UNITED STATES ARMY

3rd TANK DESTROYER GROUP FLAGS & GUIDONS 1944 Regulations

The US Army's prewar doctrine held that the main mission of tanks was to support the infantry. The mission of combating enemy tanks was given to a newly established Tank Destroyer branch. TD battalions were equipped with either towed or SP anti-tank guns though later most of the towed battalions were converted to SP. The SP tank destroyer was conceived as a fast, lightly armored but well-armed vehicle capable of defeating enemy tanks. Early SP tank destroyers were modified trucks and halftracks but the main models used during the war were fully tracked. By 1944 the towed battalions were equipped with the 3-in. AT gun, halftrack towed. The TD group was intended to coordinate the action of three or four TD battalions in the defense or on the attack. However, combat experience revealed that the basic TD concept was flawed. The Germans seldom employed large numbers of tanks in the attack, depriving the TD group headquarters of its rationale. The TD battalions came to be attached to infantry and armored divisions, and they were mainly used to provide fire support for tanks and infantry. The TD group headquarters were assigned to corps and divisions for various purposes; some, for example, became the Combat Command R of armored divisions. Postwar, the Army decided to abolish the TB branch, its groups and battalions being disbanded or reorganized as tank battalions. Self-propelled TD battalions had a full reconnaissance company; towed battalions had only two reconnaissance platoons in the headquarters company.

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