So, here we have reached the very end of the history of the Lee / Grant tanks, examined them comprehensively, down to what colors they were painted in. Now we just have to look at their combat use, and … that's it! But first, on the basis of the available data, let's try to evaluate them impartially. And again, if you do it with an open mind, it turns out that American designers, under the conditions of a tight time limit, managed to create … the most powerful medium tanks in the world! In 1941, no other tank in the world had such a powerful 76, 2-mm cannon as on the M3. Even after "cutting" the trunk, it was more powerful than the German "cigarette butt" on the T-IV. "Rheinmetall" NbFz had two guns 75 and 37-mm, but they could not compete with the M3 guns, and how many were there? Soviet T-28s also had a "short cannon", and the T-34 cannon was about the same as the American one in terms of its parameters, but did not have a stabilizer. Moreover, even the 37-mm cannon of the American tank was much more powerful than its German counterpart, so that the M3 tank at the time of its appearance had unsurpassed firepower.
For some reason, on the "tank mile" of the Aberdeen training ground, the M3 is still painted like this … In any case, there are no more recent pictures.
For example, the French B-lbis tank with a similar installation of weapons with a 75-mm short cannon between the tracks in the hull to the right of the driver was already bad because the functions of its crew were distributed irrationally (there was only one person in the tower), and the gun was short-barreled, and the driver himself pointed it at the target. True, we had a KV-2 with a 152mm cannon in a huge turret. But it was not a medium tank. It was a heavy tank and cannot be compared to the M3. It is impossible to compare "Tiger" and T-34.
Well, what can you destroy with such a pitiful 75-mm gun? В1bis, Samur, France.
The armament of the M3 "Lee / Grant" tanks allowed them in those years to fight on equal terms with the tanks of Nazi Germany and its allies of all types. The 37 mm gun in the turret hit their armor at a distance of 500 yards (457 m), and 48 mm thick, while the 75 mm gun in the sponson pierced 65 mm armor, that is, thicker than it was on German tanks, and even had a 30-degree inclination to the vertical. But which German tank had such armor in those years? It is worth noting that the 76-mm cannon of the Soviet KV heavy tank at a distance of 500 m could penetrate 69 mm thick armor, and thus, comparing the capabilities of these vehicles in the fight against German tanks, we can say that they were practically equal.
M3 "General Grant" at the Museum in Bovington.
German tank guns, which had a caliber of 37-50 mm, and even more so the short-barreled 75-mm gun of the self-propelled guns "StuG Ш", which we called "Artshturm", could not penetrate the frontal two-inch armor of the M3 from 500 m. And also its 37- mm, the gun had such an elevation angle that it was possible to shoot from it even at planes, which is why the tank received "its own air defense", and not at all "machine-gun quality". The large size of the tank also had a strong effect on the psyche of the enemy, which was especially evident in the Pacific theater of operations and in Asia. True, they also made him noticeable and, accordingly, more amazed. Thus, the M3 had three main drawbacks! The first is great height. The second is a weak engine for such a mass. The third is a difficult maneuver with the main battery gun, and … that's it!
Burning M3 in Libya. "In war, as in war."
The first to start combat service were the M3 tanks of the "Channel Defense": "General Grant CDL" and "Shop Tractor T 10". They were in the 79th Armored Division of Great Britain, and together with the Matilda CDL tanks were supposed to repel the German landing. The division was located on the shores of the English Channel, all of its tanks were in full combat readiness and were strictly classified. But the Germans never landed the landing. Therefore, the baptism of fire M3 received in the sands of sultry Africa.
But this tank became a German trophy.
Here, in January 1942, German and Italian troops, commanded by the "desert fox" E. Rommel, began to advance against the British 8th Army in Libya and were able to push it back from the city of Benghazi to the city of Ghazala. After that, the front here stabilized for a whole long four months. Then the British retaliated and almost defeated the enemy, but the pace of their advance was very low - only 1.5 km in … day. As a result, only in mid-February, British troops were able to reach the Libyan-Tunisian border.
This tank was hit by a German shell right in the edge of the driver's inspection hatch, but … it never pierced the armor!
Then, in November-December 1942, the troops of the Anglo-Americans, practically without encountering resistance, occupied North Africa, which was under the rule of the Vichy government.
Fierce battles began in the spring, but only by May 13 the Germans were defeated, and despite the fact that the allies had a double superiority in the infantry, three times superior to them in artillery, and in tanks - four times! They also had an established and uninterrupted supply of everything necessary for their troops. The losses of the German-Italian troops were very great. So, they had only 120 tanks, while the Allies had about 1100 vehicles in stock.
If you disperse the tank and build a springboard, then … any tank can be turned into a "flying" one. It's a matter of technology!
In these battles, the superiority of the M4 Sherman tanks over the M3 manifested itself in a radical way. Therefore, M3 tanks in the armies of Great Britain and the United States began to be removed from service and transferred to their allies - first of all, countries such as India, Australia and New Zealand, as well as French and Polish military formations that were located in Great Britain. Those vehicles that still remained in the army were converted into various auxiliary combat vehicles: command tanks, minesweeper tanks, repair and recovery vehicles, and in this form they were used until the mid-50s.
Stuck in a ditch in Tunisia …
During the landing operation in Normandy and in the south of France, the Anglo-American troops were armed with the latest tanks, but the M3 tanks were still used in the French and Polish divisions that fought as part of the allied forces. The resilience of the French, who served as part of the US 7th Army near Strasbourg during the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes, and Polish tankers from a tank division in the Lower Meuse region, helped to contain the German tanks, and, in fact, saved the American 7th Army from defeat then.
What distinguishes a "white person" from a black one? Just one thing - having a white ass!
In India, tank forces began to form on May 1, 1941. They were based on the American light tanks M3 "Stuart", which were supplied to the Indian army under Lend-Lease. From 1943, the M3 also went into battle in the jungle of Burma. Here, the massive use of tanks, as well as in the Libyan desert, turned out to be impossible. Therefore, they acted in small groups, or even one by one, solely to support the infantry, which often had to fight on mules, local buffaloes and even elephants.
When the ammunition in the M3 exploded, something like this happened to the tank …
In the desert, the M3 performed well enough. True, the tracks had to be covered with anti-dust shields, because otherwise it would be very “dusty”. However, he was "dusty" with shields, but still less. German tanks were hit from a distance with the first shot, in addition, the M3 developed strong demoralizing fire on the infantry. But the German 88-mm anti-aircraft gun hit it with the very first shot, as well as the captured Soviet F-22 and USV cannons with a bored chamber, and placed on the chassis of the BTR "251". He could not fight on equal terms with the newest German T-IV tanks with long-barreled 75-mm guns in 42 and 48 calibers.
Australian tank crews are studying the M3. Photo of 1942.
But in Burma, the M3 tank showed itself from the best side. Japanese tanks armed with 37mm cannons could not hit their frontal armor from a distance of 500 meters, but were themselves easy prey for General Lee's 75mm guns. The Japanese army did not have high-quality anti-tank guns. In the infantry, to fight them, suicide squads were created, who, tied with sacks of dynamite, with mines in their hands or bottles with combustible mixtures in their hands, threw themselves under these tanks, or hid in the thickets and tried to shove mines under the tanks with the help of bamboo poles. The tankers responded by putting the infantry on their vehicles, and then the Japanese began to use aircraft against them. To this end, the Ki-44-II Otsu fighters were armed with two 40-mm Ha-301 cannons instead of the standard 20-mm cannons mounted in the wing. Two 12.7 mm machine guns were retained on them. They used these vehicles as attack aircraft, but the ammunition for the guns was scanty: only 10 rounds per barrel. The 64th Air Force Regiment of the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded by Major Yasukoho Kuroe, fought on these aircraft.
As for the self-propelled 105-mm howitzers M7 "Priest" based on the M3, they also performed very well in the Libyan desert, being part of the British 8th Army. Then they entered service with the British, American and French armies, they were used to support the infantry in the battles in Sicily, Italy and northern Europe. These M7 howitzers were in service in many armies of the world until the mid-50s.
“Under the banner of Lenin, forward to victory! For Stalin! - you can see right away - our tank.
The command and staff vehicles from the M3 tanks began to be remodeled in 1943. At the same time, the weapons and both ammunition racks were dismantled - in the hull and in the turret (the latter is at the same time with the upper turret), after which a sufficiently large free compartment could be equipped inside the vehicle, in which a powerful radio station and various other equipment were installed - that is, everything that was required for staff work. Outwardly, these machines were similar to the ARV-1, and did not have any cannons or turrets. However, in the US Army, the turret with a 37-mm gun was left on them. These "tanks" were used by the commanders of tank regiments and divisions, and they could also carry operational groups of the headquarters of tank divisions. The number of converted vehicles was small.
Obviously, this part included both M3s and M3l (according to the Soviet classification).
Repair and recovery vehicles ARV were in service with special units and operated in the second echelon of active tank formations. Their task was to repair and evacuate tanks that were damaged in one way or another. But on the Western Front, tank battles like those in Russia practically did not take place. Because of this, ARVs were used rather limitedly.
Soviet M3s near Vyazma. 1942 year.
The Kangaroo armored personnel carrier was designed specifically for transporting infantry after advancing tanks. These vehicles were attached to the British armored divisions operating in Europe. But their combat use was sporadic. For some time, these armored personnel carriers after the war were in service in the Australian army.
“Modesty is like underwear,” the French say. - You should have it, but you shouldn't show it to everyone! " Damaged tank M3 "Li" "Soviet Heroes" in the area of Bliznovsky-Kabal (north of Bolkhov, Oryol region) July 1942. Most likely, this tank belonged to 192 TB (61st Army). So the tankers from this tank came "according to the French recipe." But … isn't it real heroism to fight in such a terrible war, and even on such a tank ?!
As for the USSR, here the M3 tanks were greeted without enthusiasm. The fact is that in the middle of 1942, Germany had already begun to produce T-IIIJ and T-IIlL tanks with 50-mm armor and, moreover, armed with a long-barreled 50-mm gun that pierced armor up to 75 mm thick at a distance of 500 m. and also began production of the T-IVF tank and the StuG III assault gun, which also had a long-barreled 75-mm gun with high efficiency. So the armor of the M3 has already ceased to save. It required speed, as well as maneuverability and stealth, and all these qualities were missing from the M3. Tall, with poor maneuverability on Russian roads, with an insufficiently powerful engine (340 hp versus 500 hp for the T-34 of the same mass) and very sensitive to the quality of fuel and lubrication, it did not evoke good reviews from tankers. But these shortcomings would still be bearable if not for its rubber-metal tracks. The rubber on them often burned out, and the tracks simply fell apart, and the tank turned into a stationary target. And it is clear that the tankers did not like this. Neither the comfortable conditions of its operation and maintenance, nor the convenient side doors that made it possible to easily get out of the wrecked car, nor its strong armament could soften their opinion about the tank. There is a well-known report from the commander of the 134th tank regiment, Colonel Tikhonchuk, dated December 14, 1942, in which he assesses the M3 tanks: “American tanks in the sands work extremely poorly, the tracks continually fall, get stuck in the sand, lose power, so the speed is extremely low. When firing at enemy tanks, due to the fact that the 75-mm cannon is mounted in a mask, and not in the turret, it is necessary to turn the tank, which buries itself in the sand, which makes it very difficult to fire."
In the American army, there were also such mixed units, where veterans of the M3 fought along with the new M4s. True, … not for long.
Here, however, it should be noted that neither the British nor the Americans used the M3 as intensively as in the Red Army, and the intensity of the battles both in Africa and on the Western Front was very far from everything that took place on Eastern Front.
However, the allies fully realized the shortcomings of the M3 and therefore very quickly removed them from production. Since August 1942, the M4 "Sherman" tank began to be produced in the USA, and the Mk VIII "Cromwell" in England. It was a "one-day" tank, and when that day passed, well-developed US industry … supplied the army with a new tank. Initially, there were no reserves for upgrading the M3!
It is interesting that the same fate befell our domestic supertank KV. It was invulnerable in 1941, but did not satisfy the military in 1942, primarily because of its driving characteristics. To improve the maneuverability of the KV tank, its designers decided to even go for … reducing the thickness of the armor on it, and this despite the fact that 75 mm armor by this time was already being penetrated by German shells !!!
Under Lend-Lease, the USSR received tanks of such modifications as MZAZ and MZA5, which had diesel engines. In total, about 300 vehicles were delivered to us: by the northern route - by sea through Murmansk, and by the southern route - through Iran.
Another Soviet M3.
It was not particularly accepted to write about the actions of American M3 tanks in the Red Army, so as not to praise, thus, the technology of our ideological enemy. But in the 5th volume of "History of the Second World War", published in 1975, there is a photograph showing a tank attack of Soviet tanks MZAZ "Grant" and M3 "Stuart" in the Kalach-on-Don area in the summer of 1942 (although the American historian Stephen Zaloga dates it to 1943), which suggests that American tanks were in the 13th Corps of the 1st Panzer Army. The 134th Tank Regiment operated there together with the 4th Guards Cossack Corps in the area northeast of the city of Mozdok, and fought with the German Panzer Corps "F" there on these tanks. M3 tanks also took part in the battles near Kharkov, fought with the Germans in the Kalmyk steppes south of Stalingrad, as well as in the North Caucasus, and, possibly, in the Far East.
Interestingly, during the transportation of tanks by PQ convoys, the 37-mm guns of the M3 tanks, which were openly on the decks, were used to fire at aircraft. This is probably the only case when tanks took part in battles at sea.
