Wheels & Tracks Album #10: M3 and M5 Light Tank "Stuart"

M3 Stuart light tanks during training at Fort Knox, 1942. The light Stuarts typified pre-war American tanks, nimble and fast but lacking in armor and firepower. Confusingly, the Army Ordnance Department had two M3 tanks: the M3 light tank and the M3 medium tank. The British cleared up the confusion on their end by naming the tanks after American Civil War generals, such as J.E.B. Stuart, Ulysses S. Grant. Robert E. Lee, and William T. Sherman.

Light Tank M3E3, March 19, 1942. It would enter production as the M5.

Full size Light Tank M3A1E1 model, with an altered hull front.

M3 Light Tank with quadruple .50 caliber machine guns in place of turret.

Ex-American M3 Light Tank recaptured by the cavalrymen of I Company, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Brigade, in front of the Manila Hotel on 21 February 1945. Notice the 37mm gun and machine guns are missing. After abandoning vehicles the Japanese often removed all the weapons.

Four ex-American M3 Light Tanks, 3rd Company, 7th Tank Regiment. Other tanks in the distance are Japanese Type 97 Improved Medium Tanks Shinhoto Chi-Ha. 3 June 1942. The symbol on the turrets of the second and third M3s are Umebachi (Ume blossom), a traditional coat of the Imperial Japanese Army. The ume it is Japanese plum. This sign is similar to the Ohka symbol, cherry blossom, so they are easily confused. The racks on the rear of the hull of the M3s were added by the Japanese and may have been to carry fuel containers.

Another view of M3 Light Tank captured from Soviets and in German service when knocked out by Soviet forces. Estonia, Saarema Island, 1944.

Another view of M3 Light Tank captured from Soviets and in German service when knocked out by Soviet forces. Estonia, Saarema Island, 1944.

M3E2 Light Tank.

M3 Light Tanks.

Light Tank M3E2.

M3 Light Tank.

Light Tank M3E2, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, November 3rd, 1941. The tank is loaded down to simulate its full mass.

Captured Soviet M3 Light Tank, summer 1943.

M3 Light Tank in Casablanca.

M3 Light Tank.

A column of captured M3 Stuarts being used for a Japanese propaganda movie in the Philippines. 1943.

Another ex-American M3 Light Tank captured at Kasserine Pass from the 1st Armored Division.

M3 Light Tank during war games in Tennessee.

Amphibious M3 Light Tank.

M3 Light Tanks.

M3A3 Light Tank.

M3A1 light tank (note PSP "armor skirts" on hull sides and attached to front of hull for added protection) towing a CHI-HA medium tank.

Still from the 1943 Japanese propaganda movie “Dawn of Freedom” showing a ex-American M3 Light Tank used in the film.

M2A4 light tank, the immediate predecessor of the M3 light tank.

A column of M3 light tanks of the 5th Armored Division training with Douglas A-20 Havoc light bombers in the desert of California in October 1942.

M3 Light Tank purchased in July 1942, with war bonds, by the community of Banning, California.

M3 Light Tank, North Africa.

M3A1 Light Tank with a diesel engine, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

M3 Light Tank's rounded homogeneous turret.

M3 Light Tank.

M44 Gun Mount in M3 Light Tank.

M3 Light Tank's pistol port and protectoscope.

An ex-American M3 Light Tank captured at Kasserine Pass from the 1st Armored Division.

An ex-American M3 Light Tank captured at Kasserine Pass from the 1st Armored Division.

Ex-American M3 Light Tank captured at Kasserine Pass from the 1st Armored Division.

Another photo of the same vehicle. In German service it was designated Leichter Panzerkampfwagen M3 (a).

Ex-American M3 Light Tank in German service, re-captured by American soldiers.

An ex-American M3 Light Tank captured at Kasserine Pass from the 1st Armored Division.

Two African American recruits in a M3 light tank during training in mechanized warfare at Montford Point Camp, North Carolina, April 1943.

Marine Corps signalman signaling from the top of an M3 Stuart tank (serial 60239) during maneuvers in 1942.

First version of the American Light Tank, M3 introduced in 1941. This first version of the M3 Stuart series was known as the "Stuart I" in British service. The turret cupola distinguishes it from later Stuart versions.

M3 tank showing position of drivers and gunners. Fort Benning, Georgia, December 18, 1941.

The M5 Stuart (official name: Light Tank, M5), a U.S. Army light tank introduced in 1942 and known as the "Stuart VI" in British service. The M5 replaced the M3 Stuart's radial aircraft engine with twin automobile engines, and its hull was redesigned with a sloping front for more internal space and an elevated rear deck to make room for the engines. This is the original M5 version, which had a shorter turret than the M5A1 which succeeded it. Circa 1942. The M5 Stuart, introduced in early 1942 and dubbed Stuart VI by the British, was a new Stuart version powered by twin V8 automobile engines. M3 series Stuarts had used radial airplane engines, and war demands made these engines hard to obtain. The M5's hull was also redesigned, with a uniformly sloping front, flat sides, and an elevated rear deck to make room for the new engines. (This also formed the basis for the M3A3's hull.) The original M5 had a relative short turret, which would be extended in the later M5A1.

Showing the equipment and crew of the M3 light tank. The members of the crew are (L-R) Staff Sgt. L. D. Sample, Soulde, South Carolina; Pvt. Harold Postner, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Staff Sgt. Pelak Gilley, Newton, Alabama; Fort Benning, Georgia, December 18, 1941.

Turret assembly on M3A3 light tank, showing turret basket.

Sergeant Carl Hardy, 20, of Shelby, North Carolina, stalking an M3A1 Stuart tank on maneuvers with the Second Army in middle Tennessee. The simulated 29-pound TNT satchel charge laid on the bogie of the light tank will "wreck" it, and possibly "kill" the four operators within. Circa 1942.

The M3A1 Stuart (official name: Light Tank, M3A1), a U.S. Army light tank introduced in 1942. This was the successor to the original M3 Stuart and was known as the "Stuart III" in British service. It lacks the turret cupola and sponson machine guns of the original M3. Circa 1942. The M3A1 Stuart, introduced in 1942, was the successor to the M3. The British called the gasoline-engined version the Stuart III and the diesel one the Stuart IV. The M3A1 had a new turret without a cupola; unlike the M3's turret, which was traversed by hand, that of the M3A1 had power traverse. The sponson machine guns were eliminated from the M3A1.

The M3A3 Stuart (official name: Light Tank, M3A3), a U.S. Army light tank introduced in 1942. This was the final version of the M3 Stuart and was known as the "Stuart V" in British service. It had a redesigned hull, like that of the M5 Stuart but with a flat rear deck and angled sides, and its turret had a rear extension. Circa 1942. The M3A3 Stuart, introduced later in 1942, was the last model of the M3 line. The British called it the Stuart V. The M3A3 had a greatly modified hull, much like that of the M5 Stuart (see below) which had been introduced slightly earlier. Previous M3 versions had a hull with a low front, the superstructure beginning just underneath the turret. The new hull for the M5 and M3A3 rose more steeply in front, providing more internal space. On the M3A3 the hull had inward sloping sides and a flat rear deck. The M3A3 also had a lengthened turret with a rear extension for a radio compartment. This M3 version was not used by U.S. forces, instead being supplied to U.S. allies.

French children climb aboard a Free French 2nd Armored Division M3A3 Stuart tank, 23 August 1944.

M3 light tank of Co. C, 81st Reconnaissance Bn., advances through woods during 1st Army Maneuvers in the Carolinas, 18 November 1941.

M3 light tank on a dirt road. First Army Maneuvers, October-November 1941.

Dummy M3 light tanks used at the Desert Training Center at Camp Young, California.

Dummy M3 light tank used at the Desert Training Center at Camp Young, California.

M5 light tank first variant.

M5 light tank with sandbag protection from Panzerfausts.

M5A1 Light Tank, 100th Infantry Division, Seventh Army, being painted by men of 84th Engineer Camouflage Battalion, near Montbronn, France, March 1945.

M5 light tank.

Rear of late production M5 light tanks.

M5 Light Tank. On 1 March 1945, the 83rd Infantry Division prepared a small task force to seize a bridge over the Rhine at Oberkassel near Dusseldorf. The lead element of the task force consisted of German-speaking GIs, and a few tanks painted in German markings. This is one of those tanks photographed here.

Another view of the same M5 Light Tank as seen above.

Another view of the same M5 Light Tank as seen above.

M5 light tank.

M5A1 light tank, Kwajalein Atoll, early 1944.

M5 light tank leading men of Company K, 106th Infantry, into “Death Valley” on Saipan, 24 June 1944.

Eastern Australia, 3 September 1943. U.S. Army maneuvers. Crews of M5A1 Light Tanks during a spell in large scale maneuvers in eastern Australia.

M5A1 Light Tank, General Motors Proving Ground, 14 June 1943.

M5 light tank later production.

An M5 Light Tank equipped with a hedgerow cutter.

M5A1 Light Tank, 714th Tank Battalion, 12th Armored Division, with several German POWs.

M5 Light Tank undergoing engine change in field during maneuvers in Tennessee. Note the camouflage overalls worn by one of the tankers.

Another view of the same M5 Light Tank.

M5A1 Light Tank, General Motors Proving Ground, 14 June 1943.

M5 Light Tank.

M5A1 Light Tank, “Dingbat,” knocked out. Note turret upside down in stream behind vehicle.

Ex-American M5 Light Tank. In German service it was designated Leichter Panzerkampfwagen M5A1(a).

Light Tank M5 in Morocco, spring of 1943.

M5 light tank initial production.

Cutaway diagram of the Light Tank M5.

37mm Gun M5, as mounted in Light Tank M2A4.

M5A1 light tank.

African American crew of M5 light tanks from Company D, 761st Tank Battalion, stand by awaiting call to clean out scattered German machine gun nests in Coburg, Germany, 25 April 1945.

US M5 light tanks pass through the wrecked streets of Coutances, circa July 1944.

US M5 light tanks move through Avranches (Manche), France.

M5 light tank advancing into the center of Kronach, April 1945.

M5A1 Stuart light tank crossing the Volturno River, Italy. 13 October 1943.

A Stuart and Sherman tanks of 33rd Armoured Brigade during Operation 'Charnwood', the attack on Caen, 8 July 1944.