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Classic Weapons of World War II

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Armour

M3 Grant (USA)

Length 564cm / 222in
Width 275cm / 108in
Weight 27,240kg / 59,928lb
Crew 6
Armour 37mm / 1.45in front, 12mm / .5in sides
Armament 75mm main gun, 37mm secondary gun, four .30in cal machine guns
Range 193km / 120m
Top speed 42km/h / 26mph

A precursor to the Sherman, the M3 (known to British forces as the Grant) was quickly designed and rapidly produced by the might of the American automobile industry. The tough medium tank performed extremely well in the Western Desert of the North African campaign and was never completely eclipsed by the later Sherman. In fact, the M3 was still produced after the war.

The main drawback of the M3 was that its main gun was held within the right-hand hull of the tank, which meant the driver had to be as aware as the gunner in positioning the tank to full effect. This unusual set-up eventually led to the fully traversing Sherman being more widely accepted.

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