Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms Space By Flag By Year By Tag

Marmon-Herrington CTLS (CTL)

1935 WORLD WAR 2

History of Marmon-Herrington CTLS (CTL)

Like the U.S. Army after World War I, the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) became interested in adding tanks to their inventory. More specifically, they are looking for a combat vehicle with some amphibious capability that would provide the service with enhanced ship-to-surface combat capabilities.

Like the Army, the Navy had a humble beginning when it formed its first armored platoon in 1923, consisting of a fleet of eight ex-Army 6-ton M1917 light tanks, the successful French Renault FT- The US version of the 17 series.

Thus, the mechanized part of the US Marine Corps was born. It wasn't until the 1930s that more serious consideration was given to developing a true ship-to-shore craft that could be launched from a landing craft. The service then focused on the car manufacturer Marmon-Herrington's new fuel tank, the "CTL-3" (also known as "Combat Tank Light Series" = CTLS).

Then another tank-based platoon was formed in 1935, the core of which was the CTL-3.

The CTLS was produced by Marmon-Herrington in several notable variants: the CTL-1 was originally ordered for the Polish Army, but was not accepted, so only one example was completed. CTL-2 adds more armor protection.

The CLT-3 became the first authoritative brand of the series and carried the aforementioned machine gun weapons. Five were made in 1936, and five more were added in 1939. After being upgraded to the CTL-3M standard in 1941, the group was scrapped in 1943 as World War II raged (1939-1945). The CTL-3A features an improved suspension, while the CTL-3M is a fully upgraded standard on earlier CTL-3 vehicles.

The CTL-3TBD is a further improvement on the base CTL-3 product line, with improved suspension, additional M2 heavy machine guns (two mounted in the turret) and updated tracks.

CTLS-4TAC is an export-oriented form designed to fulfill Lend-Lease agreements for some U.S. allies during World War II. These tanks carried 3 x .30 caliber machine guns and a turret (albeit manually operated). ) while providing enhanced armor protection.

The brand has a production number of 420, with China being the main beneficiary of the product. CTLS-4TAY produced about 420 tanks with drives and turret positions moved from centerline to port.

The CTL-6 is the CTL-3 with the new suspension and track system. However, only 20 examples of this type were produced, and these were already scrapped in 1943.

The U.S. Marine Corps used CTLS tanks in pre-WWII training. After the war started, the series was used as a deterrent role until better options emerged. Due to a shortage of tanks at the beginning of the Pacific campaign, the U.S. military shipped part of the CTLS-4TAC and CTLS-4TAY tank stocks to Alaska for use in the Aleutian campaign.

These received the operational designations "Light Tank T16" and "Light Tank T14".

When Japan invaded the Dutch East Indies, the Netherlands ordered 452 cars and only had about 12 of them. While they can be used in combat, in the long run they can do little. At least 149 of that order were then rescheduled to Australia for tanker crew training.

The Indonesian army used CTLS tanks in the post-war period, these were some ex-Dutch tanks used in the late 1940s.