Installing a M36 turret on the M18 dwarfed the small chassis of the M18, but no major technical problems arose from the conversion.However,when the 90mm gun was fired,the recoil caused the M18 to move backwards almost 2 feet.When fired to the side,the M18 rocked violently, much worse than fired to the front.Fitting a muzzle brake reduced this recoil problem.

Super Hellcat 90mm

Soldiers assisting the crew of a Sherman M4A3 (105) tank, belonging to the 736th Tank Battalion of the U.S. 83rd Infantry Division, to load 105 mm shells, still packed in cardboard tubes, in the town of Neuss, Germany, on the west bank of the Rhine, opposite Düsseldorf. - Mid-April, 1945.

Loading the Sherman

The success of the 90mm gun in combat led the Army to mount the turret of the M36 on the M18 chassis.This accomplished with very few modifications and resulted in a lightweight gun carriage with a tremendously powerful weapon coupled with high speed and mobility.