17pdr SP Achilles

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17pdr SP M10 "Achilles"
Achilles nickname "Tiger" in Dutch service, 1950
Type	Self-propelled anti-tank gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Production history
Manufacturer	Fisher Tank Arsenal Grand Blanc, Michigan - converted by Royal Arsenal, Woolwich
No. built	1,100
Specifications
Mass	29.6 tonnes (65,000 lb)
Length	7.01 m (23 ft 8+1⁄4 in) including gun 5.97 m (19 ft 7 in) excluding gun
Width	3.05 m (10 ft)
Height	2.57 m (8 ft 2 in)
Crew	5 (commander, loader, gunner, loader's assistant, driver)
Armour	9 to 57.2 mm (0.3 to 2.3 in)
Main armament	76.2 mm Ordnance QF 17-pounder 50 rounds
Secondary armament	.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning M2HB AA machine gun 420 rounds .303 (7.62 mm) Bren light machine gun[1]
Engine	General Motors 6046 diesel (twin 6-71) 375 hp (276 kW)
Power/weight	12.5 hp/tonne
Suspension	Vertical Volute Spring Suspension (VVSS)
Operational range	300 km (186 mi)
Maximum speed	51 km/h (32 mph)

The 17pdr SP Achilles (officially 17 pounder, Self-Propelled, Achilles) is a British variant of the American M10 tank destroyer armed with the British Ordnance QF 17-pounder high-velocity 76.2 mm (3-inch) anti-tank gun in place of the M10's considerably less powerful 3-inch (76.2 mm) Gun M7. A total of 1,100 M10s were converted to Achilles, making it the second most numerous armoured fighting vehicle to carry the 17-pounder gun, behind the Sherman Firefly tank.

The name "Achilles" was officially a designation applied to both the 3-inch gun and 17-pounder versions (as Achilles I/II and Achilles Ic/IIc respectively) but was little used during the Second World War; at the time, the vehicle was called 17pdr M10, or 17pdr SP M10, or even occasionally, "Firefly". It has since become identified almost exclusively with the 17 pounder version.