M24 Chaffee

"KABOOM"

– Typical sound of an M24 operating

"Speed is essential."

– Adna R. Chaffee Jr.

"It's not the size that matters, it's how you use it!"

The M24, called the Chaffee by the Bongs, was a WWII tank used by the US Army during WWII. It was the replacement to the outdated Stuart, but arrived too late to see more than limited service in Europe. The Chaffee was also used during the Korean war, but was pulled from service shortly after that conflict.

The M24 was reliable, had decent off-road performance, and possessed good firepower. Overall, it was well-liked by crews upon its debut. However, as a light tank its armor protection was *very* sparse despite being sloped everywhere. As a consequence, by the time the Korean War rolled around the M24 was thoroughly outclassed by every tank that it might be expected to encounter, and suffered greatly for it. Nowadays it is mostly regarded as a not-fully-successful footnote compared to the other tanks of its time.

Late War

The Stats

Possessing a relatively good gun at 10 AT alongside a .50 cal MG plus two .30 cal machine guns, the Chaffee can fight adequately in most scenarios against both infantry and armor. With only 4 frontal and 3 sides, don't expect it to last long, especially with 3+ on hit.

IRL

"Onward to Eur-wait what? We're going to Korea? (Rebel's Roost, one of the first tanks to see action in Korea.)

The M24 first came to life as a replacement for the M5 Stuart after the rejection of the M7 prototype light tank. Taking advantage of the discovery of sloped armor's protective capabilities, the M24 had light armor, but significant sloping on all sides for protection. Weaponry consisted of the tried-and-true 75mm cannon, a pair of M1919 Browning MG's, and an M2 .50 caliber machinegun on top.

After finishing testing and trials, the M24 was deployed to Europe in limited numbers, where it saw action in the Battle of the Bulge against the Germans. It saw service until the Korean war, where the Soviet T34/85 vastly outgunned it; ultimately, the Chaffee was relegated to a recon role away from frontline combat. Post-war the tank was shipped off to allies and other 3rd-party countries, where it saw decent use.

Despite Chaffee operators generally enjoying the improved off-road performance and bigger gun on the Chaffee, the Chaffee was hardly an improvement over the Stuart, as any German AT weapon of the war would penetrate it. It could only achieve a top speed of 56/kph (35 mph), making it equal to the Stuart. The 75mm cannon largely only served as an obnoxious "fuck you" to anything they might encounter, which pretty much didn't happen as the war was over by the time they made it to Europe. Overall, the Chaffee made no real impression beyond being a "theoretical" improvement over the M5, if it even really made that much of a difference.

It is not coincidental that the Chaffee was replaced quickly after the Korean war, but the vehicle did see reliable service with the French during the Indo-China war and Algerian War of Independence. It was also in the Norwegian arsenal until the early 90s with modernization kits. Its service record in Pakistan was far more spotty, where it was outclassed by basically anything the Indian Military could field during their border conflicts. The last country to use the Chaffee was Uruguay, which amazingly (or hilariously, depending on your point of view) continued to use its small contingent of M24s until 2019.

The Chaffee spawned some interesting and successful variants, including the M19, a twin 40mm Bofors AA tank that was primarily used as an assault gun.