M24 Xiafei is a light tank that the United States entered service in the middle of World War II and was used in the Korean War. Xiafei is named after General Adner Xiafei, Jr., who holds the title of "Father of American Armored Forces".
During the outbreak of a series of battles in North Africa in 1942, the U.S. Army sent an assessment team to the frontline battlefield to listen to the opinions of the user of the M3/M5 Stuart tank, the British Army, for the next generation of light The tank provides the design basis target. The British Army believes that the main problem is that the 37mm tank gun is too small, at least 75mm is enough; it is better to have thicker armor. Accepting this opinion, the US decided to use the M5 tank's power system, improved suspension system, 75mm artillery, 25.4mm thick armor, and a weight of not more than 16 tons as the design standards for the new light tank.
M5A1 used a turret that was too small to hold a 75mm gun. The T21 light tank was out because it weighed 21.5 tons. At the same time, the T7 tank was also developed. The T7 originally only wanted to develop a 14-ton light tank, but the design was changed to strengthen firepower and protection at the request of the US military. In the end, the technical threshold was successfully passed, but the weight almost doubled, becoming a medium tank with a total weight of 24.5 tons. In December 1942, although the U.S. Army had mass-produced the T7 and was renamed the M7 medium tank, it soon discovered that the performance of the finished product was not much different from that of the M4 medium tank, so mass production was stopped, and only a dozen vehicles were produced. At the end of the development of a series of light tanks by the US military in 1942, there was no progress.
In March 1943, the US Arms Committee regulated the next generation of light tank targets to install 75mm guns and use the power system of the M5 light tank. In April 1943, the General Motors Cadillac Automobile Department and the U.S. Army Ordnance jointly implemented the T24 tank development plan, and the new tank was controlled within 20 tons under the efforts of engineers. Due to the need for a larger three-person turret and heavier artillery, the T24 tank gave up the goal of thickening the armor and switched to a 60-degree inclined armor. The hull design is improved from the M7 medium tank. The new main gun has a tighter rear seat cushioning design, and it is common with the 75mm gun shells. The
T24 tank was completed in October 1943 and delivered to the Ordnance Department to the Aberdeen Test Site for evaluation. The Ordnance Department considered the design to be very successful, so the Ordnance Department signed an order for 1,000 new vehicles. The order is increased to 5000 vehicles. After correcting the problem, mass production began in March 1944. 4,070 vehicles were completed in January 1945, and a total of 4,731 Chaffee tanks were completed in the assembly line before production was stopped in August 1945. Some of the Chaffee tanks were provided to the British Army. According to the British tradition of naming tanks, it was named "Chaffee".
M24's overall performance can be said to be the best performing light tanks during World War II, but on the one hand, it is also because most countries that can design tanks focus on developing better medium tanks based on actual battlefield considerations. Compared with the heavy tanks, the light tanks have a production fault, making the Chaffee tanks less competitors. The report of the armored unit particularly praised its off-road performance and reliability. Among them, the 75mm gun is the most commendable design. Due to the enhanced firepower, the troops using light tanks are no longer in a situation where they can only be beaten by the German tanks. They once destroyed the German No. 4 tank at the protrusion, but because of the weak M24 armor , The survivability against German tanks and anti-tank guns is not high, and even individual anti-tank weapons can cause enough damage to the M24. And because M24 came too slowly and too little, it had no decisive influence on the European region.
During the Korean War, some Chaffee tanks were transported from Japan to South Korea to deal with T-34-85 tanks, but the firepower of the 75 short-barreled guns could hardly cause damage to medium tanks. The M24 was later used with main tanks such as M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing, and M46 Patton for reconnaissance strikes. This combination allowed the tank unit to obtain better combat efficiency. Like other equipment in World War II, after the end of World War II, the Chaffee tank was provided as a military aid to other countries and used in regional conflicts.M24 appeared in the war, the Vietnam War, and the 1971 India-Pakistan War.
