M22 Locust
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| Image:M22-locust-negba-1.jpg Light Tank (Airborne) M22 in Negba, Israel. | |
| Light Tank (Airborne) M22 | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 3 (Commander, gunner, driver) |
| Length | 3.93 m |
| Width | 2.16 m |
| Height | 1.82 m |
| Weight | 7.4 tonnes |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | 25 mm |
| Main armament | 37 mm M6 gun
50 rounds |
| Secondary armament | 1 x .30 Browning MG
2,500 rounds |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | Lycoming O-435T 6-cylinder radial 192 hp (162 kW) |
| Suspension | Vertical volute spring |
| Road speed | 64 km/h |
| Power/weight | hp/tonne |
| Range | 217 km |
The Light Tank (Airborne) M22 was an American design of airmobile light tank used during World War II by the British forces, who gave it the name Locust.
Contents |
[edit] History
The M22 was developed in 1941 by the Marmon-Herrington Corporation as an air-transportable light tank. The crew of three consisted of the commander and gunner in the turret, and the driver in the hull. All non essential features were removed to save weight, so the vehicle lacked features such as gun stabilisation and powered traverse. However, the resulting vehicle could be airlifted only by the C-54 Skymaster, and only with turret removed and placed inside the fuselage and the tank hull suspended below the wing. As the British had the Hamilcar glider which was big enough to carry the M22 ready for battle, they took the vehicles over. Of 1,900 Locusts ordered, only 830 were delivered.
The British 6th Airborne Division used the M22 in 1945 crossing the Rhine in Operation Varsity. After the war some Locusts were given to Egypt and were employed there until 1956, including in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Some tanks were captured by the Israel Defense Forces . Three of those were adopted by the IDF; all were retired by 1952.
[edit] References
- Leland Ness (2002) Janes World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles: A Complete Guide, Harper Collins, ISBN 0-00-711228-9
- Oleg Granovskiy - Names, Designations and Service Figures of IDF Armored Vehicles (Олег Грановский - Названия, обозначения и количества бронетанковой техники АОИ) at Waronline.org (Russian)
[edit] See also
- List of "M" series military vehicles
- Tank, Light Mk VII, Tetrarch I - A British built airportable tank
[edit] External links
- AFV database
- WWII vehicles
- OnWar
- M22 restoration and history
- Armor penetration table of US 37 mm guns
