Comparing: Achilles vs. M18 Hellcat

The Achilles was a British variant of the American M10 GMC tank destroyer. Standard M10 gun was replaced by a more powerful British anti-tank Ordnance Quick-Firing 17-pounder gun. That allowed the tank destroyer to effectively battle against the German vehicles. In 1944 the re-equipping of the tank destroyer was launched, with a total of 1,100 vehicles re-equipped by the end of the war.

Development started in 1942. In April 1943 the General Motors company produced the first prototypes. One of a few American tank destroyers manufactured on its original chassis, not on a tank chassis. The tank destroyer became the fastest armored vehicle, of this type, of World War II. A total of 2,507 vehicles were produced from July 1943 through October 1944.