M3 Lee

All you want to know about M3 Lee

Medium Tank M3

M3 Grant at the US Army Ordnance Museum
Type Medium Tank
Place of origin United States
Service history
Used by  Australia
 Brazil
 Canada
 New Zealand
 Soviet Union
 United Kingdom
 United States
Wars World War II
Production history
Produced August 1941–December 1942
Number built 6,258
Variants numerous, see text
Specifications
Weight 23.9 tonnes
Length 6.12/5.64 m
Width 2.72 m
Height 3.12 m
Crew 7 (Lee) or 6 (Grant)
Armor 51 mm
Primary
armament		 1 × 75mm Gun M2/M3 in hull
46 rounds


1 × 37mm Gun M5/M6 in turret
178 rounds
Secondary
armament		 2-3–4 × .30-06 Browning M1919A4 machine guns
9,200 rounds
Engine Wright (Continental) R975 EC2
400/340 hp (298/254 kW)
Transmission Synchromesh, 5 speeds forward, 1 reverse
Suspension vertical volute spring
Fuel capacity 662 litres (175 gallons)
Operational
range		 193 km
Speed 40 km/h (road)
26 km/h (off-road)

The Medium Tank M3 was an American tank used during World War II. In Britain the tank was called "General Lee" named after General Robert E. Lee, and its modified version built to British specification, with a new turret, was called "General Grant" named after General Ulysses S. Grant.

As a rush job intended to be brought from design to production in a short period, the M3 was well-armed and -armored for the period, but due to various shortcomings (high silhouette, archaic sponson mounting of the main gun, below average off-road performance) it was not competitive and was withdrawn from front line duty as soon as the M4 Sherman became available in large numbers.

Contents

History

In 1939, the U.S. Army possessed few tanks or viable tank designs. The interwar years had been a time of small budgets for tank development. The United States had no infrastructure for tank production, little experience in tank design, and little doctrine to guide design efforts.

In this context the M2 series medium tank was developed. Though typical of tanks of many nations when first produced in 1939, by the time the U.S. entered the war the M2 design was obsolete with only a 37 mm gun, about 30 mm armor, and a very high silhouette. The success of tanks such as the Panzer III and Panzer IV in the French campaign prompted the U.S. Army to rethink their designs. The U.S. Army immediately issued a requirement for a new medium tank armed with a 75 mm gun in a turret. This eventually became the M4 Sherman. However, until the Sherman could be ready for production, an interim design with a 75 mm gun was urgently needed.

Medium Tank M3, Fort Knox, June 1942

The M3 was the interim solution. The tank design was unusual in that the main weapon – a larger caliber, lower-velocity 75 mm gun – was in an offset sponson mounting in the hull, with consequently limited traverse. A small turret with a lighter, higher-velocity 37 mm gun was on the top of the tall hull. A small cupola on top of the turret held a machine gun giving the effect of one turret on top of another. The use of two main guns was seen on tanks like the French Char B, the Soviet T-35, and the Mark I version of the British Churchill tank. In each case, two weapons were mounted to give the tanks adequate capability in firing both anti-personnel high explosive ammunition (which needed to contain large amount of explosives) and armor-piercing ammunition for anti-tank combat (with efficiency depending on the kinetic energy of the projectile). The M3 differed slightly from this pattern by using a main gun which could fire an armor-piercing projectile at a velocity high enough for efficiently piercing armor, as well as deliver a high-explosive shell that was large enough to be effective. By using the hull mount, the M3 design was brought to production quicker than if a proper turreted mount had been attempted. It was well understood that the M3 design was deeply flawed, but the need for tanks was urgent.

Front view, M3

The British ordered the M3 when they were refused permission to have their tank designs made by American factories. They were unhappy with the tall profile and had their own turret fitted—lower in profile with a bustle at the back for the radio set. Tanks manufactured with the new turret and radio setup received the name "General Grant" while the original M3s were called "General Lee", or more usually just Grant and Lee. (These names were, however, only used by British and Commonwealth forces; the U.S. Army continued to refer to the tanks as M3 Mediums.) The Grant required one fewer crew member than the Lee due to the movement of the radio to the turret. The M3 brought much-needed firepower to British forces in the African desert campaign.

The chassis and running gear of the M3 design was adapted by the Canadians to develop their Ram tank, a conventionally turreted tank. The hull of the M3 was also later used for self-propelled artillery and recovery vehicles, as was the Canadian Ram, which also served as the basis for observation post and armored personnel carrier variants.

Combat performance

Crew of M3 tank at Souk el Arba, Tunisia, November 23, 1942

The Medium Tank M3 first saw action in 1942 during the North African Campaign. British Lees and Grants were in action against Rommel's forces at the disastrous Battle of Gazala on May 27 that year. They continued to serve in North Africa until the end of that campaign. A regiment of M3 Mediums was also used by the U.S. 1st Armored Division in North Africa. In the North African campaign, the M3 was generally appreciated for its mechanical reliability, good armor, and heavy firepower. In all three areas it outclassed the available British tanks, and was able to fight German tanks and towed anti-tank guns. The tall silhouette and low, hull-mounted 75 mm were severe tactical drawbacks since they prevented the tank from fighting from hull-down firing positions. The use of riveted armor led to a problem called "spalling", whereby the impact of enemy shells would cause the rivets to break off and become projectiles inside the tank. Later models were welded to eliminate this problem. The M3 was replaced by the M4 as soon as these were available, and none were used in the European theatre after May 1943.

In the Pacific, a very small number were used by the U.S. Army in the Makin Atoll in 1943. None were supplied to the U.S. Marine Corps. Australian forces received several hundred, but none saw combat. British Lees/Grants were used in the China-Burma-India theatre, mainly with Indian crews, until the end of the war; despite their flaws, they were still superior to the few Japanese tanks they faced. In the Far East the M3's main role was one of infantry support. They played a pivotal role during the Battle of Imphal, and despite their lower-than-average off-road performance they served well on the steep hillsides around Imphal.

Over 1,300 diesel-engined M3A3 and M3A5s were supplied to the USSR via lend-lease in 1942–43. All were the Lee variant, although they are sometimes referred to generically as Grants. The M3 was unpopular in the Red Army, where its faults were shown up in engagements with superior German armor and anti-tank weapons, and the Russians bestowed on the M3 the nickname of "Coffin for seven brothers". Few were seen in combat after about mid-1943, though some M3s were used on the Arctic front in the Red Army's offensive on the Litsa front towards Kirkenes in October 1944. The Germans had on this front only relatively few obsolete French Hotchkiss tanks they had acquired after the conquest, and the M3's inferior tank-to-tank capabilities were of limited importance.

Overall, the M3 was able to cope with the battlefield of 1942. Its armor and firepower were the equal or superior to most of the threats it faced. Long-range, high velocity guns were not yet common on German tanks. However, the rapid pace of tank development meant that the M3 was very quickly outclassed. By mid-1943, with the introduction of the German Panther, the up-gunning of the Panzer IV to a long 75 mm gun, and the availability of large numbers of Shermans, the M3 was withdrawn from service in the European Theatre.

Variants

M3 and its contribution to other AFVs of the Second World War
M31 TRV showing dummy hull gun

British designations in parentheses

US variants

  • M3 (Lee I/Grant I).
    • Riveted hull. 4,724 built.
  • M3A1 (Lee II).
    • Cast upper hull. 300 built.
  • M3A2 (Lee III).
    • Welded hull. Only 12 vehicles produced.
  • M3A3 (Lee IV/Lee V).
    • Welded hull, twin GM 6-71 diesel. Side doors welded shut or eliminated. 322 built.
  • M3A4 (Lee VI).
    • Stretched riveted hull, 5 x Chrysler A-57 Multibank engines. Side doors eliminated. 109 built.
  • M3A5 (Grant II) .
    • Riveted hull. Twin GM 6-71 diesel. Despite having the original Lee turret and not the Grant one, was referred by the British as Grant II. 591 built.
  • M31 Tank Recovery Vehicle (Grant ARV I).
    • Based on M3 chassis, with dummy turret and dummy 75 gun. 60,000 lb winch installed.
  • M31B1 Tank Recovery Vehicle.
    • Based on M3A3.
  • M31B2 Tank Recovery Vehicle.
    • Based on M3A5.
  • M33 Prime Mover.
    • M31 TRV converted to the artillery tractor role, with turret and crane removed. 109 vehicles were converted in 1943-44.
  • 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 (Priest)
    • 105 mm M1/M2 howitzer installed in open superstructure.
    • Gunless version was the OP (observation post vehicle)
  • 155 mm Gun Motor Carriage M12
    • Designed as the T-6. A 155 mm howitzer on M3 chassis.

British variants

A Grant Command variant used by General Montgomery housed at the Imperial War Museum in London
  • Grant ARV
  • Grant Command
    • Grant fitted with radio equipment and having guns removed or replaced with dummies.
  • Grant Scorpion III
    • Grant with 75 mm gun removed, and fitted with Scorpion III mine flail, few made in early 1943 for use in North Africa.
  • Grant Scorpion IV
    • Grant Scorpion III with additional motor to increase Scorpion flail power.
  • Grant CDL
    • From "Canal Defence Light"; Grants with the 37 mm gun turret replaced by a new turret containing a powerful searchlight and a machine gun. 355 Produced by the Americans as well, it was designated Shop Tractor T10.
The Australian M3 BARV

Australian Variants

  • M3 BARV
    • A single M3A5 Grant tank was converted into a "Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle".
  • Yeramba Self Propelled Gun.
    • Australian SP 25 pounder. 13 vehicles built in 1949 on M3A5 chassis in a conversion very similar to the Canadian Sexton.

Designs based on chassis

Operators

Film appearances

In the 1943 movie Sahara, starring Humphrey Bogart, the characters' main form of transportation was an M3 Lee named "Lulu Belle".

In the 1979 Steven Spielberg movie 1941, starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, an M3 Lee is a featured element.

See also

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
v • d • e
Light tanks
Medium / heavy tanks
Self-propelled artillery
Tank destroyers
Armored half-tracks
Amphibious vehicles
Armored cars
Experimental vehicles
M38 Wolfhound · T1/M6 Heavy Tank · T-28 Tank/T-95 GMC · Assault Tank T14 · Heavy Tank T29 · Heavy Tank T30 · Medium Tank T20 · T7 Combat Car
T-16 · T-3 Half Track · T27 · T54 Gun Motor Carriage · T40/M9 Tank Destroyer · T-19 · 8in Howitzer Motor Carriage T84 · T92 Howitzer Motor Carriage · T55E1 Motor Carriage · Light Tank T7/Medium Tank M7 · T88 Gun Motor Carriage
American armored fighting vehicle production during World War II
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