1/35 US M22 "Locust" Airborne Tank (T9E1)

This is a plastic model kit, which comes unassembled and unpainted. So glue, model paints and other basic modelling tools are additionally required.

The M22 Airborne Tank was designed and built to a British requirement issued in late 1942. However the US Army also became interested in the tank for their own Airborne forces. The T9 light tank was plagued with mechanical problems which were not entirely solved when the tank entered production in late 1943. Tanks delivered to the US Army were used to equip experimental airborne units, the 151st Airborne Tank Company and 28th Airborne Tank Battalion. They were carried by the C-54 transport aircraft, the turret being carried in the cargo compartment and the hull strapped under the fuselage. This was not ideal, as airfields had to be captured before the M22's could be landed. A small number of M22 tanks were sent to France with the 6th Army Group, but were not used in action. Armed with only a 37 mm gun, the M22 was considered obsolete before it entered service. It was fast at 65 km/h, but suffered transmission problems. Most M22's were scrapped after the war, but some survived, Egypt received a large number in 1946, Belgium and Israel also operated the type.