The Achilles was a British variant of the American M10 GMC tank destroyer. Standard M10 gun was replaced by a more powerful British anti-tank Ordnance Quick-Firing 17-pounder gun. That allowed the tank destroyer to effectively battle against the German vehicles. In 1944 the re-equipping of the tank destroyer was launched, with a total of 1,100 vehicles re-equipped by the end of the war.