Stuart M3A1 Light Tank
M3A1 History While the earlier M3 light tank had proved to be a reliable vehicle, it was difficult to fight in as it lacked power traverse and elevation for the main armament. As an experiment, an M3 was fitted with an Oil gear hydraulic traversing mechanism and Westinghouse gyro stabilizer. Firing tests showed great promise. However, the rapidly traversing turret made it difficult for the turret crew to keep up. This was fixed by adding a turret basket with a floor and seats attached to the turret. Upon completion of successful tests at Aberdeen Proving Ground, the tank was standardized as the M3A1. Production began at ACF in May 1942. When production ended in February 1943, 4,621 M3A1's had been completed, including 211 powered by a Guiberson T-1020 diesel engine. The M3A1 was exported to the British who designated it the Stuart III and Stuart IV (diesel). The Soviet Union also received several hundred of them. The M3A1 first saw service with the U.S. Army in North Africa during late 1942 and continued service until the M5/M5A1 Stuarts replaced them in 1943. The British used them in Europe until the end of the war. In the Pacific, the USMC and U.S. Army used them throughout 1943 and 1944 at which time they were replaced by the M5A1 Stuart or M4 series of medium tanks. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
