|
|
The T18 75mm Howitzer Motor Carriage was an attempt to produce a close-support vehicle to support the infantry by mounting a 75mm howitzer on the fuselage of an M3 Light Tank. The T18 was armed with a 75mm M1A1 pack howitzer. It was carried in a mount adapted from the one used for the 75mm tank gun in the M3 Medium Tank (the Grant), and as on the Grant was carried on the right of the superstructure, about a third of the way back from the front of the tank. The T18 was given a built-up superstructure that filled the middle third of the vehicle.
Two prototype T18s were built, with mild steel superstructures. They were sent to the Aberdeen Proving Ground for tests, but the design was found to have a number of faults. The built-up superstructure was felt to be too high, and the position of the gun meant that the vehicle was nose-heavy. The project was abandoned in April 1942 in favour of the more successful M8 Howitzer Gun Carriage. This used the fuselage of the Light Tank M5, but with the howitzer carried in a fully traversable open topped turret that made the M8 more flexible and avoided any danger of nose heaviness.