06/22/09

Medium Tank M3 (Lee/Grant)

Crew 6

Number made 6,258

Weight 24 tons

Armor 51mm

Main gun 75mm gun in body;2^nd main gun (turret) 37mm gun

Secondary guns 3-4 .30-6 browning machine guns

The M3 Tank was a medium American tank. The American version was called "General Lee" by the British. The modified version used by the British was called "General Grant". The M3 tank only was in combat in North Africa and the Pacific. It was replaced by the Sherman tank. The main gun was not in the turret of the tank but on the side. That was it's drawback. To shoot to the left or right of the M3 you had to turn the whole tank. When it  first made it was well armored. The M3 Grant was given to the British in North Africa to use as well. In the Pacific there were a few M3 tanks deployed at the beginning of the war.

M3A1 Stuart

Crew 4

Main gun 37mm

Weighs 13 tons

M3 Stuart was an American light tank. It's role was infantry support with it 37mm gun. The tank was mostly used by the Allies. It was reliable and was liked. The M3 Stuart was a fast tank that was a pretty big light tank. The M3 Stuart was great tank but could not stand up against it's German enemy.

M4 Sherman

Armor thickness 19-91mm

Weighs 30 tons

Amount made over 50,000

Main gun 75mm

Secondary gun 2 browning machine guns 30 caliber

The M4 Sherman is the US most produced tank of World War II. The M4 tank was considered a medium tank. It was the most common tank of the western allies. The Sherman replaced the M3 Grant tank. The M4 Sherman had 75mm in turret that made it more effective. The Sherman tank was no good one on one with the Tiger. It took a few Sherman’s to take out a Tiger tank. There were lot of modified Sherman’s used in France, from amphibious tank to clearing mind field. The British modified the Sherman tank to kill by replacing the gun with stronger one. The Sherman was a work horse tank of the US army and over all reliable tank.