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M3 Lee/Grant Medium Tank 1941–45 by Steven J. Zaloga Pdf
The highly successful 'stop-gap' M3 medium tank was designed in 1941, and as adequate turret casting facilities were not yet ready, the M3 used an unusual armament configuration patterned after a French tank. British lend-lease demands led to the design of a second turret type with the US version called the Lee and the British version the Grant. It could penetrate Panzer armor, and its explosive firepower was excellent for dealing with German anti-tank guns. This book covers the design, development, service and variants of a vehicle that was the backbone of many World War II forces.
The M3 General Lee was an American medium tank from the World War II era, also used by the British army. In the US, known as Lee, in the United Kingdom as Grant. The M3 tank was created as a result of the need to replace the obsolete M2 tank, which did not match the WWII battlefield. The serial production began in August 1941. The M3 tank had many components from the M2 light tank, including chassis, Wright R975 EC2 star engine and the shape of the combat compartment.
This volume is the most detailed study yet presented of the M3 Lee/Grant tanks, illustrating and describing the development, production, and use of these iconic vehicles by US, Commonwealth, and Russian forces during WWII. The tanks, their power plants, and production techniques used by each manufacturer are shown from assembly line to front line through this profusely illustrated book, including numerous never before published vintage photos.
Medium Tank M3 Lee / M3 Grant by Slawomir Zajaczkowski Pdf
M3 General Lee - an American medium tank from World War II era, also used by the British army. In the US, known as Lee, in the United Kingdom as Grant. M3 tank was created as a result of the need to replace the obsolete M2 tank, which did not match the WWII battlefield. The serial production began in August 1941. The M3 tank had many components from the M2 light tank, including chassis, Wright R975 EC2 star engine and the shape of the combat compartment. M3 was meant to be a transitional solution due to the lack of turrets for a 75 mm cannon (M2 type cannon), which was finally mounted in the sponson on the right front of the hull. Second antitank gun - 37 mm caliber - was mounted in the turret and intended to fight enemy vehicles. The original M3 was equipped with a riveted hull and a turret in which M6 cannons were mounted (cal. 37 mm). In the M3A1 version the riveted turret construction, dangerous for the crew, was replaced with a cast version. The new turret was easier to assemble, which accelerated the production process. It also reduced the weight of the vehicle. Both guns were equipped with gyroscopic stabilizers. Additional armament included two or three Browning M1919 machine guns, caliber 0.30 inches. In American M3, two Brownings were mounted in a small rotating dome at the top of the turret. In the British version there was an entrance hatch for the crew. The crew of the tank consisted of six soldiers (initially seven). A total of 6258 M3 tanks were produced in all versions. They served in the British, Australian, American and Soviet armies.
M3 Lee/Grant US Medium Tank by Luca Stefano Cristini Pdf
Officially designated as the Medium Tank, M3 was the first US medium tank to be mass-produced. It was conceived and designed around 1940 and became operational in 1941. Its turret was made in two variants, one according to US specifications and the other modified to meet British requirements, in this case including the placement of the radio next to the commander. In the context of the British Commonwealth, the tank acquired two distinct designations: those with US-model turrets were called 'Lee', in homage to Confederate General Robert E. Lee, while those with British-model turrets were identified as 'Grant', in honor of Union General Ulysses S. Grant, the two greatest and most famous American generals of the Civil War.
M4 (76mm) Sherman Medium Tank 1943–65 by Steven J. Zaloga Pdf
The M4 Sherman tank was the mainstay of the Western allies between 1942 and 1945. Fast and modern it was a big success and was transported as far afield as Russia and North Africa. The American Chief of Staff claimed in November 1943 it was 'hailed widely as the best tank on the battlefield today...'. However, by the Normandy invasion of June 1944 this was not the case: the new German heavy tanks such as the Panther and Tiger were completely outclassing the Sherman. This title covers the M4 version armed with the 76 mm gun, examining developments such as the HVSS suspension, using much new archive material.
M3 & M5 Stuart Light Tank 1940–45 by Steven J. Zaloga Pdf
The M3 and M5 family of light tanks were the culmination of American tank development of the 1930s. By the time of the outbreak of the World War II, they were approaching obsolescence, as tank forces in Europe were shifting from light to medium tanks as the main element of their armored forces. First entering combat in the autumn of 1941 in the Western Desert with the British Army, the Stuart quickly proved its inadequacies. The M3 and M5 light tanks proved more suitable in the Pacific theater than in Europe, and fought successfully in many of the major battles including Guadalcanal, Tarawa and Peleliu. This title narrates this distinctive and unusual fighting vehicle's history.
The M3 Lee was America's first mass-produced combat tank. Its unusual configuration of hull-mounted 75 mm gun and turret-mounted 37 mm cannon was a result of the rush to get the vehicle in production following Nazi Germany's rapid advances in Europe. Following heavy British tank losses in France, the Commonwealth turned to the US to bolster their tank stocks, and the M3 was adapted, through the use of a different turret style, to fill this need. Later, as more-advanced tanks became available, notably the M4 Sherman, the M3s were adapted to fill other roles. This book chronicles the development and use of these vehicles from concept to combat. Through dozens of archival photos, many never before published, as well as detailed photographs of some of the finest existent examples of surviving vehicles, these iconic armored fighting vehicles are explored, and their history is explained.
American Tanks & AFVs of World War II by Michael Green Pdf
The entry of the US into World War II provided the Allies with the industrial might to finally take the war to German and Japanese forces across the world. Central to this was the focus of the American military industrial complex on the manufacture of tanks and armoured fighting vehicles. Between 1939 and 1945, 88,140 tanks and 18,620 other armored vehicles were built – almost twice the number that Germany and Great Britain combined were able to supply. In this lavishly illustrated volume, armour expert Michael Green examines the dizzying array of machinery fielded by the US Army, from the famed M4 Sherman, M3 Stuart and M3 Lee through to the half-tracks, armored cars, self-propelled artillery, tank destroyers, armored recovery vehicles and tracked landing vehicles that provided the armoured fist that the Allies needed to break Axis resistance in Europe and the Pacific. Publishing in paperback for the first time and packed with historical and contemporary colour photography, this encyclopedic new study details the design, development, and construction of these vehicles, their deployment in battle and the impact that they had on the outcome of the war.
Men of Armor, Part One: Beginnings, North Africa, and Italy, Part I by Jeff Danby Pdf
“With its focus on tank crew members and their commanders this is a unique addition to the literature on WWII.” —A. Harding Ganz, Associate Professor Emeritus of the Ohio State University at Newark, author of Ghost Division After the shocking fall of France in June 1940, the U.S. Army embarked on a crash program to establish a new armored force. One of the units formed was the 756th Tank Battalion (Light), activated at Fort Lewis in June 1941. Because of severe equipment shortages, the new battalion trained without tanks for several months, but by early 1942 were equipped with new M3 light tanks. While companies A and C took part in Operation Torch, B was withheld for lack of cargo space in the transport ships and rejoined the battalion two months later in North Africa. The units undertook reconnaissance missions following the landings in Salerno. In December 1943 the battalion was ordered to upgrade to a medium tank (Sherman) unit. Given less than a month to reorganize and train in M4s, the battalion was sent into the Mignano Gap and supported the 34th Infantry Division in the capture of Cervaro and Monte Trocchio. B Company also supported the troops of the 100th Battalion on bloody but ill-fated attempts to cross the Rapido river before finally establishing a secure bridgehead. The nearby town of Caira was also captured, opening an avenue for an attack on Cassino. Based on decades of research, and hours of interviews with veterans of the 756th Tank Battalion, Jeff Danby’s vivid narrative puts the reader in the turret of B Company’s Shermans as they ride into battle. “The level of detail is impressive.” —WWII History Magazine
Although the Medium Tank M3 series was regarded from the outset as an interim vehicle until something better arrived, it was produced in thousands and managed to serve many users reliably and well until 1945, and even after. The main 75mm gun helped considerably to turn the North African desert campaigns in the Allies' favour and, although withdrawn from front-line service as soon as better combat vehicles became available, the basic design of the M3 proved highly adaptable for many other armoured warfare roles, from armoured recovery to self-propelled artillery. Although something of an Ugly Duckling in tank design terms, the M3 series proved to be highly significant and successful combat vehicles. Book jacket.
Soviet Lend-Lease Tanks of World War II by Steven J. Zaloga Pdf
The Red Army suffered such catastrophic losses of armour in the summer of 1941 that they begged Britain and the United States to send tanks. The first batches arrived in late 1941, just in time to take part in the defence of Moscow. The supplies of British tanks encompassed a very wide range of types including the Matilda, Churchill, and Valentine and even a few Tetrarch airborne tanks. American tanks included the M3 (Stuart) light tank and M3 (Lee) medium tank and the M4 Sherman tank, which became so common in 1944–45 that entire Soviet tank corps were equipped with the type. With these Western tanks, the Soviets were finally able to beat back the German tide in the East. This study examines the different types of tanks shipped to the Soviet Union during the war, Soviet assessments of their merits and problems, and combat accounts of their use in Soviet service using full colour artwork, contemporary photographs and detailed cut-away illustrations.
Author : Richard C. Anderson Jr. Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Page : 751 pages File Size : 54,8 Mb Release : 2024-05-14 Category : History ISBN : 9780811773829
If the machine gun changed the course of ground combat in the First World War, it was the tank that shaped ground combat in World War II. The tank was introduced in World War I in an effort to end the stalemate of the machine gun versus barbed-wire trenches, and by World War II, the tank’s mobility and firepower became a rolling, thundering difference-maker on the battlefield. In this detailed, deeply researched, and heavily illustrated book, tank expert Richard Anderson tells the story of how the United States developed its armored force, turning it into a war-winning weapon in World War II that powered American ground forces and supplied armies around the world, including the British and Soviets. For decades, American tanks of World War II have been undervalued in comparisons with German and Soviet tanks—and it’s true that the best of American armor tended to underperform the best of German and Soviet armor during the war. That’s because the U.S. had a different goal: not only to create battleworthy tanks like the Sherman, and to develop other tanks, but also to supply American allies with serviceable, combat-ready tanks. The United States did all this, but until now the complete story of American tanks in World War II has yet to be told. Anderson’s book is deeper and more thorough a chronicle of American tanks in World War II than has ever been done. This book is colorful, vivid, and thought-provokingly insightful on how the U.S. produced a tank force capable of conducting its own battlefield efforts and sustaining key allies around the world. This will be the go-to volume on American tanks for years to come.
