North Africa.

True to its obligations, the United States, back in 1941, was considering the possibility of a joint landing with forces British Commonwealth in North Africa, where it was supposed to open the "Second Front" and finally solve the problem with the Italo-German presence on this continent and withdraw France from the war. The final version was approved a few months later - the Algerian port of Oran became the target, where on November 8, 1942, a large landing of allied troops was landed as part of the Central Operational Group. The American armored forces on this sector of the front were represented by several formations, among which the 1st Armored Division was the largest. The plans of the allies really came true, but not immediately. Only one unit was equipped with M3 medium tanks - it was the 13th tank regiment, formed on July 15, 1940 on the basis of the 13th cavalry regiment of the 7th cavalry brigade.

Of course, the Americans did not immediately enter the battles. After a series of local battles with the French troops, who capitulated a day later, there was a long pause while the Allies regrouped. Baptism of fire American tanks from the 2nd battalion received on November 26, when a battalion of M3 light tanks entered the battle with German tanks from the 190 Pz.Abt.

Further, on November 28, the Americans were given the task of "supporting with fire and maneuver" the Northamptonshire regiment of English infantry, which attacked enemy positions at Jedea. Having no combat experience Americans showed themselves not with better side- part of the tanks was shot by several disguised German anti-tank guns, and the rest had to retreat to their original positions. The following clashes with the Germans for the 13th regiment also did not end in anything good. Suffice it to say that by December 1942 total losses amounted to 84 light tanks of both battalions and 40 medium tanks of the 2nd battalion. In the same period, the gradual re-equipment of this battalion with M4 tanks began, but they managed to equip only one company with them. Even the American tankers themselves admitted that the medium M3s were clearly weaker than the German Pz. IV with any weapon.

The real defeat was carried out by the 1st armored division during the battle of Kasserine, where it was opposed by units of the 10th and 21st German tank divisions. Only during February 14 - 15, 1943, during the battles at Sbeitla (Sbeitla), the Germans managed to destroy almost all medium tanks M4 of both battalions of the 1st tank regiment and M3 from the 3rd battalion of the 13th tank regiment. Relatively lucky was the 3rd battalion, which until then had remained in the rearguard. The ambushed M3 tanks during the battle on February 17 knocked out 5 German Pz. III and Pz. IV. Four days later, the battalion, with the support of British units, was thrown to repel enemy attacks near Jabal el-Hamra.

Despite the brutal (by American standards) losses, the use of the M3 tanks continued until May 1942, until the remnants of the Italian and German troops. As of the beginning of the month, the 1st division still had 51 medium tanks M3 and 178 M4. "Lee" were part of only three tank battalions and, a small number, in the 2nd battalion of the 13th regiment. The last major operation with their participation took place in March 1943, during the assault on Bizerte - here the M3 tanks supported the offensive of the 34th division. The remaining cars were subsequently transferred to parts of the Free French.

Pacific Ocean.

The M3 tanks served quite a bit on pacific ocean. The first and last "sniffed the gunpowder" tankers of the 193rd tank battalion of the 27th infantry division, who participated on November 20 - 23, 1943 in the battles for Tarawa Atoll and the nearby islands of the Gilbert archipelago. Actually, the units of the battalion did not attack Tarawa itself, but the Makin Atoll, located next to it. The operation was planned very carefully, since the landing force had to overcome a wide sandbar, where tanks and soldiers were at a glance in front of Japanese machine-gun nests and artillery.

The medium tanks of Company A (Company A) were part of the second wave of landing and were supposed to support the infantry attacking the Japanese fortifications with the fire of their 75-mm guns, as well as cover the LVT amphibious vehicles with fire. The Japanese were ready to attack and long before the arrival of the Americans managed to build a whole network of defensive structures. The most powerful of them was the Western Tank Barrier (West Tank Barrier), almost impassable for light "Stuarts". However, the 193rd battalion had both types of vehicles.

On the morning of November 23, 1943, medium tanks of the M3A5 modification went into battle, quickly breaking the resistance of the Japanese troops, although the operation did not go exactly as the Americans had planned. Between 09:10 and 09:23, two medium tanks from the Belle Grove transport were first to unload on the shore - they were to provide fire cover for the light tanks, amphibians and infantry that had already unloaded from the first transport vessel. Soon a third transport with 16 amphibians arrived. The first wave of attackers lay down without even passing 100 meters - the situation for the tankers was complicated by the type of terrain - in fact, the tanks moved along a flat beach flooded with water. At the same time, the LVTs were able to advance a little further and the medium tanks of A Company were between them. Despite the fact that the attacking group was moving in shallow water, two M3s hit shell craters that were indistinguishable in muddy water, and stalled. The crews tried to get out of the stopped cars, but were immediately mowed down by machine gun fire. The rest of the tanks tried to maneuver among the reefs, being under constant fire from 37-mm anti-tank guns Japanese. The battalion commander, Captain Robert S. Brown, later admitted that at that moment the battle entered a critical stage. The situation was also complicated by the fact that the tankers fired on the Japanese fortifications in literally through the discordant ranks of LVTs and part of the amphibians received damage from tank guns. However, the defense was still able to break through in several places. The crew of one of the M3s managed to pass the firing line from anti-tank guns and, avoiding an explosion in a minefield, suppress one machine-gun nest. According to the tank commander, a total of 100 shells were fired, of which at least 30 hit the target, killing many enemy soldiers. As soon as the situation stabilized, the LVT and M3 crews began a total cleanup of the beach. In fact, between 10:58 and 11:30 the Americans had already taken control of the situation and further, as they say, was a matter of technique. An hour later, the ring around the Barrier was closed, in which the timely approach of the Stuart light tanks played a significant role.

After 12:00, the Japanese began to retreat into the forest, leaving only small groups of soldiers and snipers on the front line. At this time, the tanks of companies A and F made an advance deep into the island, without engaging in combat with the enemy. At about 12:30 the tank group came under fire from 37 mm anti-tank guns and the F Company commander requested support. Five medium M3s moved forward, beginning to methodically clear the area of ​​machine-gun emplacements. An hour later, the tanks reached the southern end of the island, where they met strong resistance from the Japanese infantry. At this time, G Company, supported by three medium M3s, advanced along the road - here the Japanese equipped two long-term firing points with heavy machine guns and was also intended for a 37-mm gun, but was equipped only with machine guns. The first two bunkers were destroyed fairly quickly, but there were problems with the third one. Nevertheless, by 16:00 the "box" slammed shut. Two american bands the Japanese troops were squeezed without any possibility of a breakthrough, and the final chord was the attack of four M3 medium tanks, which suppressed the last large pockets of resistance with the fire of their 37-mm and 75-mm guns. The other four M3s were no less successful in east side islands, and they were actively supported by 105-mm field guns, unloaded after the paratroopers.

In total, by 17:00, the Japanese resistance on Makin began to be of a focal nature, and by the end of the day, the remnants of the defenders began to surrender. The actions of the tankers of the 193rd tank battalion could be assessed as successful, however, the island lacked powerful anti-tank weapons, and Japanese tanks it wasn't there at all. After that, the American army did not use M3 medium tanks in battles (except for vehicles based on them), since in 1943 the basis of the US tank forces was the newer M4 Sherman.

The M3 was the first medium tank to enter service with emerging armored units and formations. american army. Its feature is the arrangement of weapons in three tiers. In the lower tier, in the sponson, a 75-mm gun with a horizontal guidance angle of 32 degrees is installed. The second tier is a tower of circular rotation with a 37-mm gun installed in it and a machine gun coaxial with it. In the third tier, in the turret, there is a machine gun, from which it is possible to fire both at ground and at air targets. To turn the turret with a 37-mm gun, in addition to a mechanical drive, a hydraulic one can also be used. Pointing the gun vertically was carried out by a mechanical drive. Periscopic sights and prismatic observation devices were used. Towers and hull were made cast, welded and riveted. In particular, the bow, sponson and turret were made by casting. The design of the machine as a whole was unsuccessful: insufficient armor thickness, too high altitude, caused partly by the use of star-shaped aircraft engines, partly by the unsuccessful placement of weapons, low firepower despite the large number of weapons. Nevertheless, the tank was produced in large series from 1939 to 1942, when it was replaced in production by the more advanced M4. In total, 6258 M3 were produced in six modifications, differing from each other mainly in the brand of the engine and the manufacturing technology of individual parts of the hull and turret.

The speed with which the M3 was developed and put into production is perhaps unparalleled in the history of armored vehicles. A decisive role in the deployment of mass production was played by the construction of the Detroit tank arsenal(in Michigan, Center Line), which was quickly oriented towards production. In September 1939, when the war began in Europe, the artillery and technical service planned to issue contracts for the mass production of combat vehicles to heavy engineering enterprises, and in fact, the first of them, the light M2A4, began to be produced by American Car and Foundry.

The events of May-June 1940 in Europe, which forced the adoption of a new American national weapons program, showed that tanks - especially medium ones - would be needed in much more than expected back in October 1939. In fact, in accordance with the needs of the US Army, it was required to produce about 2000 vehicles over the next 18 months, by comparison, the existing order for 400 light vehicles looked insignificant. General Motors Company President William S. Nadsen, as a member of the National Defense Advisory Committee responsible for coordinating the work of the American defense industry, believed that heavy industries, which produced relatively small quantities of products, could not supply tanks in increasing numbers, which demanded by the situation prevailing by June 1940.

From Nadsen's point of view, tank industry was similar to the automobile, with the exception of the production of armor. Although ATS did not agree with this position, it recognized the need for further expansion tank production and using the experience of automotive industry specialists in the organization of mass production. The British Tank Commission was sent to the United States in June 1940, when the British were sorely lacking tanks, to select American vehicles for the British army and adapt the British armored vehicles for production in the USA.

The National Defense Advisory Committee abandoned the production of British combat vehicles due to the lack of production capacity necessary for the implementation of the American tank building program. Then the British Commission limited itself to choosing the M3. In October 1940, the British signed a contract with Baldwin, Lima and Pullman for the production of the M3. These tanks, built and paid for by the British under the original contract, received cast turrets, radio stations installed in the rear of the turret, and not in the hull, as in the American version. The towers were longer than the American ones, which stood on the M3 due to the aft niche and had hatches for firing personal weapons.

The commander's turret was removed, and the turret itself was lower, which reduced the height of the tank. This modification received the British designation "Grant" (in honor of the American General Ulysses S. Grant, who commanded the northerners in the years civil war. Read also - "Tank M24" Chaffee "), and all 200 ordered vehicles were delivered to the 8th Army in the Western Desert from the beginning of 1942. During the big battle near Gazala on May 27, 1940, 167 "Grants" made up the main force of the 4th th armored brigade.At first, the British army received tanks that were superior in firepower to all German ones, which had a 75-mm cannon, capable of firing armor-piercing and high-explosive shells. M3 "Grant" significantly raised the morale of the British tankers, helped turn the wheel of Fortune in favor of the British forces, in addition, under their impression in the UK, the development of a "dual-use" gun for British vehicles began.

On March 11, 1941, the lend-lease law was approved. The standard M3 medium tanks began to be delivered to the UK, which received the designation "Lee" (another example of British humor - during the civil war, General Robert E. Lee was the commander-in-chief of the southern armies).

By June 1942, the 8th Army in Egypt received 250 more M3, and by the beginning of the battle near El Alamein in October 1942, about 600 of these machines were delivered. Since June 1942, in a repair park near Cairo, American personnel have been retraining British crews on medium tanks M3 (later - M4).

A small number of M3s were brought to the UK for training and use as special vehicles, but the bulk of the British army was used in the Middle East.

When the M4 replaced the M3, the latter were transferred to Burma by British units, then equipped with Matildas, Stuarts, and Valentines. Some of them were transferred to Australia.

Modifications

Tactical and technical characteristics

Combat weight
Dimensions:
length	5640 mm
width	2720 ​​mm
height	3125 mm
Crew

5 years and 5 months ago Comments: 2

Hello, have you decided that you will pump out heavy American tanks with excellent guns and strong turrets? Well, first you will have to go through some controversial machines in order to acquire high-level bands. The first tank to go through is the M3 Lee. A rather controversial tank, and yes, by the way, this is not a medium tank at all. But more on that later. The guide consists of 6 parts:

1. Introduction to the machine
2. TTX (Tactical and Technical Characteristics)
3. Pros and Cons
4. Tactics and Use in Combat
5. Equipment, crew and gear
6. Conclusion

Introduction to the machine

You researched this tank and bought it. What do you see in the hangar? A tank that does not have a turret, and the gun is located on the side. Unusual for a medium tank. According to the documents, he is a level 4 medium tank, but in fact it is a tank destroyer with a high damage per minute gun. Well, consider the M3 in more detail.

TTX (Tactical and Technical Characteristics)

By tradition, let's start with the gun. And the M3 Lee’s gun is excellent, short aiming time, decent one-time damage, and most importantly, one of the highest DPM at the level and even higher. Without additional equipment, the DPM is 2200 units of strength, excellent performance for a tank of level 4, perhaps only the su-85B has a higher DPM, but this is a tank destroyer, both in documents and in terms of characteristics. It should be noted that, premium heavy tank 8 levels without additional equipment is equal to 1600 hp. It is important to realize our high damage per minute. The gun fails only with accuracy and lack of armor penetration, especially if you are thrown into a team where half of the 6 levels.

Our mobility is pretty good. Dynamics, confident set of speed. Specific power is 15.65 hp. per ton. Which is quite enough to occupy comfortable positions. 20% fire chance, and the transmission is in the front, which means that you can be set on fire in the forehead. This will affect the equipment you choose.
The radio station is installed on many American cars. Download last.

It seems to be there, but if you are not at the top of the list, then it evaporates, even if we are at the top of the list, we have many vulnerable areas.

Advantages and disadvantages

Pros:

A weapon that has only 2 flaws, one of the brightest ones is penetration
Good mobility
A decent view, as for level 4, especially for the ST - a medium tank
Opportunity to mask from behind cover

Minuses:

Big sizes, especially the bulging tower that everyone breaks through
Lack of weapon penetration if you are at the bottom of the list
High fire chance
Due to the large body, we have poor camouflage
Quite often criticize crew members

Tactics and Use in Combat

This tank performs better as a tank destroyer, i.e. can work well at medium and long distances. Being in the top, you will feel like a medium tank or a heavy tank destroyer, where you should conduct more aggressive actions. However, don't forget that HE hatzers can take out an M3 Lee with one shot. At the beginning, you can shoot opponents from a long or medium distance, and then get closer. Also, in urban conditions, it is best to leave on the left so that a strong mask repels the projectile, because. there are a lot of inexperienced players in level 4 battles, then they will shoot mainly there.

If we are among the 5 levels, here you can shoot from medium distances, the main thing is to avoid light, otherwise you will be quickly destroyed. Such armored targets as breaking through sub-caliber shells, i.e. gold. There is a lack of armor penetration of the gun. At shorter distances, you can pierce with conventional armor-piercing shells into the slot of the mechanical drive or into the machine gun. You still have to take out.

If you were thrown to 6 levels, everything is sad here. But if you are not stingy with gold shells, then you can have fun punching strands into the side.

By the way, be careful with artillery, it can break through us by sending M3 Lee to the hangar.

Equipment, crew and equipment

Since the tank is passable, and you are unlikely to leave it for a long time, there is not much point in talking about the skills of the crew.

Equipment standard: repair kit, first aid kit, fire extinguisher. Already from level 4 it is worth carrying equipment.

Optional equipment , again due to the fact that the tank is passable, it is better to carry a removable one. Stereoscopic telescope + camouflage net . And spending a couple of hundred silver on equipment is not worth it.

Conclusion

No wonder many players do not like this tank, yet the shortcomings greatly interfere with the game. If the M3 Lee didn’t have that cardboard turret, a little higher armor penetration, then the tank would really be good. These bright shortcomings, unfortunately, make the tank passable. But do not despair, after this ambiguous vehicle, beautiful tanks are waiting for you. I want you to bend over.

Prepared by: RasSm

"Three-story" Stalin's American [Tank M3 "General Lee" / "General Grant"] Baryatinsky Mikhail

Searchlight tank CDL

Searchlight tank CDL

The least known special modification of the M3 tank was the SPOTLIGHT TANK. In 1940, the British developed the concept of searchlight tanks of the CDL system (Canal Defense Light - canal defense searchlight), so named mainly for the purpose of misinforming the enemy, since no one was going to cover the English Channel, called the channel in Britain. The first machine created under this system was the Matilda.

Instead of a regular tank, a special 65-mm armor turret was installed on the tank, with an 8 million watt electric arc lamp located inside. With the help of a system of mirrors, a beam of light was focused and directed through a narrow vertical slot in the frontal sheet of the tower. In its left half, behind the partition, there was an operator who controlled the searchlight, changed the electrodes, and also, if necessary, used weapons - a BESA machine gun. The second member of the crew - the driver - concurrently served as a radio operator.

Tests of CDL tanks were carried out in England in 1941 under conditions of strict secrecy. At the same time, the tactics of their use were also worked out: the tanks were lined up at a distance of about 100 yards (a little more than 90 m) from each other, and at a distance of about 300 yards from the tank line, the rays of light intersected, creating a continuous illuminated zone.

In October 1942, the CDL tanks were shown to representatives of the American high command, among whom were Generals Eisenhower and Clark, as well as General Behrens from the Department of Ordnance. Upon his return to the United States, the latter initiated the development of technical requirements for the American version of the searchlight tank. The M3 medium tank was taken as the base, the design of which made it possible to keep the 75-mm cannon in the sponson when installing the searchlight tower.

American version of the searchlight tank M3A1 CDL.

British version of the searchlight tank Grant Mk I CDL.

In order to maintain secrecy, the tanks of the CDL system received a rather strange code designation Leaflets (leaflets) in the USA. Six complete English searchlight towers were delivered to Aberdeen at the end of 1942, where they were mounted on M3 tanks. Five of them were then sent to Fort Knox for testing, and one was used for demonstration to the military and production workers.

The searchlight tower of American design differed from the English one in details. In particular, the British, in addition to the BESA machine gun, often armed their turrets with a mock 37 mm gun. The American towers did not have models, and the machine gun was their own - Browning М1919А4. In addition, searchlight tanks based on the M3 were equipped with more powerful lamps - 13 million watts. The crew of the tank consisted of five people. The drive to the generator with a power of 10 kW was carried out from the tank engine.

The turret of a Grant Mk I CDL tank now in the Royal Tank Museum, Bovington. This version lacks the 37mm cannon layout.

Searchlight tank Grant Mk I CDL.

In the UK, 1850 were converted according to the CDL system Lee tanks and Grant. All of them received the designation Grant CDL. In the United States, a contract for the conversion of M3 tanks into searchlights was signed with American Locomotive. In the interests of all the same secrecy, they were called Shop Tractor T10. The towers were manufactured at the plant of the Pressed Steel Car Company, in the documentation of which they were referred to as towers of the "S" type for coastal defense. The final assembly of the tanks was carried out at the Rock Island Arsenal. First american tank The CDL system was ready in June 1943. Until the end of the same year, 355 combat vehicles of this type were manufactured on the chassis of the M3 and MZA1 tanks, and in the next year, 1944, another 142 combat vehicles of this type.

In the United States, two tank groups were formed, armed with M3 CDL tanks - the 9th and 10th. Under the strictest secrecy, they combat training at a remote test site on the California-Arizona border.

The 10th Panzer Group landed on the European continent on August 24, 1944, but did not really take part in the hostilities. The commanders of the linear tank units, who were given the M3 CDL units, simply did not know what to do with this technique - excessive secrecy played with the Americans bad joke. As a result, searchlight tanks suffered heavy losses. Soon the battalions of the 10th group were reorganized into ordinary tank ones and armed with Shermans. Somewhat earlier, the same fate befell the battalions of the 9th Panzer Group.

The last 64 M3 CDL tanks in March 1945 took part in crossing the Rhine. Moreover, the crews for them had to be withdrawn from the previously disbanded searchlight tank battalions. During the defense of the captured bridges across the Rhine in the Remagen area, the use of M3 CDL tanks was not very effective.

Night demonstration of the searchlight tank Grant Mk I CDL.

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The M3 was the first medium tank to enter service with the emerging armored units and formations of the American army. Its feature is the arrangement of weapons in three tiers. In the lower tier, in the sponson, a 75-mm gun with a horizontal guidance angle of 32 degrees is installed. The second tier is a tower of circular rotation with a 37-mm gun installed in it and a machine gun coaxial with it. In the third tier, in the turret, there is a machine gun, from which it is possible to fire both at ground and at air targets. To turn the turret with a 37-mm gun, in addition to a mechanical drive, a hydraulic one can also be used. Pointing the gun vertically was carried out by a mechanical drive. Periscopic sights and prismatic observation devices were used. Towers and hull were made cast, welded and riveted. In particular, the bow, sponson and turret were made by casting. The design of the vehicle as a whole was unsuccessful: insufficient armor thickness, too high a height, caused partly by the use of star-shaped aircraft engines, partly by poor placement of weapons, low firepower, despite the large number of weapons. Nevertheless, the tank was produced in large series from 1939 to 1942, when it was replaced in production by the more advanced M4. In total, 6258 M3 were produced in six modifications, differing from each other mainly in the brand of the engine and the manufacturing technology of individual parts of the hull and turret.

The speed with which the M3 was developed and put into production is perhaps unparalleled in the history of armored vehicles. A decisive role in the deployment of mass production was played by the construction of the Detroit tank arsenal(in Michigan, Center Line), which was quickly oriented towards production. In September 1939, when the war began in Europe, the artillery and technical service planned to issue contracts for the mass production of combat vehicles to heavy engineering enterprises, and in fact, the first of them, the light M2A4, began to be produced by American Car and Foundry.

The events of May-June 1940 in Europe, which forced the adoption of a new American national weapons program, showed that tanks - especially medium ones - would be needed in much larger numbers than expected back in October 1939. In fact, in accordance with the need of the US Army, it was required to produce about 2000 cars over the next 18 months, by comparison, the existing order for 400 light cars looked insignificant. General Motors Company President William S. Nadsen, as a member of the National Defense Advisory Committee responsible for coordinating the work of the American defense industry, believed that heavy industries, which produced relatively small quantities of products, could not supply tanks in increasing numbers, which demanded by the situation prevailing by June 1940.

From Nadsen's point of view, tank industry was similar to the automobile, with the exception of the production of armor. Although ATS did not agree with this position, it recognized the need for further expansion tank production and using the experience of automotive industry specialists in the organization of mass production. The British Tank Commission was sent to the United States in June 1940, when the British were sorely lacking tanks, to select American vehicles for the British army and adapt the British armored vehicles for production in the USA.

The National Defense Advisory Committee abandoned the production of British combat vehicles due to the lack of production capacity necessary for the implementation of the American tank building program. Then the British Commission limited itself to choosing the M3. In October 1940, the British signed a contract with Baldwin, Lima and Pullman for the production of the M3. These tanks, built and paid for by the British under the original contract, received cast turrets, radio stations installed in the rear of the turret, and not in the hull, as in the American version. The towers were longer than the American ones, which stood on the M3 due to the aft niche and had hatches for firing personal weapons.

The commander's turret was removed, and the turret itself was lower, which reduced the height of the tank. This modification received the British designation "Grant" (in honor of the American General Ulysses S. Grant, who commanded the troops of the northerners during the Civil War. See also - "Tank M24" Chaffee "), and all 200 ordered vehicles from the beginning of 1942 were delivered 8- th Army in the Western Desert. During the big battle at Gazala on May 27, 1940, 167 "Grants" made up the main force of the 4th armored brigade. At first, the British army received tanks that were superior in firepower to all German ones, which had a 75-mm cannon, capable of firing armor-piercing and high-explosive shells.M3 "Grant" significantly raised the morale of the British tankers, helped turn the wheel of Fortune in favor of the British forces, in addition, under their impression, the development of a "dual-use" gun for British vehicles began in the UK.

On March 11, 1941, the lend-lease law was approved. The standard M3 medium tanks began to be delivered to the UK, which received the designation "Lee" (another example of British humor - during the civil war, General Robert E. Lee was the commander-in-chief of the southern armies).

By June 1942, the 8th Army in Egypt received 250 more M3, and by the beginning of the battle near El Alamein in October 1942, about 600 of these machines were delivered. From June 1942, in a repair park near Cairo, American personnel retrained British crews for medium tanks M3 (later M4).

A small number of M3s were brought to the UK for training and use as special vehicles, but the bulk of the British army was used in the Middle East.

When the M4 replaced the M3, the latter were transferred to Burma by British units, then equipped with Matildas, Stuarts, and Valentines. Some of them were transferred to Australia.

Modifications

Tactical and technical characteristics

Combat weight
Dimensions:
length	5640 mm
width	2720 ​​mm
height	3125 mm
Crew