M24 (China)

Description

The M24 Chaffee (formally Light Tank, M24) is a U.S. light tank that served during World War II; it was also used in post-war wars such as the Korean War and by the French in the War in Algeria and the First Indochina War. Under World War II's lend-lease program, a small number of M24 light tanks were shipped to China for the Chinese Nationalist Army. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, U.S. President Truman declared military aid to Taiwan. The United States exported 295 M18 tank destroyers in 1952, followed by 289 M24 light tanks. This late World War II tank gradually became obsolete during the Cold War era; therefore, different modifications were performed to make it combat-ready in Taiwan. During the late 1900s, Taiwan had a maximum of roughly 325 tanks in service.

Introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision", the M24 represented a substantial improvement in light tank design philosophy, bringing its firepower up to par with medium tanks. During World War II, it was widely regarded as the best and most successful light tank design. The M24 provides a comfortable experience in-game, striking an ideal balance between strong firepower, good speed, and appropriate protection. Since it is a light tank by nature, it is not expected to engage and exchange shots with enemy tanks directly, but rather to use its swift mobility to quickly secure flanks at the outset of the engagement. This is a good light tank that will provide Chinese Army ground forces with respectable firepower entering rank II.

General info

Survivability and armour

The M24 Chaffee has thin armour on all sides, and can only effectively resist machine gun fire or very low-penetrating shells. Its crews are also very close to each other, increasing the chance of it getting knocked out by a single shot. The V-shaped gun mantlet might bounce some small-calibre shells if you are lucky enough. However, don't rely on it as the rest of the tank is still poorly protected.

Mobility

The M24 travels at an average of 40 km/h on/off-road which is the average light tank speed. It also responds fast when reversing. Thanks to its short and wide tracks it is able to turn quickly. However the acceleration is poor, making it to feel sluggish when performing short manoeuvres.

Modifications and economy

Armaments

Main armament

The 75 mm M6 gun has two types of AP, one HE and one smoke shell to choose from. The M61 shot, which is an APCBC, is generally better than the M72 AP. It has 63.7 g of explosive filler which brings a deadly blast once penetrated, has better penetration (104 mm max) and it has a slightly lower chance of ricocheting. With the M61 shot, the Chaffee is able to knock out plenty of tanks at its BR with a single shot.

Ammunition

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M24 Chaffee

Machine guns

The two machine guns on the M24 Chaffee are the .50 cal M2HB and the 7.62 mm M1919A4. The roof-mounted .50 cal can traverse 360 degrees and has great depression & elevation, posting a big threat to any plane that is flying too close to the M24. It has an unbelievable penetration of 31 mm at 10 m, meaning it can easily penetrate plenty of lightly armoured vehicles and even the side of some low rank medium tanks. The 7.62 mm, on the other hand, can only efficiently damage exposed crews due to its low penetration.

Usage in battles

The M24 Chaffee is a very agile little tank. Its good speed allows the player to quickly cap a point early on in the game, or get to some flanking positions easily to get some side shots with the powerful 75 mm cannon. When doing flanking manoeuvres, remember to always look around you, especially to the directions where the enemies are most likely to appear. This can increase the player's survivability on the battlefield a lot, as the M24 has little to no armour and is very likely to get knocked out by the common 75 & 76 mm guns with a single shot. In a surprise close-quarter encounter, you must be confident and aim carefully. Slow yourself down and the stabiliser will help a lot. Overall the M24 perfectly fits a guerrilla-warfare playstyle (hit-n-run).

Enemies worth noting:

• Sd.Kfz.234 series - The M24, although agile, is still not the fastest tank at its rank. When your opposite team has Germany, you might want to reconsider the option of capping a point straight away, since the German Sd.Kfz.234 series are very likely to be there first. The Sd.Kfz.234/2 (also known as the Puma) is a turreted 8-wheel vehicle with a small profile, extremely high on-road speed and a powerful 50 mm gun. But it cannot turn in place, has a very slow turret traverse and only 8 mm of side hull armour, so a good tactic is to circle with it and utilise your stabiliser, fast turret and the piercing .50 cal. In an intense tank "dogfight", you might miss your shots. Don't worry, your reliable .50 cal got you. It can penetrate the sides, or even the front of the puma easily. The Sd.Kfz.234/3 and Sd.Kfz.234/4, although being equally deadly, are turretless. You can use some quick turns to avoid their guns or tear through the thin armour plate protecting their gunners with your .50 cal.

• E.B.R. (1954) - This wheeled vehicle, just like the Sd.Kfz.234 series, is able to reach a remarkably high speed, especially on road. It is equipped with a deadly 75 mm cannon with autoloader, dealing more fragmentation damage than the Sd.Kfz.234's and can therefore easily knock out the M24 with a single shot most of the times. The tactics vary a bit, as the E.B.R also has way faster turret traverse, therefore you do not want to "dogfight" it like how you deal with a Puma. If you are in an uptier and France is in the opposing team, think twice before rushing straight to a cap point. You need to be more careful and try to ambush it by camping around the point. Utilise your advantages well, you have superior gun depression, explosive-packed shells, lots of smoke grenades, a piercing .50 cal HMG and, most importantly, a vertical stabiliser.

• KV-1, KV-IB, KW I C 756 (r) - The famous KV series can cause a bit of troubles too. They are well know for their well-protected hull and turrets. The M24 can manoeuvre to point-blank range, line up your gun so it's pointing dead flat at the armour and fire. The 104 mm penetration of the M61 shell should punch a hole in the KV's armour with ease. If you are close enough but do not have the space to manoeuvre, shoot their gun barrel to prevent them from getting a shot off, then go for their turret ring or the vertical part on their gun mantlet, which is only 90 mm. For the KV-1B, do not try and fire at its turret from the front and side, as they are 105 mm thick and will never get penetrated. For the KV I C 756, aim for the cupola (50 m) or the gun mantlet (50 mm) to knock out the turret crew or the gun breech. Don't shoot at anywhere else, the shell won't penetrate.

• Churchill heavy tanks - The Churchills, with their complex hulls and sturdy turrets, can be quite hard to kill at range. Again, manoeuvre as close to them as possible, the idea distance being no more than 200 m. If they are angling their hull but facing their turret at you, only go for the turret. For the Mk I Churchills, aim at the near-vertical part of their rounded cheeks to ensure successful penetrations. For the Mk III and the German Churchill, also aim for their flat turret which is at most 89 mm. The shell should go in easily and knock out most, if not all of the crew. Only when you are facing their hull without any angles should you shoot the hull, otherwise shoot the turret only, as their big tracks can easily get in front of the frontal hull. The side hull have multiple layers of armour, some of which are weirdly angled and can absorb plenty of shells.
• M4A2 / M4A4 (1st PTG): these Sherman tanks are widely used by over 3 nations that spread across both the Allied and the Axis side, so no matter which nation you play they can be quite tough to destroy in the hands of a skilled tanker. Given the rather weak penetration of your short 75 mm gun, their hull can be almost impossible to penetrate when angled, hull down or 300 m away. For a M4A4, there are 2 apparent bulges on the upper front plate, a penetration through there is a guaranteed kill most of the times. But in case the opponent covers them up or when it's a M4A2, aim for the middle parts of the gun mantlet or the turret armour unprotected by the mantlet, you can at least make them defenseless.
• StuG III G, StuH 42 G, Jagdpanzer 38(t): these German tank destroyers can be deadly ambushers as well as well-protected frontline vehicles. They have low silhouette making them considerably harder to be seen. They also have very thick or sloped armour. The StuG and StuH in particular can have a maximum frontal thickness of 100 mm with add-on armour making them quite tough for the M24's short 75 mm gun. The M24 should avoid engaging them frontally as they are hard to be penetrated and can easily knock out the M24 with a single shot. Luckily, all 3 of them are turretless and are poorly protected on their sides, so flanking shots are a great way to finish them. However do note that the StuG and StuH can traverse their hull very fast so be quick on your move.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Decent mobility: good top speed and great turning ability
• Uses the same gun as the 75 mm Shermans: various shell types, great penetration & damage and excellent gun depression. M61 shell can one shot common tanks like the Pz.IV F, M4, Cromwell or even the Tiger H1
• Fast turret traverse allows it to track agile targets easily
• Low profile allows it to easily hide behind small bushes or rocks, increasing survivability
• Equipped with a vertical plane stabilizer, allowing for more accurate shots on the move or shoot-n-scoot tactics
• Pintle mounted HMG allows for air defense and some anti tank ability (e.g. Marder III, Sd.Kfz.234 series, Breda 501, etc.)
• 13 smoke grenades allow escaping from dangerous situation for many times
• Effective even in uptiers if used for flanking shots or hunting soft targets
• Very fast reverse allowing it to retreat from danger quickly
• Cheaper than all the other Chaffees in the game

Cons:

• Low survivability: all-round thin armour and closely packed crews. Can get knocked out with a single shot by common guns like 75 mm M3, 76 mm F-34 and 75 mm KwK40
• Acceleration is rather sluggish, especially on soft terrains
• On-road top speed is still inferior to some wheeled vehicles like the Sd.Kfz.234/2
• Shells drop dramatically at long distances, making distant / moving targets hard to shoot at
• Reload time is pretty slow for a light tank
• Low ammo count can be a problem in long games or RB/SB matches

History

Development

As early as 1942, the light tanks M3 and M5 Stuart have been seen as severely lacking in the modernizing design of tanks and how they fight. The armour was seen as insufficient and the 37 mm gun was also deemed useless against even the standard German tanks like the Panzer III and Panzer IV. The system needed an upgrade, specifically a light tank that mounts the 75 mm gun seen on the Shermans. An attempt to mount a 75 mm gun on a Stuart was deemed inefficient as it reduced ammo stowage and left the armour too thin on the design.

In April 1943, the U.S. Ordnance Department worked with Cadillac to start on a project for the new light tank, designated Light Tank T24. The powertrain and transmission of the M5 Stuart were used with the ultimate goal of producing a vehicle weighing less than 20 tons. This left the vehicle with relatively thin armour to stay lightweight. At the time, a lighter 75 mm gun was developed for mounting on the B-25 Mitchell bomber without sacrificing performance, and this was mounted onto the light tank in development. The tank used 410 mm wide tracks with a torsion bar suspension that greatly improves cross-country travel. The engine was a Cadillac 44T24 V-8 petrol engine. The chassis was designed with the expectation that it would be used as a basis of many different vehicle roles so it was called the "Light Combat Team". The light tank end design had a low profile at 9 ft. 1 in. height and featuring a crew of five with a three-man turret, an improvement over the two-man turrets of the Stuarts. The first finished vehicle arrived on October 15, 1943, and was deemed a success, starting a contract for 1,000 units that was later raised to 5,000 units. The vehicle was classified as the Light Tank M24 and as the "Chaffee" by the British after US General Adna R. Chaffee, Jr., who helped develop some of America's earliest tank designs. The vehicle was produced by Cadillac and Massey-Harris from April 1944 to August 1945 with a total of 4,731 units produced.

Service in the ROC Army

In order to suppress the expansion of communist forces in Asia and to deal with the tense situation in Taiwan Strait after the end of the Korean War, United States signed the Sino-US Mutual Defense Treaty with Republic of China in 1954. In the same year, the United States handed over surplus supplies of World War II including 233 M24 "Chaffee" light tanks to the ROC armed forces. A number of additional 56 light tanks were supplied in 1966. South Korea also assisted a batch of training tanks to Taiwan. Thus, Republic of China became the largest user of M24 tanks outside the United States.

In 1980, the National Army adopted the M24A1 upgrade program of NAPCO for some of the M24 Chaffee in service. The core modification lies in power system which replaced the original gasoline engine with a General Dynamics 6V53T diesel engine. This upgrade further ameliorated the overall endurance and boosted power (up to 350-400 horsepower). In addition to the engine, the M24A1 was equipped with a new gearbox and the maximum speed was boosted to 65 km/h. M24A1 removes the auxiliary driver and hull machine gun, and some models were equipped with IR searchlight as well. The upgraded M24A1 is distributed to Armoured Cavalry units or low-intensity units.

Fun fact: Since the M24A1 uses the same 6V53 engine as the MCI "National light" Greyhound Bus, therefore its service reliability performance is even better than that of the M41 tank.

Considering that the road conditions in the eastern part of Hualien are relatively narrow and is suitable for manoeuvring tanks of this size, the ROC Army began to transfer M24 light tanks to the units stationed in eastern Taiwan. In order to mobilize these tanks intensively, all M24 in active service were concentrated to the 784th tank battalion of the 151st Division (currently the Army Lanyang Regional Command) in Yilan. During the 1996 Taiwan Strait Missile Crisis, some of these vehicles were sent to Matsu as reinforcements. All M24 light tanks in active service were decommissioned in 1999, expect for some of the remaining M24 used as infantry supporting vehicle or stationary shore defense artillery in the outer islands.

The Wan Sheng Modification

It's known that at least one M24 light tank was transformed into the "Wan Sheng II" in 1975 which was part of the "Wan Sheng" Project carried out by the Joint Logistics Command. The M24 tank turret was transplanted to the aluminum M113 hull produced by Taiwan Aluminum Corporation while the engine compartment was moved to the rear of the hull, transforming the M113 APC into a light tank structure. The "Wan Sheng II" is designed for fire support missions of landing operations. The vehicle never entered mass production due to its poor armour and heavy weight, which was determined unsuitable for amphibious operations. However, the Joint Logistics Command gained valuable experience during the imitation. The lesson learnt here later greatly contributed to the design and production work of CM21 armoured personnel carriers.

(Wan Sheng or "萬乘", means thousands of combat vehicles, is a Chinese allusion referring to a powerful army and therefore a strong nation)

Captured by the Chinese people's Volunteer Army

In December 1950, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army seized an intact US M24 "Chaffee" tank during the fight of Minami, North Korea. A series of technical evaluations were carried out to the vehicle but it never saw service in the armoured units of PLA. The very same vehicle is currently on display in the Beijing Military Museum.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the M24 (China) from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• AMX-13 (FL11)

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.