M36 Jackson
Tank Destroyer · USA
The Pershing's 90 mm in an open turret that traverses under power: it kills Panthers from the front. Only 24 rounds and an open roof: shoot first, then move.
(the vehicle's description in the garage)
At a glance
| Nation | USA |
| Role | Tank destroyer (TD) |
| Modelled variant | M36 Jackson (90 mm GMC M36, M10A1 hull, early 1944 production: plain muzzle) |
| Price | 850 credits |
| Team stock | 2 per five-player team (scales with team size) |
| Hit points | 960 |
| Main gun | 340 damage per AP shot, 6.9 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 90 mm Gun Motor Carriage M36 Jackson was the most powerful US tank destroyer of the war. It put the 90 mm gun of the M26 Pershing into a new open-topped turret on the M10A1 hull. It was the only US armoured vehicle in 1944 that could reliably knock out a Panther from the front at long range, and it was in great demand.
M36s entered combat in north-west Europe in autumn 1944, and the first battalions fought in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. The game models an early production M36 with the plain muzzle and no muzzle brake.
In Armor Heads
Design note: M36 Jackson (early, plain muzzle): the M26's 90 mm in an open, powered turret on the M10A1 hull.
Compared with the other 34 WW2 vehicles, it is top 5 for shot damage (#5 of 35); bottom 5 for aim time (#32 of 35).
Survivability
- Hit points: 960. Damage taken multiplier: 1.05 (effective HP 914).
- Open-topped: HE near misses do 1.5x splash damage and hit the crew three times as hard, so they knock crew out far more easily.
- Tracks: a hit on the running gear breaks a track 45 % of the time (the hit does no damage); the crew repairs it in 9 s.
| Zone | Real plate | Damage multiplier (lower = thicker) | Raw shell damage to destroy through this zone | AP of the other 34 vehicles that gets through |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull front | 38 mm at 55° (66 mm) | 0.72 | 794 | 27 |
| Hull side | 19 mm at 38° (24 mm) | 1.13 | 506 | 34 |
| Hull rear | 19 mm at 38° (24 mm) | 1.13 | 506 | 34 |
| Roof | open | 1.36 | 420 | 34 |
| Turret front | 76 mm | 0.68 | 840 | 26 |
| Turret side | 32 mm at 5° (32 mm) | 1 | 571 | 34 |
| Turret rear | 44.5 mm | 0.86 | 664 | 32 |
Real plate: the thickness of the real vehicle's armour there, and its slope from vertical with the line-of-sight thickness in brackets; each zone's multiplier is worked out from it (see how the numbers work). The last column counts square-on hits under 100 m.
Main gun
- Mount: turret, 360° traverse at 24°/s.
- Elevation +20° / depression -10°, at 14°/s.
- Reload: 6.9 s.
- Damage per minute (AP): 2,957.
- Accuracy: 0.06° dispersion when settled, aim time 1.76 s, move bloom 0.09.
- Gunner's sight: M76F, 5x (binoculars 6x / 10x / 15x).
| Shell | Type | Damage | Splash | Blast radius | Muzzle velocity | Penetration threshold | Rounds | Crew shock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Armour Piercing | AP | 340 | 30 | 3 m | 853 m/s | 0.47 | 16 | - |
| Heavy High Explosive | HE | 221 | 170 | 6.5 m | 823 m/s | 0.824 | 8 | 1.21 |
| 90 mm M304 HVAP | HVAP | 255 | 15 | 3 m | 1021 m/s | 0.28 | bought (key 3) | - |
The penetration threshold is the lowest zone multiplier (the thickest armour) the shell still gets through: zones below it stop the shell (10 % damage for AP, 20 % for HE). See how the numbers work.
HE and the crew: every direct hit shakes the crew (slower reload and traverse, a wider aim circle) for about 2 s when the plate stops it and 3 s when it bursts through. It is big enough to knock crew members out of their seats even when the plate stops it.
HVAP (90 mm M304 HVAP) 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 | HVAP needs | AP damage | HVAP damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m | 0.47 | 0.28 | 340 | 255 |
| 300 m | 0.47 | 0.35 | 313 | 204 |
| 500 m | 0.47 | 0.47 | 286 | 153 |
| 700 m | 0.47 | 0.56 | 272 | 128 |
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.
- 27 of the other 34 vehicles' AP get through its hull front. Safe from the front against: M3A1 Stuart, Panzer II Luchs, M32 TRV, Sd.Kfz. 250/9, T-70M, T-60, Stuart V "Honey".
- From the side, 34 of them get through its hull side; from behind, 34 get through its hull rear (every zone is in the table above).
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 3.4 m/s².
- Turn rate 32°/s (19°/s at top speed). Mass 28,600 kg. Engine start 3.5 s.
Special ability (B)
Ammo Drop: a supply crate comes down by parachute just behind the tank and lands 8 s later; every tank of the team (this one too) that drives over it in the next 60 s gets 50 % of its 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. The AI fields it on:
- Bastogne 1944, Blue (Allied side): 1x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 5).
Where it ranks (1 = best of 35)
| Stat | Rank |
|---|---|
| Hit points | 16 |
| Effective HP | 16 |
| Hull front armour (lower multiplier = thicker) | 22 |
| Turret front armour | 19 |
| Road speed | 13 |
| Off-road speed | 14 |
| Shot damage (AP) | 5 |
| Damage per minute | 21 |
| Reload (shortest first) | 26 |
| Accuracy (smallest dispersion first) | 9 |
| Aim time (fastest first) | 32 |
| Turret / gun traverse speed | 16 |
| View range | 26 |
| AP penetration (lower threshold = goes through more) | 7 |
| Price (1 = most expensive) | 9 |
The real vehicle
| Variant | M36 Jackson (90 mm GMC M36, M10A1 hull, early 1944 production: plain muzzle) |
| Length with gun | 7.46 m |
| Hull length | 5.97 m |
| Width | 3.05 m |
| Height | 3.28 m |
Sources used for the model: AFV Database https://afvdatabase.com/usa/90mmgmcm36.html (235.1 in without gun, gun overhang 58.8 in without muzzle brake, fire height 85 in, 129 in over the AA MG); Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M36_tank_destroyer (5.97 m hull, 7.47 m with gun, 3.05 m wide, 3.28 m over the AA MG; brake on vehicles after the first 600 from Nov 1944); the-blueprints vector 10679 (7460 mm overall); Saranga drawings the-blueprints 72187 / 45001 / 78076; chassis = the game M10 (M10A1 shares its upper hull)
In-game model: 7.52 m long (gun included) × 3.08 m wide × 3.11 m high (antenna excluded), 7,278 triangles, built at true scale.
Images
Renders of the in-game model in a plain nation colour (the game paints its camouflage at runtime).
