U.S. Tank Destroyer M10 in the Red Army
M10 SPG "Wolverine" on the Eastern Front
The first samples of the M10 arrived in the Soviet Union at the beginning of 1944.
On March 22, 1944 two self-propelled artillery regiments, the 1223rd and the 1239th were formed with 21 M10 each.
The 1239th received its baptism of fire in July 1944 when fighting in the 16th Tank Corps, 2nd Tank Army, 1st Belorussian Front.
After taking Lublin, the regiment moved out of Demblin/Poland to support the 1441th self-propelled artillery regiment eqipped with SU-85 SPG advancing towards Aleksandrów.
On July 30, 1944, they came under attacks by the Luftwaffe, loosing several SU-85 on their march.
The M10s in contrast did not only suffer any losses at all but succeded to shoot down one JU-88 Luftwaffe bomber with the heavy Browning AA gun.
Later in August, with 17 guns, the the 1239thself-propelled artillery regiment fought in the Warsaw area, where from 1 to 5 August 1944 they successfully repelled attacks of German tanks units.
According to regiment reports, 4th battery alone knocked out 3 German tanks (including 2 "Panther"s) and 2 armored cars.

The 1223rd self-propelled artillery regiment as part of the 29th Tank Corps of the 5th Guards Tank Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front took part in the liberation of Belarus, the Baltic States and East Prussia in 1944/45.

Though the M10 "Wolverine" proved a highly successful antitank weapon that could compete successfully with even heavy German tanks at medium distances, further orders were abandoned in favor of the M4A2 76(W) "Sherman".
On May 1, 1945, 1223rd self-propelled artillery regiment still had 10 M10, of which four were still fully serviceable.

At NIIBT proving ground, Kubinka 1945
Only known action photo
Two buddies
Note counterweights on turret rear due to heavy weight of the 3-in. (76.2mm) gun

 

All drawings © o5m6.de .All rights reserved.
No publication in any form without the author's written permission.
Last Updated: September 09, 2014