The most "stupid" armored vehicles supplied by the USSR under Lend-Lease were the American M3 medium tanks, the varieties of which were called "General Lee" and "General Grant" in England. All modifications of the M3 had such an original appearance that it was difficult to confuse them with German or Soviet counterparts.
BROTHER'S GRAVE
According to its design, the M3 was a machine from the First World War with the location of the gun in the onboard sponson, as on the British Mk I, Mk VIII tanks, only instead of a fixed wheelhouse it had a rotating turret. The engine was in the stern, the transmission was located in the front of the hull, and the gearbox was located under the turret floor.
The tank hull was made of flat armor plates. The thickness of the armor remained the same on all models: two inches (51 mm) for the forehead, one and a half inches (38 mm) for the sides and stern, half an inch (12.7 mm) for the hull roof. The bottom had a variable thickness - from half an inch (12.7 mm) under the engine to one inch (25.4 mm) in the fighting compartment. Tower armor: walls - two inches and a quarter (57 mm), roof - seven-eighths (22 mm). The front plate was installed at an angle of 600 to the horizon, the side and rear plates were installed vertically.
The M3 was equipped with a cast sponson with a 75 mm cannon mounted on the right side of the hull and did not go beyond its dimensions. Above the hull of the tank towered a cast turret with a 37-mm gun, shifted to the left, it was crowned with a small turret with a machine gun. The height of this "pyramid" reached 10 feet 3 inches (3214 mm). The M3 is 18 feet 6 inches (5639 mm) long, 8 feet 11 inches (2718 mm) wide, and its ground clearance is seventeen and one-eighth inches (435 mm). True, the fighting compartment of the vehicle was spacious and is still considered one of the most comfortable.
From the inside, the M3 hull was pasted over with spongy rubber to protect the crew from small fragments of armor. Doors on the sides, hatches on the top and in the machine-gun turret provided a quick landing for tankers. In addition, the former were convenient when evacuating the wounded from the vehicle, although they reduced the strength of the hull. Each crew member could fire from personal weapons through viewing slots and embrasures, protected by armored visors.
The MZA1 and MZA2 modifications were equipped with an aviation star-shaped nine-cylinder carburetor engine Wright Continental R 975 EC2 or C1 with a capacity of 340 hp. with. It provided the 27-ton tank with a top speed of 26 mph (42 km / h) and a mileage of 120 miles (192 km) with a transportable fuel supply of 175 gallons (796 liters). The disadvantages of the engine include its high fire hazard, since it ran on high-octane gasoline, and the difficulty in servicing, especially the cylinders that are at the bottom.
The main weapon of the tank was a 75-mm M2 cannon in a sponson with an almost three-meter barrel. It was designed at the Westerfleit arsenal based on a French 75-mm field gun of the 1897 model, adopted by the US Army after the First World War. The gun had a single-plane aiming stabilizer, a semi-automatic bolt and a barrel blowing system after firing. By the way, it was at the MZ that the vertical aiming stabilization system was used for the first time in the world, which later served as a prototype for similar systems in the tanks of many armies. The gun pointing angles vertically - 140 horizontally - 320, then the gun was guided by turning the entire tank. The vertical aiming of the gun was carried out both by an electrohydraulic drive and manually. Ammunition was located in the sponson and on the floor of the vehicle.
However, when installing the M2 gun on the tank, it turned out that the barrel extends beyond the front line of the hull. This greatly alarmed the military, who were afraid that the car could catch on to something with a cannon while moving. At their request, the barrel length was reduced to 2.33 m, which, of course, worsened the ballistics of the gun. Such a truncated cannon was assigned the MZ index, and when mounted in a tank, so as not to alter the stabilization system, a counterweight was put on the barrel, which looks like a muzzle brake.
The 37 mm cannon was created in the same Westerfleit arsenal in 1938. On the M3 tank, its modifications M5 or M6 were installed in a turret rotating on 3600. The vertical aiming angles made it possible to fire at low-flying aircraft. The turret also housed a machine gun paired with a cannon, and on top was a small turret rotating at 3600, with another machine gun. The tower had a rotating floor with walls separating the fighting compartment into a separate compartment. The ammunition of the gun was located in the turret and on a rotating floor.
The weight of the M3 was 27.2 tons, and the number of crew members was 6-7 people.
Tankers called the M3 medium tanks supplied to the USSR as a “common grave”.
PREFERRED STRAIGHT AND Smooth ROADS
The Yankees were smart enough to assign the Stuart light tank the same M3 index as the medium tank. Therefore, in Soviet official documents, these tanks were called light (l.) M3 and medium (cf.) M3. It is not hard to guess how our tank crews decoded “cf. M3.
The weight of the light M3 was 12.7 tons, the thickness of the armor was 37.5-12.5 mm. Ammunition for the 37 mm M3 cannon - 103 rounds. Crew - 4 people. Highway speed - 56 km / h. The cost of the M3 light tank is $ 42,787, and the M3 medium tank is $ 76,200.
The properties of the American M3 tanks are shown quite well in the GBTU report dated November 1, 1943: “On the march, the M3-s and M3-l tanks are hardy and reliable. They are easy to maintain. They allow you to make marches at higher average speeds compared to domestic tanks.
Straighter and wider roads should be preferred when choosing a route. The presence of a large turning radius of the M3-s and M3-l tanks, on narrow roads with frequent curvatures, causes the danger of cars going into roadside ditches and reduces the speed of movement.
When marching in winter conditions, tanks have the following disadvantages:
a) low adhesion of the caterpillar to the ground, which leads to slipping, lateral and direct sliding (with inept actions of the driver on ups, downs and rolls, the tank loses control);
b) the spurs of the existing design do not sufficiently provide the tank against slipping and sliding of the tracks and fail very quickly. It is necessary to change the design of the spur and attach it to the track to provide more traction with the ground and prevent side slip;
c) when one caterpillar hits a ditch, a funnel, the tank, having a double differential in steering control, due to the slipping of the caterpillar, which is under a low load, cannot independently overcome obstacles. A skid track that is tilted tends to subside …
Of the marches carried out in the regiment, it was revealed:
a) power reserve on a winter rolled road:
for М3-с - 180-190 km, for M3-l - 150-160 km;
b) Average technical speed of movement on a dirt road in winter:
for М3-с - 15-20 km, for M3-l - 20-25 km.
In the M3-c tank, the crew is accommodated comfortably, the landing is free. The motor fan ensures clean air and a normal temperature inside the tank.
Physical tension management is not required.
The suspension of the tank ensures a smooth ride.
Crew fatigue is negligible.
In the M3-l tank, the placement of the crew is cramped, the control of the tank is difficult and with prolonged work of the crew in the tank, its fatigue is large compared to the M3-s. Due to the lack of facilitating devices, the driver, in comparison with the M3-s, spends more effort on controlling the tank.
The commander of the M3-l tank is almost isolated from the crew - he is located behind the cradle and control of other means, except for the TPU (tank intercom. - A. Sh.), Is difficult …
Maneuverability on swampy ground is poor due to high specific pressure (especially for M3-s), which leads to deep immersion of the track into the ground, a sharp decrease in speed and difficulty in turns.
The M3-L stands out for the better, having the ability to overcome marshy areas of insignificant length at high speeds.
Movement in the forest with stumps is difficult.
The guns on the M3-s and M3-l are reliable in battle. Due to the special arrangement of the sights from the cannons, fire is conducted only with direct fire.
The telescopic sights of the guns are simple in design and accurate when shooting. Gun commanders find targets through them easier than other scopes, keep them in sight more steadily, and quickly set up a sight.
The negative side of the 75-mm gun of the M3-s tank is the small horizontal angle of fire (32 degrees).
The high power of machine gun fire (four Browning machine guns) does not give the desired effect due to the lack of sights on the machine guns, with the exception of a machine gun paired with a 37 mm cannon. In frontal machine guns there is absolutely no possibility of observing the fire, which makes it possible to use their fire only after passing the battle formations of their infantry …
Armor resistance is low. From a distance of 800 m, it breaks through with all anti-tank artillery. A large-caliber machine gun penetrates the M3-L armor from a distance of 500 m. The M3-C armor cannot be penetrated by a large-caliber machine gun.
Tanks M3-s and M3-l, operating on gasoline engines, are highly flammable. When shells hit the fighting or engine compartment, a fire often occurs due to the presence of gasoline vapors inside the tank. The fuel is flammable from detonation. These reasons cause large losses of crew personnel.
The two stationary and two portable fire extinguishers available on the tank are effective. If they are used in a timely manner, the fire, as a rule, stops."
Often mistaken for an enemy
The best and most massive US medium tank was the M4 Sherman. Tests of the experienced "Sherman" with a 75-mm cannon in the turret began in September 1941 at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds.
The hull of the M4A2 tank was welded from rolled armor plates. The upper frontal plate 50 mm thick was located at an angle of 470. The sides of the hull are vertical. The angle of inclination of the feed slabs is 10-120. The armor of the sides and stern was 38 mm thick, the hull roof was 18 mm.
The cast cylindrical tower was mounted on a ball bearing. The forehead and sides were protected by 75 mm and 50 mm armor, respectively, the stern - 50 mm, the roof of the tower - 25 mm. In the front of the turret, a mask of a paired armament installation (armor thickness - 90 mm) was attached.
The 75 mm M3 cannon or the 76 mm M1A1 (M1A2) cannon was paired with the 7.62 mm Browning M1919A4 machine gun. The vertical guidance angles of the guns are the same: -100, +250.
The ammunition load of the M4A2 machine consisted of 97 rounds of 75 mm caliber.
The tank was equipped with a power plant of two 6-cylinder GMC 6046 diesel engines, located in parallel and connected into one unit: the torque from both was transmitted to one propeller shaft. The power plant had a capacity of 375 liters. with. at 2300 rpm. The fuel range reached 190 km.
M4A2 weight - 31.5 tons. Crew - 5 people. Road speed - 42 km / h.
Since 1943, the USA has also produced modernized Sherman tanks: M4A3 with a 105-mm howitzer and M4A4 with a long-barreled 75-mm M1A1 cannon (its version with a muzzle brake had the M1A2 index).
According to American data, 4063 M4A2 tanks of various variants were delivered to the USSR (1990 vehicles with a 75-mm cannon and 2073 with a 76-mm cannon) and two M4A4s.
Dmitry Loza tells about the participation of "Shermans" in battles in his book "Tankman on a" Foreign Car ". In the fall of 1943, the tank regiments of the 5th mechanized corps, which was being reorganized in the area of the city of Naro-Fominsk, received American M4A2 Sherman instead of the British Matilda.
On November 15, 1943, the 233rd Tank Brigade, equipped with Shermans, was sent to the Kiev area.
“The Ukrainian autumn of 1943,” writes Loza, “greeted us with rain and sleet. At night, the roads, covered with a strong ice crust, turned into a skating rink. Each kilometer of the way required the expenditure of considerable efforts of the driver mechanics. The fact is that the tracks of the Sherman's caterpillars were rubberized, which increased their service life, and also reduced the noise of the propeller. The clanking of caterpillars, such a characteristic unmasking feature of the thirty-four, was practically inaudible. However, in difficult road and ice conditions, these tracks of the "Sherman" became its significant drawback, not providing reliable coupling of the tracks with the roadbed. The tanks were put on skis.
The first battalion was moving at the head of the column. And although the situation demanded to hurry up, the speed of movement dropped sharply. As soon as the driver stepped on the gas a little, the tank became difficult to control, slipped into a ditch, or even stood across the road. In the course of this march, we made sure in practice that trouble does not go alone. It soon became clear that the "Shermans" were not only "easy-sliding", but also "fast-tipping". One of the tanks, skidding on the icy road, pushed the outside of the track into a small bump on the side of the road and instantly fell on its side. The column stood up. Approaching the tank, the joker Nikolai Bogdanov uttered bitter words: "This is fate-evil, now our companion!.."
Vehicle commanders and driver-mechanics, seeing such a thing, began to "spur" the caterpillar, winding wire on the outer edges of the tracks, inserting bolts into the holes of the propeller. The result was not slow to show itself. Cruising speed increased dramatically. The passage was completed without incident … Three kilometers north of Fastov, the brigade saddled the highway leading to Byshev."
Soviet tank crews called the M4 "emcha". Taking part in repelling the enemy's attempts to break out of the Korsun-Shevchenko "cauldron", the "emchists" used this method of fighting heavy enemy tanks. In each platoon, two Shermans were allocated for one attacking Tiger. One of them, letting the German tank reach 400-500 m, hit the caterpillar with an armor-piercing projectile, the other caught the moment when the whole caterpillar turned the "cross" with its side, and sent him a blank into the fuel tanks.
“Two events,” says Loza, “make me vividly remember the day of August 13, 1943: the baptism of fire (my first encounter with the enemy) and the tragedy that unfolded before my eyes when our anti-tank artillery fired at our tanks. The second time I witnessed the fatal friendly fire was in January 1944 in the village of Zvenigorodka, when the tanks of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian fronts met, which closed the encirclement around the Korsun-Shevchenko group of Germans.
These tragic episodes occurred due to the ignorance of many soldiers and officers that our units were armed with foreign-made tanks (in the first case, the British "Matilda", and in the second - the American "Shermans"). In both the first and second cases, they were mistaken for German, which led to the death of the crews.
Early morning. Our 233rd Tank Brigade was concentrated in the mixed forest from the evening of 12 August. The first battalion of the brigade stretched along its western edge. My first company was on its left flank, 200 meters from a country road, beyond which a buckwheat field stretched.
The front line ran about two kilometers from us along the Bolva River …
The 2nd Brigade was ordered to return to the previously occupied area. Its commander ordered the subunits to follow independently to the points of their former deployment, without lining up into a common marching column. This is a perfectly reasonable order that can save you a lot of time. Moreover, this maneuver was carried out at a distance of only 2-3 kilometers. The company of senior lieutenant Knyazev, when making a counterattack, was on the left flank of the battle formation of the tank regiment. For her, the shortest path was through the buckwheat field, that is, past the position of the artillerymen and our location. It was in this very closest way that he led the comrades of their subordinates. Three head "Matildas" appeared from behind a small bump and went straight across the field. A few seconds later, two vehicles caught fire, met by volleys from our anti-tank battery. Three men from my company rushed to the gunners. While they reached them, the latter managed to fire a second volley. The third "Matilda" stopped with a torn-up undercarriage. The crews of Knyazev's company did not remain in debt. Returning fire, they destroyed two guns, along with their crews. We started firing green rockets that served as a signal to "our troops." The anti-tank crews stopped firing. The tank guns also fell silent. Mutual exchange of fire cost the parties dearly: 10 dead, three tanks out of order, two guns destroyed.
The commander of the artillery battery could not find a place for himself. What a shame for his unit: mistaking "Matilda" for enemy tanks, they shot their own! The fact that the calculations did not have the silhouettes of the foreign cars that appeared here was a huge omission of the higher headquarters.
… January 28, 1944. At 13 o'clock in the center of Zvenigorodka, a meeting of tankmen of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian fronts took place. The goal of the operation was achieved - the encirclement of a large enemy grouping in the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky ledge was completed.
For us - the "Shermanists" of the first battalion of the 233rd Tank Brigade - the joy of this great success turned out to be overshadowed. The battalion commander, Captain Nikolay Maslyukov, died …
His tank and two vehicles from the platoon of junior lieutenant Pyotr Alimov jumped out onto the central city square. From the opposite side, two T-34s of the 155th brigade of the 20th tank corps of the 2nd Ukrainian Front rushed here. Maslyukov was delighted: the combination of the forward units of the troops marching towards each other had taken place. They were separated by a distance of no more than 800 meters. Combat-1 began to report the situation at this hour to the brigade commander. And in mid-sentence the connection was cut off …
An armor-piercing 76-mm projectile fired by one of the T-34s pierced the side of the Sherman. The tank caught fire. The captain was killed, two crew members were injured. The ensuing drama is a direct result of the "thirty-fours" ignorance: they did not know that units of the neighboring front were armed with "foreign-made" tanks.
Loza speaks honestly about American tank ammunition: “As for the shells, they“showed”their best side, being perfectly packed in cardboard cases and tied in three pieces. The main thing is that, unlike the T-34-76 shells, they did not detonate when the tank caught fire.
Until the end of the war in the west and in the battle with the Japanese Kwantung Army, there was not a single case in which a burning Sherman exploded in ammunition. Working at the MV Frunze Military Academy, I found out through the appropriate specialists that American gunpowders were of very high purity and did not explode in a fire, as our shells did. This quality allowed the crews not to be afraid to take shells in excess of the norm, loading them on the floor of the fighting compartment so that they could be walked on. In addition, they were laid on the armor, wrapped in pieces of tarpaulin, tightly tied with twine to the blinds and over the caterpillar wings …
Since we are talking about radio communications and Sherman radio stations, I will pay them a little attention. I must say that the quality of the radio stations on these tanks aroused the envy of the tankers who fought in our vehicles, and not only among them, but also among the soldiers of other combat arms. We even allowed ourselves to make gifts by radio stations, which were perceived as "royal", primarily to our artillerymen …
For the first time, the radio communications of the brigade units were subjected to a comprehensive check in the January-March battles of the forty-fourth year in the Right-Bank Ukraine and near Yassy.
As you know, each "Sherman" had two radio stations: VHF and HF. The first is for communication within platoons and companies at a distance of 1.5-2 kilometers. The second type of radio station was intended for communication with the senior commander. Good hardware. We especially liked that having established a connection, it was possible to tightly fix this wave - no shaking of the tank could bring it down.
And one more unit in an American tank still causes my admiration. In my opinion, we have not spoken about him before. This is a small-sized gasoline engine designed for recharging batteries. A wonderful thing! It was located in the fighting compartment, and its exhaust pipe was brought out on the starboard side. It was possible to launch it to recharge the batteries at any time. During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet T-34s had to drive five hundred horsepower of the engine to keep the battery in working order, which was quite an expensive pleasure, given the consumption of motor resources and fuel."
Our "tanker in a foreign car" gives mostly favorable comments about the "Shermans". In fact, he had enough flaws. Comparing the T-34 with the Sherman, it is necessary to clarify what modifications are in question, since otherwise the comparison is incorrect. In my opinion, these machines are about the same level, but the T-34 is more adapted to the conditions of the Eastern Front. Alas, both tanks were significantly inferior to the German Panther.
