The M3 Stuart/Light Tank M3, was an American light tank of World War II.

An improved
version of the tank entered service as the M5 in 1942 to be supplied to British and other
Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. into the war. Afterwards, it
was used by U.S. and Allied forces until the end of the war.

The British service name "Stuart" came from the American Civil War Confederate general J. E.
B. Stuart and was used for both the M3 and the derivative M5 Light Tank. (They were also often
called "Honeys" by the British, because of their smooth ride.[3]) In U.S. use, the tanks were
officially known as "Light Tank M3" and "Light Tank M5".

Stuarts were first used in combat in the North African campaign; about 170 were used by the
British forces in Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941). Stuarts were the first
American-crewed tanks in World War II to engage the enemy in tank versus tank combat when
used in the Philippines in December 1941 against the Japanese.[4][5] Outside of the Pacific War, in
later years of WWII the M3 was used for reconnaissance and screening.

Contents
 1 Development
o 1.1 M5 Stuart
 2 Light Tank Doctrine
 3 Combat history
o 3.1 War in North Africa and Europe
 3.1.1 Eastern Front
 3.1.2 Italy
o 3.2 Pacific and Asia
o 3.3 Usage
 3.3.1 Limitations of the 37mm gun
o 3.4 Post World War II use
 4 Variants
o 4.1 US variants
o 4.2 UK variants
o 4.3 Brazilian variants
o 4.4 Yugoslav partisans variants
 5 Operators
 6 In the media
 7 See also
 8 Notes
 9 References
 10 External links

Development
A M3 going through water obstacle, Ft. Knox, Ky.

Observing events in Europe and Asia during World War II, American tank designers realized
that the Light Tank M2 was becoming obsolete and set about improving it. The upgraded design,
with thicker armor, modified suspension and new gun recoil system was called "Light Tank M3".
Production of the vehicle started in March 1941 and continued until October 1943.

By the standards of the era for light tanks, the Stuart was fairly heavily armored. It had 38 mm of
armor on the upper front hull, 44 mm on the lower front hull, 51 mm on the gun mantlet, 38 mm
on the turret sides, 25 mm on the hull sides, and 25 mm on the hull rear.[6] Like its direct
predecessor, the M2A4, the M3 was initially armed with a 37 mm M5 gun and five .30-06
Browning M1919A4 machine guns: one coaxial with the main gun, one on top of the turret in an
M20 anti-aircraft mount, another in a ball mount in right bow, and two more in the right and left
hull sponsons. Later, the main gun was replaced with the slightly longer M6, and the sponson
machine guns were removed.

The M3 and M3A1 variants were powered by an air-cooled radial engine, either a gasoline-
fueled 7-cylinder Continental W-670 (8,936 built) or a 9-cylinder Guiberson T-1020 diesel
(1,496 built).[7] Both of these powerplants were originally developed as aircraft engines.
Internally, the radial engine was at the rear and the transmission at the front of the tank's hull.
The propeller shaft connecting the engine and transmission ran through the middle of the fighting
compartment. The radial engine's crankshaft was positioned high off the hull bottom and
contributed to the tank's relatively tall profile.[8] When a revolving turret floor was introduced in
the M3 hybrid and M3A1, the crew had less room. A further 3,427 M3A3 variants were built
with modified hull (similar to the M5), new turret and the Continental W-670 gasoline engine.[9]
In contrast to the M2A4, all M3/M5 series tanks had a trailing rear idler wheel for increased
ground contact, whereas on the M2 the idler wheel was off the ground and did not aid in
suspension.