Built as a successor the venerable M5, The M24 Chaffee was without question the finest light tank of World War II, it's success exemplified by a long post-war combat history as well. The M24 added a significantly more powerful punch to the M5's 37-mm gun which was all but inadequate against most German armor. This took the form of the 75-mm M6 gun, a variant of the same gun used by the M3 and M4 medium tanks. However, the M24 was also a significant improvement over the M5 in terms of armor protection thanks to a well-designed sloped hull, low profile, and elimination of shot traps. This also gave the M24 a remarkably modern appearance for a World War II tank, certainly compared to its other US contemporaries. Ease of maintenance was also a priority as was cross-country capability for fulfilling its main role as a reconnaissance tank. M24s were first deployed to Northwest Europe in late 1944, seeing action in the Battle of the Bulge. However, it never fully replaced the M5 by war's end but was still in widespread service during the Korean War where it was among the first to engage North Korean tanks before M4s and M26s were deployed in larger numbers. It found numerous export customers in the post-war era, where some were in service as late as the 1990s. These included NATO partners Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey (plus the UK during wartime).

The initial T24 prototype was completed in October 1943 and was later standardized as the M24 Light Tank of which just over 4,000 were built by the end of the war in Europe. There was no other basic tank variant but other developments led to the M19 Gun Motor Carriage with twin 40-mm AA-guns, the M37 105-mm and M41 155-mm Howitzer Motor Carriages, T77 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage with six .50-in guns, as well as T9 and T13 utility vehicles, T22, T23, and T33 cargo carriers, T42 and T43 cargo tractors, and T9 with bulldozer kit. Foreign operators also undertook numerous modifications such as the fitting of 90-mm guns.