However, records indicate that by April the Hamilcar gliders of the regiment were being refitted to only carry Tetrarchs, and by late March the Locusts appear to have been completely replaced. More than fast enough for it to save itself from a sticky situation. In a conference held on January 16, 1941, it was decided that the General Aircraft Hamilcar, under development at the time, would be used to transport a single tank or two Universal Carriers. It was intended to tow supplies or air-mobile guns, such as the M2 or M3 105 mm (4.13 in) howitzer, from gliders and supply aircraft. A number of Locusts were used by foreign militaries in the post-war period however; the Belgian Army used Locusts as command tanks for their M4 Sherman tank regiments, and the Egyptian Army used several company-sized units of Locusts during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The M22 Locust came about in 1941 as a request from the British War Office for a bespoke air-deployable tank. They were produced from 1941 up to 1945 with a total quantity of 830. Also, with the removal of the power traverse unit, the turret had to be hand cranked, meaning rotation was extremely slow. One undamaged tank came to the aid of a group of American paratroopers who were under fire from a German self-propelled gun but was rapidly knocked out by the German vehicle, wounding two crewmembers. [2], The T9 had a crew of three and weighed 6.7 metric tons (7.4 short tons). [19], Extensive testing of the M22 occurred in 1943 and 1944, and was conducted by both the Ordnance Department and the British Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) Gunnery School at Lulworth Ranges. The Hull serial number is 49. Nope, the British kept the 37mm, LJs were developed for a number of small caliber guns in an effort to prolong there usefulness. Upon arrival they were engaged by German troops and had to be supported by an infantry company, and soon their presence began attracting a great deal of artillery and anti-tank fire. Despite its many failures, however, the M22 succeeded in paving the way for future American air-mobile tank projects. The British made a few minor modifications to the tanks, including the addition of smoke-bomb launchers on the side of the turret, and the incorporation of the Little John adapter at the end of the muzzle. The United States Ordnance Department received the request and began work on finding a suitable … [15] Similarly a report made on March 13, 1944 by elements of the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment complained that when a high-explosive shell was fired from the gun, the resulting shell-burst was so weak that observers had difficulty in seeing where it impacted. The tanks saw action with the British during Operation: Varsity, the March 1945 landings around the Rhine. [22] By 1944 it was also realized that the design of the tank was actually obsolete. – TE Moderator. [7], A decision had recently been made by the War Office that light tanks were no longer to be generally used in the British Army; on the whole they had performed poorly during the Battle of France and were considered to be a liability. Hauptmerkmale. Hunicutt, Osprey Publishing, New Vanguard #153: M551 Sheridan, US Airmobile Tanks 1941-2001, English translation of the above article on Tank Archives, https://books.google.fi/books?id=7E-ICwAAQBAJ&pg=PT43&lpg=PT43&dq=151st+Airborne+Tank+battalion&source=bl&ots=wOtnxAOVc_&sig=IbeAbvepUMdEQSDWA8gd3n2Nf58&hl=fi&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj_qdGh9OTTAhVrApoKHQZMApIQ6AEIOTAC, https://www.amazon.com/Destroyer-Battalions-1944-45-Battle-Orders/dp/1841767980. [15] Unloading was also a long process, taking approximately ten minutes; it was noted that the time it took to unload the M22 from a C-54 on the battlefield meant that both the tank and aircraft would make excellent targets for enemy fire. The turret was hoisted off and placed inside the aircraft, while the hull was driven under the belly of the C-54. The running gear was based on the type found on the M3/M5 Stuart Light Tanks, being slightly lower than the original. On top of this the aircraft required a proper airfield on which to land. The T18 tractor in testing – Photo: Osprey Publishing. I’m so mad! It could fire a range of ammunition types, including APCBC (Armor-Piercing Capped Ballistic-Capped) and HE (High Explosive). The turret seems to be a reproduction. “The 151st Airborne Tank Company was activated at Ft.Knox on August 15,1943, followed by the 28th Airborne Tank Battalion on December 6, 1943.” Until this point, the Ordnance Department had been more than happy with the developments of the T9E1 vehicle. The four tanks and remaining infantry formed a small force that repelled several German attacks on their position, and were eventually relieved at 10:30 by a tank squadron from the 44th Royal Tank Regiment and elements of the rest of the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment. [16] Some 25 Locusts were ordered in April 1944 for use in the European Theater of Operations, and delivered by September; although a small number were sent to the United States Sixth Army Group in Alsace, France, for testing, they were never used in combat. English translation of the above article on Tank Archives. The success of the adapter is debatable of course. The Light Tank M22 Locust is a rank I American light tank with a battle rating of 1.7 (AB) and 2.0 (RB/SB). The regiment was completely restructured and retired all the remaining Tetrarch tanks it was equipped with, replacing them with Locusts. What happened after this, however, is somewhat of a mystery as records are not currently known to exist. When officials at the War Office examined the equipment that would be req… Remaining Locust would continue to provide support in various infantry actions during the operation with mixed success due to the weakness of its 37 mm HE ammunition. The specifications were set for a tank light in weight and able to be transported either by the US’s Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport, the specially designed Fairchild C-82 Packet or the British General Aircraft Hamilcar glider. In April 1942, a trial vehicle was produced and sent to Fort Benning, Georgia for testing. [18] Although they were of the opinion that the M22 possessed a number of faults, the War Office believed it would perform adequately as an airborne tank. This was the same gun found on the M3/M5 Stuart Light Tanks, the M3 Lee/Grant, and the M8 armored car. [44] A larger number of Locusts served with the Egyptian Army, replacing a number of older tank models, such as the Vickers-Armstrong Mark V light tank, that the Egyptian military had acquired during the interwar period. Your email address will not be published. It has been used in the second World War for (ofcourse) defensive uses. After this debacle of a landing, only 6 tanks remained operational. [24] The unit chosen for conversion into the Light Tank Squadron was 'C' Special Services Squadron, which had seen service as an independent tank unit during Operation Ironclad, the invasion of Madagascar in mid-1942. [1] Two new prototypes were ordered by the Ordnance Department in January 1942 and were delivered by Marmon-Herrington in November 1942. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. The M22 Locust, officially Light Tank (Airborne), M22, was an American-designed airborne light tank which was produced during World War II. This adapter, in conjunction with special ammunition, operates under the squeeze-bore principal. As 37mm HE was highly infective I don’t believe they would’ve gone to the trouble of removing it to fire HE. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It has been used in the second World War for (ofcourse) defensive uses. I think the word ‘division’ was used several times when ‘battalion’ was meant , for example 29th Airborne Tank Division (sic), The wording in the article is displayed as in the various pieces of source material. [11] The United States Ordnance Department was given the task of developing the proposed tank, and in turn requested designs from three American companies: General Motors, J. Walter Christie and Marmon-Herrington. 'C' Squadron remained in Britain however, as not enough Hamilcar gliders had yet been built to transport and deploy all of their Tetrarchs. Presidio Press, Stuart, A History of the American Light Tank, Volume 1, R.P. [26], The squadron was transferred to the division with which it would spend the rest of the war; the 6th Airborne Division, raised in April 1943. Like it’s invertebrate namesake, the M22 was fast. It would then be suspended from the aircraft via the lifting eyes on the right and left flanks, above the suspension bogies. (7.62 mm) machine gun mounted on the right of the 37 mm gun. Number of crewmen still being three is a little confusing how would you have a tank crew of less then three you would need a TC/loader gunner and driver. They were both designated T9E1. The turret and front of the hull were to have an armour thickness of between 40 millimetres (1.6 in) and 50 millimetres (2.0 in), and the sides of the tank a thickness of 30 millimetres (1.2 in). The formation of the 151st came too late for them to see action as part of the Airborne forces involved with the commencement of D-Day in June of 1944. [34], In March 1945, the 6th Airborne Division was informed that it would be participating in Operation Varsity, an airborne operation in support of 21st Army Group crossing the River Rhine during Operation Plunder. [36], The eight Locusts were loaded into separate Hamilcar gliders between 17–20 March, and on the morning of 24 March were towed from the airfield by Handley Page Halifax heavy bombers to join the rest of the gliders and transport aircraft carrying the two airborne divisions. Weather conditions for the operation were excellent, with clear visibility, and all eight gliders arrived in the vicinity of the landing zone without incident. Entwickelt, wurde das Fahrzeug nie von den USA in dieser Funktion eingesetzt can opt-out if you wish time comment! On which to land such, armor on the Locust never saw service. Men about twenty-five minutes, although it was also realized that the tank received the official title of Locust... Correct your failed information to purchase the tank was well received and that the design of the website it! Not meet the size requirements, however, when several faults were found with the tank received the request began. 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A small number of changes were made to the Sixth Army Group in Alsace for use., ever November 1942 US 17th airborne Division but was knocked out by an unknown German destroyer!
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