M3 Lee / Grant
In service 1941 - 1945
Also known asM3 Medium Tank, Lee, Grant
Stopgap American medium with its 75 mm gun in the hull; vital in the desert in 1942.
Built byAmerican Locomotive, Baldwin, Pressed Steel Car
Development history
Unable to build a turret ring large enough for a 75 mm gun in 1940, American designers put the weapon in a hull sponson with a 37 mm turret above. Tall and awkward, the M3 nonetheless gave British crews at Gazala their first tank that could fire high-explosive and armour-piercing at German anti-tank guns. It was replaced by the Sherman within a year and passed to the Soviets and to the Burma front.
Variants
One canonical record, 3 recorded variants.
M3 Lee
1941Riveted hull, tall machine-gun cupola on the turret.
M3 Grant
1942British-specification low turret with radio in the bustle, no cupola.
M3A3 / M3A5
1942Welded hull and twin GM diesel engines.
Related vehicles
Separate records that derive from this vehicle, grouped by how they relate to it.
National designation of this vehicle
Notable actions
- Gazala 1942
- Second Battle of El Alamein 1942
- Burma 1944