The story of American anti-tank artillery is one of being just a bit behind the curve. The need for this type of weapon wasn't realized until US observers noted that the German 37mm Pak 36 was making mince-meat out of Spanish tanks during the Spanish Civil War. Up until then, a .50 cal machine gun was seen as sufficient to penetrate the thin armor of tanks. However, tank armor was getting thicker and something larger was needed.

The US bought one of these German guns for testing and decided they needed something similar. So a requirement went out and by 1939 the US had a 37mm M3 Anti-tank gun. It was small enough to be manhandled over rough terrain or towed behind a jeep. However, as things go, when the US got involved in the war, technology had jumped ahead and the 37mm was obsolete and unable to be effective against the armor of German tanks met in North Africa.

This led to the Americanization of the British 6 pounder as the 57mm gun. There were also larger anti-tank guns built such as the 3 inch and later 90mm guns. These guns were big enough to be somewhat effective, but nearly impossible to to easily move. The truth is that these were all superseded by Gun Motor Carriages such as the M10, M36 and M18, which were self propelled and able to either quickly change positions or get out of the way, something that towed artillery just can't do.

The author takes us through the development and deployment of these weapons from the beginning in the late 1930s until the realization that they were a dead end by the time WWII ended. As with other Osprey titles, there are outstanding illustrations and photos of the subjects. If you are like me, and enter the subject knowing zilch, this book will provide the basic info needed to be somewhat knowledgeable. I found it to be a fascinating read is a book that I can highly recommend.

May 2005

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