Truth or Non-Truth..The M18 Hellcat was one of the most successful tank destr...

The_Chieftain: A little late here, but I'll chime in on the OP.   Put in terms of meeting its designed function, M18 was an outstanding success. Remember, it was designed for an operational level role, and in that role, I can't think of another vehicle which could do it better. (Contrary to an earlier post, M18 was a defensive vehicle, not an offensive one). If you really wanted to have a battalion of whatsits sitting around ready to respond to an armored assault wherever it happened, Hellcats were what you wanted.   In terms of performance as it actually was used, it did reasonably enough. They killed a lot more than they lost. The relative lack of armor compared to M10 was important, especially for morale, but I'm not sure what tangible benefit it actually proved to have. (What did M10 armor stop that M18 didn't?)   The vehicle found its own niche. Could it play infantry support as well as jadgpanther or Su100? Arguably not, even if the turret helped. Then again, could Su100 or Jadgpanther keep up with cavalry units like M18 did? Arguably not.   As to Blix, is it possible there was an attack launched on a local commander's initiative for some reason, which may not have made the offensives list?