Maybe someone decided they could make a homemade round and fire it that way.
Here is an interesting article on the M18: http://www.trucktrend.com/truck-reviews/163-1404-1944-buick-m18-hellcat-tank-destroyer-first-drive/
“Maybe someone decided they could make a homemade round and fire it that way.”
The TV news report broadcast an older video of this tank firing as a Discovery crew videotaped the action for their show. They also said this fatal firing was being videotaped. So, it appears something went wrong while they were performing a demonstration firing for the video crew.
Most likely a mis-fire and they opened the breach too soon. It’s been 30+ years since I went through loader trainer and my MS exacerbates my CRS but if I recall you NEVER open the breach immediately after a mis-fire as the round could still go off.
Not precisely. From a source in that line of business:
The two were firing live 76mm rounds for a film crew, making a film for an interactive exhibit. How the round exploded - if that's what it did - inside the Hellcat's open turret is under investigation. As the accident happened on the range of the Central Oregon Shooting Sports Association in unincorporated territory, the investigation will be led by the county Sheriff, L. Shane Nelson. ATF and Oregon State Police have provided investigative assistance.
An emergency call was made immediately. First responders found the victims in the turret; some stories say they still had minimal signs of life, but they were pronounced at the scene.
There has been no indication of whether they were firing continuously (which seems unlikely) or responding to a misfire at the time of the mishap. Overheating (cook-off) or a premature or mis-run misfire drill can produce out-of-battery firing, very bad news in an armored vehicle's main gun. Mechanical failure can't be ruled out, also: the gun was 71 years old, which shouldn't matter much with a steel gun, but the ammunition may have been past its use-by date.