M3 Lee / M3 Grant (Medium Tank, M3)

History

The M3 series of medium tanks came at a time when Allied armour (both in terms of armor protection and armament) was generally inferior to its German counterparts in Europe and North Africa. Evolving from the M2 medium tank propulsion, the M3 was basically a makeshift solution until the legendary M4 Sherman joined the fray. On the face of it, the M3 was an adequate solution, not without its flaws, but it was helpful in the Allies regaining control of North Africa.

Although often written off despite its contributions, the M3 played a vital role in the early to mid-war years of World War II.

At the time of the German invasion of Poland, the United States barely had an effective armament force, largely due to a lack of foresight and funding from the U.S. Congress. During the two world wars after the First World War, the design of light tanks received great attention because these systems would give standard infantry more advantages than medium tanks. The M2 light tank was one such development, but in 1936 the U.S.

Army was looking for a newer, more powerful medium-range tank based on the successful suspension system of the M2 light tank.

The T5 was designed as a five-man system, with the main armament being a 37mm main gun mounted in a fully movable turret. A derivative of the T5 became the T5E2, with a 75mm main gun but mounted on a WW1 style broadside that provided limited traverse. The T5E2 did have a turret, but it had a crew quarters, and the weapons were nothing more than anti-infantry.

30 caliber machine gun.

The T5 itself was an impressive design for its time. It features wide, sharp glacis panels and a straight-sided hull. The turret is armed with a 37mm main gun that rotates 360 degrees and 2 x .30 caliber machine guns. Four limited traverse machine gun mounts - two front and two rear - were installed on the four corners of the superstructure.

The glacis board comes with an extra pair. A 30-caliber machine gun protrudes from the upper hull. The profile is indeed tall, almost one and a half times the height of the average man. The sides of the vehicle are marked with three sets of wheels, a set of two bogies. Sight slots are granted to the driver, superstructure crew and turret operator.

The T5 received the production designation M2 medium tank.

As the conflict in Europe continued to unfold, the idea of ??a medium tank developed in the United States. The M2 has been transformed into an upgraded M2A1 medium tank. Despite its impressive appearance, the M2 was still just a mobile machine gun platform, with its main gun at best engaging lightly armored vehicles. It could have been a great design in World War I, but the speed at which Germany invaded Poland and now France made the M2A1 immediately obsolete. With the fall of Paris, the U.S.

Congress prepared for war and approved funding to modernize the U.S. military. 94 M2A1 tanks for training purposes only.

By August 1940, there was a need for a new medium tank design with improved performance, better armor for the most powerful German anti-tank guns of the time, and a more powerful main gun armament. The design, based on the aforementioned T5E2, was ready in early 1941 and was aptly named "M3".

The design of the M3 is eccentric to say the least, a tank sandwiched between two eras of war. Although the new design featured a more powerful 75mm main gun, it was placed in a limited transverse turret on the right side of the superstructure.

This was essentially a requirement for a proven turret system that was immediately in service in the United States at the time. Instead of investing a lot of time and money developing a useful turret, the M3 should go into production as soon as possible.

Likewise, the powerplanta Wright engine based on an air-cooled aircraftproved to be flawed, but little time was wasted in deploying the M3. An azimuth turret was actually used on the M3, although it was equipped with a less than 37mm main gun.

On top of this tower is another smaller tower, that one. 30 caliber machine gun.

The M3 is a large design, over 10 feet tall. Like anyone familiar with armored warfare, he knew the dangers of using large tanks. The turret layout on the turret did not keep the M3's profile at an acceptable height. To make matters worse, the structure itself is relatively tall. This is required because the engine is mounted on the rear fuselage bracket.

This height forces the drive shaft into a downward position from the rear to the front of the gearbox. This sloping axis forced the crew compartment to be placed higher in the design than would be expected in a tank.

This required further lifting of the main tower, and the extra dome system didn't help much. The original M3 order required a crew of seven. This was later reduced to six and eventually five crew members as the radio operator positions were consolidated.

In fact, the US Army - and the free world for that matter - needs a tank that is fairly capable, ready for mass production, and available in large quantities. As it turns out, the M3 is a priority. The U.S.

Army committed to producing 4,924 M3s beginning in mid-1941, although Army personnel had reservations about the vehicle's capabilities. The M3 was not brisk, and the engines used for the design were severely underpowered to meet expectations for such a medium tank.

Nonetheless, the M3 was a much-needed addition to medium tanks, and the dwindling supply of British tanks in North Africa accelerated production. A second batch of 1,334 vehicles followed, with various brands formed according to configuration. These became the M3A1 (Lee II), M3A2 (Lee 3), M3A3 (Lee IV/Lee V), M3A4 (Lee VI) and M3A5 (Grant II) serial numbers. While in service with the British Army, the M3 took on the designations "General Lee" and "General Grant" (or simply "General Lee" and "General Grant"). The British Army has a tradition of naming American-made tanks in the service of American Civil War generals, both Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant.

This is also evident in the M3/M5 "Stuart" light tank series and the upcoming M4 "Sherman" series. The British M3 was also modified to use a lower-profile "British friendly" turret with a rear-mounted radio, eliminating a crew position.

The heart of the M3 was powered by a Wright (later Continental) R975 EC2 production engine with a whopping 400 hp. The powerplant is linked to a 5-speed synchronous gearbox (with a reverse gear) and a VVSS (Vertical Volute Spring Suspension) system. Top speed is 24.8 mph on the road and 16.15 mph off-road.

The range is less than 120 miles.

Primary armament consists of a 1 x 75mm M2/M3 gun with 46 rounds onboard. The M3's main gun is critical as it can fire both armor-piercing (AP) and high-explosive (HEAT) projectiles (hence, early armor systems required the use of two separate guns/turrets). This is complemented by a 1 x 37mm M5/M6 mount in the turret with 178 projectiles.

Infantry defense goes up to 4 times. 30-06 Browning M1919A4 machine gun, loaded with 9,200 rounds.

The base M3 (Lee I/Grant I) has a riveted hull and a gasoline powered engine. It was followed by the M3A1, which had a cast round upper hull. 300 of this type were produced. Next was the M2A2 with a welded straight hull, of which only about a dozen were produced.

The M2A3 is a twin-engine GM powered 6-71 diesel derivative mated to a welded hull. The side doors of the early M3 have been eliminated as a ballistic weak point. 322 of this type were produced.

The M3A4 has a longer fuselage and a riveted structure. This variant is particularly notable for being equipped with a Chrysler A-57 "Multibank" engine. The Multibank combines five complete engines into a star configuration and is a tank mechanic's worst nightmare. This layout also required a longer hull.

A total of 109 M3A4 series were produced.

The M3A5 is equipped with two GM 6-71 diesel engines (unlike the previous gasoline powerplant). The tank had a riveted hull and as many as 591 examples were produced.

In addition to various combat forms, the M3 also appears in powerful battlefield equipment. These include the M31 Tank Rescue Vehicle (Grant ARV I), the similar M31B1 and M31B2, and the M33 "Prime Mover", a derivative of the artillery tractor.

The chassis was also used to develop the M7 105mm howitzer motor mount, colloquially known as the Priest. In addition, the M3 chassis formed the 155 Gun Motor Carriage M12.

Likewise, the British developed the M3 into their own dedicated battlefield roles, which included Grant ARV, Grand Command, Grant Scorpion III (with a minesweeper flail), and Grant Scorpion IV (similar to Scorpion III, but with extra engine power ) and Grant CDL. Canada's "Cruiser Tank Ram" used the M3 chassis and was equipped with a traditional full lateral turret, but would never see combat action.

The first contact of the M3 was in North Africa in 1942, first by the British and then by the M3 task force driven by the United States. The results were mixed, with the Brits holding a better initial record.

By the time the U.S. stepped in, German armor, experience, and tactics had all improved, providing the M3 crew with a baptism of firepower. At least the M3 was on par with the troops deployed by Germany, leveling the playing field for the Allies for the first time in the war.

The M3 is proving to be a solid machine, and its 75mm is just fine so far. Their armor was highly regarded because it withstood the German weapons of the time.

The limitations are its inherent flaws, such as its slow off-road performance, limited main gun, and high stance - which makes it somewhat vulnerable to pecking at enemy tanks or mobile anti-tank units with fully rotating turrets.

The M3s are found in limited numbers in the Pacific, so they have limited range in the region. However, it proved handy against lightly armored Japanese tanks. Thanks to the arrival of the M4 Sherman series, future tank battles in the region were equally smooth for the Americans.

The Soviets had a bad experience with the M3 offered by Lend-Lease. Overall, the system did not perform well against the more mobile German armored personnel carriers.

The Soviets were looking for a tank that could outperform the others, and the M3 proved to be a huge disappointment, forcing the Russians to look elsewhere.

A total of around 6,258 M3s were produced for all parties involved. Operators are led by the US, UK (through Lend-Lease or outright purchase), Australia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand and the USSR (through Lend-Lease). Production of all M3s ran from August 1941 to December 1942.

The capable M4 Sherman - along with the Soviet T-34, German Panther and 75mm Panzer IV - greatly diminished the combat role of all M3s and effectively ended the domination of these types in war.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

46 x 75 mm main shell

178 x 37mm shells

9,200 times. 30-06 caliber machine gun ammunition