Hornby M10 GMC Tank Destroyer

The American M10 tank destroyer served in World War II. After the United States entered the war and the formation of the tank destroyer force, a suitable vehicle was needed to equip the new battalions. By November 1941, the Army requested a vehicle with a gun in a fully rotating turret, following criticism of earlier models due to their poor design. The prototype of the M10 was developed in early 1942 and delivered in April of the same year.

After requested changes to the chassis and turret, the modified version was prepared for production in June 1943 and appeared as the 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10. It was equipped with a 3-inch (76.2 mm) M7 gun in a rotating turret mounted on a modified M4A2 Sherman tank chassis. Production ran from September 1942 to December 1943. The M10 was numerically the most important U.S. tank destroyer of World War II.

It combined thin but sloped armor with the reliable drivetrain of the M4 Shermans and a reasonably powerful anti-tank weapon mounted in an open turret. Despite its obsolescence in the face of more powerful German tanks like the Panther and the introduction of more capable and better-designed types as replacements, the M10 remained in service until the end of the war.