M-3 Stuart Light Tank

The M3 Stuart Light Tank carried a 37mm main gun and three .30 cal. machine guns mounted coaxial with the main gun, in a ball mount, and outside on the turret. The tank was built by American Car & Foundry Co., powered by a Continental W670-9A 250 HP 7 cylinder radial engine. It weighed 14 tons, could travel at 36 mph, and got 1.1 miles per gallon of gasoline allowing a cruising range of 60 miles. Its standard load was 103 rounds of 37mm ammunition plus 5500 rounds of .30 cal. ammunition for the machine guns. A .45 cal. submachine gun was also carried for crew protection.

American Car & Foundry began production of the M3 in March of 1941 and the M3A1 in May of 1942. Improvements in the M3A1 included a turret floor, increased armor and a stronger suspension. Early M3s had a riveted hull, replaced by a cast hull. A few hundred late production M3A1s were provided with a Guiberson T-1020 diesel engine.

The Stuart was fast and reliable but was too light for European Theater combat in WW II although it did better in the Pacific Theater where the Japanese had only a few light tanks. After the M4 Sherman appeared, the Stuart was mainly used for scouting and flank support. The British nicknamed it "Honey". The M5A1 Stuart was the successor to the M3 Stuart series. After production of the M-5 Stuart began, the M3A3 Stuart varient was introduced to incorporate the M5 welded hull and other improvements into the remaining producion of approximately 3400 tanks of the M3 line.

Find additional photos and hi-res versions of the M-3 Stuart Light Tank at the Olive-Drab Military Mashup:

M3A1 Stuart Light Tank on display at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD in October 2009. Background tank is M-3 Lee Medium Tank.

Light tank platoon of the 2d Armored Division during training in March 1942.

Marine Private Howard Brown (left), of Jackson, MS, and Arthur Williams, Atlantic City, NJ, during M3 Stuart light tank practice at Camp Lejeune, NC, where African-Americans took Marine Corps basic training at the time, circa April 1943.

Contractor Thierry van Zandebergen checks the paperwork of a circa 1942 37mm M3A1 Stuart tank on arrival in Antwerp, Belgium, 9 July 2001. After World War II, the vintage American tank had been sold to Haiti, where it was found in 1994, acquired by the US Army and sent to Fort Snelling, MN. Shipment from Ft. Snelling to the US Army 1st Armored Division Museum in Baumholder, Germany, was overseen by the Military Traffic Management Command. After a barge trip up the Rhine River, the M3A1 arrived at Baumholder 19 July 2001.

Line of M4A1 Sherman medium tanks, awaiting loading on Piers 2 and 3, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, Newport News, VA, 28 February 1943. Appears to be an M3A3 Stuart light tank lifted by crane, top left.

An M3 Stuart light tank is shown at the Bishop National Bank, helping with a War Bonds drive, Honolulu, Hawaii, 7 September 1942. Shown are: Albert Ferreira of Honolulu and of the Hawaiian Brewery, SGT Billy Rutlidge, Birmingham, AL; PVT Jerome Loeffler, NE; PVT Karl Koop, Pine Island, MN; SSGT W.D. Cauthen, Ozark, AL; and Ambrose Burgo, of Honolulu, HI, and of the Hawaiian Brewery.

M-3 Stuart Light Tank Photo Gallery

M-3 Stuart at 4th Infantry Division Museum, Ft. Hood, TX, 2 December 2005. Photo: Courtesy of Bob Pettit.

M-3A1 Stuart Light Tank. Photo: Courtesy of Steve Greenberg
M-3A1 Stuart Light Tank. Photo: Courtesy of Steve Greenberg.

M-3A1 Stuart at Camp Mabry Museum (49th Armored Division- Texas), 18 July 2004. Photo: Courtesy of Bob Pettit.

M3A3 Stuart light tanks awaiting shipment, Pier 2, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, Newport News, VA, 27 February 1943.