Stuart Light Tanks

  America designers had developed the M3 Light Tank to upgrade the obsolete M2 Light Tank. The first M3s were produced in March of 1941 and were sent to England for British service. The British, in their fashion of naming American tanks after American Civil War generals, labeled the M3 as "General Stuart," after General J.E.B. Stuart. The tank entered combat with the British Army fighting in Africa in November of 1941. It was then noticed that there were several technical flaws in the M3 design and thus the British relegated their Stuarts to reconnaissance duties and avoiding direct combat. The Soviets also received M3 Stuarts, but found they were unsuited to winter warfare and the fuel compatability was an issue (most Russian tanks used diesel). American M3s first entered combat in the Philippines and later in North Africa. The U.S. Army, still employing whole battalions of light tanks, realized that the age of the light tank had come and gone after the failure of armored forces at the Battle of Kasserine Pass. A revamp of Armored Division structure came about, resulting in light tank battalions being disbanded and distributed in to the existing medium tank battalions at company strength.

  Addressing these problems, designers went to work and new variants were produced. In effort to spare radial engines for airplane production, twin Cadillac V-8 engines were installed. Designers of this new variant also utilized a sloped glacis plate (the front hull of the tank), top access driver and assistant hatches, and an improved turret. However, the older, less effective 37mm main gun was still kept and the tracks were not altered for better weight distribution in snow and mud. Further, the request by tank crews to make room for a third member in the turret (to make a crew of 5 in the tank) were not addressed. This new model was labeled M5 (M4 was the first choice, but avoided to prevent confusion with the M4 Sherman) and Stuart VI by the British. This newest model was still considered inadequate for the Soviets and was still not employed in direct combat by the British and Americans. In the Pacific, however, they faired much better given that the Japanese Army fielded few tanks, of which were lightly armored, and their infantry were ill equipped with anti-tank weapons.

M3A3 Light Tank

  Our unit has access to two variants of the Stuart Light Tank. One of them is owned by the Chino Air Museum and the other is privately owned by a member. The Air Museum's Stuart is an M3A3 variant. This model uses the features brought by the developments of the M5 series, which included an improved sloped glacis plate and the top-opening driver and assistant hatches. It also featured a new turret design which had space in the back for the new radio system. Unique to it is its sloped sides, whereas the rest of the Stuart models were built with vertical side armor. This model's armor is also welded as opposed to the early riveted armor style. Rivets were found to turn in to projectiles when hit with enough force (sometimes small arms fire was enough to do this).

The M3A3 Stuart Light Tank

M5A1 Light Tank

  The other tank we field is an M5A1 variant. This model of Stuart has the same new and improved turret with radio housing that the M3A3 had and was the most common light tank variant used by U.S. forces by 1943. The noticeable differences from the M3A3 variant is its upright side armor and raised engine deck (to make room for the new twin Cadillac engines). Both tanks feature 37mm Main Guns, M-1919 .30 cal Machine Guns on a ball mount in the bow, a coaxial M-1919, and a mount on top of the turret where a third M-1919 would be mounted for anti-aircraft defense.

The M5A1 Stuart Light Tank

  Like all our other vehicles, our Stuart Light Tanks often take part in parades and public displays. The rubberized track pads allow it to be driven on paved streets with out scarring the asphalt, unlike our Sherman tank's all-metal tracks. They can also be rented for film productions. Our crew can arrange for tranportation to where they are needed and can operate the vehicles with skill. The main guns of the tanks are propane charged guns, which provide a nice bang and flash. The M-1919 Machine Guns are either semi-automatic blank firing versions or propane fed "gas guns." These can be replaced by a qualified and certified armorer to fully automatic blank firing machine guns. Everything else is restored to precision and we've had several veterans climb inside and be surprised how well we've restored them.

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