Misplaced Pages

#951048

95-629: The M3 Lee , officially Medium Tank, M3 , was an American medium tank used during World War II . The turret was produced in two different forms, one for US needs and one modified to British requirements to place the radio next to the commander. In British Commonwealth service, the tank was called by two names: tanks employing US-pattern turrets were called " Lee ", named after Confederate general Robert E. Lee , while those with British-pattern turrets were known as " Grant ", named after Union general Ulysses S. Grant . Design commenced in July 1940, and

190-478: A hull-down firing position. In addition, the use of riveted hull superstructure armor on the early versions led to spalling , where the impact of enemy shells caused the rivets to break off and become projectiles inside the tank. Later models were built with all-welded armor to eliminate this problem. These lessons had already been applied to the design and production of the M4. The M3 was replaced in front-line roles by

285-450: A turret on a tracked chassis so they superficially resemble tanks. However, they are generally lightly armoured, which is insufficient to withstand direct-fire combat; nonetheless this protects their crews against shrapnel and small arms and therefore they are usually included as armoured fighting vehicles . Many are equipped with machine guns for defense against enemy infantry. The key advantage of self-propelled over towed artillery

380-482: A 75mm weapon in its turret. Producing a new turret design would delay production and while it was decided to start work on a 75mm turret design, an interim solution was sought. An experimental modification of an improved M2 Medium into a self-propelled gun - the T5E2 - had been tested with a 75m pack howitzer in the front hull and it was decided to base the interim design on this work. The existing M2 hull could be used with

475-461: A dual-purpose main gun that could fire an armor-piercing projectile at a velocity high enough for effectively piercing armor, as well as deliver a high-explosive shell that was large enough to be effective. Using a hull-mounted gun, the M3 design could be produced faster than a tank with the same gun in a turret. It was understood that the M3 design was flawed, but Britain urgently needed tanks. A drawback of

570-676: A factory and so their first tanks were complete - a bit before Detroit's - in April 1941. Even then the shortage of components meant that after American Locomotive's ceremonial driving of its first tank before senior officials, the transmission was removed and sent to Baldwin so that they could carry out a similar ceremony a few days later. The British placed contracts for the Grant with Baldwin, Lima Locomotive and Pullman-Standard in October 1940 Canada did place an order with Montreal Locomotive Works ,

665-621: A few Komsomolets tractor-mounted 57   mm ZiS-2 guns early in the war. By 1943, the series of Samokhodnaya Ustanovka casemate-armored vehicles had started to appear at the front, starting with the SU-85 , and by late 1944 the SU-100 , which mounted powerful guns on modern chassis adopting the full-casemate enclosure of the crew compartment as the Germans had done with the StuG III. These had

760-506: A high silhouette, an archaic sponson mounting of the main gun preventing the tank from taking a hull-down position, and riveted construction. It was considered by Hans von Luck (a German army officer who wrote the post-war memoir Panzer Commander ), to be superior in May 1942 to the Panzer IV and able to operate out of range of German 5 cm anti-tank guns. However, by mid-1943, with

855-415: A larger caliber, medium-velocity 75 mm gun – was in an offset sponson mounted in the hull with limited traverse. The sponson mount was necessary because, at the time, American tank plants did not have the design experience necessary to make a gun turret capable of holding a 75 mm weapon. A small turret with a lighter, high-velocity 37 mm gun sat on top of the tall hull. A small cupola on top of

950-430: A limited post-war arms race of progressively more heavily armed and armoured designs. With the rise of more sophisticated anti-tank missile weapons, to which heavy tanks had demonstrated high vulnerability, these too were eventually phased out. With advances in technology, aspects such as mobility, armour and weaponry pushed the medium tank to form the core of a country's armoured fighting capability, eventually merging into

1045-467: A redesigned superstructure and the M2A1 37 mm turret. The contract for 1,000 M2A1s was cancelled and replaced with one for 1,000 M3s, though the M3 had not yet been designed. The Ordnance Department allocated 60 days for the design work. At the same time, the 75 mm gun design was started by Watervliet Arsenal ; the new gun was based on the 75mm field gun The design was unusual because the main weapon –

SECTION 10

#1732772557952

1140-401: A return roller mounted directly atop the main housing of each of the six suspension units (three per side), designed as self-contained and readily replaced modular units bolted to the hull sides. The turret was power-traversed by an electro-hydraulic system in the form of an electric motor providing the pressure for the hydraulic motor. This fully rotated the turret in 15 seconds. Control was from

1235-505: A significant role throughout the Cold War era conflicts and in the 1991 Gulf War . Modern SP artillery is highly computerized, with the ability to self-survey firing positions using systems such as GPS and inertial navigation systems . This, in conjunction with digital fire control /ballistic computers and digital communications, allows individual guns to disperse over a wide area and still deliver rounds on target simultaneously with

1330-535: A simple rocket rack on the back, a cheap and crushingly effective weapon, provided area saturation was called for rather than accurate fire. The Axis powers had captured the Katyusha and made their own versions; Germany created the 8 cm Raketen-Vielfachwerfer , while Romania developed the Mareșal tank destroyer , an early prototype of which was armed with a Katyusha. It also had self-propelled howitzer versions. After

1425-431: A spade grip on the gun. The same motor provided pressure for the gun stabilizing system. The 75 mm gun was operated by a gunner and a loader; sighting the gun used an M1 periscope – with an integral telescope – on the top of the sponson. The periscope rotated with the gun. The sight was marked from zero to 3,000 yd (2,700 m), with vertical markings to aid deflection shooting at a moving target. The gunner laid

1520-653: A subsidiary of American Locomotive, for the production of over 1000 M3s. but in January this turned into design and production of the Ram tank which was based on the M3 lower hull and suspension. Of the 6,258 M3 variants manufactured, 2,887 (45%) were supplied to the British government for use by British and Commonwealth forces. 1,685 of these were Grants which the UK ordered directly from US industry for cash and which did not fall under

1615-784: A successor to the BT tank series, they combined its excellent mobility with thick, sloped armour and the unprecedented firepower of a 76.2 mm high-velocity gun. The result was the T-34 medium tank , whose superb capabilities shocked the German Wehrmacht when it invaded the Soviet Union. The lessons of Blitzkrieg , first employed by the Germans and eventually adopted by other nations, found their best expression in formations of mutually-supporting medium tanks and motorised infantry . The traditional view of infantry and cavalry tank roles

1710-400: Is a 120 mm automatic twin-barrelled, breech-loaded mortar turret. There are also numerous AFVs and even main battle tanks that can be equipped with a mortar, either outside or inside the cabin. The Israeli Merkava main battle tank carried a 60 mm mortar in the small troop compartment in the rear, which fired through an opening in the roof, allowing the crew to remain protected. This

1805-414: Is that it can be brought into action much faster. Before the towed artillery can be used, it has to stop, unlimber and set up the guns. To move position, the guns must be limbered up again and brought—usually towed—to the new location. By comparison, self-propelled artillery can stop at a chosen location and begin firing almost immediately, then quickly move on to a new position. This shoot-and-scoot ability

1900-561: Is very useful in a mobile conflict and particularly on the advance in open battlefields. Conversely, towed artillery was and remains cheaper to build and maintain. It is also lighter and can be deployed in areas that self-propelled guns cannot reach. Since the Vietnam War , heavy transport helicopters have also been used for rapid artillery deployment albeit at considerable expense and risk, mitigating one of towed artillery's disadvantages. Both self-propelled and towed artillery remain in

1995-727: The Brummbär ), leftover chassis from cancelled programs ( Elefant and Sturer Emil ); others were converted from battle-damaged tanks ( Sturmtiger ). The single most-produced armored fighting vehicle design for Germany in WW II, the Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III) assault gun, in 1936–1937 pioneered the later casemate-style fully enclosed armor that would be used on almost all late-war German self-propelled artillery and Jagdpanzer -format tank destroyers. The Soviets experimented with truck- and tank-based self-propelled weapons, producing

SECTION 20

#1732772557952

2090-460: The Cruiser tank class, while other tank doctrines formed around the medium tank making the main advance. In this later use, medium tanks represent the designer's intent of producing a successful balance of firepower, mobility, and protection. Medium tanks aim to be suitable to the widest variety of roles, with less reliance on other types of tank during normal operations. Background: History of

2185-515: The Islamic gunpowder empires , especially those of Iran, especially in the rugged Iranian plateau , where the transportation of heavy cannons is difficult. The British Gun Carrier Mark I was the first example of a self-propelled gun, fielded in 1917 during World War I . It was based on the first tank , the British Mark I and carried a heavy field gun. The gun could either be fired from

2280-590: The Leopard 1 and T-72 each of which weigh around 40 short tons, while third and subsequent generations have increased markedly in weight and have included some of the heaviest main battle tanks such as the M1 Abrams which is over 60 short tons. In the 1990s the "medium" main battle tanks still proved useful, such as the Canadian Leopard 1 tanks deployed to Kosovo in 1999 which were much better suited to

2375-542: The M3 half track and M113 APC , to vehicles specifically intended to carry a mortar, such as the 2S31 Vena . The Israeli Makmat is a mortar carrier based on the M4 Sherman tank chassis. The Russian army uses a 2S4 Tyulpan (Tulip) self-propelled 240 mm heavy mortar. Patria Hägglunds , a joint venture between Finnish Patria and Swedish BAE Systems Hägglunds , manufactures AMOS (Advanced Mortar System), which

2470-819: The Marder I , using captured French Lorraine 37L tractors, the Marder II , using the Panzer II light tank chassis, and the Marder III , which was based on the Panzer 38(t) Czech chassis. These led to better-protected assault guns – Sturmgeschütz – with fully enclosed casemates , built on medium tank chassis. In the same way self-propelled anti-tank guns such as the Jagdpanzer IV and Jagdpanther were built. Some designs were based on existing chassis (such as

2565-673: The Soviet Union , although only 957 of these reached Russian ports due to German U-boat and air attacks on Allied convoys. The M3 brought much-needed firepower to British forces in the campaign in the North African desert . Early Grants were shipped directly to Egypt and lacked some fitments (such as radio) that were remedied locally. Under the "Mechanisation Experimental Establishment (Middle East)" other modifications were tested approved and made to tanks as they were issued. These included fitting of sand shields (later deliveries from

2660-711: The Wireless Set No. 19 . The turret was to be given thicker armor than in the original U.S. design, and the machine gun cupola was to be replaced with a simple hatch. Extended space within the turret of the new M3 also allowed the use of a smoke bomb launcher, although the addition of the radio would take the space for storage of fifty 37 mm rounds, reducing the ammunition capacity for that gun to 128 rounds. Several of these new "Grant" tanks would also be equipped with sand shields for action in North Africa, though they often fell off. With these modifications accepted,

2755-554: The arsenals of many modern armies. During the Thirty Years' War , early 17th-century experiments were made with early types of horse artillery . Batteries towed light field guns where most or all of the crew rode horses into battle. The gunners were trained to quickly dismount, deploy the guns and provide instant fire support to cavalry, and act as a flexible reserve. The Russian army organized small units of horse artillery that were distributed among their cavalry formations in

2850-623: The interwar period included the British Vickers Medium Mark II and the Soviet multi-turreted T-28 . In the period leading up to World War II, the British stopped using the term Medium for their tanks as the new philosophy of ' Cruiser tank ' and ' Infantry tank ' which defined tanks by role rather than size came into use. There were medium tanks that focused on anti-infantry capabilities (such as in World War II:

2945-460: The main battle tank . Simpler and more economical self-propelled guns , and later anti-tank guided missiles , came to fulfil some fire-support and anti-tank roles, thus shifting the tactical approach how tanks were used. Although the term "medium tank" classification has largely fallen out of use after World War II, the term is informally used to describe some first and second-generation main battle tanks which fall between 20 and 50 tons, such as

M3 Lee - Misplaced Pages Continue

3040-750: The American cartridge. This conversion gave improved performance and was followed by an improved American AP shell design (the M61). While the Grants had been expected to be a temporary until the Crusader Mark III tank with a 57 mm 6-pounder gun was available, problems with the Crusader led to changes. The Grant became the main tank in use, and cruiser tanks such as the Crusader Mk I and II replaced

3135-739: The British Sexton (25 pdr) and the German Wespe and Hummel being typical examples. A different route was chosen by the Soviets, who did not develop a specialized indirect-fire vehicle, but following a tradition of dual-purpose towed artillery, built a series of versatile assault guns with indirect-fire capabilities (example ISU-152 ). A related and novel program was the development of the Soviet Katyusha self-propelled multiple rocket launchers , which were unarmored trucks with

3230-456: The British had ammunition stocks left over from then that could be used for the 75 mm M2 gun but these suffered due to age. The armor-piercing shell for the 75 mm was a solid shot and could penetrate around 2 inches (50 mm) of armor at 1,000 m, which was better than the 2-pounder guns of British tanks, but better performance was desired. Fortunately, large numbers of German 75 mm shells were captured, and these were matched to

3325-499: The British ordered 2,000 Grants, with 1,685 ultimately built. Contracts were arranged with four US companies for 500 tanks each: Baldwin Locomotive Company , Pullman Standard Car Company , Pressed Steel Car Company and Lima Locomotive Company . The total cost of the orders was approximately US$ 240 million ($ 120,000 per piece), including funds for factory re-tooling. That was the total of all UK government funds held in

3420-687: The Lend-Lease arrangements. The M3 Grant first saw action with units of the Royal Armoured Corps in North Africa during the Gazala battles of May 1942. However, with the arrival of the M4 Sherman tank from October 1942 the surviving M3s in North Africa became surplus and were mostly shipped on to India. 657 Grants and 75 Lees were supplied directly to North Africa. Ninety-seven Grants and 119 M3 Lees - including 49 diesel M3A3 Lee Vs,

3515-615: The M2 Mediums as the only ones considered "modern." The M2 Medium Tank was typical of armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) many nations produced in 1939. By the time, the U.S. entered the war in 1941, the M2 design was already obsolete with a 37 mm gun , an impractical number of secondary machine guns, a very high silhouette, and 32 mm (1.3 in) frontal armor. At the end June 1940 the National Munitions Program

3610-688: The M3 Lee by the US Army against Japanese forces occurred during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign of 1943. Following the better-known landing at Tarawa , the US 27th Infantry Division made an amphibious assault on Makin Island with armored support from a platoon of M3A5 Lees equipped with deep-wading kits belonging to the US Army's 193rd Tank Battalion . Medium tank The first tanks to carry

3705-634: The M3 design was adapted by the Canadians for their Ram tank . The hull of the M3 was also used for self-propelled artillery as with the original design of the M7 Priest , of which nearly 3,500 were built, and recovery vehicles. In addition to the Detroit arsenal, American Locomotive and Baldwin Locomotive were brought into the production scheme in October 1940 Neither company needed to also build

3800-622: The M3 light tank in British units. The M3 tank's first action during the war was in 1942 during the North African Campaign . British Lees and Grants were in action against Rommel's forces at the Battle of Gazala on 27 May. In the preparations for the battle the Eighth Army received 167 M3 tanks. The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars , 3rd and 5th battalions Royal Tank Regiment went into action with Grant tanks. Retreating in

3895-615: The M4 Sherman arrived that "The Grants and the Lees have proven to be the mainstay of the fighting forces in the Middle East; their great reliability, powerful armament and sound armor have endeared them to the troops." By the Second Battle of El Alamein in late 1942, there were 600 M3s, of both types, in British service. Some of these were used for training in the UK. Grants and Lees served with British units in North Africa until

M3 Lee - Misplaced Pages Continue

3990-838: The Sherman as soon as it became available. However, several specialist vehicles based on the M3 were later employed in Europe, such as the M31 armored recovery vehicle and the Canal Defence Light. In early 1943, the British Eight Army's M3s, now replaced by the Sherman, were shipped to the Pacific theatre to replace some Matildas in the Australian Army. Beginning from 1941, 1,386 M3 medium tanks were shipped from

4085-492: The StuG III, and the immense 152 mm howitzer-armed, Soviet ISU-152 , both fully casemated in their design, are examples of this type of self-propelled artillery. All major nations developed self-propelled artillery that would be able to provide indirect support while keeping pace with advancing armoured formations. These were usually lightly armoured vehicles with an open-topped hull; the American M7 Priest ,

4180-676: The US Army deployed none of its dedicated armored divisions and only a third of its 70 separate tank battalions. A small number of M3 Lees saw action in the central Pacific Ocean Theater in 1943. The US Marine Corps , bypassed the M3 Lees, switching from M3 Stuarts directly to M4 Shermans in mid-1944. Some M3 Grants played an offensive role with the British Indian Army , in the south-east Asian theater . The Australian Army also used Grants during World War II, mainly for homeland defense and training purposes. The only combat use of

4275-490: The US had factory fitted shields), dust covers for the gun mantlets and the removal of the hull machine guns. Ammunition stowage was altered to 80 x 75 mm (up from 50) and 80 x 37 mm with additional protection to the ammunition bins. Grants arrived in North Africa by the end of January 1942, and British crews began training on them. As it was developed from the World War I-era French 75 mm gun,

4370-519: The US to the Soviet Union, with 417 lost when their transporting vessels were sunk by German submarine, naval and aerial attacks en route. These were supplied through the American Lend-Lease program between 1942 and 1943. Soviet Red Army personnel tended to refer to the M3 as the "Grant", even though all of the M3s shipped to Russia were "Lee" variants. The official Soviet designation for it

4465-485: The US; it took the US Lend-Lease act to solve the financial shortfall and fund future equipment orders (for comparison, Lend-Lease cost of a M3 was $ 64,814). The order with Baldwin was later increased from 500 to 685. Lima did not produce a single Grant against its contract as it took the company so long to complete the steam locomotives already in production to create factory space and to tool-up that M3 production

4560-510: The War. This mounted an 18-pounder field gun, capable of both the usual artillery trajectories and high-angle anti-aircraft fire , on a Vickers medium tank chassis. It was designed and built for investigations into a general approach to warfare where all arms, infantry and artillery included, would be able to operate over the same terrain as tanks. The Red Army also experimented with truck- and tank-mounted artillery, but produced none in quantity. At

4655-511: The advantage of being relatively cheap to build and mounting a larger gun compared to the conventional tank that they were derived from, but at the expense of flexibility. Heavily armoured assault guns were designed to provide direct-fire support to infantry in the face of enemy defenses. Although often similar to tank destroyers, they carried larger-caliber guns with weaker anti-armor performance but capable of firing powerful HE projectiles. The German 105 mm howitzer-armed StuH 42 based on

4750-659: The early 18th century. While not forming large batteries and employing only lighter 2- and 3-pound guns, they were still effective and inflicted serious losses to Prussian units in the Seven Years' War . This inspired Frederick the Great to organize the first regular horse artillery unit in 1759. Other nations quickly realized the capability of the new arm and by the start of French Revolutionary Wars in 1790s Austria, Hannover, Portugal, Russia, France, Great Britain and Sweden had all formed regular units of horse artillery. The arm

4845-447: The end of World War II , the assault gun fell from use with a general trend towards a single heavy gun-equipped vehicle, the main battle tank , although some wheeled AFVs such as the South African Rooikat , the Maneuver Combat Vehicle of the JGSDF , and the US M1128 MGS , among others, are still developed with large-caliber, direct-fire weapons. Self-propelled indirect-fire artillery remains important and continues to develop alongside

SECTION 50

#1732772557952

4940-401: The end of the campaign. Following Operation Torch (the invasion of French North Africa), the US also fought in North Africa using the M3 Lee. The US 1st Armored Division had been issued the new M4 Sherman , but had given up one regiment's worth to the British Army so that it could use them in the Second Battle of El Alamein (October-November 1942). Consequently, a regiment of the division

5035-404: The face of a large attack, the 8th Hussars had only three Grants remaining, while 3rd RTR reported losing 16. Their appearance was a surprise to the Germans, who were unprepared for the M3's 75 mm gun. They soon discovered the M3 could engage them beyond the effective range of their 5 cm Pak 38 anti-tank gun, and the 5 cm KwK 39 of the Panzer III , their main medium tank. The M3

5130-504: The first M3s were operational in late 1941. The US Army needed a medium tank armed with a 75 mm gun and coupled with the United Kingdom's immediate demand for 3,650 medium tanks, the Lee began production by late 1940. The design was a compromise meant to produce a tank as soon as possible and serve only until replaced by the following M4 Sherman tank. The M3 was reliable, had considerable firepower, good armor, and high mobility but had serious drawbacks in its general design and shape, including

5225-509: The general-purpose field gun. Many vehicles have used ancillary smoke mortars for local defense, which project one or more smoke grenades in a pattern that allows them to lay down a smoke screen some distance in order to conceal the vehicle from enemy observers. Mortar carriers are vehicles which carry a mortar as a primary weapon. Numerous vehicles have been used to mount mortars, from improvised civilian trucks used by insurgents , to modified infantry fighting vehicles , such as variants of

5320-408: The gun and its crew. Many of the early designs were improvised, and the lessons learned led to better designs later in the war. For example, the first British design, " Bishop ", carried the 25 pdr gun-howitzer on a Valentine tank chassis, but in a mounting that severely limited the gun's performance. It was replaced by the more effective Sexton . The first battery of self-propelled artillery guns

5415-402: The gun on target through geared handwheels for traverse (15° to left and to right) and elevation ( +20° to -9°). The shorter barreled 75 mm M2 cannon sometimes had a counterweight added at the end of the barrel to balance the gun for operation with the gyrostabilizer until the longer 75 mm M3 variant was brought into use. The 37 mm gun was aimed through the M2 periscope, mounted in

5510-415: The hull rather than in the turret, the riveted armor plating (whose rivets tended to pop off inside the interior in a deadly ricochet when the tank was hit even by non-penetrating rounds), the smooth track design, insufficient armor and lack of splash-proofing of the joints. The British desired modifications for the tank they were purchasing. A bustle rack was to be made at the back of the turret to house

5605-461: The hull, fixed in traverse but adjustable in elevation, which were controlled by the driver. These were, due to coordination issues, removed, though they would be seen on early Sherman tanks. Though not at war, the U.S. was willing to produce, sell and ship munitions including armored vehicles to Britain. The British had requested that their Matilda II infantry tank and Crusader cruiser tank designs be made by American factories, but this request

5700-473: The increased firepower provided by modern mobile howitzers is the latest version of the 155 mm G6 howitzer , the G6-52. It can fire up to six rounds in quick succession that will land nearly simultaneously. This is achieved by firing the shells at different trajectories so that the first round has the longest flight time and the last round the shortest. This is an improvement of the concept of multiple-round simultaneous impact (MRSI), itself an enhancement of

5795-442: The initial short-barrel gun Panzer IV , and the initial 75 mm gun M4 Sherman ), and medium tanks which were more focused on the anti-tank role, mounting high-velocity tank guns . The French cavalry tanks ( Chars de Cavalerie ) such as the SOMUA S35 focused on speed in addition to power and protection of the other designs. They were similar to what other countries called medium tanks. When Soviet tank designers were preparing

SECTION 60

#1732772557952

5890-456: The interwar years, and had little experience in design as well as poor doctrine to guide design efforts. Only a few tanks were built (35 between 1920-1935). A new medium tank was designed in 1938, tested as the T5 and accepted as the M2 Medium . The M2 used a radial engine and vertical volute suspension among many of the features of the M2 light tank . In 1939, the U.S. Army possessed approximately 400 tanks, mostly M2 Light Tanks , with 18 of

5985-593: The introduction of the M3, Rommel noted: "Up to May of 1942, our tanks had in general been superior in quality to the corresponding British types. This was now no longer true, at least not to the same extent." Despite the M3's advantages and surprise appearance during the Battle of Gazala, it could not win the battle for the British. In particular, the high-velocity 88 mm anti-aircraft gun , in use as its secondary role of an anti-tank gun, proved deadly if British tanks attacked without artillery support. Britain's Director of Armoured Fighting Vehicles nonetheless said before

6080-501: The introduction of upgunned Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs, the tank had been withdrawn from combat in most theaters and replaced by the more capable M4 Sherman tank as soon as it became available in larger numbers. Despite its being replaced elsewhere, the British continued to use M3s in combat against the Japanese in southeast Asia until 1945. Nearly a thousand M3s were supplied to the Soviet military under Lend-Lease between 1941 and 1943. The U.S. funded tank development poorly during

6175-457: The mantlet to the side of the gun. It also sighted the coaxial machine gun. Two range scales were provided: 0–1,500 yd (1,400 m) for the 37 mm and 0–1,000 yd (910 m) for the machine gun. The 37 mm gun also featured a counterweight – a long rod under the barrel – though it was ill maintained by crews who knew little about its use. There were also two .30-06 (7.62 mm caliber) Browning M1919A4 machine guns mounted in

6270-409: The name "Medium" appeared in the First World War with the British Medium Mark A Whippet . It was smaller, lighter and faster than the British heavy tanks of the time and only carried machine guns. The medium tank doctrine came into use in the interwar period . Its existence outlasted the super-heavy tank and the heavy tank and gradually transitioned into the main battle tank . Medium tanks of

6365-417: The obsolete US tanks faced mainly captured French tanks used by the Germans, such as the SOMUA S35 , which to a limited extent was somewhat comparable to the Lee/Grant it fought against. In the Pacific War , armor played a relatively minor role for the Allies as well as for the Japanese, compared with that of naval, air, and infantry units. In the Pacific Ocean Theater and the Southwest Pacific Theater ,

6460-669: The only diesel Lees used by UK and Commonwealth forces - were supplied directly to the UK and were used for testing and training. 335 were later converted to Canal Defense Lights (no diesels), and further refurbished turretless M3 hulls were supplied by the US to support this project. 777 were supplied directly to the Australian Army for home defense and training duties in Australia. None were used operationally. These comprised 255 Lee Is, 266 Grant Is and 232 Grant IIs. The British Indian Army received 896 M3 series tanks as new supply and tanks shipped from North Africa. These comprised 517 Lee Is and 379 Grant Is. A further 1,386 were exported to

6555-480: The other guns in their battery. These capabilities also increase survivability manyfold as modern SP artillery can displace and avoid counterbattery fire much more quickly and effectively and, if desired, more frequently than previously possible. In conjunction with modern logistic systems (where the SP gun's systems can track and report on ammunition consumption and levels) with similar navigation systems and palletized load dropping / lifting capabilities mean that

6650-433: The outbreak of World War II, virtually all artillery was still being moved around by artillery tractors or horses. While the German Blitzkrieg doctrine called for combined-arms action, which required fire support for armoured units, during the invasion of Poland and France this was provided by the Luftwaffe using Junkers Ju 87 'Stuka' dive-bombers effectively acting as artillery. Conventional towed howitzers followed. As

6745-568: The past, self-propelled artillery has included direct-fire vehicles, such as assault guns and tank destroyers , which were typically well-armoured vehicles often based upon the chassis of a tank . In lieu of the standard tank's general-purpose main gun that fired both high-explosive and anti-tank ammunition, direct-fire vehicles had specialized roles, with assault guns providing close fire-support for infantry and tank destroyers mounting an anti-tank gun to take on enemy armour. Modern self-propelled artillery vehicles often mount their main gun in

6840-555: The poor roads and soft ground than the French armoured cars there, but were still able to move along narrow streets and over lighter bridge classifications than the much heavier M1 Abrams tanks used by the Americans. The role of medium tanks started with a prioritisation of speed. Medium tanks could travel faster, but needed help to cross trenches, where heavy tanks were large enough to cross unaided. In British use, this evolved into

6935-452: The rapid displacement can occur without significant disruption to actually firing missions as it is possible for the ammunition to keep up with the guns. A modern battery of six guns, each firing 43 kg projectiles with a burst firing speed of four rounds per minute, can deliver over a tonne of ordnance per minute for up to four minutes. This is an immense weight of fire , which can be delivered with very high accuracy. One example of

7030-487: The remainder of the order was subsumed into Lend-Lease. The prototype M3 was completed in March 1941 and production models followed, with the first British-specification tanks produced in July. Both U.S. and British tanks had thicker armor than first planned. The British design required one fewer crew member than the US version due to the radio in the turret. The U.S. eventually eliminated the full-time radio operator, assigning

7125-419: The sponson mount was that the M3 could not take a hull-down position and use its 75 mm gun at the same time. The M3 was tall and roomy: the power transmission ran through the crew compartment under the turret basket to the gearbox driving the front sprockets. Steering was by differential braking, with a turning circle of 37 ft (11 m). The vertical volute spring suspension (VVSS) units possessed

7220-615: The tank , Tank classification , Tanks in World War I Background: History of the tank , Tank classification , interwar period Background: History of the tank , Tank classification , Tanks in the Cold War Background: History of the tank , Tank classification Self-propelled artillery Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery ) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within

7315-564: The tank a thick layer of highly inflammable fumes. " With almost 1,500 Russian T-34 tanks being built every month, Soviet use of the M3 medium tank declined soon after mid-1943. Soviet troops still fielded their Lee/Grant tanks on secondary and less active fronts, such as in the Arctic region during the Red Army's Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive against German forces in Norway in October 1944, where

7410-534: The tank was almost entirely unpopular with the Red Army since its introduction in the Eastern Front. In the letter sent to Franklin Roosevelt (18 July 1942), Stalin wrote: "I consider it my duty to warn you that, according to our experts at the front, U.S. tanks catch fire very easily when hit from behind or from the side by anti-tank rifle bullets. The reason is that the high-grade gasoline used forms inside

7505-608: The task to the driver. After extensive losses in Africa and Greece , the British realized that to meet their needs for tanks, they would have to take both the Lee and the Grant types. The U.S. military used the "M" (Model) letter to designate nearly all of its equipment. When the British Army received its new M3 medium tanks from the US, confusion immediately set in between the different M3 medium tank and M3 light tank. The British Army

7600-403: The terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer , self-propelled mortar , and self-propelled rocket artillery . They are high-mobility vehicles, usually based on continuous tracks carrying either a large field gun , howitzer , mortar , or some form of rocket / missile launcher. They are usually used for long-range indirect bombardment support on the battlefield. In

7695-691: The turret held a machine gun . The use of two main guns was a feature of the French Char B1 and the Mark I version of the British Churchill tank . In the French tank, it had been designed as a self-propelled gun to attack fortifications and an anti-tank capability had been added through a second gun in a small turret; the Churchill carried a gun in the front hull to fire chiefly smoke shells. The M3 differed slightly from this pattern, having

7790-534: The vehicle, or removed and set up as normal. In effect, the carrier replaced the use of a separate horse team or internal combustion engine-powered artillery tractor , and allowed a new way for the gun to be used. The next major advance can be seen in the Birch gun developed by the British for their motorised warfare experimental brigade (the Experimental Mechanized Force ) after the end of

7885-431: The war progressed, most nations developed self-propelled artillery. Some early attempts were often no more than a field gun or anti-tank gun mounted on a truck—a technique known in the British Army as carrying portee . These were mobile, but lacked protection for the crew. The next step was to mount the guns on a tracked chassis (often that of an obsolete or superseded tank) and provide an armoured superstructure to protect

7980-550: Was also vastly superior to the Fiat M13/40 and M14/41 tanks employed by the Italian troops, whose 47 mm gun was effective only at point-blank range, while only the few Semoventi da 75/18 self-propelled guns were able to destroy it using HEAT rounds. In addition to the M3's superior range, they were equipped with high explosive shells for infantry and other soft targets, which previous British tanks had lacked; upon

8075-662: Was begun with industry to create the production facilities leading to a contract in August for Chrysler to build the Detroit Tank Arsenal which was expected to turn out 10 Medium M2A1 (an improved M2 Medium) per day. However, the US Army's assessment of the German Panzer III and Panzer IV medium tanks' success in the French campaign was that a 75mm gun was a necessity. The M2A1 could not be fitted with

8170-548: Was created when Hauptmann Alfred Becker , a mechanical engineer and battery captain in the 227th Infantry Division , mounted his 10.5 cm leFH 16 howitzers on the chassis of captured British Vickers Mk.VI light tanks to mobilize his guns. His 10.5 cm leFH 16 Geschützwagen Mk VI 736 (e) was the forerunner to German tracked field guns such as the Wespe and Hummel . The Germans also mobilized their anti-tank guns, using light, obsolete or captured tracked vehicles. Examples include

8265-464: Was employed throughout the Napoleonic Wars and remained in use throughout the entire 19th century and into the first half of the 20th century, when advances in weapons technology finally made it obsolete. Zamburak was a specialized form of self-propelled artillery from the early modern period . It featured small swivel guns to be mounted and fired from the back of camels. It was used by

8360-409: Was in the process of using names for its own tanks instead of designations and named its American tanks after American military figures, although the U.S. Army never used those terms until after the war. M3 tanks with the cast turret and radio setup received the name "General Grant", while the original M3s were called "General Lee", or more usually just "Grant" and "Lee". The chassis and running gear of

8455-522: Was introduced to address the United States lack of readiness in case of war across all branches of the armed forces. The program specified the building of over 1,700 medium tanks by the end of 1941. In mid July, Armored Force under Brigadier General Adna R. Chaffee Jr. was formed to take over responsibility for tanks which had previously been split between the Infantry and Cavalry commands. Work

8550-461: Was refused. With much of their equipment left in France after the British Army was evacuated from Dunkirk , the equipment needs of the British were acute. Though not entirely satisfied with the design, they ordered the M3 in large numbers. British experts had viewed the mock-up in 1940 and identified features that they considered flaws – the high profile, the hull mounted main gun, the radio position in

8645-545: Was rendered obsolete. Both the Soviet Union and the United States benefited from their industrial capacity to manufacture a well-balanced medium tank in very large numbers — around 57,000 T-34 and 49,234 M4 Sherman tanks were built during the war. During and after World War II, the roles of light tanks were gradually taken over by less-expensive armoured cars and specialised reconnaissance vehicles. Heavy tanks, having shown their limitations in combat, experienced

8740-423: Was still using the M3 Lee when it arrived in North Africa. The M3 was generally appreciated during the North African campaign for its mechanical reliability, good armor protection, and heavy firepower. In all three aspects, the M3 was capable of engaging German tanks and towed anti-tank guns. However, the high silhouette and low, hull-mounted 75 mm were tactical drawbacks since they prevented fighting from

8835-540: Was the М3 средний ( М3с ), or "M3 Medium", to distinguish the Lee from the US-built M3 Stuart light tank, which was also acquired by the USSR under Lend-Lease and was officially known there as the М3 лёгкий ( М3л ), or "M3 Light". Due to the vehicle's petrol-fueled engine, a high tendency to catch fire, and its vulnerability against most types of German armor the Soviet troops encountered from 1942 onwards,

8930-465: Was useful for fighting nearby infantry, as a mortar is shorter-ranged and cheaper to shoot than the large main gun, as well as being better suited to wounding enemy infantry taking cover behind objects. However, since the mortar is only a secondary weapon in this case, the Merkava is not considered a mortar carrier. Self-propelled artillery remains important in the equipment of many modern armies. It saw

9025-524: Was winding down before it was ready. It was therefore agreed that Lima would supply 500 of the new M4 Sherman instead. Lima actually undertook the T6/M4 development while it was unable to manufacture the Grant and, as the other companies were all too busy, was the first company to begin producing the M4 in March 1942 with the M4A1 variant. The first 28 M4A1s built were British contract tanks as Grant replacements but

#951048