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M3 Stuart & M5 Stuart – American Light tank | WWII

by Soora Solutions August 27, 2022

M3 Stuart and M5 Stuart are light tanks manufactured in the USA during the WWII era. M3 and M5 light tank production was started in 1941 and even today some M5 tanks are active in service. Before the attack on pearl harbor, the USA did not have any intention to join the war. Instead, the US used the world war as an opportunity to strengthen the economy of the country. To strengthen the economy, what the USA did was mass manufacture war machinery and sell them to Russia and Britain. To do that the lend-lease act was implemented in the USA. M3 Stuart was one of the first tanks to be sold to allied nations under the lend-lease act.

lend-lease act Discussions (CC License)

Historical significance of Stuart M3

After the USA entered the war M3 was the first tank with a US crew to fight with enemy tanks. The first fight was fought in December 1941 in the Philippines against Japanese tank battalions. As the first battle of Stuart M3, the operation crusader of the North African campaign is recorded.

In November 1941, the eighth army of England launched a surprise attack against Italian forces using 170 Stuart 3 tanks. It was the first time this light tank was seen on the battlefield. After that Stuart fought in many major global conflicts including the Chinese civil war, the Indu-Pakistan war, Cuban Revolution, the Korean war, and First Indochina war.

Operation crusader (CC License)

Development History

With the heat of WWII increasing rapidly, the U.S Army ordnance department wanted to improve their existing light tank M2 into something with better armor and firepower. The M2 light tank is also the predecessor of the M2 medium tank which provided the original blueprint for heavily successful M4 Sherman program.

M2 Light tank

For the standards of WWII light tanks, M3 was heavily armed and equipped with some serious firepower. The armor thickness varies from 9.5 to 50.8mm. The gun mantle had the highest armor thickness which was 51mm. A newly invented anti-tank gun, 37mm M5 was used as the main armament. (This was the same gun used in M2A4. A 0.30 caliber M1919A4 Browning machine gun mounted on an M20 AA gun mount was used as the secondary armament. The same gun was used as the hull machine gun in M4 Sherman.

M Series Light and Medium tanks

M3 Stuart Development in to M5 Stuart

In M3 and M3A1 tanks, air-cooled radial engines were used. Specifically, 7 Cylinder Continental W-670 petrol engine or 9 Cylinder Guiberson T-1020 Diesel engine was used to power M3 and M3A1. Both of these engines are originally designed as aircraft engines.

W-670 Petrol Engine Used in M3 Stuart

With the demand for aircraft engines rapidly growing in the market, using these engines for tank development was not a good deal at the time. So, the US Army ordnance department decided to improve a new M3 variant that does not use an aircraft engine.

A twin Cadillac V8 engine with an automatic transmission system was used in the new development project. With this new improvement, tank handling becomes easier. Automatic transmission made the tank training process much easier and more efficient. The engine was smooth running and quieter. So, it was easy for radio operators to communicate while moving.

Cadillac V8 engine used in M5 Stuart

M5 Stuart

The hull of M3 was redesigned for M5. The rear deck area of the hull was raised from its original position. The same 37 mm antitank gun used in M3 Stuart was used in M5. However, by the time of M5 development, the firepower of the 37mm gun was not enough to penetrate enemy armor. For some reason, the designers did not consider changing the gun.

M5 Stuart Tank

M3 and M5 Stuart Production

M3 Stuart production commenced in March 1941 and M5 production started in April 1942. M3 production continued until September 1943. A total of 13,859 M3s were produced during the two years. M5 production continued for another year after the M3 program was terminated. In June 1944 the last M5 Stuart entered production. In total 8,884 M5 tanks were manufactured during a two-year project scale.

Three different manufacturing companies undertook the production process.

American Car & Foundry Company WWII Tank factory (CC License)

General Specifications M3 Stuart & M5 Stuart

Other than the engine and transmission system, both M3 and M5 tanks have equal designs and equipment. The average tank body weight was 15.20 metric tonnes. The body was 4.84 meters long 2.29 meters wide and 2.57 meters tall. Both M3 and M5 tanks were manned by a four man crew. The crew consisted of Commander, Gunner, Driver and assistant driver.

M3 Stuart Tank Dimensions

Power, Transmission and Suspension

The main engine used in the series was a Twin Cadillac series 42 engine. At 3,400 RPM it was able to output 220hp. So, the power-to-weight ratio standard for M3 was 13.14 hp/t. In the M3 Stuart, a manual transmission system with 4 forward and one reverse gear was used.

In the M5 tank, the manual transmission was replaced with a hydramatic 4-forward speed gearbox. In both tanks, the internal fuel tank was able to carry 340 liters of diesel or petrol fuel. The operational range was only 160km. The maximum recorded on road speed was 58 km/h.

Main armament

Through the series a 37mm M6 antitank gun was used as the main armament.147 37mm rounds were carried in the tanks internal ammo storage compartment.

Later in the war 37mm was proven to be ineffective against heavily armed German tanks such as the Tiger 1.

In the M8 howitzer model the 37mm canon was replaced with a 75 mm M2 howitzer. The same weapon system was used in Sherman M4 howitzer modifications.

M8 Howitzer a modification of M3 Stuart

Secondary armament of M3 Stuart

Three .30 caliber Browning M1919A4 machine guns were used as the secondary armament. Tank carried approximately 6,750 rounds of ammunition for machine guns.

M3 Stuart major variants

M3 was a popular tank during and after WWII. M3, M3A1, M3A3, M5 and M5A1 are the major mass producing light tank variants. Other than light attack tanks, many special fighting vehicles were manufactured with the M3 blueprints.

Howitzers
recovery vehicles
Mortar vehicles
AA tanks
Command tanks
Flame thrower tank
Mine exploder tank
, are some modifications of M3 Stuart.
M3A1 aka Stuart iii
M3A1 is the first modified version of Stuart M3. It received a new turret, and a vertical stabilizer for the main gun. A sub variant known as Stuart iv was built with the petrol engine replaced by a diesel Guiberson engine.
M3A1
M3A3 or Stuart V
M3A3 production was started with having M5 blueprints in hand. The new M5 hull design was introduced to the M3 structure. In the front section, a sloped armour plate was welded to provide extra protection. A new SCR-508 radio was installed in the rear turret housing.
SCR 508 Radio

M5A1 or Stuart VI
M5A1 is developed as a combination of M3A3 and M5 tanks. The newly developed M3A3 turret was fitted to the M5 body.
Summary – M3 Stuart & M5 Stuart
M3 Stuart or officially light tank M3 is an American made light tank which fought in the WWII and post WWII battles. Originally designed in early 1940’s, even today some tanks are actively operating. M3 and M5 tanks were produced in USA during 1941 and 1944. During the four years 22,744 tanks were manufactured.
M3 Stuart tank in popular gaming culture
M3 and M5 Stuart tanks in Popular gaming culture

August 27, 2022 0 comment

Commonwealth Howitzer Medium Tank Tank destroyer Tanks USA World War II

Sherman M4 WWII American – Allied Medium tank

by Soora Solutions August 24, 2022

written by Soora Solutions

Medium tank M4, aka Sherman is a medium tank originally designed by US military during WWII. It was the most widely used medium tank by US military during the WWII era. Sherman M4 was used by all allied nations during the WWII and Sherman firefly was designed and manufactured in UK based on the M4 design. Sherman M4 served in the US military for 15 years from 1942 to 1957.

Sherman was one of the most significant and successful tanks of WWII era. Extremely high reliability, easy maintainability, abundance of spare parts and cheap building cost made it more attractive to have in any army. More than 49,000 units of Sherman tank was manufactured during the WWII era with each costing 44 to 65 thousand dollars.

Sherman M4

Development history of Sherman M4

Sherman is the 4th main development of medium tank class which started from the M2 light tank in 1935. M2 light tank developed into M2 medium tank in 1939 and it was again developed into M3 Lee tank. M3 is actually an intermediate design or a gap filling design. But, the development of M3 Lee was a big victory for US engineers since the 37 mm gun used in the M2 medium was replaced with a heavy 75mm M2 canon.

M2 light Tank

However, with the gun mounted on a side sponson M3 had some unusual design. Without a turret targeting was difficult with M3 and the tank needed to be moved around always to acquire a target. As a solution a joint design operation involving British, US and Canadian engineers resulted the first prototype M4 tank design Which was known as T6.

M3 Lee Tank

Lee M3 vs Sherman M4

Sherman is the successor of M3 Lee medium tank which served US army in the early WWII years. The mechanical design of the M3 did not changed from a significant level while developing the M4. The most significant change is that instead of mounting the main gun in side sponson mount, it was brought to the central turret. This gave the M4 Sherman better targeting ability and firing stability. A gyro-stabilizer was used to stabilize the turret main gun.

M2 75mm Gun mounted in a half-truck

A 75mm M2 or M3 gun was used in the M3 Lee and the same M3 gun was used in M4 as well. However, the ammo storage was increased from M3 carrying 46 rounds to M4 carrying 104 rounds.

M4 Sherman – General specifications

Sherman was originally designed by U.S Army Ordnance Department in 1940. The tank is 30 to 38 tonnes heavy and 19 to 20 ft long. Depending on the variant the width vary between 8ft 7 in to 9ft 10 in. Height 9 ft to 9 ft and 9 inches.

M4 Sherman

Crew

M4 Sherman was manned by a five personnel crew which include Commander, driver, gunner, loader and bow gunner. Bow gunner was also designated as the assistant driver of the tank.

Sherman M4 Armour

By the time M4 Sherman had a good armour to resist German anti-tank guns. The armour plate thicknesses vary from 12.7 to 177.8 mm depending on the location.

Sherman M4 main armament

As the main armament three different guns are used in different variants. The 75 mm M3 gun with 90 to 104 rounds, 76 mm M1A1, M1A1C and M1A2 guns with 71 rounds or a 105mm M4 howitzer with 66 rounds acted as the main armament of Sherman.

High explosive ammo, smoke ammo and armour piercing ammo were used with these guns.

Issues related to the M4 main gun

Muzzle blast in the initial 76mm guns caused heavy smoke and dust around the gun. So, after making the first shot the gunner was unable to clearly see the target. In M1A1C gun, the gun was threaded for a muzzle brake and the threads were covered with a protected cap.

Secondary armament

As the main machine gun a half inch caliber browning M2HB machine gun with 300-600 rounds were used. As the secondary machine guns in hull and turret two .30 caliber Browning M1919A4 MG with 6,000 – 6,750 rounds used.

Engine and power of Sherman M4

In the initial M4A1 version a petrol engine with 350 to 400 hp power is used. In the M4A2 version the fuel type was changed to diesel to increase the torque of the engine. The engine was manufactured by general motors. 6046, General motors 71 series two stroke engine was used in the M4A2.

In M4A3 again the fuel type was changed to petrol. Ford made V8 petrol engine installed in the M4A3 was able to output 450 hp. In M4A4 version a Chrysler A57 multibank 39 cylinder Petrol engine with a power output of 370hp was used. Again in M4A6 version a 450hp engine – Caterpillar D-200A 9 cylinder radial diesel engine was installed.

As the power transmission system Spicer made manual transmission system with 5 forward gears and single reverse gear was installed.

The power to weight ration of M4 Sherman tank vary from 10.46 to 13.49 hp/t range depending on the variant.

Range and Speed

Depending on the tank variant M4 Sherman can carry 520 to 660 L of fuel. This fuel storage was able to support a operational range of 160 to 240 km on road. Depending on the terrain the consumption may increase.

The maximum on road speed vary from 35 to 48 km/h.

Sherman – Probably the most successful military vehicle development program during WWII?

The design of Sherman was proven to be one of the most successful designs in the history. With incomparable reliability records US engineers considered developing various military vehicles based on the Sherman’s design. Some vehicles developed with the Sherman blueprint include,

Tank destroyers like M10 with 3 in gun
Howitzers like M7B1 with 105mm howitzer
Self-propelled gun carriers like M30 truck
Flamethrower tanks like M4-A2
Rocket launcher tanks like T34 Calliope
Amphibious assault vehicles
Engineering tanks
Artillery carriers
Recovery vehicles

M10 Tank Destroyer

Major battles

Other than WWII, Sherman served in many major battles around the world. Korean war, Cuban revolution, Indo-pakistan war, Suez crisis, Iran – Iraq war are some highlights, which Sherman served as main medium tank for different countries.

Sherman Firefly

Sherman firefly is a British made medium tank of WWII. Firefly was developed from the blueprints of Sherman M4. More than 2,100 Firefly tank units were manufactured in UK’s Detroit tank arsenal company.

Unlike the M4, firefly only need a four man crew which include the commander, gunner, loader and driver. Instead of using US M2 or M3 75 mm medium velocity guns , British made QF 17 pounder 76.2 mm gun with 77 round storage capacity was used in the firefly.

A multibank petrol engine was used to power this tank and the maximum recorded power was 425 hp.

Sherman Fury

Fury is an American war film released in 2014. The movie timeline moves with a story of US tank crew, who is fighting though the German front lines during the final weeks of WWII. The crews beloved tank is a M4 Sherman nicknamed “Fury”

The tank featured in the movie is an A2 variant of Sherman M4 American made medium tank.

Summary – M4 Sherman

M4 Sherman is a WWII era American medium tank used by many armies including US army, British army, Canadian army and other allied armies. Sherman was the successor of M3 Lee tank. Sherman was identified as a durable, enduring and powerful tank and it was very successful in the battle field. Using the same design many other military vehicles including engineering vehicles, rocket launching vehicles and tank destroyers were developed.

August 24, 2022 0 comment

Commonwealth Howitzer Infantry Tank Tanks World War II

Churchill 1 of United Kingdom WWII | Infantry tank Mk IV A22

by Soora Solutions August 24, 2022

written by Soora Solutions

Churchill 1 or Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) by official designation, is a WWII era 39 t infantry tank made by British engineers. During the WWII A22 tank served in multiple armies including UK, USSR and Poland. Later in 1950’s Churchill served in Korean war for Soviet army. The manufacturing process was started in 1941 with 303 Churchill 1 tanks produced in the first phase. The last Churchill VIII tank was manufactured a year before WWII was ended in 1944.

Highlights of Churchill 1

Starting from the external appearance, the first thing you will notice in the Churchill 1 tank is its abnormal design. The all around track design with multiple bogies was not a very common thing to see during that era. It was well known for its ability to climb steep slopes and to maintain stability in all terrain.

Comparing to most other infantry tanks Churchill has one of the best service records. The A22 fought in many wars including in North Africa, Italy, India, Korean war, USSR army and Irish Army.

The history of Churchill Tanks

After the experience gained in the WWI, with the threat of Germans invading Britain growing, the designers of Churchill tank was advised to build a tank to face all types of terrain in European region. With the new innovative infantry tank concept implemented in England, the concern was raised to develop a supplementary infantry tank to fight together with Matilda and Valentine tanks.

Development of A20 tank

A20 tank is the true prototype of Churchill 1 tank. A20 was not actually a totally new development. In 1939 A20 was manufactured with the help of Matilda tanks blue prints. The purpose of the new development was to attack fixed baseline defense and to support infantry to advance.

The armour was designed to resist German’s 37mm Pak 36 anti tank guns. Only 60mm of maximum armour was provided to minimize the tank weight.

A20 Prototype tank

Matilda turret was installed to newly designed body without much modification . In the testing phase, A20 repeatedly broke down and frequent services were required to maintain tanks functionality.

Features of A20

First in the designing phase, many different suggestions were made about choosing armament for the tank. The general staff suggested to install two 40mm QF 2 pounder guns in each side installed in a sponson. They also recommended to install two coaxial Besa machine guns in each side. Another Besa MG and a smoke projector was recommended to be installed in the front hull area.

QF 2 pounder AA gun – Similar gun used in Churchill 1

Power and design of A20

A20 tank roughly weighted 32 tons. To drive this heavy tank a 300 hp flat-12 meadows engine was mounted to the tank. This limited power to weight ratio to 9.37 hp/t which is not a very good ratio for a infantry tank. Already been a consultant to the project Vauxhall motors was given a task to develop a new engine for A20.

It was a whole new level of experience for Vauxhall motors. Their engineers never had prior experience in working with tracked vehicle manufacturing. But, surprisingly they developed a new 350 hp petrol engine for A20 within a very short period of time.

Final armament arrangement of A20

Construction began in 1940’s. Due to the material shortages, cost and other reasons the designers decided to reconsider the armament arrangement. 6-pounder gun and a french 75mm gun was recommended to fit as the hull main gun. But, the issue with QF 6 pounder is that the barrel is too long. (8ft) Finally, it was decided to fit a 3-inch howitzer.

Ordnance QF 3-inch howitzer

The howitzer was mounted in the front hull. The same design was used in A22 Mk1 tank. The pounder 2 gun was mounted in the turret as the primary armament. But, in few Churchill Mk II tanks, the arrangement was changed and the pounder was brought to the hull and howitzer was fitted to the turret.

QF 3 in Howitzer – Similar Howitzer gun used in Churchill 1

Failure of howitzer

Churchill tanks were designed to climb steep slopes and to run in the muddy terrain of England. Due to mud frequently depositing on the hull front, most of the time the howitzer was blocked and not functional.

The ordnance QF howitzer was designed and able to fire high explosive howitzer rounds. But, the ammunition was not available by the time. It was only used to fire smoke ammunition to smoke parts in enemy territories.

Troubling to manufacture A22 Churchill 1

By the time howitzer gun was rare in the market and really expensive to produce. When 300 units of Mk1 tanks manufactured, the market almost ran out of ordnance QF howitzer guns. So, the design engineers decided to replace the howitzer gun with a machine gun starting from Mk ii variant.

Development of A22

After 1939 Battle of France, the general staff understood the upcoming war scenario. Dr Henry Merritt was the director of tank design at the Royal arsenal by the time. Dr Henry and the tank design department developed new specifications to match growing European conditions and in June 1940 appointed Vauxhall for the new development project.

Efficient designing and manufacturing process

With the war almost waiting near the gates, the military had urgent requirement of having as much as tanks in the battlefield. Vauxhall was given a tight schedule to complete the project and start manufacturing of A22 tanks within a year.

Just after a month in July 1940 Vauxhall completed the new design and after another five months they completed the first prototype tanks. Serial production of A22 started right after the prototype development and in June 1941 the first completed tanks entered service, as expected by the general staff.

Naming the A22

By the time of A22 entering production, Sir Winston Churchill was the prime minister of England. Sir Churchill was founder of Landship committee, an organization which was formed during the WWI. This committee promoted the idea of developing AFV (Armored fighting vehicles) during the WWI. The tank was named after Sir Winston Churchill honoring his contribution for tank development.

However, some people believe A22 is named after John Churchill, who is the first Duke of Marlborough.

File:Sir Winston Churchill.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Sir Winston Churchill (CC License)

Design of Churchill 1 A22 Tank

Side of the tank

Unlike many of other tanks the idler in the front and sprocket has teeth in them. The tracks are very large and tall. The whole track is visible from the side view. In later versions the upper part of track was covered for safety reasons.

A heavy metal square shaped door with a plug also can be seen in the right side. The plug act as an opening for personal weapons to protect sides of the tank. The side door is large enough for the crew to access the hatch.

Few feet away, the air filter intake opening can be seen in the side. This is one of the first air filter designs used in tanks. Due, to its positioning air filter usually suck up waste materials like leaves and dust from the ground.

Side View of Churchill 1

Turret design

The turret is small in size. But, it can carry three personal including, gunner, loader and commander. A 40mm QF 2 pounder gun is fitted to the tank as the main armament. In the right side of the QF 2, coaxial 7.92 mm Besa machine gun can be seen. The MG is only adjustable in horizontal length. In the left side opening for the periscope view can be seen.

More than thousand of A22 turrets were manufactured in USA and shipped to Britain for fitting.

Crew of Churchill 1

Churchill 1 is crewed by five personal which include,

Driver – In front
Machine gunner – in front
Loader – In turret
Main Gunner – In turret
Commander / Radio man – In turret

Power transmission

A merit brown transmission system was used in Churchill 1. It was the first time merit brown system was implemented in a tank. The system was located behind the engine in the back of the tank. Merit brown system incorporated the gearbox.

In the first 100 tanks a five-speed gearbox was used. But, it failed frequently. So, the engineers changed the gearbox to a four-speed system.

Churchill Mk2

A slow tank

Churchill 1 tank had a maximum on road speed of 24 km/h. Since, it is an infantry tank the speed was not expected in the first place.

The tracks were not covered with rubber. So, when moving Churchill 1 generated a heavy sound and due to the noise radio operators were not able to communicate when inside the tank.

To lower the noise for communication purposes, the tank had to slow down to a minimum of 16 km/h speed. Later in the war with other tanks moving faster Churchill was unable to catch up with other tanks in the battlefield and on road.

Summary – Churchill 1 A22

Churchill 1, Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) is a British WWII era infantry tank. 303 Tanks of Churchill 1 was produced by Vauxhall motors in 1941. The main armament of Churchill 1 was a two pounder canon. As the second armament a machine gun mounted in the turret and a 3 inch howitzer mounted in the front hull can be seen.

Churchill 1 in popular gaming culture

Churchill 1 tank in popular gaming culture