page_title: M18 Hellcat
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: M18 Hellcat / Combat performance / World War II
context_page_description: The M18 Hellcat was an American tank destroyer of World War II, also used in the Korean War. It was the fastest U.S. armored fighting vehicle on the road. The speed was attained by keeping armor to a minimum, using the innovative Torqmatic automatic transmission, and by equipping the relatively light vehicle with the same main gun used on the much larger Sherman tank.
  The Hellcat was the most effective U.S. tank destroyer of World War II. It had a higher kill to loss ratio than any other tank or tank destroyer fielded by U.S. forces in World War II.
context_section_description: The M18 served primarily in Western Europe, but was also present in the Pacific. M18 strength in the European Theatre of Operations varied from 136 in June 1944 to a high of 540 in March 1945. Losses totaled 216. Kills claimed were 526 in total: 498 in Europe, 17 in Italy, and 11 in the Pacific. The kills-to-losses ratio for Europe was 2.3 to 1 and the overall kill to loss ratio was 2.4 to 1.
  M18s were “…not primarily used for tank fighting, but were committed more often to improvised roles, usually direct fire support for infantry.”
caption: M18 Hellcat of the 824th Tank Destroyer Battalion in action at Wiesloch, Germany, April 1945
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