M3 "Lee": combat use of an American three-turreted tank
The first medium tank produced by the American military-industrial complex and called the M3 “Lee,” to put it mildly, did not live up to the “masterpiece.”
The tall, three-turreted vehicle, which had a speed of up to 40 km/h and was extremely unstable on rough terrain, often became an easy target for Wehrmacht troops. In addition, a significant drawback of the M3 was the 75 mm gun built into the hull, which limited its firing angle to 30 degrees.
Meanwhile, the United States transferred these vehicles under Lend-Lease to Great Britain and the USSR, which used them very effectively in battles with Wehrmacht armored vehicles. However, the Americans themselves also used the above-mentioned monsters.
Great Britain used the M3 in battles against the German Afrika Korps. By the beginning of the German offensive on May 26, 1942, the British had collected 167 such vehicles in North Africa. But deliveries continued.
English troops tried in every possible way to hide the arrival of new tanks to the front, disguising them with plywood structures as tank tractors.
It is worth noting that the first battles with the new tanks “inspired” the British. With a lot of shortcomings, the M3 quite successfully “pierced” the main tanks of Romel’s corps (Panzerkampfwagen III) from a distance of a kilometer.
The powerful weapon surprised the Germans themselves. They tried to evacuate the damaged or abandoned M3 to the rear, and from there to Germany for study and testing.
Thanks to its powerful gun, the M3 made a significant contribution to the British defeat of the Wehrmacht's Afrika Korps. Moreover, throughout 1942, the British lost more than 300 of these tanks, some of which failed not in battle, but as a result of a malfunction. In desert conditions, the engine often stalled at high speeds.
At the same time, the first M3s reached the USSR in December 1941. Then, every month 2-4 cars came to our country, the production of which ended in December 1942.
The tanks were not sent to the front immediately, as the command of the Red Army tried to seriously prepare its personnel to operate foreign equipment.
American M3s were first used in May 1942 in the direction of Chepel-Volobuevka.
The fighting was difficult and bloody for both sides. But the 114th brigade of the Red Army, which practically “melted” after five days of fighting, allowed some units to be withdrawn from the encirclement.
In general, in 1942, losses were great both in Western technology and in Soviet technology. Meanwhile, despite the skepticism of Red Army soldiers towards the M3, which was called the “Mass Grave,” the tank was used by Soviet troops until the end of the war.
Finally, the Americans used the M3 in Iran and North Africa, where they outperformed Japanese tanks.
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