Concerning the U.S. M3 Tank
The M3 light tank had been designed with four VVSS bogies, two per side, a front mounted sprocket and a back, trailing idler wheel. The trailing increased ground pressure, therefore allowing a modest armor increase. Front armor ended up being 38mm, while part armor ended up being 25mm. This was by no means adequate, nonetheless it ended up being all framework could handle. Armament contained a bow mounted .30, two sponson mounted .30 MGs, a 37mm M5 main gun with a coaxial .30 MG, and a .30 MG on an anti-aircraft mounting on turret part.
Unfortunately, the M3 had been an outdated design by European terms from the start. The lessons from Spanish war had been interpreted differently in Europe. This resulted in automobiles like the French Char B1, the German PzKpfw III and IV, additionally the Russian T34. These all had better protection and armament compared to M3.
Stuart Versions
There have been several versions associated with the M3 light tanks. First, there have been four types of turrets. The original turret was the D37182 turret. This was a slab-sided, hexagonal turret. It used riveted construction and had an octagonal cupola with eyesight slits. It had been unearthed that dedicated MG fire against the turret caused the rivets to split and travel around in the turret. So that the exact same turret design was taken and welded together. This became the D38976 turret. This turret is available in the Academy M3 'Honey' kit.
a 3rd turret kind, known as the D39273, was introduced in November 1941, and ended up being easily distinguished from the previous turrets by its rounded, horseshoe shape and a commander cupola. The original design needed a rotating periscope but this was maybe not fitted. Vision slits across the cupola provided restricted vision. This turret is supplied into the Tamiya M3 kit.
The fourth turret kind, D58101, resembled the D39273 though minus the cupola, and ended up being introduced in very early 1942. It had two roof hatches and a pericopic sight for the commander. This turret is within the Academy 'M3A1' kit.
The M3 was initially powered by the Continental W-670 radial engine. But this motor ended up being additionally required for aircraft, so other energy sources had been sought. In September 1940, the usage of the Guiberson T-1020 diesel engine was authorized. This motor had a somewhat different motor deck layout, using the pipes for the air filters operating into the engine grill, in the place of entering the hull nearby the air filters. Tamiya supplies the Guiberson design on their tank. The diesel engined vehicles were not popular into the army, as a result of dependability and also the logistic problems of operating gas and diesel powered automobiles together. The Marines had less dilemmas, as diesel gas had been employed for their landing craft.
