I think the first US AFVs to get names were the M24 Chaffee and M26 Pershing either at the end of the war or shortly therafter. Certainly by 1951 when the M41 was changed from Bulldog to Walker Bulldog after General Walker was killed in Korea during its’ development.
I see, well you learn something new every day. So did the British use of US generals names have any influence on the system the Americans came up with.
Hmm, so it would seem, hadn’t really thought of it till now!
Oddly it seems the only US AFV to have an American name during the Second World War was the M18 Gun Motor Carriage (GMC) which the public relation guys at the other GMC (General Motors Corporation) slapped the name ‘Hellcat’ on and it stuck.
Zaloga claims that the M3/M5 Stuart was generally refereed to by the troops as a ‘light’ or ‘light tank’, the M4 Sherman as a ‘medium’ rather than the designation or name- aka ‘we’re bringing up two lights and a medium’. The M10 was just a ‘TD’ and a M36 was a 90mm TD. Or so he claims, I have no idea myself.
I suppose that it set precendent, but that is strictly a guess on my part.