General Background

The M-24 Chaffee was named after Major General Adna Romanza Chaffee Jr. who is considered the father of the US Armored branch. It was developed to correct the deficiencies found in the M-3 Stuart by increasing the armor, a new 75mm main gun and the first time a torsion bar suspension was added to an American tank. It wasn’t until the latter months of the war in Europe that the Chaffee made its appearance but they played a major role in the Battle of the Bulge and the push into Germany. The M-24 was considered as possibly the best Light Tank of WWII.