During World War II, the British experience with the American M3 Stuart light tank revealed a number of short comings. In 1943, the Ordinance Corps working with Cadillac began to develop a new light tank. Production on the M24 light tank began in 1944. The new tanks were built by Cadillac and Massey-Harris. When production stopped in 1945, a total of 4,731 had been built.
The M24 Chaffee is powered by twin Cadillac Series 44T24 engines and has a top speed of 35 mph and an operational range of 100 miles.
The M24s were first used in combat in the winter of 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge. They were also used in 1950 in the Korean War.
Shown below is the M24 Chaffee light tank in the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington.
Note: These photos were taken on July 11, 2024.
More military museum exhibits
Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum: A World War II Japanese tank (photo diary)
Lewis Army Museum: Some armored vehicles (photo diary)
Lewis Army Museum: Some light tanks (photo diary)
Naval Destroyer Museum: Guns and torpedoes on the Turner Joy(photo diary)
Naval Undersea Museum: Torpedoes (photo diary)
Veterans Memorial Museum: An Overview (Photo Diary)
Ohio History Center: World War I machine guns (photo diary)
Museums 101: Rocky Mountain Military Museum (Photo Diary)