Official Guidance on U.S. Armor Piercing Ammo Ranges

[rexford]

U.S. Field Manual FM 17-12, dated April 22, 1943, informs Stuart and Sherman crews that:

1. Do not use 37mm armor piercing ammunition beyond 500 yards

2. do not use 75mm armor piercing ammunition beyond 2000 yards

3. for tank targets beyond 2000 yards, use 75mm HE since a hit on the track will disable the tank and fragmentation from near misses harasses the crew.

Interesting limitation on use of 37mm AP and APCBC, wonder how many crews in field disregarded the manual.

With regard to HE use, the manual states that "Do not use the tank gun against a target when the machine guns can handle it."