Specifications were finalised by May of that year – and a pilot model from Marmon-Herrington – designated the T9 – was delivered by autumn 1941. After some modifications, they were brought into production and 830 were built by Marmon-Herrington between March 1943 and February 1944. This became the M22, or M22 ‘Locust’ as designated by the British.
Despite Churchill’s order that lend-lease American tanks be named after US – and preferably US Civil War – generals, this was not the case for the M22. The reasons for this lack of adherence to policy are uncertain, there certainly was no ‘General Locust.’
Powered by a Lycoming, six-cylinder, air-cooled petrol engine – the M22 had an excellent top speed.
However, it never saw action with US forces, largely due to their lack of a suitable glider or aircraft to transport it. The only way it could be transported by air was if it was underslung on the C-54 Skymaster plane. For this, the turret needed to be removed and placed in the aircraft to be reassembled on landing, giving the tank very limited tactical value.
The British, however, could carry it in their gliders, notably the Hamilcar glider which was designed to fit the similar Tetrarch tank. The UK received a large number of M22s from the US and some were landed by Hamilcar glider in the River Rhine crossing operation on 24 March 1945, undertaken by 6th Airborne Division. This was the only time the tank would be used in combat.
The Tank Museum’s M22 Locust – T158979
Our vehicle is one of the Locusts which saw action with the British 6th Airborne during the Rhine Crossing, where it was deployed by glider to support the paratroopers – hence the symbol of the 6th Airborne Division on the front.
