The FReeper Foxhole's TreadHead Tuesday - Stuart M3 and M5 Light Tank - Apr. 20th, 2004

users.swing.be/tanks.tanks ^

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

...................................................................................... ...........................................

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General Stuart Light Tank

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

M3


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.

M3A1



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)

M3A2

Was going to be made welded like A1 but never produced.

M3A3



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

M5



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

T8



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.

M-8 HMC



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


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

[SAMWolf]

Morning Gator Navy.

At 6'4" I can see you having to do a lot of ducking through bulkheads on an LST. LOL!

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning E.G.C. We've had some rain for the last few days and the prediction is for it to be the same all week. Temps are OK though, upper 50's.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Mayor.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Walt. Thanks for the reminder of the Haunted Tank. I started reading that series with ISSUE 1

[SAMWolf]

Morning Cholerajoe!!

We flyboys love Target...er...Treadhead Tuesday.

I've heard the Warthog drivers are particularly partial to it. :-)

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning PE.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Feather

[GATOR NAVY]

Yeah I'm not much better off on a ship. Whacked my head many times. The worst one was when I laid myself flat out on the deck running into a 3" mount gun barrel. Granted, the mount was trained in a direction it usually never was, but that's why there was the big red danger circle painted on the deck.

[tomball]

Good Morning Foxhole,

Tanks for the memories - Have a great day.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone!
Here we go, ThreadHead Tuesday!
Nice tank you have there Sam.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on April 20:
0121 Marcus Aurelius 16th Roman emperor (161-80), philosopher
1442 Edward IV King (England, 1461-83)
1745 Philippe Pinel physician, founder of psychiatry
1808 Louis-Napoleon [Napoleon III] emperor of France (1852-71)
1809 John Smith Preston Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1881
1824 Alfred Holt Colquitt Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1894
1827 John Gibbon Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1896
1839 Carol I King of Romania (1881-1914)
1850 Daniel Chester French/American sculptor (The Minute Man)
1860 Charles Gordon Curtis US attorney/inventor (Curtis Turbine)
1879 Robert Lynd Irish writer/critic (Pleasures of Ignorance)
1881 Nikolai Miaskovsky Novogeorievsk Poland, composer (Kirov is With Us)

1889 Adolf Hitler Braunau Austria, dictator of Nazi Germany (1936-45)

1893 Harold Lloyd Burchard NE, silent comic (Why Worry, Safety Last)
1893 Joan Miró Spain, painter/sculptor (Dog Barking at the Moon)
1904 Bruce Cabot Carlsbad NM, actor (Diamonds are Forever, King Kong)
1907 Alan Reed actor/voice (Fred Allen Show, Fred Flintstone)
1909 Lionel Hampton orchestra leader/vibraphone improviser (Depths Below)
1913 Dick Wessel Wisconsin, actor (Dick Tracy vs Cueball, Beware of Blondie)
1920 John Paul Stevens Chicago IL, 103rd Supreme Court Justice (1975- )
1923 Tito Puente Puerto Rico, bandleader (Dance Mania)
1924 Nina Foch Leiden Netherlands, actress (American in Paris)
1927 Karl Müller Switzerland, superconductivity physicist (Nobel 1987)
1931 Lee H Hamilton Daytona Beach FL,(Representative-Democrat-IN, 1965- )
1936 Pat Roberts (Representative-Republican-KS, 1981- )
1938 Johnny Tillotson Jacksonville FL, singer (Gidget, Poetry in Motion)
1940 George Takei Los Angeles CA, actor (Sulu-Star Trek, Green Berets)
1941 Ryan O'Neal Los Angeles CA, actor (Peyton Place, Paper Moon, Love Story)
1943 Ian Watson UK, sci-fi author (Book of Being, Whores of Babylon)
1949 Jessica Lange Cloquet MN, actress (King Kong, Tootsie)
1951 Luther Vandross Bronx NY, rock vocalist (Here and Now, Never Too Much)
1955 Donald R Pettit Silverton OR, PhD/astronaut
1959 Clint Howard Burbank CA, actor (Gentle Ben)

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Deaths which occurred on April 20:
1314 Clement V [Bertrand Got] pope (1305-14) move papacy to Avignon, dies
1632 Nicolas Antione converted to Judiasm, burned at the stake
1769 Pontiac Indian chief to Ottawa, murdered
1786 John Goodricke English deaf & dumb astronomer, dies at 21
1812 George Clinton 4th US Vice President, dies at 73 1st Vice President to die in office
1906 Australian wombat oldest known marsupial, dies in London Zoo at 26
1912 Bram Stoker Irish theater manager/writer (Dracula), dies
1962 Jesse G Vincent engineer designed 1st V-12 engine, dies at 82
1973 Robert Armstrong actor (Fall Guy, Exposed), dies at 82
1974 Mohammed Ayub Khan premier/President (Pakistan), dies
1982 Archibald MacLeish US, lawyer/writer (Conquistador), dies at 89
1984 Mabel Mercer English/US singer (Fly me to the moon), dies at 84
1991 Don[ald] Siegel US director (Coogan's Bluff/Dirty Harry), dies at 78
1991 Yumzhagin Tsendenbal PM of Mongolia (1952-74), dies
1992 Benny [Alfred Hawthorn] Hill comedian (Benny Hill Show), dies of a heart attack at 67
1992 Johnny Shines Delta blues singer/guitarist, dies at 76
1996 Christopher Robin Milne bookseller/son of writer A A Milne (Winnie the Pooh), dies at 75

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 BUTLER PHILLIP N.---TULSA OK.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1965 SHEA JAMES PATRICK---BURLINGAME CA.
[CRASH TARGET AREA / NO PARA]
1966 ABBOTT JOHN---SAN DIEGO CA.
[DRV RETURNED REMAINS 03/13/74]
1968 CESTARE JOSEPH ANGELO---NEW YORK NY.
1968 WALKER WILLIAM J.---RIVERSIDE CA.
1968 ZUTTERMAN JOSEPH A. JR.---MARYSVILLE KS.
1970 MAHAN DOUGLAS F.---COLUMBIA MO.
[07/05/72 REMAINS RECOVERED]
1972 AMOS THOMAS H.---REPUBLIC MO.
[REMAINS ID'D 11/03/99]
1972 BURNHAM MASON I.---PORTLAND OR.
[REMAINS ID'D 11/03/99]
1972 ELIAS EDWARD K.
[09/28/72 RELEASED HANOI]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
0295 8th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
0850 Guntherus becomes bishop of Cologne
1139 2nd Lateran Council (10th ecumenical council) opens in Rome
1505 Jews are expelled from Orange Burgundy by Philibert of Luxembourg
1653 Cromwell routes English parliament to house
1657 Battle in Santa Cruz Bay, Tenerife English fleet under Robert Blake sinks Spanish silver fleet
1702 Comet C/1702 H1 approaches within 0.0437 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth
1770 Captain Cook arrives in New South Wales
1775 British begin siege of Boston
1777 New York adopts new constitution as an independent state
1792 France declares war on Austria, Prussia & Sardinia
1799 Napoleon issues a decree calling for establishing Jerusalem for Jews
1809 Napoleon I defeats Austria at Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria
1836 Territory of Wisconsin created
1841 1st detective story (Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue") published
1853 Harriet Tubman starts Underground Railroad
1861 Battle of Norfolk VA
1871 3rd Enforcement Act (President can suspend writ of habeas corpus)
1879 1st mobile home (horse drawn) used in a journey from London & Cyprus
1884 Pope Leo XIII encyclical "On Freemasonry"
1894 136,000 mine workers strike in Ohio for pay increase
1896 1st public film showing in US John Philip Sousa's "El Capitán", premieres in NYC
1902 Marie & Pierre Curie isolate radioactive element radium
1904 George Bernard Shaw's "Candida", premieres in London
1910 Halley's Comet passes 29th recorded perihelion at 87.9 million km
1912 Fenway Park officially opens, Boston Red Sox beat New York Highlanders 7-6 in 11
1912 Tiger Stadium in Detroit opens, Tigers beat Cleveland Indians 6-5
1914 33 killed by soldiers during mine strike in Ludlow CO
1916 1st National League game at Weeghman Park (Wrigley Field) in Chicago opens, Chicago Cubs beat Cincinnati Reds 7-6
1917 Pravda (Lenin names Russia "Free land of world")
1919 Polish Army captures Vilno, Lithuania from Soviet Army
1920 Tornadoes kill 219 in Alabama & Mississippi
1920 Balfour Declaration recognized, makes Palestine a British Mandate
1926 1st check sent by radio facsimile transmission across the Atlantic
1931 British House of Commons agrees for sports play on Sunday
1934 Heinrich Himmler becomes inspector Prussian secret state police
1935 "You're Hit Parade" begins broadcasting (becomes #1 quickly)
1936 Jews repel an Arab attack in Petach Tikvah Palestine
1939 New York World's Fair opens
1939 Ted Williams' 1st hit (off of Yankee Red Ruffing) a double
1940 1st electron microscope demonstrated (RCA), Philadelphia PA
1941 100 German bombers attack Athens
1942 Heavy German assault on Malta
1945 Soviet troops enter Berlin
1945 US 7th Army & allies forces capture Nuremberg & Stuttgart in Germany
1945 Cleveland Browns organization formed by Arthur "Mickey" McBride
1945 US forces conquer Motobu peninsula on Okinawa
1946 1st televised baseball broadcast in Chicago, St Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs
1949 Jockey Bill Shoemaker wins his 1st race, in Albany CA
1958 Morocco demands departure of Spanish troops
1962 NASA civilian pilot Neil A Armstrong takes X-15 to an altitude of 63,250 meters
1962 New Orleans Citizens Company gives free 1-way ride to blacks to move North
1962 OAS-leader ex-General Salan arrested in Algiers
1964 86% of black students boycott Cleveland schools
1965 People's Republic China offers North Vietnam military aid
1967 US planes bomb Haiphong for 1st time during the Vietnam War
1967 US Surveyor 3 lands on Moon
1967 French author Régis Debray("French radical theoretician") caught in Bolivia
1968 Pierre Elliott Trudeau sworn-in as Canada's PM
1970 Bruno Kreisky becomes 1st socialist chancellor of Austria
1971 Barbra Streisand records "We've Only Just Begun"
1971 US Supreme Court upholds use of busing to achieve racial desegregation
1972 Apollo 16's Young & Duke land on Moon with Boeing Lunar Rover #2
1974 Paul McCartney releases "Band on the Run"
1976 George Harrison sings the lumberjack song with Monty Python
1977 Supreme Court rules "Live Free or Die" may be covered on New Hampshire licenses
1977 Woody Allen's film "Annie Hall" premieres
1980 Cubans begin to arrive in US from Mariel boatlift
1981 Rocker Papa John Phillips arrested for drug possession
1983 President Ronald Reagan signs a $165 billion bail-out for Social Security
1984 Russian offensive in Panshirvallei Afghánistán
1985 Karyn Marshall of New York NY lifted 303 lbs in a clean-and-jerk lift
1986 Michael Jordan sets NBA playoff record with 63 points in a game
1986 Vladimir Horowitz performs in his Russian homeland
1987 Sri Lanka Tamils shoot 122 Singalesen dead
1987 US deports Karl Linnas, charged with nazi war crimes, to USSR
1988 US accuses Renamo of killing 100,000 Mozambiquians
1990 Pete Rose pleads guilty to hiding $300,000 in income
1993 Uranus passes Neptune (this occurs once every 171 years)
1994 Danny Harold Rolling, sentenced to death in Florida, for killing 5
1994 Serbian army bombs hospital in Goradze Bosnia, 47 killed
1994 Space shuttle STS-59 (Endeavour 6), lands
1996 Chicago Bulls win record 72 games in a season
1997 1st baseball game in Hawaii, St Louis Cardinals beat San Diego Padres in doubleheader
1997 Mark McGwire, is 4th to homerun on Detroit Tiger left field roof (others are Frank Howard, Harmon Killibrew, & Cecil Fielder)
1999 Deadliest school shooting in US history at Columbine High School, Littleton CO, 13 killed, 23 wounded

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

US : Boys and Girls Club Week (Day 3)
US : National Lingerie Week (Day 3)
US : National Science and Technology Week (Day 3)
Holy Humor Month

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Religious Observances
RC : St. Marian

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Religious History
1441 During the Council of Florence (1438-45), Eugenius IV issued the bull "Etsi non dubitemus," which asserted the superiority of the pope over the Councils.
1718 Birth of David Brainerd, colonial American missionary to the Indians of New England. Following his premature death from tuberculosis at 29, Brainerd's journal (published in 1649 by the Jonathan Edwards) influenced hundreds to become missionaries after him.
1826 Birth of Erastus Johnson, American hymnwriter. A lifelong student of the Bible, Johnson, at age 47, penned the hymn, "O Sometimes the Shadows are Deep" (a.k.a. "The Rock That Is Higher Than I").
1943 In Poland, Germans Nazi troops massacred the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
1987 In Columbus, OH, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was organized, making it the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S. It represented the merger of three smaller Lutheran bodies, and was officially born on Jan 1, 1988.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"Freedom has a thousand charms to show, that slaves, however content, will never know."

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Martha Stewart's Way vs. The Real Woman's Way...
Martha Way#1: Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips.
The Real Woman's Way #1: Just suck the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone, for Pete's sake, you are probably lying on the couch with your feet up eating it anyway.

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New State Slogans...
Illinois: Sorry about Carol Mosely Braun.

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Male Language Patterns...
"Let's take your car." REALLY MEANS,
"Mine is full of beer cans, burger wrappers and completely out of gas."

---

Female Language Patterns...
"It's a chick thing." REALLY MEANS,
"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me anyway, so why bother, besides it's none of your business. Are you sure we're legally married?"

[stand watie]

GM, snippy!

free dixie,sw

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning radu.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Iris7.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Gator Navy.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning EGC.

[snippy_about_it]

Mornin' Mayor. Rain showers and mid 50's again today, but we get lots of breaks with sunshine.

[snippy_about_it]

LOL. Good to see you CJ.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning PE.

[snippy_about_it]

The worst one was when I laid myself flat out on the deck running into a 3" mount gun barrel.

Ouch, that had to hurt. 6'4" on a ship 'eh, I bet sleeping wasn't the greatest either!