Searchlight tank CDL. Searchlight tank CDL Mass grave for six

M3 "Lee"/"Grant"

M3 "Lee"/"Grant"

American medium M3

History of creation
The US entry into the First World War was very late, which brought them many different benefits. Expecting that the war would last a few more years, American military experts made the absolutely correct conclusion that tanks are needed in this war: heavy breakthrough tanks and light “cavalry” tanks. The first corresponded to the British Mk tanks, and the second to the French FT-17. On their basis, American designers (together with the British) created their heavy tank Mk VIII, which became the crown of heavy tank building in the First World War, and the light two-seater tank "Ford M 1918", also known as the "Ford 3-ton" because of its mass. These vehicles were created taking into account both their own combat experience and the experience of the British and French. 1,500 Mk VIII tanks were ordered, called "Liberti" or "International", since the tank was created on two continents, and 15,000 Ford M 1918 tanks. However, only one Mk VIII tank and 15 Ford M 1918 vehicles were produced for the armistice. After which their production was stopped.
At the end of the war, the American General Rockenback tried to reorganize the tank units so that they became an independent branch of the military. He was supported by his combat commanders Major Georg Patgon, Sereno Brett and Dwight Eisenhower. But in 1920, the American Congress passed the National Defense Act, according to which the creation of tank units as a separate branch of the military was prohibited. The existing tank units, as well as all management of the development of new vehicles, were transferred to the commander of the infantry of the American army, in whose apparatus a tank commission was created. As a result, the idea of ​​an “armored strike” was buried, and the cavalry did not switch to tanks and retained their horses. True, in 1931 the commission for the mechanization of cavalry began to work on tanks, which gave a certain impetus to design research. However, until the start of World War II, the American army, in fact, did not receive any successful tanks for itself.
Experienced medium tank T1
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, American mechanized forces at Fort Meade in Maryland continued to consist of World War I tanks and light American-made Renaults.
Work on the advanced design of tanks, however, was still carried out both by a number of private firms and at the state arsenal in Rock Island in Illinois at an artillery factory. The first two designs, which appeared in 1921 and 1922, were medium tanks, very similar to their progenitor, the British D tank. But they had a rotating turret and a 57 mm gun. The third (medium tank Tl, created in Rock Island in 1926) had a mass of 23 tons, which exceeded the 15 tons established by the task, selected from the load-carrying capacity of the bridges. Engine 220 hp provided speeds of up to 20 km/h. The tank's armament consisted of one 57-mm cannon, coaxial with a machine gun, main tower and one more machine gun in a small turret mounted on top of the main one, in its rear part. The tank's hull was made of armor one inch (25.4 mm) thick. This tank was considered too slow by the military. In 1930, the T2 tank was built. With a mass of 15 tons, which fully corresponded to the task, a more powerful “Liberti” with a capacity of 312 hp was used. The tank's armament consisted of a 47-mm cannon and a heavy machine gun located in the hull, a 37-mm cannon and a coaxial conventional-caliber machine gun installed in the turret. Externally, this tank was very similar to the English 12-ton tank "Vickers Medium Mk I", which was actually chosen as the prototype. All these tanks were transferred for testing to a mixed mechanized unit, which was based at Fort Eustis in Virginia and consisted of military vehicles, cavalry and mechanized artillery. Subsequently, another tank unit was created at Fort Noko, Kentucky. But this did not produce real results for the development of American tank forces.
At the same time, tank designer J. Walter Christie, nicknamed the “eccentric” by the American military, worked in the United States - a man as talented as he was quarrelsome and enthusiastic. He presented the Department of Armaments with several samples of his wheeled-tracked tanks and self-propelled guns. Army officials, notable for their usual distrust, purchased only five tanks from him for military testing, after which his vehicles were rejected. But in other countries these designs were regarded as promising! Christie's ideas were used in the USSR, Great Britain and Poland. In the USSR alone, about 10 thousand wheeled-tracked tanks of various modifications were produced, based on Christie tanks. Even the legendary T-34 used its suspension.
So, in search, the 30s passed. Experimental models of medium tanks TZ, T4, T5 and their various modifications were created, but none of the medium tanks were ever produced in series.
It was September 1, 1939. In 18 days, German tank wedges passed through Poland and met with tank wedges of the Red Army, which was carrying out the Liberation Campaign in Western Ukraine and Belarus. The further war in Europe, which ended with the defeat of the French and English armies at Dunkirk, showed the United States that war was on the doorstep and they would not be able to sit overseas, but would have to fight in earnest.
Experienced medium tank T2

Experienced medium tanks T1 and T2
It immediately became obvious that America was far behind in the development of tank forces. The reaction came quickly. As early as July 1940, General George Marshall and General Staff ordered General Edn R. Chaffee to withdraw all armored units from the infantry and cavalry units and form two armored divisions with support battalions. And, if on June 30, 1940, the National Army Support Program was adopted, then already on July 10, General Chaffee began to form new armored units. All tanks produced went only to him. To arm the divisions, it was planned to produce 1000 tanks, and production was supposed to reach 10 vehicles per day.
The M2A1 medium tank of the 1939 model, the M2 tank, is urgently being put into service. This tank was designed at Rock Island and represented a further development of the T5 medium experimental tank. Weighing 17.2 tons, the M2 tank had armor 1 inch thick, a 37 mm Mb cannon and 8 7.62 mm Browning Ml 919 A4 machine guns along the perimeter of the hull and in the turret. Nine-cylinder "Wright Continental R-975" with 350 hp. provided him with speeds of up to 26 mph (42 km/h). The M2A1 tank had 1 inch and a quarter (32 mm) armor, an enlarged turret and a 400 hp engine, which made it possible to maintain speed despite the increased weight. they looked old-fashioned with high straight sides and were poorly armed for medium tanks, since they were already produced for the army with the same 37 mm cannon and two or three 7.62 mm machine guns.
In June 1940, Lieutenant General William Nudsen, founder of the General Motors Corporation and head of the national defense program K.T. Keller (who is also the president of the Chrysler Corporation) decided not to produce M2A1 tanks at their factories, since this required a complete restructuring of production, since they believed that they could earn more money by supplying cars to the army. And they intended to transfer the order for tanks to the American Locomotive Company and Baldvin concerns. What was quite unexpected for them was the allocation of $21 million for this production, including funding for the construction of a new tank factory. K.T. Keller assured General Wesson, the chief of artillery of the US Army, that the Chrysler Corporation was able to produce tanks. It was assumed that 1,741 tanks would be produced in 18 months. The Chrysler concern was given only 4.5 months to rebuild production and submit a project for the construction of an arsenal completely independent of suppliers.
When the Rock Island Arsenal built two prototypes of the M2A1 tank, General Wesson allowed Chrysler engineers to study them. On July 17, 1940, one M2A1 tank from the Chrysler concern was valued at 33.5 thousand dollars, a price that the artillery committee, out of caution, accepted as “floating.” Within a month, the contract was worked out and signed on August 15. 1,000 M2A1 tanks were to be delivered to the US Army by August 1940, and their production was to begin no later than September 1941. This date was set by the Chrysler concern itself, considering a month to be quite sufficient time to prepare production for the release of new products.
The first tanks from the Chrysler factories were two wooden mock-ups of the M2A1, made according to drawings received from Rock Island. But on August 28, 1940, the order for 1000 M2A1 tanks was canceled, although 18 were still produced. Some of them were sent to Western Sahara. We were unable to find information about their participation in the battles. In 1941, a flamethrower was installed on one of the tanks instead of a cannon, and the fire mixture was mounted in the stern. This one received the M2E2 index, but remained a prototype.
By this time, based on the results of the discussion about the possible arming of the M2A1 tank with a 75-mm gun (which was envisaged in the design of the T5Ё2 tank, cited by General Gaffis from the Artillery Department in Aberdeen), a new “unplanned” tank was created. The landfill design department developed all the necessary documentation in just three months. The vehicle was given the designation MZ and the name "General Lee", in honor of Robert Edward Lee (1807-1870), commander-in-chief of the Southern army in the Civil War of the North and South of 1861-1865. in USA.
The designers of the MZ tank installed a 75-mm gun in the side sponson on the right side of the hull, as on tanks from the First World War. This reflected a certain lack of confidence among the designers in their abilities and a reluctance to abandon their view of the tank as a moving dog. A 37-mm gun, coaxial with a machine gun, was mounted in a cast rotating turret, shifted to the left side. Another machine gun was located in a small turret on top.
The design was archaic in all respects. Note that the Soviet tank, created back in 1931, under the leadership of the German designer Grotte, had a similar design, with a cannon in the body. But the MZ was superior to all British tanks, even the Churchill Mk I, which had a 75-mm gun located in the hull between the tracks, and a 2-pounder (40 mm) gun in the turret. The French B-1 bis tank, which also had multi-tiered armament, was also inferior to the Lee.
Work on the construction of the Chrysler tank plant began on September 9, 1940 on section 113 of the Detroit suburb of Waren Townshire. The government subsidized this construction, which occupied an area of ​​about 77 thousand acres. All preparatory work were completed by January 1941, when engineers from the Chrysler concern, together with engineers from the American Locomotive Company and Baldvin concerns, worked out the technological processes. Experimental tanks from these companies began to be tested on April 11, 1941. The first Chrysler tank was donated to the government, the next was sent to the Aberdeen Proving Ground for testing on May 3, and another was kept as a sample for the selection committee. Serial production of General Lee tanks began on July 8, 1941. The approval of the Lend-Lease regulations on March 8 of the same year lifted all restrictions on the supply of tanks to Great Britain and the USSR, and new tanks immediately went overseas. This gave impetus to all companies to increase the production of armored vehicles. The companies PulIman-Standart Car Company, Pressed Stell and Lima Lokomotive were involved in its production. The MZ tank was produced for just over a year, from July 8, 1941 to August 3, 1942. During this time, the Chrysler concern produced 3352 MZ tanks of various modifications, American Locomotive Company - 685 units, Baldvin - 1220 units, Pressed Stell - 501 units, Pullman - Standard Car Company - 500 , a total of 6258 cars of various modifications. In addition, the Canadian company Montreal Lokomotive Company produced 1,157 MZ tanks for the Canadian Army. In August 1942, all enterprises switched to the production of M4 Sherman tanks. However, the Baldvin company continued producing MZ tanks of the third and fifth modifications until December 1942.
MZ tank design
MZ tanks of all modifications had such an original appearance that it was difficult to confuse them with other models.
According to its design, the tank was a vehicle from the First World War, with the gun located in the side sponson, as on the English tanks Mk I, Mk VIII, and instead of a stationary wheelhouse, it was rotating. The engine was located at the rear, at the front, under the rotating floor of the turret. Between them is the fighting compartment. The engine was connected to the transmission by a driveshaft. Under the shaft were the engine control rods. All this was covered with a removable casing. The transmission parts were installed in a cast armored housing, made of three parts, bolted together through flanges. They formed a very characteristic bow end of the tank. All this was also attached to the tank body with bolts, which was the same for all modifications. The same design was used on early models of the M4 Sherman tank. The tank hull was made of flat sheets. The thickness of the armor was the same on all models and was: two inches (51mm) for the frontal armor, one and a half inches (38mm) for the side and rear plates, half an inch (12.7mm) for the hull. The bottom had a variable thickness: from half an inch (12.7 mm) under the engine to one inch (25.4 mm) in the area of ​​the fighting compartment. The walls of the tower had armor - two inches and a quarter (57mm), and the roof - seven-eighths of an inch (22mm). The front plate was installed at an angle of 60 degrees to the horizontal, the side and rear plates were installed vertically. The armor plates were attached with rivets (modifications MZ, MZA4, MZA5) or by welding (modifications MZA2 and MZAZ) to the internal frame. The MZA1 tank had a completely cast hull. However, due to the complexity of manufacturing, only three hundred cars were produced. On the right side of the hull, a cast sponson with a 75 mm gun was installed, which did not extend beyond the dimensions of the hull. The height of the sponson, along with the size of the engine, determined the height of the tank. A cast turret with a 37-mm gun rose above the hull, shifted to the left; it was crowned with a small turret with a machine gun. The resulting pyramid was over 3 m - ten feet and three inches (3214 mm). The length of the tank was eighteen feet and six inches (5639 mm), width - eight feet eleven inches (2718 mm), ground clearance - seventeen and one eighth inches (435 mm). But the tank turned out to have a spacious fighting compartment, and is still considered one of the most comfortable. The inside of the hull was covered with sponge rubber to protect the crew from small fragments of armor. Doors were installed on the sides, and there were hatches on top and in the machine-gun turret. This ensured quick landing of the crew, and most importantly, convenient evacuation of the wounded from the tank through the side doors, although the doors reduced the strength of the hull. Each crew member had viewing slots and embrasures for firing personal weapons, protected by armored visors. On the aft plate of the hull there was a double door for access to the engine, the joint of the doors was closed with a narrow strip of bolts. There were two air filters on the sides and top of the door. They were round and box-shaped. On the above-engine plate there were air intakes covered with meshes and upper hatch doors. Hatches at the top and rear made it easier to access the engine during maintenance. An entrenching tool, tow rope, tarpaulin, canisters, spare rollers were attached to the engine plate, and spare tracks were mounted on the fenders. Often infantry helmets were also located there. Sometimes the tool was fixed to the stern plate.
The MZ tanks, both "General Lee" and "General Grant", modifications MZA1, MZA2 and all vehicles based on them were equipped with an aviation star-shaped nine-cylinder carburetor engine "Wright Continental" R 975 EC2 or modification C1 with a power of 340 hp. It provided the 27-ton tank with a top speed of up to 26 mph (42 km/h) and, with a transportable fuel supply of 175 gallons (796 liters), 120 miles (192 km). The disadvantages of the engine include its high fire hazard, since it ran on high-octane gasoline, and difficulty in maintenance, especially for the cylinders located at the bottom. But in 1941 it was the only engine that satisfied tank builders. Since March 1942, the Baldvin company began installing water-cooled General Motors 6-71 6046 automobile diesel engines on MZ tanks, but with two engines each with a total power of 375 hp, which increased the weight of the tank by 1.3 tons, but due to greater power and efficiency, speed and range increased slightly. These tanks were designated MZAZ and MZA5. In June 1942, the Chrysler concern installed a new 30-cylinder multi-row water-cooled Chrysler A 57 engine on the tank. The installation of this engine not only increased the weight of the tank by two tons, but also the length of the hull and, as a consequence, the length of the tracks. Speed ​​and power reserve were maintained. The British, on the MZ tanks in service in their army, could, during operation, replace standard American engines with English Guiberson radial diesel engines. At the same time, no alterations to the hull were made.
The driver, even on tanks delivered to England, was located in front on the left. The dashboard was equipped with: speedometer, tachometer, ammeter, voltmeter, fuel consumption indicator, thermometer and clock. The tank was controlled using the gear shift lever, brake pedals, accelerator and handbrake.
The chassis of the tank was a rubber-metal track supported by three bogies on board. The support trolley had a welded frame, onto which, through two spiral vertical springs, a rocker arm with two rubber-coated support rollers was attached. A support roller was installed on top of the frame. Track rollers were made with both solid discs and spokes. This support trolley was also used on medium tanks M2 and the first samples of M4
The caterpillar drive was carried out through a sprocket, which was located in the front part of the hull and had two removable ring gears, secured with bolts. At the rear there is a guide roller with a tension crank mechanism, which was also bolted to the body.
The tracks were rubber-metal and had 158 tracks, 16 inches (421 mm) wide and 6 inches (152 mm) long each; on MZA4 tanks there were 166 pieces each, due to the elongated hull. The track was a rubber plate with a metal frame pressed inside it, through which two metal tubular axles passed, onto which connecting brackets with a fang were put on, connecting the tracks into a caterpillar. For each track, there were two fangs that went around the rollers of the support trolley. The drive sprocket grabbed the track by the connecting brackets. The rubber plate of the track was smooth. The last tanks were equipped with a plate with chevron protrusions, which was also installed on the M4 General Sherman tanks.
The MZ tank had fairly strong weapons. The main firepower is a 75 mm gun mounted in the sponson. This gun was designed at the Westerflute Arsenal based on the 75 mm French field gun Puteaux and Dupont, Model 1897, adopted by the US Army after the First World War. The gun, which received the M2 index, had a barrel length of 118 inches (Zm), was equipped with a aiming stabilizer, a semi-automatic bolt, and a system for purging the barrel after firing. The aiming stabilization system on the MZ tank was used for the first time in the world and subsequently served as a prototype for similar systems for tanks of many armies around the world. The vertical aiming angles were 14 degrees; in the horizontal plane, the gun was aimed by turning the entire tank. Vertical aiming of the gun was carried out both by electro-hydraulic drive and manually. The ammunition was located in the sponson and on the floor of the tank.
However, when installing the M2 cannon on the tank, it turned out that it extended beyond the front line of the hull. This greatly alarmed the military, who were afraid that the tank might get caught on something while moving. At their request, the barrel length was reduced to 92 inches (2.33 m), which reduced the combat characteristics of the gun. Such a truncated gun was assigned the index MZ, and when mounted in a tank, in order not to redo the stabilization system, a counterweight was put on the barrel, similar in appearance to the muzzle. By the way, a similar story happened with the Soviet T-34 tank. At the request of the military, the designers reduced the original length of the F34 cannon barrel by 762 mm, thereby reducing its power by 35%. But the gun did not protrude beyond the dimensions of the tank! It seems that the conservatism of the military depends neither on the nation nor on the social system.
The 37 mm gun was created in the same arsenal in 1938. The M3 tank was equipped with its modifications M5 or M6, in a turret rotating 360 degrees. The vertical aiming angles made it possible to fire at low-flying aircraft. A coaxial machine gun was also installed in the turret, and on top there was a small turret that rotated 360 degrees with another machine gun. The turret had a rotating floor with walls that separated the fighting compartment into a separate compartment. The gun's ammunition was located in the turret and on a rotating platform.
The 37 mm gun could hit armor up to an inch and seven-eighths (48 mm) thick from a distance of 500 yards, and the 75 mm gun could hit two and a half inches of armor tilted 30 degrees to the vertical.
Both guns were equipped with periscope optical sights. For the 75 mm gun it was located on the roof of the sponson and allowed direct fire up to 1000 yards (914 m).
The tank was equipped with four 0.30-inch (7.62 mm) Browning machine guns, Model 1919, which were used on tanks back in the First World War. One machine gun was located in the machine gun turret. But for some reason the British did not like it, and this turret was not installed on General Grant tanks. Moreover, on the General Lees that were in the British army, this turret was removed and replaced with a turret. The second machine gun was coaxial with a 37 mm gun. Two more were fixedly fixed in the body, in front of the driver. The crew was also armed with 0.45 inch (11.43 mm) Thompson submachine guns, pistols, and grenades. In the British army, 4-inch (102 mm) grenade launchers for smoke grenades were installed on the turret.
MZ tank layout
Ammunition was 65 shells for a 75 mm cannon, 126 shells for a 37 mm cannon (139 on General Grant tanks), 4,000 rounds for machine guns, 20 magazines for machine guns, 6 grenades, 12 flares, and 8 smoke grenades .
The tank's crew consisted of 6 people. The commander was in the turret of a 37-mm gun and conducted observation from a small turret. If necessary, he fired from a machine gun. Nearby was the gunner of the 37-mm gun, and below him, in the center of the vehicle, was the loader. All of them were placed on the rotating platform of the tower. The gunner of the 76-mm gun was located inside the sponson, and next to it, in the tank body, behind the gun breech was the loader. The driver sat in front and to the left and could conduct unaimed fire from front-facing machine guns.
Modifications of the M3 tank
The basic model of the MZ tank (English designation Lee I) had an angular riveted hull, a cast turret and a star-shaped Wright Continental R 975 EC2 or C1 aviation gasoline engine, modified for installation on tanks, and was produced until August 1942. A total of 4924 tanks were manufactured, including 3243 tanks at the Chrysler factories, 385 tanks at the American Locomotive company, 295 tanks at the Baldvin plant, 501 tanks at the Pressed Stell plant, and 501 tanks at the Pullman-Standart Car Company. " - 500 pieces. The MZ tanks produced in Canada had some differences in the chassis. In total, Montreal Lokomotive Work produced 1,157 MZ tanks for the Canadian Army.
The first modification of the M3A1 tank (English designation Lee II) had a cast streamlined body and a 75-mm M2 cannon, with a shortened barrel and a counterweight at the muzzle. Other characteristics corresponded to the base model. The tanks were produced by the American Locomotive Company from February to August 1942. A total of 300 vehicles were produced.
A modification of the MZA2 tank (English designation Lee III) had a welded hull and a 75-mm gun, with a shortened barrel and counterweight. The Baldvin company produced only 12 vehicles in January 1942, after which it switched to the production of M3A3 tanks.
The modification of the M3A3 tank (English designation Lee V) differed from the M3A2 only in the engine. These tanks were equipped with two water-cooled General Motors 6-71 6046 diesel engines with a total power of 375 hp. This increased the tank's weight to 63,000 pounds (28,602 kg), but due to the greater power and efficiency of diesel engines, the speed increased to 29 mph (46 km/h) and the range increased to 160 miles (256 km). The external difference between the tank and the base model is the slightly modified shape of the engine compartment. In total, Baldvin produced 322 MZAZ tanks from March to December 1942.
The British designated the M3A3 tank as Lee IV, but with a "Wright Continental" engine, while maintaining the same hull shape. Apparently, the engines were replaced by the British during operation.
A modification of the M3A4 tank (English designation Lee VI) was produced by the Chrysler concern at the Detroit Arsenal from June to August 1942. A total of 109 vehicles were produced. The tank was distinguished by a new 30-cylinder multi-row Chrysler A 57", water-cooled engine, designed and supplied at the concern's factories. The installation of this engine increased the tank's weight to 64,000 pounds (29,056 kg) and length to 19 feet 8 inches (5995 mm), which Also caused by an increase in the length of the tracks to 166 tracks each, but the speed and range remained the same as the base model.
A modification of the M3A5 tank is the same M3A3, only with a riveted hull. Produced by Baldvin from January to November 1942 in parallel with the M3A3 tank. In total, the company made 591 tanks.
M3 tanks were delivered to Great Britain. There they dismantled the upper machine-gun turret and installed a hatch, and also applied their own camouflage.
After the approval of the Lend-Lease regulations, a commission for the purchase of weapons arrived in the United States from Great Britain, including for the purpose of selecting American armored vehicles for its own armed forces, since most of weapons were left in France during the evacuation of Dunkirk. The commission was supposed to buy (for cash!) experimental American developments. She chose the M3 tank, but suggested changing its design: installing a new turret, abandoning the upper machine-gun turret, and installing English radio equipment. All these proposals were worked out on M2 tanks. It was decided to establish production of M3 tanks of the English model in the USA. This tank was named "General Grant", in honor of Ulysses Simpson Grant (1827-1885), commander-in-chief of the federal forces of the North in 1864-1865 during the American Civil War, and in 1869-1877 - US President from Republican Party. Thus, the name of the tank reconciled the two warring sides of American society.
The General Grant tank, classified in England as a "cruising tank", had two modifications:
- "Grant I" - created on the base tank MZ
- "Grant II" - created on the chassis of the MZA5 model.
General Grant tanks had the same characteristics as the basic models, but had one less machine gun and guns without counterweights. American Browning machine guns could be replaced by British Bren or Bes machine guns. During operation, sometimes the standard engines were replaced with English Guiberson radial diesel engines.
The British converted some of the General Grant tanks into command vehicles. All weapons and turrets were removed from the tanks, a more powerful radio station, control devices, and additional equipment necessary for the work of a regiment or division commander were installed, and the tank received the designation “Grant OP/Command tank.” A very small number of tanks were converted.
In 1941, very original designs appeared, the so-called “Canal Defense Tanks”. Frightened by rumors about the preparation of crossing the English Channel by German troops, very skillfully spread by the intelligence services of Nazi Germany, the British made great efforts to create an anti-landing defense of the strait. One of the measures was the installation of powerful searchlights on the MZ tank. The turret with the 37-mm gun was removed, and a specially designed turret with an arc searchlight with a power of up to 15 million candles was installed instead. The light flux was focused through a narrow viewing slot in the turret armor. To prevent these secret vehicles from standing out too much, a fake 37 mm gun barrel was installed on the turret for camouflage. At the same time, the machine gun in the turret, the 75-mm cannon and the remaining machine guns were retained. Such tanks were intended for night combat, when the enemy is illuminated and blinded by searchlights and destroyed by on-board weapons. The work was carried out both in England, where the tank was designated "Grant CDL", and in the USA, where this tank was called "Shop Tractor T10". The work was carried out in the USA at the factories of the American Locomotive Company; from May to December 1943, 355 tanks were converted, mainly MZA1. As in English, so in American armies these tanks were a strategic reserve and were surrounded by a veil of secrecy. But they did not have to take part in hostilities.
In 1942, the United States tried to equip the MZ with a flamethrower. On several vehicles, instead of a 37-mm cannon, it was installed in the turret, and a tank with a fire mixture was installed in the stern, according to the M2E2 model, or instead of a 75-mm cannon. The vehicles received the designation MZE2, and they remained prototypes.
What the designers failed to do, the soldiers themselves accomplished in the field. They mounted an E5R2-M3 backpack flamethrower instead of a machine gun in the top turret of the Lee tanks. Such tanks received the designation M3E5R2. We were unable to determine the number of converted tanks and the type of chassis.
Concluding the story about modifications of the MZ tank, I would like to mention the most recent of them, created in 1942. The designers abandoned the sponson and deckhouse, creating a small turret box, which was protected by thicker armor and topped with a turret with a 75 mm gun. turned out to be so successful that it was given a new index M4 and its own name - "General Sherman". But the story about this tank, which became epochal in the history of world tank building, requires a separate book. Let us only note that many elements of the new tank were tested on the MZ tanks, in particular, the chassis and engines: on the MZE1 - “Ford-GAA”, on the MZE1 - the six-cylinder “Lycoming engine”. transmission: on MZA1E1 - double hydromechanical, on MZA5E2 - single hydromechanical. Externally, the tanks did not differ from the base models.
Combat vehicles based on the M3 tank
Both in the USA and in England, work was carried out to create self-propelled guns on the chassis of the M3 tank. All standard weapons were removed from the tanks, and the armored cabin was altered to accommodate the mounted gun. In the USA they were created prototypes self-propelled guns:
- T6, with an openly mounted 105 mm gun;
- T24, with an openly mounted 3-inch (76.2 mm) gun;
- T36, with a 40-mm anti-aircraft gun installed in a rotating, specially designed turret;
- T40/M9, with an openly mounted 3-inch M1918 anti-aircraft gun;
- M33, with a 155-mm cannon installed in a closed wheelhouse on the chassis of the T2 (M31) repair and maintenance vehicle, created on the basis of the M3A3 and M3A5 tanks. Machine guns were installed on the roof of the building;
- M44, which was a further development of the M33, with a modified wheelhouse and commander's cupola.
None of these vehicles were accepted into service.
The British managed to create a more successful design for a self-propelled 105 mm howitzer. The experimental model had the designation T32, and the serial one - M7 and its own name "Priest" (Priest) and was used in the armies of many countries.
The 105 mm M2A1 or M1A2 was openly mounted on the chassis of the M3 tank, from which the sponson, turret, and top armor plate were removed. The sponson opening was covered with an armor plate, which was fastened with rivets. An embrasure was cut into the front sheet of the cabin to install the gun barrel. A carriage was mounted in the hull, on the starboard side - with a 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun. Crew - 6 people. Armor and engine are the same as the base model. Speed ​​25 mph (40 km/h). Cruising range on the highway is 125 miles (210 km), on the ground - 87 miles (140 km).
The M7 self-propelled howitzer was produced in US factories from 1942 to 1945. Two prototypes were created by the Baldvin concern in February, and the M7 self-propelled gun and its modifications were produced at the American Locomotive Company, Pressed Stell and Federal Mashine & Welder factories. A total of 4,267 vehicles were produced, which performed well.
The Americans and the British paid due attention to engineering machines.
The first example of such a vehicle in the United States was the T16 artillery tractor. All weapons and the turret were removed from the M3 tank, and a winch was installed inside the hull. But the tractor was not accepted for service due to cramped conditions in the hull. Even for repair vehicles, the military demanded comfortable conditions for their maintenance.
The T2 repair and recovery vehicle became the serial model. The turret and armament were also removed from the tank, the hull was fully armored and a fixed cargo boom with a lifting capacity of 10 tons, with a winch, and large boxes for tools and spare parts were installed. The production of cars began in September 1943. Created on the chassis of the MZAZ tank, they received the designation M31V1, and on the MZAZ5 chassis - M31V2. In the British army these vehicles were designated ARV I.
The British created their ARV repair and maintenance vehicle according to the same principle: all weapons and the turret were dismantled, but the crane with a manual winch was removable. There were also boxes for tools and spare parts. The vehicle could be armed with anti-aircraft machine guns, most often a pair of 7.62 mm Bren machine guns. In the “stowed” position, the boom was removed, disassembled into several parts and secured to the sides of the hull from the outside.
To break through minefields, the Chrysler concern tried to create a special T1 minesweeper. A trawl consisting of dual disc rollers and a separate pressure roller was attached to the MZ. But this minesweeper did not show any advantages over the English Scorpion trawl, which the British mounted on MZ tanks. To do this, they had to remove the 75 mm gun from the sponson. Tanks with the "Scorpion I" trawl were designated "Grant Scorpion III", and those with the "Scorpion II" trawl - "Grant Scorpion IV". An interesting feature of the Scorpion II trawl designs was the presence of two Bedford engines driving the sweeping device. The trawl itself looked like a drum, with chains welded to it. The engines, in special armored boxes, were located in place of the aft boxes for spare parts, and their shaft drives went to the drum along the hull. Because of this, it was impossible to open the side doors, so the crew had to climb into the tanks and leave them only through the upper turret hatches, which created certain inconvenience. The dust that they raised with their chains hammering on the ground blinded the driver and made movement difficult.
The M3 tank, which entered service with the Canadian army, did not suit Canadian strategists. Brought up in the “best traditions” of English conservative military thought, they believed that to support the infantry a different tank was needed - slower, less maneuverable, more poorly armed. A "General Lee", in their opinion, was a breakthrough tank, with a powerful, 76-mm cannon, although not well located. In January 1941, an order to design a new tank was issued to Montreal Lokomotive Work. The designers used the chassis and engine from the MZ tank. But the driver was placed, according to English traffic rules, on the right. Upper part The hulls and turret were made of cast materials of their own design. They abandoned the sponson with the 76 mm gun, and the hull became symmetrical and lower. The side doors were retained. The machine gun cupola was removed from the gun turret and installed in the front part of the hull, on the left, next to the driver. This gave it a resemblance to the Crusader tanks, the first modifications. In the turret, shifted to the starboard side, a 2-pounder (40 mm) gun, traditional for British tanks of that time, coaxial with a machine gun. But the “cunning Canadians” made such a mantlet that it was possible to install a 2.5 mm pound gun (57 mm) in it without altering it. The turret had hatches like on the M3 tank - on top, for the crew, and at the back, for dismantling the gun. The driver did not have his own hatch. There were inspection slits near the driver, on the hull doors and on the sides of the turret. The body retained doors and removable sheets with ventilation grilles for servicing the engine.
In June 1941, an experimental model of the tank, designated RAM Mk I, entered sea trials. A large order was given for these tanks, but only 50 RAM Mk I were produced, after which the tank was re-equipped with a 2.5-pounder (57 mm) gun and called the RAM Mk II. 1094 of these machines were produced. On the latest vehicles, the hull did not have side doors.
RAM tanks were only in service with Canadian Army units. Several pieces were sent to the USA for comparative testing. There they were given the index M4A5, which enabled many researchers to consider the RAM as a modification of the M4 "Sherman" tank.
With a sufficiently in-depth study of the project, the RAM tank could become a good replacement for the General Lee MZ tank, almost comparable in its characteristics to the M4 Sherman. But traditionalism of thinking, as well as a weak technical base for the production of tanks, did not allow Canadian designers to take a decisive step forward and create a design designed for the future.
In parallel with the creation of the M7 self-propelled 105-mm howitzer, work was carried out to install a 25-pound English field gun on a RAM tank chassis. The design, similar to the M7 self-propelled howitzer, had an open top gun mount, but the driver was located on the right, and the ammunition loading hatch was on the left. This self-propelled gun was given the name "Sexton" - "Sexton". In 1943, production began at the Montreal Lokomotive Work factories. A total of 2,150 vehicles were produced by the end of 1945.
The leadership of the armed forces of Australia, like all countries of the British Commonwealth, practically did not engage in the development and production of weapons, relying on the industrial power of Great Britain. However, the events of 1940 seriously forced us to think about our own defense. In November 1940, the General Staff of the Australian Armed Forces issued technical specifications for a tank that would meet the country's industrial production capabilities. The weight of the tank was supposed to be 16 -20 tons, armament - one 2-pounder (40 mm) cannon and one 0.303 inch (7.62 mm) machine gun, armor - 2 inches (50 mm), speed up to 30 mph (54 km/h). The English cruiser tank A15 Mk.I "Crusader", which was mass-produced, corresponded to this task. But military engineers, having become acquainted with American tanks. preferred the M3 "General Lee" tank.
The introduction of this machine into production encountered great difficulties. The Australian industry did not produce 2-inch armor, nor engines of the required power, nor 76-mm tank guns. Although the tank had to be redesigned, already in January 1942 the first of three experimental vehicles entered testing, and serial production began in August. The tank received the name "cruising tank AC I "Sentinel" - "Sentinel" (AC - Australian Cruiser). Thus, it did not take much time for the Australian industry to create its own tank: only eleven months from the date of issue of the order and 22 months - from the beginning of the development of technical specifications.
The chassis of the Sentinel tank was taken from the M3, but the chassis was somewhat strengthened by installing a Hotchkiss-type suspension. The body was made cast, and the nose section with the transmission and the engine compartment cover were bolted to it, just like on the MZ. The cast turret had an armor thickness of up to 65 mm. Armament consisted of a 2-pounder (40 mm) British tank gun in the turret and two 0.303 inch (7.62 mm) water-cooled Vickers machine guns. One machine gun was installed in the frontal part of the hull, and the second was installed in the turret, coaxial with the cannon. Powerful armored casings were put on the machine guns, which gave the vehicle a special look and became characteristic feature these tanks. consisted of three Cadillac engines in one block. It provided the tank with a specified speed of 30 mph and a range of 360 km. Periscope devices were complemented by viewing slits with armored shutters, through which it was possible to fire from personal weapons. The tank had reliable communications. The crew consisted of five people: a commander, a gunner, a loader/radio operator, a driver, and a machine gunner for a front-line machine gun. The tests revealed a number of shortcomings of the tank: the engine cooling system did not work satisfactorily, and the turret turned slowly, especially when the tank was on a slope. The weapons were also weak. Nevertheless, the success of Australian designers was obvious.
A total of 66 AC I tanks were produced. After which it was re-equipped with a 2.5-pounder (57 mm) gun and the index was changed to AC IL. In February 1943, a modification of the AC III tank was developed with a 25-pounder (84 mm) field gun, adapted for installation in a tank turret. The design of the tower was slightly changed. The frontal plate of the hull was installed at an angle, the frontal machine gun was removed and the machine gunner was reduced in the crew. The next stage was the installation of a 17-pound (76 mm) high-rate gun of our own design on the tank. This gun had good armor penetration, and the shells had a powerful high-explosive effect. We had to increase the shoulder strap, which the design allowed, and make a new larger turret. The result was an AC IV tank comparable to the American Sherman tank. American observers noted the strong impression made by the AC III and AC IV tanks on the American military, in particular on General MacArthur. But by that time the threat of a Japanese invasion of Australia had already passed; the Australian troops, according to the allies, were sufficiently saturated with Anglo-American equipment. The production of tanks of their own design was regarded by the leadership of Great Britain and the USA as a kind of “sabotage” against Lend-Lease. Therefore, apart from the prototypes AC3 and AC4, no more new Sentinel tanks were built. The vehicles that remained in service were used until 1956 as training vehicles.
The chassis of the M7 self-propelled howitzers and the Sexton guns with their weapons removed were converted into armored personnel carriers (APCs), called "Kangaroo" (Kangaroo). All weapons and equipment in the fighting compartment were dismantled, including anti-aircraft machine guns with a turret, the embrasure was covered with armor plates, additional armor was mounted on the sides, and seats for 16 soldiers were installed inside. Armored personnel carriers were consolidated into special units and assigned to armored units, for example, the 79th British Armored Division, which fought in Northwestern Europe. ARS "Kangaroo" armored personnel carriers were the first vehicles of this type to be widely used in the British army.
Combat use of the M3 tank
The Lee/Grant tanks occupied, in fact, an intermediate position between tanks and self-propelled artillery units, so assessing their combat effectiveness is quite difficult.
For the middle of 1941, it was one of the most heavily armed tanks, superior to all existing ones, except for the French B-Ibis, which had a 75-mm gun in the hull, and the Soviet KV-2, with a 152-mm gun in the turret. The German experimental tank "Rheinmetall NbFz" was superior to it in total mass weapons, but only five such tanks were manufactured and they were used for purely propaganda purposes.
The armament of the Lee/Grant tanks made it possible in those years to fight on equal terms with any tanks of Nazi Germany and its allies. The turret-mounted 37mm gun could hit armor up to an inch and seven-eighths (48mm) thick from a distance of 500 yards, and the sponson-mounted 75mm gun could hit two and a half inches (65mm) of armor with a slope of 30 degrees to vertical. Note that the 76-mm Soviet gun, heavy tank From a distance of 500 m, the KB penetrated armor 69 mm thick and, therefore, in terms of the capabilities of fighting German tanks, these vehicles were equal.
Tank guns with a caliber of 37-50 mm and the short-barreled 75-mm cannon of the "StuG III" assault gun, known in our country as the "Artshturm", could not penetrate the frontal two-inch armor of the MZ from a distance of 500 m. In addition, from a 37-mm gun it was possible to fire at aircraft, thanks to which the tank had very effective anti-aircraft cover. The large size of the tank had a psychological impact on the enemy, especially in the countries of Southeast Asia.
The first to begin combat service were the "Canal Defense" tanks: "General Grant CDL" and "Shop Tractor T 10". They were consolidated into the 79th British Armored Division, which included Matilda CDL tanks. The division was located on the coast of the English Channel, all vehicles were in combat readiness in anticipation of the German landing. They were a strategic reserve and were classified. But there was no landing and the CDL tanks did not have to take part in the hostilities. MZ tanks received their baptism of fire in Africa.
In January 1942, German-Italian troops, under the command of General E. Rommel, launched an offensive against the 8th British Army, under the command of General N. Ritchie, in Libya and pushed it back from the city of Benghazi to the city of Ghazala. Here the front stabilized for four whole months. The British dug into the ground. Their line of trenches stretched over 40 miles from Ghazala on the Mediterranean coast to Bir Hakeim in the Kerinaka Desert. Free French infantry battalions held the defense on this flank.
Both warring sides used this lull to strengthen their troops. 8 The British army was replenished with new tanks, among them 167 MZ "General Grant". In total, there were 849 tanks in the armored units, consolidated into the 13th and 30th corps. Grant tanks were armed with units of the 4th armored brigade of the 7th armored division, the 2nd and 22nd armored brigades of the 1st armored division of the 30th corps. In addition, the corps included 149 MZ General Stuart light tanks with a 37 mm gun and 257 Crusader tanks with a 57 mm gun. The 13th Corps, consisting of the 1st and 32nd Army Tank Brigades, had 166 Valentine tanks with a 2.5-pounder (57mm) gun and 110 Matilda tanks armed with a 2-pounder (40mm) gun , but had 78 mm frontal armor. In Heliopolis, near Cairo, American instructors trained British tank crews. The British command positioned its tank units in the center of the line, awaiting frontal attacks.
General E. Rommel also received new tanks through Tripoli. His famous Afrika Korps consisted of the 15th and 20th Panzer Divisions, the 90th Light Division, as well as Italian units: the Ariet armored division and the Trieste motorized division of the 20th Corps. In total, he had 19 PzKpfw IIIJ tanks with a long-barreled 50 mm gun, 223 PzKpfw IIIF tanks with a short-barreled 50 mm gun, 40 PzKpfw IV tanks with a 75 mm gun, and 50 PzKpfw II light tanks with a 20 mm gun. The Italian units, which also included the 10th and 21st Corps, under the command of General Cruvelle, were armed with 228 M13/40 and Ml4/41 tanks with a 47-mm cannon.
On May 17, 1942, in Russia, far from Africa, German troops began an offensive near Kharkov, and on May 26, General E. Rommel launched an attack on the British.
Italian troops, under the command of General Cruwell, carried out an auxiliary strike in a 20-mile area, and the main forces of the German troops, bypassing Bir Hakeim, went through the desert to the rear of the British. The allied forces included the French, but, after stubborn fighting, they managed to get out of the encirclement.
The 3rd Royal Tank Regiment of the 4th Armored Brigade, armed with Grant tanks, tried to stop the victorious march of the Teutons. The meeting of this regiment with the 15th tank division of the Germans ended very disastrously for it. 50-mm shells did not penetrate the frontal armor of American tanks, and 37-mm shells even bounced off. While the M3, unlike the Matilda and other tanks, could easily fight the enemy from long distances. The German 15th Panzer Division was almost destroyed. The fight against General Grant tanks was assigned to the 88 mm anti-aircraft guns and self-propelled guns "Marder-III", which was a chassis Czechoslovakian tank 38t, armed with captured Soviet 76.2 mm F-22 cannons. But the sacrifices of the tankers were in vain. British tank units operated without interaction with infantry. The brave "Tommies" lost faith in victory and retreated. By June 13, the British had about 70 serviceable tanks left. In June Tobruk was besieged. Two days later, the 33,000-strong garrison surrendered, despite large reserves of weapons, food and the possibility of support from the sea. Among the German trophies were 30 tanks, about 2 thousand cars and 1.5 thousand tons of gasoline. Having mounted infantry on British vehicles and replenished his forces with captured tanks, including the MZ, Rommel rushed forward to El Alamein, encountering virtually no resistance. The technology could not keep up with this pace. The desert was covered with cars and tanks that were out of order.
When Rommel's army approached El Alamein on July 1, it had only 26 serviceable tanks. Another “miracle” happened. Rommel stopped. During a month of fighting, German-Italian troops covered about 600 km and practically defeated the 8th British Army, whose losses reached 80 thousand people. Although the British still had more than 100 tanks in Egypt, they did not think of resisting, built fortifications near Cairo and Alexandria and evacuated headquarters and rear units from Egypt.
In July-August, local battles took place near El-Alamey, and the sides increased their forces. In June, the US government decides to urgently send 300 of the latest M4 General Sherman tanks and 100 Priest self-propelled guns, as well as aviation and artillery, to Egypt. In August, General G. Alexander, 8th Army B. Montgomery became the commander-in-chief of British troops in the Middle East. In addition to the existing corps, the 10th Corps was formed, consisting of two tank and one infantry divisions. The British already had 935 tanks, including 200 M3 "General Grant", which received the unofficial name "The Last Egyptian Hope".
On August 31, E. Rommel launched an attack on El Alamein. He managed to collect 440 tanks, including repaired and captured ones. During the four-day battles, the German-Italian troops lost 3 thousand people and 50 tanks, the British - 1,750 people and 65 tanks, but the Germans failed to break through the defense.
Over the next two months, Anglo-American troops accumulated forces. Indian, Australian, New Zealand, Canadian and American units arrived in Egypt, in particular the 1st US Armored Division, armed with M4A1 tanks. The number of tanks reached 1441, of which 253 MZ and 288 M4 "General Shennan". Rommel, against 230 thousand allies, had about 80 thousand people and 540 tanks, 60% of them light Italian. All the main forces of the Germans were on the Eastern Front. All the reinforcements went there, including the Special Corps “F” of General G. Felmy, formed from the Germans, for a long time living in the Arab East, and Arabs. Instead of Africa, this corps had to fight the Red Army in the Caucasus.
The El Alamein offensive began on October 23, 1942. But already on October 27, the 10th tank corps was withdrawn for replenishment. The Germans have learned to fight M3 and M4 tanks! The decisive battles were on November 3 and 4. After them, only 35-40 combat-ready vehicles remained in the German tank divisions. Note that in the battle of El Alamein, German-Italian troops lost only 55 thousand people and 320 tanks. However, even the latest tanks in large numbers, and superiority in other branches of the military, could not raise the morale of the British command. Although the enemy was almost defeated, the rate of advance was only 1.5 km per day. And only by mid-February, troops reached the Libyan-Tunisian border.
In November - December 1942, Anglo-American troops occupied, practically without resistance, North Africa, which was under the rule of the French Vichy government, a protege of Nazi Germany. In response to this, German infantry and tank divisions were transferred to Tunisia, transformed into the 5th Panzer Army, under the command of General J. Arnim. Together with Rommel's troops, she was supposed to hold Tunisia. The 5th Tank Army included 501 separate heavy tank battalions, armed the latest tanks PzKpfw VI "Tiger", with 88 mm cannon. The army also had many PzKpfw IV tanks armed with a long-barreled 75 mm gun.
Fighting broke out in Tunisia on Christmas Day. There was limited action until February 1943 ground forces, the main battles were fought. In early February, the 2nd American Corps, which included the 1st Armored Division, launched an offensive. On February 14, the 15th and 21st German Panzer Divisions, with the support of the 10th Panzer Division, responded with a counterattack in the area of ​​the Kasserine mountain pass. In five days of fighting, the Germans covered 150 km, captured almost three thousand Americans, destroyed almost 200 M3 and M4 tanks, and many other equipment created a threat of a breakthrough to the airfields of American tactical aviation. The Allies had to take emergency measures and transfer new armored units. to the breakthrough area, attract large aviation forces. On February 23, the German counteroffensive was stopped, and by March 3, they were driven back to their original positions.
The German-Italian troops were finally defeated only by May 13, and this, despite the double superiority of the Allies in infantry, triple in artillery and quadruple in tanks at the beginning of the offensive, as well as the constant supply of troops with everything necessary. By the end of the fighting, the German-Italian forces had 120 tanks left, while the Allies had about 1,100 vehicles.
These battles revealed the superiority of the M4 General Sherman tanks over the MZ. MZ tanks began to be withdrawn from service in the armies of Great Britain and the United States and were transferred to the allies - India, Australia, New Zealand, as well as French and Polish military units formed in Great Britain. The MZ tanks that remained in the army were converted into various combat vehicles: command vehicles, minesweepers, repair and recovery vehicles, which were used until the mid-50s.
During the landings in Normandy and the south of France, British and American troops were armed with the latest tanks, and MZ tanks were in the French and Polish divisions that were part of the American army. Despite this, during the German offensive in the Ardennes, the tenacity of the French in the US 7th Army near Strasbourg and the Polish tank division in the Lower Meuse held back German tanks, thereby saving the American 7th Army from complete defeat.
Formally, armored units in India began to be formed on May 1, 1941. The basis was American light tanks "General Stuart", supplied under Lend-Lease. The events of 1942 forced their formation to accelerate.
In February 1942, the British fortress of Singapore fell. After this, the Japanese 15th Army, under the command of General Iida, launched an offensive in Burma. The 5th, 6th and 66th Chinese divisions retreated into China in panic and only on the Saluen River in Yunnan Province were the Japanese stopped by units of the 71st Chinese Army. British troops, under the command of General G. Alexander, also bravely retreated to India, offering virtually no resistance. Rangoon fell on March 8, Mandlalai fell on May 1. In total, 12 thousand people went to India, and during the passage through the Chin Pass, all weapons were abandoned. For the defense of India, General A. Wavell forms one British and six Indian divisions, combined into two corps. Armored units began to form, replenished with the latest General Grant and General Lee tanks. By the end of 1943, the Indian Armored Corps was formed, consisting of three divisions. Units of the 32nd Division, consisting of the 254th and 255th Armored Brigades, were formed from parts of the 7th British Armored Brigade, which fought in the African desert. The 31st division consisted of the 251st and 252nd armored brigades, the 43rd of the 267th and 268th armored brigades.
Since 1943, MZ medium tanks entered the battle in the jungles of Burma. Here, the massive use of tanks, as in the desert, was impossible. Therefore, they were used in small units, or even singly, to support the infantry, which often fought on mules, buffaloes and elephants.
In Burma, the MZ tank showed itself with best side. Japanese tanks with their 37 mm guns could not penetrate their frontal armor from a distance of 500 meters, at which they themselves became victims of the 75 mm General Lee guns. The Japanese army did not have effective anti-tank guns. In helpless anger, Japanese officers rushed at the tanks with sabers, trying to hit the crew through the viewing slits. The infantry organized squads of suicide bombers who, with mines or Molotov cocktails in their hands, threw themselves under tanks or, hiding in the thickets, tried to shove mines on bamboo poles under the tracks of the tank. The tankers had to put the infantry on the armor, and the Japanese had no choice but to use aviation. To achieve this, the Ki-44-II Otsu fighters were armed with two 40-mm Kha-301 cannons instead of the 20-mm cannons mounted in the wing. Two 12.7 mm machine guns were retained. These aircraft were used as attack aircraft to strike armored targets, although the cannons carried only 10 rounds of ammunition per barrel. The 64th Air Regiment of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, under the command of Major Yasukiho Kurse, fought on such vehicles.
Despite the obvious technical superiority, the British were in no hurry to advance in Burma, shifting the brunt of the fighting to national formations - Indian, Chinese and African units. Fighting in Burma continued until mid-1945.
Self-propelled 105-mm howitzers M7 "Priest", manufactured on the chassis of the MZ tank, have proven themselves well in battles in the Libyan desert as part of the 8th British Army. Therefore, they were adopted by the British, American and French armies and were used as artillery for direct infantry support in all subsequent military operations: in Sicily, in Italy, in Europe. M7 howitzers were in service with many armies around the world until the mid-50s.
Command and staff vehicles began to be manufactured from M3 tanks in 1943. After dismantling the weapons and ammunition, a very free compartment was obtained in the tank hull, which was equipped with a powerful radio station and other equipment necessary for the headquarters work of the regiment or division commander. Externally, the vehicles were similar to the ARV-1, since they did not have guns and a turret. However, the US troops sometimes retained the turret with the 37 mm cannon. These “tanks” were the vehicles of the commanders of tank regiments and divisions, and they also housed the operational group of the headquarters of the tank division. At the same time, the units were equipped with any other tanks, not only MZ. A small number of tanks were converted.
ARV repair and recovery vehicles were consolidated into special units and marched in the second echelon of advancing tank units, with the task of repairing and evacuating damaged vehicles. However, there were no tank battles on the Western Front like those in Russia. Therefore, ARVs were used to a limited extent.
The Kangaroo armored personnel carrier was a vehicle designed specifically to transport infantry behind advancing tanks. Collected into separate units, they were assigned to the British armored divisions that fought in Europe. But their combat use was also insignificant. After World War II, the Kangaroos were in service with the Australian Army for some time.
But in the USSR, MZ tanks were greeted without enthusiasm. By mid-1942, Germany began producing T-IIIJ and T-IIIL tanks with 50 mm armor and a long-barreled 50 mm cannon, which penetrated up to 75 mm of armor from a distance of 500 m, the T-IVF tank and the StuG III assault gun ( known in our country as "Artshturm") with a long-barreled 75-mm cannon with even greater efficiency. The armor no longer saved the MZ tank. Speed ​​and stealth were needed, which this tank did not have. Tall, with particularly poor cross-country ability on Russian roads, with an insufficiently powerful engine (power 340 hp versus 500 hp for the T-34 of the same mass), and also very sensitive to the quality of fuel and lubricant, the Lee tank "did not generate good reviews from our tankers. But even such shortcomings would be tolerable if the tank did not have rubber-metal tracks. During the battle it burned out and the tracks fell apart. The tank became a stationary target. The tankers did not forgive this. Neither comfortable operating and maintenance conditions, nor large side doors that made it easy to evacuate the crew from a damaged vehicle, nor powerful weapons could mitigate their sentence. That is why MZ tanks received the contemptuous nickname “Mass Grave for Six” from Soviet tankers. The report of the commander of the 134th tank regiment, Colonel Tikhonchuk, dated December 14, 1942, with an assessment of the General Lee tanks of the Ministry of Defense has been preserved:
“American tanks work extremely poorly in the sand, the tracks constantly fall off, get stuck in the sand, lose power, due to which the speed is extremely low. When firing at enemy tanks, due to the fact that the 75-mm cannon is installed in the mantlet and not in the turret , you have to turn around the tank, which is buried in the sand, which makes it very difficult to fire."
Note that neither the British nor the Americans used MZ tanks with such intensity as the Russians, because the intensity of the fighting in Africa and on the Western Front was very far from what was happening on the Eastern Front.
The Allies also realized the shortcomings of the MZ "Lee/Grant" tanks and therefore removed them from production. Since August 1942, the M4 "General Sherman" tank began to be produced in the USA, and the Mk VIII "Cromwell" tank began to be produced in the UK.
By the way, a similar fate befell the Soviet KV supertank. Invulnerable in 1941, it ceased to satisfy the military in 1942, primarily due to its driving characteristics, and even the question was raised about its removal from production and replacement by the T-34 tank, which had thinner armor but was more maneuverable. To improve the maneuverability of the KB tanks, among other measures, the designers even went to reduce the thickness of the armor, although the 75 mm armor of the tank had already been penetrated by German artillery!!!
Tanks of the M3A3 and M3A5 modifications with diesel engines were supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease. In total, about 300 vehicles were delivered. The supply took two routes: northern - by sea to Murmansk and southern - through Iran.
It was not customary to write about the combat use of American M3 "Lee" tanks by the Red Army, so as not to praise the military equipment of the ideological enemy. However, in the 5th volume of "History of the Second World War", published in 1975, there is a photograph of a tank attack by Soviet troops on M3A3 "General Lee" and "General Stuart" tanks in the Kalach area on the Don in the summer of 1942 (although the American historian Stephen Zaloga dates it back to 1943), which suggests the presence of American tanks in the 13th Corps of the 1st Tank Army. The 134th Tank Regiment operated together with the 4th Guards Cossack Corps in the area north-eastern of the city of Mozdok, and fought with the German F Corps. To the company commander, Captain Nikolaenko P.I. and the tank commander, junior lieutenant V.N. Gretsky. for the battles of December 12-14, 1942 in the area of ​​the Norton farm, Stavropol Territory, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 31, 1943).
It is known that Lee tanks also fought near Kharkov, in the Kalmyk steppes south of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd), in the North Caucasus, and possibly in the Far East.
During the transport of tanks by PQ sea convoys, ship crews used the 37 mm guns of MZ tanks mounted on the deck to repel enemy air attacks. Perhaps this is the only case of using tanks in naval ocean battles.
Tank color and markings
MZ tanks manufactured in the USA were painted in various shades of green - from dark green to khaki. On the side sheet in the engine area on both sides was written the registration number assigned to the tank when built by the Armament Department. The name of the country “USA” and the letter “W” were written in blue paint, indicating that the tank was transferred to the troops, and the six-digit number was written in yellow or white. The symbol of the American armed forces was applied to the turret and front plate of the hull - a white star in a blue circle superimposed on a white stripe. In this form, the tanks were delivered to the allies under Lend-Lease.
In the US troops, tactical numbers were painted on tanks in white paint on the turret and hull: first, the serial number of the vehicle in the company, and then the letter designation of the company. For example: 9E or 4B. On the sponson, on the left side next to the door, geometric figures were drawn indicating the number of the company, battalion and regiment in the division. The division's insignia was painted on the middle sheet of the transmission. The tanks that fought in North Africa had the American Stars and Stripes on the front armor instead of a star.
Later it was recommended to apply black camouflage spots to the tank. This recommendation took into account combat experience, when crews splashed mud on tanks to improve camouflage.
M3 tanks supplied to the UK were painted dark olive green according to American standards. They were repainted on site in British tri-color camouflage: yellow, green and brown sinuous stripes with black trim. But the first tanks heading to North Africa often entered the battle on the move and there was simply not enough time to apply camouflage. The tanks were repainted on site in sand color or only stripes of this color were applied. Tanks fought in the desert wearing olive overalls.
The registration number was retained, only the letter "W" was replaced by the letter "T". When repainting the tank in the standard camouflage scheme, the number was restored with white paint. In field conditions, the number could not be painted over, but protected with a stencil, and it would look like it was in an olive frame. The standard British cockade of red, white and red vertical stripes was applied to the side of the hull. The outline of a geometric figure with a number inside was drawn on the tank's turret. The figure: a square, circle or triangle indicated the number of the tank squadron, and the number indicated the serial number of the vehicle in the squadron. The color of the outline and numbers was determined arbitrarily. The division and brigade markings were a red eight-and-a-half (216 mm) to nine-and-a-half inches (240 mm) square with a white number inside and were applied to the front of the left wing and the rear of the right or on the armored transmission cover. And on the opposite wings the emblems of brigades and divisions could be drawn.
Perhaps the most original coloring belongs to the MZ Grant tank, exhibited at the British Royal Armored Vehicles Museum in Bovington, one of the largest tank museums in the world. It has sinuous camouflage stripes in gray with a black and white outline over the main sand background!
Most of the British MZ tanks that fought in Burma were painted green with large white stars on the hull and turret. Almost all tanks retained their registration numbers. Some of them had individual numbers on the frontal armor.
Tank crews in both the British and American armies assigned their tanks proper names, which they wrote on tanks in a very arbitrary form.
M3 tanks, manufactured in Canada, were painted khaki. Canadian red-white-red flags were applied on the front of the middle sheet of the transmission and along the sides of the hull. By analogy with the American armed forces, a five-digit registration number was painted in white paint on the side of the hull in the engine area on both sides behind the flag and on the front plate above the flag. The name of the country was not written, and instead of the letter "W" the letter "T" was used.
In 1945, on all tanks that fought in Europe, two white stripes began to be applied at the top of the turret along the perimeter. While the Soviet ones have one lane. This was done by special agreement to facilitate aerial identification of allied forces.
Allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, who received tanks under Lend-Lease, did not repaint them. Only American identification marks were painted over, and their national and tactical numbers were applied. Registration numbers The Armaments Department was, as a rule, retained.
In the USSR, M3 tanks were also not repainted, but red stars were painted instead of American insignia. Often white American stars were simply painted red. Registration numbers and all technical inscriptions in English were preserved. Tactical numbers on the towers were written in free form. Also, slogans like: “For our Soviet Motherland”, “Death to Fascism”, etc. could be applied to the tank’s body. The lack of documentary material does not allow these inscriptions to be reproduced. Tanks that survived until winter were repainted in the field in White color lime, through which the standard color showed through.
It is known that some M3 tanks captured by the Nazis were used in Wehrmacht tank units. Photographs have been preserved from which it can be judged that, for the purpose of better identification, the Germans painted black and white crosses on their hull and turret much larger than on their own vehicles. There was even a Nazi flag stretched out on the engine compartment to make it easier to recognize from the air! From the memories of participants in battles in Africa, it is known that E. Rommel used Grant tanks in English camouflage, without having the time or opportunity to repaint them.
Tactical and technical characteristics of the MZ tank, its modifications and combat vehicles based on it
Table 1

* Height is indicated without anti-aircraft machine gun.
**Height shown with load boom removed.
Ta6face 2

1. NPP tank - a direct infantry support tank.
2. "Grant" CDL (Lee CDL) - a canal defense tank - instead of a 37 mm gun, it is installed with a capacity of up to 15 million candles. Used in England for anti-landing defense of the English Channel.
3. BTR - armored personnel carrier. It was made from the M7 "Priest" and "Sexton" self-propelled guns, with the weapons removed. Could carry up to 20 infantry.
4. BREM - armored repair and recovery vehicle. It was manufactured on the chassis of all types of M3 tanks removed from service.
5. The engine "General Motors 6-71 6046" is diesel, the rest are carburetor engines, running on gasoline, with an octane rating of at least 80.
6. The caliber of weapons is indicated in the metric system. The English system used during the Second World War would:
- machine guns: caliber 7.62 mm - 0.303 inches; 12.7mm-0.5inch
- guns: caliber 40 mm - 2.0 pounds; 57 mm - 2.5 lbs; 76 mm - 17 lbs; 84 mm - 25 lbs.
Bibliography:
1. White Series. Supplement to the magazine “M-Hobby”. Issue No. 5. Chief Editor A.Sirotin, Responsible for the release: .Duchitsky
2. V.D. Mostovenko "Tanks" Voenizdat M, 1958
3. I.P. Shmelev "Tanks in battle" Publishing house "Young Guard" M, 1984.
4. I.P. Shmelev " ". "Technology for Youth", N8, 1980, pp. 44-45.
5. D.S. Ibragimov "Confrontation" M, DOSAAF Publishing House, 1989.
6. "Weapon of Victory" under the general editorship of V.N. Novikova M., “Mechanical Engineering” 1987
7. V.G. Grabin "Weapon of Victory" M. Politizdat, 1989.
8. A.A. Grechko “Years of War” M. Voenizdat, 1976
9. "From Barbarossa to Terminal. A view from the West." M. Politizdat, 1988
10. "History of the Second World War 1939 - 1945" T.Z. M. Military Publishing House, 1-974 Encyclopedic Dictionary Wikipedia

- (German). Coarse, clean sand; same as gravel. Dictionary foreign words, included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. GRANT [English. grant gift] 1) gift, donation, official provision of funds for charitable purposes... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

GRANT Hugh (b. September 9, 1960, London), English actor. He studied literature at Oxford, acted in student theater and made his film debut in the film Privileged (1982), financed by the Oxford Film Fund. After… … Encyclopedia of Cinema

GRANT Hugh (b. September 9, 1960), English actor. He studied literature at Oxford, acted in student theater and made his film debut in The Privileged (1982), financed by the Oxford Film Fund. After that I played... encyclopedic Dictionary

Hello, have you decided that you will pump out heavy American tanks with excellent guns and strong turrets? Well, first you will have to go through some controversial machines to acquire high-level heavies. The first tank you will have to go through is the M3 Lee. A rather controversial tank, and by the way, this is not a medium tank at all. But more on that later. The guide consists of 6 parts:

Getting to know the car

TTX (Tactical and Technical Characteristics)

Our mobility is quite pleasant. Dynamics, confident acceleration. Specific power is 15.65 hp. per ton. Which is quite enough to occupy comfortable positions. There is a 20% chance of fire, and the transmission is also in the front, which means that you can be set on fire in the forehead. This will be reflected in the equipment you choose.
The radio station is installed on many American cars. Pump it out last.

It seems to be there, but if you are not at the top of the list, then it evaporates, even if we are at the top of the list, we have many vulnerable areas.

Advantages and disadvantages

Pros:

Minuses:

Tactics and Application in Combat

If you were thrown to 6 levels, everything is sad. But if you don’t skimp on gold shells, you can have fun punching heavy beams into the side.

By the way, be careful with artillery, it can penetrate us, sending M3 Lee into the hangar.

Equipment, crew and equipment

Equipment standard: repair kit, first aid kit, fire extinguisher. Already from level 4 it is worth carrying equipment.

Optional equipment , again due to the fact that the tank is passable, it is better to carry a removable one. Stereoscopic telescope + Camouflage network. But it’s not worth spending a couple of hundred silver on equipment.

Conclusion

Prepared by: RasSm

About M-3-S. Since this is my topic, some clarifications to it.

The ratio of foreign tanks looks even more interesting as of June 1, 1944. There were 48 Matildas left in the active army, 31 Churchills, 191 M3Ls, and 143 M3Sr tanks (including 12 tanks recovered from a sunken transport in 1943). At the same time, the appearance of the Matildas at the front was episodic, and the Churchills fought north of Leningrad. “Unsuccessful” American medium tanks by this time were still found in tank brigades.

For example, in July 1944, 19 M3Sr were part of the 41st Tank Brigade, which by July 16 also had 32 T-34-85 and T-34. The actions of the 5th Tank Corps, which included the brigade, during the Rezhitsa-Dvina offensive operation in July 1944 were very reminiscent of the “exploits” of 1942. The first few days of the offensive were successful, but by the 22nd, stubborn fighting began for Malinovo. Due to the fact that the infantry did not support the actions of the tankers, the brigade suffered heavy losses. The 48th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment, operating together with the brigade, also suffered losses - 5 IS-2 tanks burned out, and on July 23 the regiment commander was killed. By the 26th there were only 6 tanks left from the 41st Tank Brigade, and on July 29 there was only one T-34 in the brigade. Of the 19 M3Sr, 13 burned out and 6 were hit.

Strictly speaking, they were finished off in tank brigades by that time. Of the 143 mentioned yuripasholok M-3-Sr 60 were part of the 5th Tank Corps, which was in the front reserve since March 1944. The corps, which numbered less than 60 T-34s, actually received them in March-April. Tanks (from memory) received one battalion each from the 24th, 41st and 70th tank brigades.

In July, to exploit the success of Operation Bagration, the Headquarters allocated T-34/85 limits to the 2nd Baltic Front. The newest Soviet tanks, Army General A.I. Eremenko decided to arm his shock fist, which had not yet participated in battles - the 5th Tank Corps of Major General M.G. Sakhno, transferring the “extra” for 5 TK M-3-S to the army tank units.

The decision for the front headquarters was quite logical, but it included two BUTs:
1. The “old” corps personnel, who were engaged in combat training for 3-4 months under the leadership of a command vitally interested in this, were simply not comparable to those traditionally fucked up trained in training and reserve units personnel marching companies T-34/85. According to the report of the commander of the 41st brigade, Colonel Korchagin, the collision of driver mechanics received by the thirty-four brigade was only 3 (three) hours. What else is flowery against the background of assessing the training of officers - “the officers had no idea about tank maneuvers.” As you can guess from this, no combat coordination of tank platoons and companies in reserve tank regiments was actually carried out, and the training of gunners was hardly superior to the training of mechanical drivers. As for the gunners-radio operators, to be precise, the senior radio telegraphists-machine gunners, the three marching companies received first, which equipped the 1st tank battalion of the 41st TBR of Captain K.I. Orlovsky, had them only in the crews of platoon and company commanders, the companies accepted later - didn't have any at all.

2. The corps received non-combat-ready marching companies, combined them into tank battalions of brigades and sent them into battle directly from the wheels, in the process of combat operations. The 24th and 70th tank brigades fought the entire operation formally in two battalions (T-34 battalion and T-34/85 battalion), and the 41st brigade in three: 1tb on the T-34/85 received before the start of the operation, 2tb on the M- 3-S and 3 TB are also on the T-34/85. By the way, it was the 3rd tank battalion of the brigade of Captain N.I. Moroz, which arrived at the disposal of the brigade commander on the evening of July 21 and went into its first battle on the 22nd, Chief Lieutenant Karius and Sergeant Major Kerscher in Malinovo and butchered - 6 who fought a firefight with German self-propelled guns and not watching the rear of the T-34/85. Along the way, the tankmen of the 48th Guards TTP who tried to rescue Moroz (5 IS-2s burned out) and the last two 1TB tanks, south of Malinovo, were correcting the damage received after the airstrike. Both battalion commanders died in battle - Captain Orlovsky burned in a tank, and Captain Moroz was apparently the same “major - Hero of the Soviet Union” from the memoirs of Otto Carius, who shot himself not wanting to surrender. The location of the burnt T-34/85 No. 450 corresponds to that indicated by Karius, shown dead only on July 28, when the body was found.

However, let's return to the "General Lee" corps. 40 M-3-S (materiel of tank battalions 24 and 70 Tank Brigade) were transferred to the army 118th separate tank brigade with crews up to and including company commanders. 20 “Americans” remained in the corps, apparently only in order not to leave the 41st Tank Brigade completely without materiel - as of April there were only two T-34s in it. Both of them “survived” until the Rezhitsa-Dvina operation or the one that burned down in it is unclear according to the documents; T-34/85 and T-34 are not separated from each other there. One of these 20 American tanks, apparently a vehicle of a combat training group, was in medium repair as of July 16th. The report quoted by Yuri was somewhat clumsily compiled.

Hopelessly outdated for 1944, the General Lees performed excellently in combat operations thanks to the good training of the crews and company-level officers. Based on ammunition consumption, the Americans showed a completely incomparable effectiveness and intensity of participation in combat operations compared to the practically uncombat-ready units of the T-34/85 corps. Apparently, the crews of the T-34 (76), although their fire with three anti-tank 76 mm artillery batteries in the tank brigade and artillery division of the 5th motorized rifle brigade, as well as the SU-76 1515 SAP is noticeably more difficult to track.

The 41st tank brigade opened the list of losses in the operation with three M-3-S, burned out from the fire of anti-tank guns and self-propelled guns when crossing the Saryanka River on July 17 (w/n 461 building No. 3010458 and w/n 485 building No. 4240 in the village of Sinitsa, b/n 462 building No. 3010453 in the village of Novye Morozy) and ended with them, when on July 28, in the battles for the Dauremskaya station, the last serviceable 2 TB tank in the brigade burned down and the brigade in particular - M-3-S b/n 451 building No. 3010377. Judging by the dynamics of the availability of combat-ready tanks, the Americans failed due to combat damage more than six times.

The 118th brigade in the Rezhitsa-Dvina operation lost 18 of 40 "General Lees" burned out.