| Medium Tank, M3 | |
|---|---|
 Medium Tank, M3, Fort Knox, June 1942 | |
| Type | Medium tank |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1941–1955 |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer |
|
| Unit cost | $55,250[1] |
| Produced | August 1941 – December 1942 |
| No. built | 6,258 |
| Variants | See Variants |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 30 short tons (27 long tons; 27 t) |
| Length | 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m) |
| Width | 8 ft 11 in (2.72 m) |
| Height | 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) – Lee |
| Crew | Seven (Lee); Six (Grant) |
| Armor |
|
Main armament |
|
Secondary armament |
|
| Engine | Wright-Continental R975 EC2 400 hp (300 kW)/340 hp (250 kW) |
| Transmission | Mack Synchromesh, five speeds forward, one reverse |
| Suspension | vertical volute spring |
| Ground clearance | 18 in (0.46 m) |
| Fuel capacity | 664 L (175 US gal) |
Operational range | 120 mi (193 km) |
| Maximum speed |
|
Steering system | Controlled differential |
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 the first M3s were operational in late 1941.[3] 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,[4] 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[5] but had serious drawbacks in its general design and shape, including 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.[6] However, by mid-1943, with 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.[7] Nearly a thousand M3s were supplied to the Soviet military under Lend-Lease between 1941 and 1943.
- ^ Zaloga, Steven (2015). Armored Champion: The Top Tanks of World War II. Stackpole Books. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-8117-6133-8. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- ^ AFV Database
- ^ Zaloga p. 16 & 20
- ^ Zaloga 2008 p. 20 & 21
- ^ USSR Red Army GABTU (Main Directorate of Armoured Forces) off-road trials May 1942"The American Highrise".
- ^ von Luck, Hans (2013) [1989]. "North Africa, 1942: Rommel, the Desert Fox". Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck. Dell. p. Paragraph 6.75.
- ^ "The British Army in Burma 1945". Imperial War Museum.