited standard and later, in 1944, as obsolete.
Read more about this topic: M3 Gun Motor Carriage
Famous quotes containing the word development:
“As a final instance of the force of limitations in the development of concentration, I must mention that beautiful creature, Helen Keller, whom I have known for these many years. I am filled with wonder of her knowledge, acquired because shut out from all distraction. If I could have been deaf, dumb, and blind I also might have arrived at something.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“Men are only as good as their technical development allows them to be.”
—George Orwell (1903–1950)
“As long as fathers rule but do not nurture, as long as mothers nurture but do not rule, the conditions favoring the development of father-daughter incest will prevail.”
—Judith Lewis Herman (b. 1942)