Tankopedia
WW2LightLight TankUnited States

M5 Stuart

In service 1942 - 1945

The Stuart reborn with two Cadillac car engines and an automatic gearbox - smooth, quiet, and still undergunned.

Built byCadillac, Massey-Harris, American Car and Foundry

M5 Stuart
M5 Stuart light tank — Chris Light, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Development history

Radial engines were needed for aircraft, so Cadillac proposed twin V8s and Hydra-Matic transmissions instead - a combination so easy to drive that training time fell sharply. The M5 and up-armoured M5A1 had a better-shaped hull than the M3 and served everywhere from Normandy hedgerows to Pacific islands, but the 37 mm gun was useless against German armour by 1944 and they were pushed into scouting, flank security and infantry support. Many were passed to allied armies post-war.

Variants

One canonical record, 3 recorded variants.

  1. M5

    1942

    Twin Cadillac engines, sloped glacis, M3-pattern turret

  2. M5A1

    1943

    M3A3-pattern turret with radio bulge and better vision

  3. Stuart VI

    1943

    British service designation for the M5 series

Notable actions

  • Tunisia Campaign
  • Battle of Normandy
  • Pacific island campaigns