AmericaUnited StatesWorld War IILight tank
M24 Light Tank
M24 Chaffee
The template for postwar U.S. light tanks.
Specifications
- Crew
- 5
- Combat weight
- 18.4 t
- Engine
- 220 hp
- hp / tonne
- 12.0
- Road speed
- 56 km/h
- Range
- 160 km
- Main gun
- 75 mm M6
- In service
- 1944–1953 (U.S.)
Twin Cadillac V8, 220 hp combined
Armor: Light welded plate, 25–38 mm — scouting armor, not a duel kit
Secondary: 2× .30 cal, 1× .50 cal
Briefing scores
Relative 1–10 for teaching, not a wargame rating.
- Firepower
- 4/10
- Protection
- 2/10
- Mobility
- 8/10
- Awareness
- 6/10
- Logistics
- 8/10
Ammunition natures
APHESmoke
History
Replaced the under-gunned M5 Stuart in late 1944. The torsion-bar ride and aircraft-derived 75 mm made it the best Allied light of the war. It fought in the Ardennes, then Korea, and was widely exported.
Doctrine
U.S. light tanks after 1943 were reconnaissance vehicles, not cavalry chargers. The Chaffee’s job was to find the enemy, call fires, and leave — using a 75 mm gun only to cover a withdrawal or smash a roadblock.
Strengths
- Quiet, fast, low ground pressure
- Useful 75 mm HE
- Excellent for recon
Limits
- Cannot survive a medium-tank fight
- Thin roof vs airburst
Related hulls
2 of 25 in the atlas