| M3/M5 Light Tank |
| M3 Light Tank Crew: 4 Armament: 1 37mm gun, 3 .30cal mgs Armor: 44.5mm maximum, 10mm minimum Weight: 12,400 kg Performance: 36 mph road speed, 70 miles range History: Entered US service 1941. Widely used by other allied armies. The M3 tank was designed as a 'Cavalry' tank, intended for scouting. It had excellent cross country mobility, and was also very fast. Many were sent to supliment British armor formations in North Africa, here they were pressed into a more general purpose role rather then just scouting. While the tank was under armed and out-gunned, it was admired by its crews, and heavily bolstered British tank strength in the theater. The M3 and its later cousin, the M5, served all over Europe, Africa, and the Pacific, and was the most widely used light tank of the war. Like the Sherman, it was robust, reliable, and got the job that it was intended for done. |
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