Tag Archives: tank destroyer

American Tank Destroyer M18 Hellcat (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 376-3800 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘American Tank Destroyer M18 Hellcat’.

American Tank Destroyer M18 Hellcat

History

The M18 Hellcat was an American tank destroyer developed to counter the German Army tanks, and it featured an open top design turret and powerful 76mm gun, plus a main gun breech rotated 45 degrees around the gun barrel to save space in the turret interior.

It had a compact, lightweight hull, automatic transmission and the first torsion bar suspension seen on U.S. armor. Its radial 9-cylinder engine at the hull rear was capable of 80 km/h maximum speed which was the highest speed among tracked vehicles during WWII.

The production started in July, 1943 and the Hellcat was in service for the first time at the Italian Front in 1944. After that, this tank destroyer was deployed in the North-Western European and Pacific War theaters, notably besting the German Army tanks with super performance and firepower based on hit-and-run tactics. The Hellcat contributed to U.S. victory as a pioneer of tank destroyers.

Source: Tamiya website

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German Marder I (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 370 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Tank Destroyer Marder I’.

German Tank Destroyer Marder I

History

With the fall of France in June 1940 Nazi Germany came into not only new territory, but also a large amount of captured materiel.

Many of the French armored vehicles were pressed into German service, including the Marder I. It was based upon a late-1930s Lorraine tractor vehicle, paired with the German 7.5cm anti-tank gun and based in a new fighting compartment installed on top.

The Marder I fought on numerous fronts in WWII and its offensive potential made it a foe for Allied forces to fear.

Source: Tamiya website

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American M10 Tank Destroyer (Mid production) (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 350-3800 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘US M10 Tank Destroyer (Mid production)’.

US M10 Tank Destroyer (Mid production)

History

This versatile AFV was developed largely to give U.S forces a potential counter to the German armor tactics which proved successful in the early stages of WWII.

It utilized the successful M4A2 Sherman chassis with diesel powerplant, and mounted the 76.2mm gun in an open-top rotating turret; the hull featured extensive use of sloped armor, kept thin so as not to hinder maneuverability. Bosses were used on the turret and hull to facilitate the affixation of additional armor.

Around 5,000 M10s were manufactured between September 1942 and December 1943, and it featured in action across North Africa and western Europe, its 3-inch gun and excellent maneuverability making it an asset for Allied forces.

Source: Tamiya website

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American M18 Hellcat (Academy)

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This is the Academy 13255 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘American M18 Hellcat’.

American M18 Hellcat

History

The M18 Hellcat (officially designated the 76mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 or M18 GMC for short) was an American tank destroyer of World War II, used in the Italian, European, and Pacific theatres, and in the Korean War.

It was the fastest armored vehicle in the American defense inventory of the 20th century. The speed was attained by keeping armor to a minimum, no more than one inch thick and roofless, open-top turrets (a standard design feature for all American fully tracked tank destroyers of World War II) and by powering the relatively small vehicle with a radial engine originally designed for aircraft usage.

The Hellcat, along with the M4 Sherman-based M10 tank destroyer and the highly effective, 90mm gun-armed M36 tank destroyer, provided American and Allied forces with a respectable mobile anti-tank capability against the newer German armored types.

Source: Wikipedia

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Russian Tank Destroyer ISU-122 (Zvezda)

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This is the Zvezda 3534 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Russian Tank Destroyer ISU-122’.

Russian Tank Destroyer ISU-122

History

As the tanks of World War II grew bigger and stronger, the need for more powerful weapons to destroy them also grew. One solution was the so-called “tank destroyer”: basically a massive cannon mounted on tracks. While these vehicles offered more firepower than any tank, the fact that they did not have a turret left them vulnerable to more maneuverable vehicles and infantry attacks.

The ISU-122 was built on the proven chassis of the IS-2 heavy tank, which it shared with the ISU-152 self-propelled howitzer. When Soviet production of hulls exceeded their ability to produce the large ML-20S howitzers, the decision was made to install the smaller 122mm A-19S gun in the extra hulls, and the ISU-122 was born.

The new tank destroyer was equipped with a full-enclosed armored cockpit. The 122mm gun could be used to destroy both enemy tanks and fortifications. For this purpose, ISU-122s were supplied to special assault groups. Production of the ISU-122 ended as the war drew to a close. After the war, most of the surviving ISU-122s were refitted as rocket launchers.

Source: Zvezda Website

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Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-85 (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 072- kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-85’.

Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-85

History

A WWII Masterpiece – At the beginning of the German Blitzkrieg on the Eastern Front, Russian soldiers were forced to fight hard against the invading Axis forces led by the impressive German Sturmgeschutz III.

Barely holding back the advancing German forces just before Moscow, the Russian military quickly began to design assault guns. From these designs, the first finished model came loaded on the T-34 chassis with a secured fighting compartment and was armed with an impressive 122mm howitzer. This tank was given the designation SU-122.

Introduced at the Battle of Kursk in 1943, was the newly designed SU-85 which was based on the successful SU-122. It came armed with the D-5S-85A, the 1939 anti-aircraft 51.5 caliber 85mm D-5 gun which was redesigned for anti-tank use. D-5 guns were developed in the same manner as German 88mm anti-tank guns equipped on German Tiger I and Jagdpanther tanks, as both guns were based on anti-aircraft guns.

The SU-85’s armor-piercing shell weighed 9.02 kg, had a velocity of 792 m/s, and could knock out tanks with 100mm thick armor at 1000 m. The SU-85s hull featured a sloped front armor with the fighting compartment offset to the right. After the liberation of Kiev in December 1943, the SU-85 faced off Panther and Jagdtiger tanks and held its own thanks to its 85mm gun.

Source: Tamiya website

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  • Hobbymesse 2013

Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-100 (Revell)

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This is the Revell 03084 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-100’.

Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-100

History

The SU-100 was a Soviet tank destroyer. It was used extensively during the last year of World War II and saw service for many years afterwards with the armies of Soviet allies around the world.
Source: Wikipedia

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Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-85M (Dragon)

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This is the Dragon 6096 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-85M’.

Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-85M

History

The SU-85 was a Soviet self-propelled gun used during World War II, based on the chassis of the T-34 medium tank. Earlier Soviet self-propelled guns were meant to serve as either assault guns, such as the SU-122, or as mobile anti-tank weapons; the SU-85 fell into the latter category. The designation SU-85 is derived as follows: ‘SU’ stands for the Russian: Samokhodnaya Ustanovka – self-propelled carriage, while “85” signifies the bore of the vehicle’s armament, the 85mm D-5T gun.

There were two versions: the basic SU-85 had a fixed commander’s cupola with a rotating periscope and three vision blocks; the improved SU-85M had the same casemate as the SU-100, with a commander’s cupola as used on the T-34-85.

Source: Wikipedia

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Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-122 (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 093-1600 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-122’.

Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-122

History

Victorious At Kursk – The Russian T34 tank is known as a masterpiece. Based on the same chassis, the SU-122 featured a secured, wedge-shape fighting compartment, and was armed with a massive 122mm howitzer. The designation of SU-122 comes from the following; “SU” stands for Samokhodnaya Ustanovka (in Russian) meaning self propelled and “122” stands for the armament.

As Russian forces were forced to retreat from the relentless German blitzkrieg, large quantities of T34 and other tanks were produced in preparation of a counter attack. At the same time, Russian army urgently developed a new self-propelled gun, the SU-122. This tank featured a newly designed 122mm self-propelled howitzer and its production began in October 1942 at Tankograd in the Ural mountains. As the T34’s chassis and its mass production system was applied to SU-122, the first test models were amazingly completed with great speed taking approximately one month.

From there, the first lot of SU-122s were sent straight to the Leningrad front in January 1943. From July 1943, they saw action in the Battle of Kursk. The SU-122 with its 23 caliber 122mm howitzer fought with all its might against Panther and Tiger tanks and went on to superbly win a glorious victory. In following the success at Kursk, the SU-122 set the foundation on where other tanks such as the SU-85, SU-100, JSU-122, and JSU-152 were built upon.

Source: Tamiya website

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