Inquiry: US Marine Corps armour in the Pacific War

Wolfy based on your pics the tankette appears to be about roughly the same size as the Tiger II's turret!

Right after WW2 they could have invented monster truck shows 40 years early by having captured Tigers crush Japanese tankettes!

 

Sorry about not getting to this sooner.

I think it had more to do with Standardization than anything else. By training Marines to fight with every piece of equipment the supply and logistics chain was easier to maintain. It is easier and less costly to train every Marine to fight with Tanks, in support, than it is to have units dedicated to mechanized combat. If you compare the logistical foot print of a mechanized unit and a straight Grunt unit you'll see what I mean.

Everything in the Marine Corps is designed to support the basic infantry unit which is amphibious. In WW2 tanks didn't float too well. It is easier to add an LST with Tanks on it to the invasion equation than try to incorporate a dedicated mechanized unit. Also with armor in a supporting role it is easier to detach them when they are no longer needed and assign them else where.


With very few exceptions the battlefield in the PTO did not lend itself to Tank warfare and the tanks were utilized against fortified positions more than they were against the threat of Japanese Armor.