Thanks for posting this, Kaleva.

The TD looked like a tank, but it wasn't. It has a large gun for taking on enemy tanks, but was very lightly armored and lack overhead protection for the crew. The light weight was its only real defense; the idea being to make it fast and nimble enough to evade enemy fire.

At the time, there were several different varieties of tanks, for reconnaissance, for quick breakthroughs of enemy lines, and to support infantry on the ground. But by and large, the tank's main job was believed to be infantry support. American tanks for this role were usually given a medium-strength armor suite and a medium-range, low-velocity gun. The M4 Sherman is the best example of this.

It was a good infantry support weapon, but it was terrible for going head-to-head with enemy tanks. As both tanks and tank destroyers were knocked out by enemy armor in huge numbers during the war, designers began to take the features of the TD and graft them on to the tank, creating an good infantry support vehicle that could theoretically take on enemy tanks, as well. This lead to the Main Battle Tank concept we have today.

But a lot of men died because because of that disastrous misunderstanding of the role of armor on the battlefield.

It was cheaper to build and easier to maintain then the Pershing and more of them could be sent transported overseas then Pershings. Sometimes quantity is a quality all of its own.

The Sherman was inferior to the Panther but we had lots of them. Even the celebrated T34/85 was a death trap for its crew and was built just well enough to fight in 1 or maybe 2 battles before being knocked out or breaking down.

and comparatively low losses.

Unfortunately, despite the success of the tank destroyer on the battlefield, the TD program diverted resources away from tank development, resulting in the mediocre Sherman as the go-to tank in our arsenal until the final months of the war.

Now, the Sherman was very reliable mechanically, and easy to manufacture in staggering numbers. But still, the fielding of a tank superior to the Sherman, the Pershing ( not without it's own developmental problems, of course ), was pushed back until its presence on the battlefield was obviated by the dwindling numbers of superior German tanks.

There's a reason why tank destroyers and their development didn't survive the war.

Wow, that had to be dicey. Thin skinned and hunting battle tanks.