17pdr SP Achilles
Tank Destroyer · Britain
The 17-pounder in an M10's open turret: it goes through a Panther's front, but the turret is cranked by hand and HE splash reaches the crew. Pick a spot, wait, and shoot first.
(the vehicle's description in the garage)
At a glance
| Nation | Britain |
| Role | Tank destroyer (TD) |
| Modelled variant | 17pdr SP M10 Achilles IIc (British 3in GMC M10 'Mk II' with the duckbill turret, GM 6046 diesel, re-armed with the OQF 17-pdr), RA anti-tank regiment, Normandy summer 1944 |
| Price | 780 credits |
| Team stock | 2 per five-player team (scales with team size) |
| Hit points | 960 |
| Main gun | 285 damage per AP shot, 5.5 s reload |
| Speed | 48.3 km/h on roads, 22.7 km/h off-road |
| View range | 230 m |
| Ability (B) | Ammo Drop |
| Garage ratings | Armour 3/10 · Firepower 5/10 · Mobility 10/10 · Spotting 7/10 |
History
The 17pdr SP Achilles was the British conversion of the American M10 tank destroyer to the 17-pounder gun, one of the best Allied anti-tank guns of the war. About 1,100 were converted. The Achilles IIc in the game is the M10 with the duckbill turret and the GM diesel engine; the 17-pounder needed a muzzle brake and a counterweight on the barrel.
Achilles served with Royal Artillery anti-tank regiments in north-west Europe and Italy from 1944, including the Normandy campaign. Its turret was hand-cranked, slow to turn, and open at the top like the M10's.
In Armor Heads
Design note: 17pdr SP Achilles IIc: the Firefly's 17-pdr in the M10's open, hand-cranked turret (the British TD for Normandy in general; decision 15).
Compared with the other 34 WW2 vehicles, it is bottom 5 for aim time (#35 of 35); bottom 5 for turret / gun traverse speed (#35 of 35); top 5 for ap penetration (#5 of 35).
Survivability
- Hit points: 960. Damage taken multiplier: 1.07 (effective HP 897).
- Open-topped: HE near misses hurt more and knock out the crew far more easily.
- Track repair: 9 s.
| Zone | Damage multiplier (lower = thicker) | Raw shell damage to destroy through this zone |
|---|---|---|
| Hull front | 0.73 | 768 |
| Hull side | 1.18 | 475 |
| Hull rear | 1.3 | 431 |
| Roof | 1.36 | 412 |
| Turret front | 0.66 | 850 |
| Turret side | 1.16 | 483 |
| Turret rear | 1.3 | 431 |
Main gun
- Mount: turret, 360° traverse at 12°/s.
- Elevation +20° / depression -5°, at 14°/s.
- Reload: 5.5 s.
- Damage per minute (AP): 3,109.
- Accuracy: 0.06° dispersion when settled, aim time 1.76 s, move bloom 0.09.
- Gunner's sight: No. 51, 3x (binoculars 6x / 10x / 15x).
| Shell | Type | Damage | Splash | Blast radius | Muzzle velocity | Penetration threshold | Rounds | Crew shock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armour Piercing | AP | 285 | 20 | 2.5 m | 884 m/s | 0.45 | 18 | - |
| High Explosive | HE | 185 | 142 | 5.8 m | 899 m/s | 0.984 | 7 | 1.02 |
| 17-pdr APDS | APDS | 214 | 10 | 2.5 m | 1204 m/s | 0.34 | bought (key 3) | - |
The penetration threshold is the thinnest zone multiplier the shell gets through: zones below it stop the shell (10 % damage for AP, 20 % for HE). See how the numbers work.
APDS (17-pdr APDS) is bought in the garage, not issued: 3 rounds for 200 credits, at most 6 carried, from a team stock of 3 per player for the whole match (never resupplied). It gets through far thicker plate than the AP up close but loses its punch quickly with range:
| Range | AP needs | APDS needs | AP damage | APDS damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m | 0.45 | 0.34 | 285 | 214 |
| 300 m | 0.45 | 0.39 | 262 | 188 |
| 500 m | 0.45 | 0.45 | 239 | 163 |
| 700 m | 0.45 | 0.49 | 228 | 150 |
Matchups (AP against the hull front, square-on, under 100 m)
- Its AP gets through the hull front of 32 of the other 34 vehicles. It is stopped by: Tiger II, IS-2.
- 29 of the other 34 vehicles' AP get through its hull front. Safe from the front against: Panzer II Luchs, M32 TRV, Sd.Kfz. 250/9, T-70M, T-60.
- Sides, rears and roofs are thinner on every vehicle; see each page's zone table.
Secondary weapons and equipment
- Roof machine gun: .50 cal (M2 Browning), the vehicle's own modelled gun on its turret, 9 rounds/s, 2.5 damage per round, overheats after 48 rounds. It elevates to 70° and can shoot down recon planes.
- Smoke: 1 salvo, each recharges in 40 s.
Mobility
- Running gear: tracks (pivot turns).
- Top speed 48.3 km/h on roads, 22.7 km/h off-road (47 %), reverse 6.2 km/h, acceleration 3.1 m/s².
- Turn rate 32°/s (19°/s at top speed). Mass 29,600 kg. Engine start 3.5 s.
Special ability (B)
Ammo Drop: drops a crate behind the tank; team-mates who drive over it within 60 s get 50 % of their full shell and smoke load back (once each). Ready 30 s after the round goes live, once per round; another use costs 150 credits.
Where it appears
Players can take it on all seven WW2 maps, on either team. It is not in any map's AI line-up (it did not fight in the battles the maps depict).
Where it ranks (1 = best of 35)
| Stat | Rank |
|---|---|
| Hit points | 17 |
| Effective HP | 18 |
| Hull front armour (lower multiplier = thicker) | 23 |
| Turret front armour | 19 |
| Road speed | 14 |
| Off-road speed | 15 |
| Shot damage (AP) | 17 |
| Damage per minute | 19 |
| Reload (shortest first) | 23 |
| Accuracy (smallest dispersion first) | 11 |
| Aim time (fastest first) | 35 |
| Turret / gun traverse speed | 35 |
| View range | 27 |
| AP penetration (lower threshold = goes through more) | 5 |
| Price (1 = most expensive) | 13 |
The real vehicle
| Variant | 17pdr SP M10 Achilles IIc (British 3in GMC M10 'Mk II' with the duckbill turret, GM 6046 diesel, re-armed with the OQF 17-pdr), RA anti-tank regiment, Normandy summer 1944 |
| Length with gun | 7.22 m |
| Hull length | 5.97 m |
| Width | 3.05 m |
| Height | 2.7 m |
| Ground clearance | 0.435 m |
| Track width | 0.421 m |
| Gun | OQF 17-pdr Mk V (Mk 6 breech ring for the M10 mount), elevation -5 / +20 deg, 360 deg manual traverse (ra39-45.co.uk) |
Sources used for the model: armedconflicts.com https://www.armedconflicts.com/topic/view/508 (7,220 / 3,048 / 2,489 mm, 435 mm clearance, GM 6046); Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17pdr_SP_Achilles (5.97 m hull, counterweight behind the muzzle brake, 124 converted by D-Day); ra39-45.co.uk https://ra39-45.co.uk/guns-equipment/17-pdr-gun-sp-m10 (gun data, conversions from April 1944); M10 four-view blueprint (James's hand-off, 4.18 mm/px); Saranga Achilles side view the-blueprints.com 47620
In-game model: 7.23 m long (gun included) × 3.04 m wide × 2.87 m high (antenna excluded), 6,459 triangles, built at true scale.
Images
Renders of the in-game model in a plain nation colour (the game paints its camouflage at runtime).
