Description
This Technical Manual TM 9-308 covers the 76-mm Guns M1A1C and M1A2 Mounted in Combat Vehicles. Technical manual index records list this edition as a War Department publication from September 1947, with 212 pages, making it a strong post-World War II ordnance reference for collectors of U.S. military technical manuals, tank gun documentation, armored vehicle references, and dated government publications.
Issued in the immediate postwar period, this manual reflects a time when the U.S. military continued to document, maintain, and standardize technical information for equipment developed and used during World War II. Manuals like this were official working documents, intended to support identification, inspection, maintenance context, ordnance reference, and field-support documentation for the equipment they covered. That makes this publication especially useful for collectors, historians, researchers, restorers, and museums looking for authentic military reference material rather than general background information.
The 76-mm Guns M1A1C and M1A2
The 76-mm Guns M1A1C and M1A2 belong to the broader family of U.S. military 76mm tank guns and combat-vehicle ordnance equipment. These guns were part of the 76mm M1 series, a World War II-era gun family developed by the U.S. Ordnance Department to provide improved armor-piercing capability over the earlier 75mm gun used on many M4 Sherman tanks.
The M1A1C and M1A2 variants are especially interesting from a collector and technical-documentation standpoint. Reference material identifies the M1A1C as similar to the M1A1 but threaded for a muzzle brake, while the M1A2 was similar to the M1A1C but used a faster rifling twist rate.
Because this manual covers guns mounted in combat vehicles, it is especially relevant to collectors focused on U.S. armored vehicle armament. AFV reference material connects the 76mm gun series to both 76mm-gun M4 Sherman tanks and the M18 Hellcat tank destroyer, with notes on the M1A1C and M1A2 differences appearing in combat-vehicle context.
For collectors, this gives the manual strong appeal. It represents the technical documentation behind an important U.S. armored-vehicle gun system and fits especially well in collections focused on World War II armor, postwar ordnance documentation, M4 Sherman references, M18 Hellcat references, tank gun manuals, and U.S. Army technical publications.
What This Manual Covers
As a technical manual for the 76-mm Guns M1A1C and M1A2 Mounted in Combat Vehicles, TM 9-308 would have served as an official War Department reference for these gun models and their armored-vehicle support context.
In practical collecting and historical-reference terms, a manual like this is especially relevant for:
- nomenclature and identification reference
- 76mm tank gun documentation
- M1A1C and M1A2 gun variant research
- U.S. armored vehicle ordnance reference
- M4 Sherman and M18 Hellcat research collections
- post-World War II technical publication history
- maintenance and inspection-support context
- restoration and display support
- archival and museum documentation
- historical reference for combat-vehicle armament collections
That makes it useful not only as a collectible, but also as a practical historical reference for anyone studying how the U.S. military documented 76mm combat-vehicle guns in the postwar period.
Historical Significance
The date September 1947 places this publication in the early post-World War II period, when the U.S. military was preserving and updating the technical literature for major weapons, vehicles, artillery, tank guns, gun mounts, and support equipment that had shaped wartime armored warfare. While the guns themselves were tied to World War II combat-vehicle development, this manual represents the continued official documentation of those systems after the war.
For collectors and historians, this manual is especially relevant to subjects such as:
- post-World War II U.S. military technical manuals
- 76-mm Gun M1A1C documentation
- 76-mm Gun M1A2 documentation
- combat-vehicle mounted gun references
- M4 Sherman 76mm gun research
- M18 Hellcat ordnance documentation
- U.S. Army Ordnance Department publications
Because it covers the M1A1C and M1A2 76mm guns rather than a more general vehicle, shop, or maintenance topic, this manual adds focused historical depth to collections centered on U.S. armored vehicles, tank destroyers, Sherman variants, postwar ordnance references, and official military technical publication history.
About This Manual
This listing is for Technical Manual TM 9-308 for 76-mm Guns M1A1C and M1A2 Mounted in Combat Vehicles, dated September 1947.
It is especially well suited for:
- U.S. military technical manual collections
- World War II and postwar armored vehicle reference collections
- M4 Sherman 76mm gun research libraries
- M18 Hellcat and tank destroyer documentation collections
- U.S. Army Ordnance Department publication displays
- tank gun and combat-vehicle armament reference collections
- museum exhibits on armored vehicle development and support systems
This listing is for the manual only unless otherwise stated. No 76mm gun, combat vehicle, gun mount, ammunition, parts, tools, optics, or additional accessories are included unless specifically shown or noted.
Why This Manual Matters
Many military manuals focus on rifles, pistols, vehicles, communications gear, or general shop equipment. This one documents a more specialized and historically important subject: the 76-mm Guns M1A1C and M1A2 as mounted in combat vehicles.
For collectors, it is a strong stand-alone postwar technical manual with a focused armored-vehicle ordnance subject. For researchers, it offers a useful reference point for U.S. military documentation of 76mm combat-vehicle gun systems. For museums, it helps support displays that explain not only the tanks and tank destroyers themselves, but also the technical literature, gun variants, maintenance references, and ordnance documentation that supported their service use.
Because manuals were working documents, surviving examples are valued not only for their content, but also for their connection to real military documentation, inspection, field support, maintenance practice, and postwar ordnance administration.
Ideal For
This manual is a strong fit for:
- U.S. Army technical manual collections
- World War II and postwar ordnance displays
- M4 Sherman 76mm gun reference collections
- M18 Hellcat and tank destroyer research collections
- combat-vehicle armament displays
- U.S. Army Ordnance Department publication collections
- museum and archival reference libraries
- armored vehicle historians and military researchers
Approx length 9", Approx width 6", Approx height .5", Approx weight 1lbs.
Pictures are stock images of our inventory. Unless otherwise noted, you will not be receiving the exact item shown in the pictures. The pictures are representative of the item's general condition. The item you receive might be slightly better, or worse, condition than was shown in the pictures.
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