Dragoon 45
Posts: 435
Joined: 8/10/2004 Status: offline
|
Azraelck, I hate to say it but this website is kind of suspect. The 27th ID took Makin the same time the 2d Mar Div took Tarawa in Nov 43. The 6st Marine Regiment was the corps reserve and initially were planned to be used on Makin, but events overtook that and they were used instead on Tarawa. Gunny can correct me if I am wrong, but as far as I know no Marines were involved in capturing Makin Island in Nov 43. The Marines landed on Makin with Carlson's Raiders early in 42 to raid the island, not capture it: but they were landed by submarine, so there is no way tanks were involved in that. After going some more research, I have seen references to the M-3 Lees being used on Makin in Nov 43, by the 191st Tank Battalion of the 27th ID. I still haven't seen any creditable evidence of their use during the fall of the Phillipines. I have seen some documents that said some M-3 Stuarts were in the Phillipines prior to 7 Dec. Evidently the guy did have some idea of what he was talking about as far as the Army using M-3 Lee's in the Pacific, i.e. Makin in 43. But I still have to wonder if he is confusing the M-3 Stuart with the M-3 Lee when saying they were used in the Phillipines during the Japanese invasion. quote:
ORIGINAL: azraelck http://www.wwiivehicles.com/usa/tanks_medium/m3.html Apparently, I was wrong. According to this there was a small number of M3 Mediums used in the Phillipines and the Makin Atoll by the USMC. And of course, they were used in greater numbers in the North African campaign, as well as Lend Lease units sent to the Soviet Union. The M3 was a stopgap vehicle, made to fill a need while the M4 mediums were being designed. It was built by Chrysler (not to be confused with DaimlerChrysler, which is a wholly different company that rapes the name and heritage of the old Chrysler Corp...). The main engines used were the 30 cylinder Chrysler multibank; which was 5 Plymouth flathead sixes running off a common crankshaft. As anyone who knows about cars should know, the Plymouth flatheads were indestructible, and in automotive form put out an honest 70hp, 10 better than the flathead V8s of Ford fame. They were among the first to feature an integral oil pump, and other cooling and lubrication systems, which is why you couldn't kill one. You can buy a car now, running the original flathead without being overhauled, and they ended production in cars in 1959. Marine use was until 1972. It was replaced by the lighter-weight, equally indestructible slant sixes for the 1960 MY. Main armament was a 75mm M2 or M3 gun mounted in the hull. Secondary was .30 MGs and a 37mm turret mounted gun. The 37mm had similar effectiveness to the Soviet 45mm ATG. Armor was too light by the standards of the time, however it was reliable and nimble, and served fairly well until the release of the M4 mediums. In April, 1944 it was classified as obsolete. Variants include the M7 Priest, equipped with a 105mm howitzer.
_____________________________
Artillery always has the Right of Way
|