Tankopedia
WW2MediumMedium TankUnited Kingdom / United States

M3 Grant (British service)

In service 1942 - 1944

Based onM3 Lee / Grant (national designation of)

Also known asM3 Grant, Grant I, Grant II

The British-pattern M3 with a lower turret and a radio moved inside it - the tank that gave Eighth Army a 75 mm gun at Gazala.

Built byPullman-Standard and Pressed Steel Car

M3 Grant (British service)
M3 tank, 1942 — Alfred T. Palmer, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Development history

Britain ordered the M3 with a redesigned cast turret without the American commander cupola and with a bustle for the radio, naming it Grant to distinguish it from the US-pattern Lee. It arrived in Egypt in early 1942 and at Gazala it was the first British-crewed tank able to fire a decent high-explosive shell and armour-piercing shot at German anti-tank guns from outside their killing range. The hull-mounted main gun and tall silhouette were serious flaws, and Shermans replaced Grants from late 1942, after which they served in Burma into 1945.

Variants

One canonical record, 3 recorded variants.

  1. Grant I

    1942

    British-pattern cast turret with radio bustle and no commander cupola.

  2. Grant II

    1943

    Later batches on M3A5 riveted hulls with diesel engines, used mainly in Burma.

  3. Grant Command

    1943

    Turret gun removed and replaced with extra radio equipment for artillery observation.

Notable actions

  • Battle of Gazala
  • Second Battle of El Alamein
  • Burma Campaign