Editing M3 Lee (section)

{{Short description|American medium tank of World War II}}
{{For|the light tank|M3 Stuart}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = Medium Tank, M3
| image              = File:AlfredPalmerM3tank1942b crop2.jpg

| caption            = Medium Tank, M3, [[Fort Knox]], June 1942
| origin             = [[United States]]
| type               = [[Medium tank]]
| is_vehicle         = yes
| service            = 1941–1955
| wars               = [[World War II]]
| designer           = 
| design_date        = 
| manufacturer       = {{unbulleted list
|Detroit Tank Arsenal
|American Locomotive Company
|Pullman Standard
|Pressed Steel Car Company
|Baldwin Locomotive Works}}
| unit_cost          = $55,250<ref name="costs">{{cite book |last1=Zaloga |first1=Steven |title=Armored Champion: The Top Tanks of World War II |date=2015 |publisher=Stackpole Books |isbn=978-0-8117-6133-8 |page=39 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-O3DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |access-date=14 May 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
| production_date    = August 1941 – December 1942
| number             = 6,258
| variants           = See ''[[#Variants|Variants]]''
| weight             = {{convert|30|ST|LT t|abbr=on}}
| armour             = {{unbulleted list|{{convert|51|mm|in|abbr=on}} hull front, turret front, sides, and rear|{{convert|38|mm|in|abbr=on}} (hull sides and rear)<ref>[http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/m3lee.html AFV Database]</ref>}}
| length             = {{convert|18|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
| width              = {{convert|8|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}
| height             = {{convert|10|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}} – Lee
| crew               = Seven (Lee);<br /> Six (Grant)
| primary_armament   = {{unbulleted list|1 × [[75 mm US tank gun#M2 2|75 mm Gun M2]]/[[75 mm US tank gun#M3 2|M3]] in hull|46 rounds|1 × [[37mm Gun M3|37mm Gun M5/M6]] in turret|178 rounds}}
| secondary_armament = {{unbulleted list|2{{ndash}}3{{ndash}}4 × [[.30-06 Springfield|.30-06]] [[M1919 Browning machine gun|Browning M1919A4]] machine guns|9,200 rounds}}
| engine             = [[Wright R-975|Wright-Continental R975 EC2]]
| engine_power       = {{convert|400|hp|kW|lk=on|abbr=on}}/{{convert|340|hp|kW|abbr=on}}
| transmission       = [[Mack Trucks|Mack]] Synchromesh, five speeds forward, one reverse
| fuel_capacity      = {{convert|664|L|USgal|abbr=on}}
| pw_ratio           = 
| steering           = Controlled differential
| suspension         = vertical volute spring
| clearance          = {{convert|18|in|m|abbr=on}}
| vehicle_range      = {{convert|193|km|mi|abbr=on|disp=flip}}
| speed              = {{unbulleted list|{{convert|26|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} (road)|{{convert|16|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} (off-road)}}
}}

The '''M3 Lee''', officially '''Medium Tank, M3''', was an American [[medium tank]] used during [[World War II]]. The turret was produced in two different forms, one for US needs and one modified to British requirements to place the radio next to the commander. In [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]] service, the tank was called by two names: tanks employing US-pattern [[Gun turret|turrets]] were called "'''Lee'''", named after [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] general [[Robert E. Lee]], while those with British-pattern turrets were known as "'''Grant'''", named after [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] general [[Ulysses S. Grant]].

Design commenced in July 1940, and the first M3s were operational in late 1941.<ref>Zaloga p. 16 & 20</ref> The US Army needed a medium tank armed with a 75 mm gun and coupled with the United Kingdom's immediate demand for 3,650 medium tanks,<ref>Zaloga 2008 p. 20 & 21</ref> the Lee began production by late 1940. The design was a compromise meant to produce a tank as soon as possible and serve only until replaced by the following [[M4 Sherman]] tank. The M3 was reliable, had considerable firepower, good armor, and high mobility<ref>USSR Red Army GABTU (Main Directorate of Armoured Forces) off-road trials May 1942{{Cite web|url=https://www.tankarchives.ca/2019/08/the-american-highrise.html |title=The American Highrise}}</ref> but had serious drawbacks in its general design and shape, including a high silhouette, an archaic [[sponson]] mounting of the main gun preventing the tank from taking a [[hull-down]] position, and riveted construction.

It was considered by [[Hans von Luck]] (a German army officer who wrote the post-war memoir ''Panzer Commander''), to be superior in May 1942 to the [[Panzer IV]] and able to operate out of range of German 5&nbsp;cm anti-tank guns.<ref>{{cite book|last1=von Luck|first1=Hans |author-link=Hans von Luck|title=Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck |orig-date=1989|date=2013|publisher=Dell|chapter=North Africa, 1942: Rommel, the Desert Fox |page=Paragraph 6.75}}</ref> However, by mid-1943, with the introduction of upgunned [[Panzer III]]s and Panzer IVs, the tank had been withdrawn from combat in most theaters and replaced by the more capable M4 Sherman tank as soon as it became available in larger numbers. 

Despite its being replaced elsewhere, the British continued to use M3s in combat against the Japanese in [[Burma campaign|southeast Asia]] until 1945.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205205489 |title=The British Army in Burma 1945 |publisher=Imperial War Museum}}</ref> Nearly a thousand M3s were supplied to the Soviet military under [[Lend-Lease]] between 1941 and 1943.