Was the M3A3 Stuart ever utilized by the US Army and if so, where and when? Thanks guys, I just received an AFV Club M3A3 as a gift and, from what can determine with my limited resources, it seems that almost every allied army used it except for the US Army which instead used the M5 Stuart. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.
According to Steve Zaloga in “M3 & M5 Stuart Light Tank 1940-45”, the US Army standardized on the M5 and M5A1 light tanks with the M3A3 production being earmarked for lend-lease. Other than testing stateside, it doesn’t look as though the M3A3 was used in combat by the US Army.
Andy
Yes, they were used in the early part of the war in the Philippines. They also had a part in the Battle of Kasserine Pass, where they were out gunned.
The tanks that were being used in the ETO, were made into scouting and screening units.
You are correct, most of them were used by the allies for a time, until they were able to receive the good old Sherman.
mm23t: the poster specifically asked about the M3A3 Light tank (as kitted by AFV Club). The M3 light was used in the Phillippines and Africa. The M3A3 wasn’t. Big difference here.
Hope this clears up some confusion.
My oops! Read my info incorrectly.
Thanks guys, I figured that would be the case. If anyone else has any more info, I would appreciate hearing from you. I’m going to build it as a “Honey”.
There is an episode of the old Twilight Zone TV show where someone linked a screen shot of the M3A3. It represented a National Guard tank (I think it was supposed to be a NG tank) that went back in time to Custer’s last stand. You could make a TV version of the tank’s use.
Do a search here, it was a topic late last year.
Thanks, Rob, I do remember a thread along those lines but didn’t realize that the subject was a M3A3. Now I’ll try to track down National Guard markings. Thanks again.
After using this forums search feature, I did find this: /forums/321345/ShowPost.aspx It would seem that I wasn’t the first with this exact same question. Don’t forget, kiddies, the search feature can be your friend. Use it!
Wow, the Twilight Zone post was over a year ago.
/forums/890194/ShowPost.aspx
Yep, and the post I found was from 2004. There is a lot of good stuff in the archives. Thanks, Rob.
Is your plan to use the AFV CLub M3A3 and back date it to an M3 Honey in early war configuration? That’s quite the conversion but not impossible. Check out both Formations and Tigermodeldesigns. They made hull conversions for those not satisfied with the Academy M3 Honey kit.
I could be really wrong here (I often am) but I think the only US use of the M3a3 may have been in the CBI theater with a Chinese/American composite armor group. If it was I don’t know whether the crews would be American or Chinese. Seems I might have read that somewhere. If someone has some documentation on that it might be an interesting subject. RickM
No, I’m not that ambitious. It was just a thought. I suppose that unless I can get some concrete info on the joint US-Chinese composite group’s useage, I’ll probably build it in British livery. The kit is a very nice one as it is and doesn’t need me to go and mess it up.