|
Posted on 04/20/2004 12:00:02 AM PDT by SAMWolf
|
|
 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
|
| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
|
|
The Stuart was named after the legendary Major-General J E B "Jeb" Stuart who fought on the Confederate side in the American Civil War. He was a cavalry commander with few equals.  The US M3 Light Tank was named "General Stuart" by the British after they took possession of the first lend lease M3s in June of 1941. First used in the Western Desert during the second day of the Crusader offensive (to relieve the Australians at Tobruk), the Stuart was sturdy and reliable and although its 37mm gun was small, it was no worse than the Crusader's 2-pounder.  After their experience with the M3 Light Tank, the Americans designed the M3A1 to remedy some of the short-comings of the earlier model, and the changes began with the first new vehicles in May of '42. A Westinghouse gyro-stabilizer and an Oilgear hydraulic traversing mechanism had been tested successfully in some of the later M3 tanks, so this system was incorporated with a new turret basket. The basket had to be fairly high to clear all the equipment down on the hull floor, but it provided the gunner and loader with seats and a place to put their feet. The gunner's turret cupola was deleted on the same improved turret that had been introduced late in M3 production and the hatches and viewing devices up on the roof were changed.  1941: The Philippine jungle is the setting for this U.S. Army M3 Stuart light tank The radial engined M3A3 Stuart Tank was produced by American Car and Foundry during Sept 1942 till Sept 1943. Of 3427 produced, 2433 went to the Allies receiving Lease Lend (mainly to Britain but some to China), the rest to the US Army. Powered by a 7cylinder Continental radial power unit, the tank weighs 32,400lbs ready to fight. Unlike it's successor, the more common M5A1 (with more economic twin V8 Cadillacs and hydromatic transmission) fuel consumption is about I gallon per mile. A few were built with Guiberson Radial diesel engines(- unfortunately it seems only a few examples of this engine survives)  M3 Stuart Tank of the 192nd or 194th GHQ Tank Battalion on the move in Luzon, 1941 - 42 The "Stuart" (the nickname is British) is the light tank of World War II with the greatest production number. For this type of vehicles, the US proved superior to the Germans (who dropped light tanks from 1942 onwards), the British (who did the same in 1940) and even the Russians (who would try for a longer time but would not turn out anything good).  The Stuart was not only fast and well-armed for its category, but it proved mechanically reliable and earned the nickmane "Honey" from its crews. Its star started to fade only in 1945, when a more advanced machine (the Chaffee)came up. Other designation(s): Honey  An Italian officer is examining a Stuart M3 destroyed in Tunisia (the turret is directed to the rear). The cupola allow to distinguish that model from the other versions of the Stuart Designated Stuart I by the British and Stuart II if it was equiped with a diesel engine. That tank had its first war experience even before the USA entered the war. The first units, acquired by the British, arrived in Africa in July 1941. Their mobility, robustness and easy maintenance earned them the nickname "Honey". Less powerful than the British Cruiser tanks, a bit short on autonomy, they proved nonetheless well-adapted to their role as a light tank.  M3 Stuart Tank of the 192nd or 194th GHQ Tank Battalion on Luzon, 1941 -42 Identification: Looks like the last version of the M2, but its idler is trailing and the two bogies are less spaced. The mantlet is different too. At the rear, the armor covers the exhausts. Compared to the M3A1 'Stuart', there is a cupola for the tank commandant.  Designated Stuart III by the British for the standard model and Stuart IV when reengined with a diesel Guiberson. The Stuart was modified to take into account the teachings of its first combat experiences. The gun stabilization system is now standard while the sponson MG's are blanked off: the inside volume was at such a premium that it could not be used up by less useful accessories. The overall height is decreased thanks to the removal of the cupola.  At a Roadblock on the Road to Bataan After being adopted enthusiastically by their British crews, the Stuart (M-3 or Stuart M5)stayed in service until 1945 as the standard light tank of the US Army. In total, almost 20 000 were built. Identification: It differs from the M-3 by the removal of the cupola. The sponson MG's are blanked off (it was already the case with many M-3 units) Was going to be made welded like A1 but never produced.  Called Stuart V by the British. Put into production to integrate the improvements brought by the Stuart M5 into the M-3 series, while retaining the Continental engine. When experience had proved that the engine of the M-5 was more flexible than the Continental, the line of the M-3 was stopped  Identification: An overhang appears at the rear of the turret. The hatches of the pilot and of the gunner are on the top of the hull and no more forward. The side MG in the hull disappears altogether. The front and side armor plate are straight  Dubbed Stuart VI by the British, just as the M5A1 'Stuart'. The lack of available aircraft engines Continental allowed General Motors to propose the coupling of two Cadillac engines to replace it. So appeared the M-5, which preceded the last version of the M-3, the M3A3 'Stuart'.  7th US Army entering Neustadt a.d. Aisch, Germany on April 6, 1945. Identification: The stepped up engine covers at the rear of the hull distinguishes the M-5 from the M3A3. It had no turret overhang like the M5A1  Reconnaissance vehicle consisting in the hull of a M3A3 'Stuart', of which the turret was removed and replaced by a heavy MG. It was used by the US during the war and some European nations after the war.  A short 7.5 cm howitzer replaced the 3.7 cm gun in the turret of the Stuart M5. It was used for the close support of infantry.  The short 7.5 cm howitzer and the hull without MG are clearly visible on this picture of the M-8. The other external features are those of the M5 Identification: The short 7.5 cm howitzer leaves no room for confusion with the basis M-5. The hull MG disappears. For the rest, both models are identical  Medium Tank M7. Its running gear looks like the one of the Stuart, while the rest of the silhouette is closer to a Sherman The prototype (T-7) was an attempt to rearm the Stuart with a 75 mm gun. It was reclassified as a medium tank and then dropped because it would have squandered ressources needed for the Sherman. Other designation(s): T7
|
The Germans weren't above using Stuarts
Ain't that the truth!
What makes you think you know better, hmmm? :-)
Sam und snippy's Filmsiebungraum
US Light Tank M5/M5A1, "Stuart", Part 2
Van Tassel:
Yes. One other area of the research division is this tank gun stabilizer. Got any interesting little facets here?
Godsey:
Yes. That was one of the odd products that was manufactured in bits and pieces in several divisions of Westinghouse. It came about initially because a Dr. Hannah, an associate director of the research division, had been working with the same rate gyros that John Peters finally began to apply to aircraft use. The application that Hannah had had initially was to use them for very precise speed control on rotating machinery. The advantage was that you got a second-order signal immediately. You didn't have to wait for the speed of the shaft to change. If it started to change, you knew it, with the rate gyro; and so it placed you one up on all of the other types of governors that were then in existence. These were applied initially to rolling mills and to steel mills. Hannah did most of the development work on the controls, and the motor division of Westinghouse did the axle application to the steel mill drives. I don't know where the suggestion came from, but it became apparent to a number of people that a tank moving over even smooth ground is going to move around enough that it's almost impossible to fire a gun from a moving tank with the expectation of hitting a target. If you could stabilize the gun, the gun mount, then you could maintain a point of aim, and you would improve your probability of hit by a factor of ten-to-one or better. In some cases a hundred-to-one improvement. So Doctor Hannah started to develop a tank gun stabilizer using rate gyros. He brought this along in the very early days of the war, and actually before the United States got into the war, the components for these stabilizers were built in East Springfield, and out in Camden, Ohio, and many different places. Most of the tanks used by the United States and most of our allies by the end of the war had tank gun stabilizers on them. So this was the beginning of that. As a matter of fact, this was where Peters picked up the rate gyro control for the aircraft gun stabilizers and the aircraft gun sights.
The Synchromesh transmission is shown attached to the controlled differential that provided steering with the mechanical brakes and then drove the final drives via drive shafts to either side of the hull.
This is the British stowage sketch from their manual showing some details for their altered interior M3 Honeys.
US M3/M3A1 Light Tank, "Stuart", Part 1
Building the Killer Stuart Street Rod, Hot Rod Magazine, No. 1632, Summer, 1943.
The twin drive/propeller shafts from the rear-mounted engines powered the transfer case located between the drivers.
US Light Tank M5/M5A1, "Stuart", Part 1
The L-head V-8 remained basically unchanged from 1936 up to 1948, including tank use in WW2
Checking boring with a Kerry-scope
The M5 made its debut in the invasion of Casablanca in French North Africa.
I'm afraid our tank has arrived, snippy, so if you gentlemen will excuse us, we'll be spanken.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
