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Britain
Antitank SP17pdr M10 (Achilles)
Ordnance classification - M10

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The Antitank SP17pdr M10 was designed in 1942, manufactured by the British Army based on the existing fully tracked American M10 Tank Destroyer and was in use from 1944 to 1945.

Flag of World War 2 Britain
Photo of Antitank SP17pdr M10 (Achilles)

General Details
Specifications
Operational Date(s)1944 - 1945
Ordnance classificationM10
Quantity Produced1100
Weight29.6 tonne
Crew5
M.G's small1
M.G's large(>10mm)1
Length6.03 mtr
Width3.08 mtr
Height2.49 mtr
Engine Details/Performance
Max Road Speed32 mph
Max Cross Country Speed20 mph
Range Road322 miles
Range Cross Country186 miles
Fuel TypeDiesel
Fuel Capacity165 gal
Horse Power375 hp
Power/Weight12 hp/tonne
General Information
The Antitank SP17pdr M10 was designed in 1942, manufactured by the British Army based on the existing fully tracked American M10 Tank Destroyer and was in use from 1944 to 1945.

The vehicle was powered by General Motors 'General Motors 6046' diesel powerplant producing 375 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 32 mph with a range of about 322 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was good providing a max speed of about 20 mph and a range of about 186 miles.

It was armed with 1 light machine gun , a Bren Gun. and 1 large machine gun. consisting of 0.5 inch Browning Machine Gun M2 Its main armament consisted of an Ordnance Q.F. 17pdr which could penetrate 201 mm of flat plate at 100 metres .

The Achilles was a British modification to the American M10 Tank Destroyer utilising the 17pdr gun instead of the American 3" (76.2 mm) Gun M7, which improved the anti-tank capability significantly.

The original turret was open topped making it vulnerable to high explosives and grenades, and was manually rotated, so was slow to change directions. The Achilles had a modified roof of 20mm armour reducing the vulnerability of the M10.

Armour Details
Turret
Front57mm@45°(81mm)
Side25mm@75°(97mm)
Rear25mm@(25mm)
Top19mm@90°(19mm)
Superstructure
Front38mm@35°(46mm)
Side19mm@52°(31mm)
Rear19mm@52°(31mm)
Top19mm@90°(19mm)
Hull
Front51mm@34°(62mm)
Side25mm@(25mm)
Rear25mm@(25mm)
Top20mm@90°(20mm)
Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°)
Effective Armour - Maximum 97 mm - Minimum 20 mm



Weapon Details
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Bren Gun
(Machine Gun)
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photo of Bren Gun from Bren gun photo from Wikipedia
History
The Bren gun was licenced from the Czechoslovak ZB vz.27 light machine gun which was designed and manufactured in Brno from 1935.

It fired the standard British .303 rifle round.
Manufactured1930 - 2004
Calibre7.70mm
LengthL/82
Rate of Fire500 rpm
 
Ammunition Details
Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content
Standard british .303 round - HPBT
(BALL Standard Small Arms)
7.70mm 0.01Kg 761M/Sec
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.17
Penetration(mm@30°) 1
Penetration(mm@0°) 2
Hit Probability(%) 98


 
Standard british .303 round
(BALL Standard Small Arms)
7.70mm 0.017Kg 783M/Sec
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.15
Penetration(mm@30°) 4
Penetration(mm@0°) 5
Hit Probability(%) 98


Weapon Details
Flag
0.5 inch Browning Machine Gun M2
(Machine Gun)
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Calibre12.70mm
Rate of Fire480 rpm
Number of Rounds 420
 
 
Ammunition Details
Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content
MG
(AP Standard Small Arms)
12.70mm 0.04Kg 884M/Sec
Quoted Penetration 29mm @ 100mtr/0°
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.13 0.28 0.67 2.46
Penetration(mm@30°) 19 15 12 5
Penetration(mm@0°) 22 18 14 6
Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 48


Weapon Details
Flag
Ordnance Q.F. 17pdr
(Anti Tank Gun)
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Manufactured1942 - unknown
Calibre76.20mm
LengthL/55
Number of Rounds 50
 
 
Ammunition Details
Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content
17pdr MkI - MkIII
(AP Armor Piercing)
76.20mm 7.65Kg 950M/Sec
Quoted Penetration 130mm@915m
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.11 0.22 0.44 0.94 1.5 2.13 2.85 3.69
Penetration(mm@30°) 174 161 147 129 113 97 84 71
Penetration(mm@0°) 201 186 170 150 131 113 97 82
Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 98 88 60 34 22



17pdr HE/Red
(HE High Explosive)
76.20mm 6.1Kg 550M/Sec 0.480Kg explosive
Maximum Range not shown as gun elevation is limited
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.18 0.37 0.77 1.63 2.59 3.68 4.93 6.37
Direct Fire
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.18 0.37 0.77 1.63 2.59 3.68 4.93 6.37
Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 81 44 22 8 3
Blast/Fragmentation Effects
Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill2 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill5 mtr
Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill13 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr1 mm
An explosion within 2 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal.
An explosion within 5 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's.
An explosion within 13 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 33% casualties.
The blast effect of this shell exploding within 1 mtr of an armoured vehicle will penetrate 1 mm of the tank armour including the roof.

Hit probability is based on a static 2 x 2.4 metre panel at 0 degrees(vertical) at the range specified.

The data that has been used to create these records has come from Wikipedia, The Lone Sentry, The Bundes Archive and numerous books and websites that have provided the detailed information that has not been available anywhere else. The information we use to calculate the penetration tables, flight times and the hit probability comes from the Gun Calibre, the Shell Mass(Kg) and the muzzle velocity, plus range reductions to allow for gravity and wind resistance. This calculation originally came from a pre-war Krupp calculation which has been modified, and seems to fit the actual test results.

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