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dlazov -> (7/1/2003 10:10:34 PM)
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Here is some data from one of my sources regarding the M3 Medium tank.
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M3 Medium Tank: By mid 1940 the Army had come to the conclusion that its newest medium tank (the M2A1, which carried a 37mm gun and a multitude of MG, and which had not yet even entered mass production) was outclassed by the PzKpfw IV with its 75mm gun. What the Army now desired was a tank armed with a weapon at least equivalent to the German piece. The problem was that no turret capable of carrying such a powerful weapon had ever been built in the U.S., and the development of one would necessarily take time. Meanwhile, the British were in desperate need of new tanks to replace those lost in France. The Army therefore decided to modify the M2A1 and install both a turret-mounted version of the Army's 37mm AT gun, and a limited-traverse 75mm gun (which was an adaptation of the unsuccessful AA gun) on the starboard side of its front hull. The resulting M3
Medium was viewed only as a stopgap solution until a proper 75mm tank could become available-but with the added benefit that the automotive bugs corrected on the M3 would expedite the Sherman's development since both would use essentially the same chassis. In all, 6,258 were built, but only about 1,400 were retained by the U.S.; the rest were Lend-Leased to various
allies. In U.S. service the M3 first saw combat in mid-June 1942 during the latter stages of the Gazala battle when three with U.S. crews (who had been sent to help familiarize the British with their new tanks) attached themselves to the British 1st Royal Tank
Regiment and for a few days fought the Germans between Knightsbridge and Acroma, southewest of Tobruk; during this time they claimed the destruction of nine enemy AFV. However, its first offical U.S. use came with the Torch landings and later in Tunisia with the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 1st Armored Divison's 13th Armored Regiment. These battalions were equipped solely with M3 types until Shermans from the 2nd Armored Division began arriving to replace combat losses. At the conclusion of the Tunisian campaign all M3 Mediums were relegated to training roles. In the PTO, their only U.S. use occured in Nov. 1943 when the 193rd Tank Battalion aided in the seizure of Makin Atoll.
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Regards~
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