The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-09-08


 faster, better aFnored, more power. ful weapon which can smash an en- eFny strong point at 7iS miles range but which is ct It's best In give.And. take battle at 1000 yards.
 This weapon. which followed the Tiger into action by less than a year, has already rendered the Ger. man tank obsolete.
 Races Into Battle
 The Helleat is officially inscribed on the books aS the 70.millimeter gun motor carriage, M.le. It is a mobile gun in an open turret on tank chassis, Its role is to race into battle against enemy tank format. tions and destroy them hy means of its far greater speed, mobility and fire power. Tn it's baptism of fire in France, it proved superior to even the latest Tigers,
 With c crew of five, It's anti.air. craft machine gun, and Q full load Of ammunition, 1t weighs approxi- mately 10 tons. Yet 1t can travel Bb miles an hour. The fastest any Tiger has ever done in speed tests in this country is 30 miles on hour. although the Germans claim for it top speed of 30 miles,
 had never driven Q tank be- fore, yet the operation of the Heil- cat Is 90 simple that after Q one minute demonstration of it's con. tfois I was able to drive 1t across the proving ground at full speed, Not counting some tricky skids on the curves, it was as easy to drive as an automobile. The bumps were absorbed by knee.aetion devices.
 The Helleat is steered and braked by two simple levers. There are three speeds forward and one in reverse. Running at high speed for- ward. it can be stopped practically within It's own legnth, and can be put into full speed backward at once.
 GlIdeFs Can Garry it
 Stripped of cargo and crew, it weighs only i7h tons and can be carried In the largest British gid. CTS. It can ford enemy water traps.
 The Helicat fires three types of shells--high. explosives, smoke, and arTnor.plerclng. The latter can knock out enemy Strongpoints at 7k miles. At one mile range the gun can be aimed like a rifle and fired point blank. The gun over- hangs the chassis, yet I was able to take the destroyer up and down Q 30.degree slope without trouble.
 Originally, the Tiger had an 0s. nm. gun, but the Germans since have installed a 75-mm. gun for which they claim Q muzle velocity of $500 feet per second, using Q i6-pound shell. Both the German and American guns have nnuzzle- brakes to shorten a standing posi- ton but the American destroyer is fitted with e Stabilizer which per- Inits 1t to fight running battle.
 Set New Record
 The designing, construction and testing of the Hellcat set a new record for ordnance strategy. When the Tigers first appeared, the Allies bio0 AVtkA4kAS " uluVChA 4Is 4AAC Wuk Department awarded Q contract to Buick, who. working in cooperation with the Ordnance Department. de- veloped the details and completed the dsign.
 Buick engineers studied the Tiger then returned to their drawing boards. The same workmen who had made automobiles made the tank killer. Edward T. Ragsdale, assistant Chief Engineer of Buick, proved the Hellcat's versatility by putting it through the most thorough tests.
 The government on Jan. 26, lo43, ordered quantity production of the tank destroyers; the first Helicat rolled off the assembly line in July, tozS, and the production rate rose to several hundred a month. All the Allies have put in requests for the TYailnaka