Editing M3 Lee (section)

==Operational history==
Of the 6,258 M3 variants manufactured, 2,887 (45%) were supplied to the British government for use by British and Commonwealth forces.<ref>{{citation |publisher=War Department |date=1946 |work=Quantities of Lend-Lease Shipments |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/LL-Ship/LL-Ship-3A.html |title=Section III-A Ordnance General Supplies |page=8 |via= Hyperwar Foundation}}</ref> 1,685 of these were Grants which the UK ordered directly from US industry under [[cash and carry (World War II)|cash and carry]] and which did not fall under the Lend-Lease arrangements.

The M3 Grant first saw action with units of the [[Royal Armoured Corps]] in North Africa during the [[Battle of Gazala|Gazala battles]] of May 1942. However, with the arrival of the M4 Sherman tank from October 1942 the surviving M3s in North Africa became surplus and were mostly shipped on to India. 657 Grants and 75 Lees were supplied directly to North Africa.

Ninety-seven Grants and 119 M3 Lees - including 49 diesel M3A3 Lee Vs, the only diesel Lees used by UK and Commonwealth forces - were supplied directly to the UK and were used for testing and training. 335 were later converted to [[Canal Defense Light]]s (no diesels), and further refurbished turretless M3 hulls were supplied by the US to support this project.

777 were supplied directly to the [[Australian Army]] for home defense and training duties in Australia.<ref name=Zaloga2008p3031 /> None was used operationally. These comprised 255 Lee Is, 266 Grant Is and 232 Grant IIs.
The [[British Indian Army]] received 896 M3 series tanks as new supply and tanks shipped from North Africa. These comprised 517 Lee Is and 379 Grant Is.

A further 1,386 were exported to the [[Soviet Union]],<ref>Zaloga (2008) p. 28, 30, 31</ref> although only 957 of these reached Russian ports due to German U-boat and air attacks on Allied convoys.<ref name="ww2-weapons.com">[https://ww2-weapons.com/lend-lease-tanks-and-aircrafts/ Lend-Lease tanks and aircrafts &#91;sic&#93;]</ref>

===North African campaign===
The M3 brought much-needed firepower to British forces in the [[North African campaign|campaign in the North African desert]]. Early Grants were shipped directly to Egypt and lacked some fitments (such as radio) that were remedied locally. Under the "Mechanisation Experimental Establishment (Middle East)" other modifications were tested approved and made to tanks as they were issued. These included fitting of sand shields (later deliveries from the US had factory fitted shields), dust covers for the gun mantlets and the removal of the hull machine guns. Ammunition stowage was altered to 80 x 75&nbsp;mm (up from 50) and 80 x 37&nbsp;mm with additional protection to the ammunition bins.

Grants arrived in North Africa by the end of January 1942, and British crews began training on them. As it was developed from the World War I-era French 75&nbsp;mm gun, the British had ammunition stocks left over from then that could be used for the 75&nbsp;mm M2 gun but these suffered due to age. The armor-piercing shell for the 75&nbsp;mm was a solid shot and could penetrate around 2 inches (50&nbsp;mm) of armor at 1,000&nbsp;m, which was better than the 2-pounder guns of British tanks, but better performance was desired. Fortunately, large numbers of German 75&nbsp;mm shells were captured, and these were matched to the American cartridge. This conversion gave improved performance and was followed by an improved American AP shell design (the M61). While the Grants had been expected to be a temporary until the [[Crusader tank|Crusader Mark III tank]] with a 57&nbsp;mm 6-pounder gun was available, problems with the Crusader led to changes. The Grant became the main tank in use, and cruiser tanks such as the Crusader Mk I and II replaced the M3 light tank in British units.<ref name=TankArchives/>

[[File:SC167334t.jpg|right|thumb|Crew of M3 tank at Souk el Arba, [[Tunisia]], November 23, 1942.]]
The M3 tank's first action during the war was in 1942 during the [[North African Campaign]].<ref>Zaloga (2008) p. 28</ref> British Lees and Grants were in action against [[Erwin Rommel|Rommel's]] forces at the [[Battle of Gazala]] on 27 May. In the preparations for the battle the Eighth Army received 167 M3 tanks. The [[8th King's Royal Irish Hussars]], 3rd and 5th battalions [[Royal Tank Regiment]] went into action with Grant tanks. Retreating in the face of a large attack, the 8th Hussars had only three Grants remaining, while 3rd RTR reported losing 16.

Their appearance was a surprise to the Germans, who were unprepared for the M3's 75&nbsp;mm gun. They soon discovered the M3 could engage them beyond the effective range of their [[5&nbsp;cm Pak 38]] anti-tank gun, and the [[5&nbsp;cm KwK 39]] of the [[Panzer III]], their main medium tank. The M3 was also vastly superior to the [[Fiat M13/40]] and [[Fiat M14/41|M14/41]] tanks employed by the Italian troops, whose [[Cannone da 47/32|47&nbsp;mm gun]] was effective only at point-blank range, while only the few [[Semovente 75/18|Semoventi ''da'' 75/18]] self-propelled guns were able to destroy it using [[HEAT]] rounds.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cappellano |first1=F.|last2=Battistelli|first2=P.P |title=Italian Medium Tanks: 1939-45 |url=https://archive.org/details/italianmediumtan00batt |url-access=limited |date=2012|publisher=Osprey Publishing |series =New Vanguard 195 |location=Oxford |isbn=9781849087759|pages=[https://archive.org/details/italianmediumtan00batt/page/n33 34]–38 |via=Archive.org}}</ref> In addition to the M3's superior range, they were equipped with high explosive shells for infantry and other soft targets, which previous British tanks had lacked; upon the introduction of the M3, Rommel noted: "Up to May of 1942, our tanks had in general been superior in quality to the corresponding British types. This was now no longer true, at least not to the same extent."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hart|first=Liddell|title=The Rommel Papers|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=196}}</ref>

Despite the M3's advantages and surprise appearance during the Battle of Gazala, it could not win the battle for the British. In particular, the high-velocity [[8.8 cm Flak 18/36/37/41|88&nbsp;mm anti-aircraft gun]], in use as its secondary role of an anti-tank gun, proved deadly if British tanks attacked without artillery support.<ref>[http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-m-3-grant-americas-nazi-germany-tank-killer-19126 The M-3 Grant: America's Nazi Germany Tank-Killer] - Michael Peck Nationalinterest.org, 22 January 2017</ref> Britain's Director of Armoured Fighting Vehicles nonetheless said before the M4 Sherman arrived that "The Grants and the Lees have proven to be the mainstay of the fighting forces in the Middle East; their great reliability, powerful armament and sound armor have endeared them to the troops."<ref name="stout1946_137_138">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/tanmightyfi00stou |title=Tanks are Mighty Fine Things |last=Stout |first=Wesley W. |publisher=Chrysler Corporation |year=1946 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/tanmightyfi00stou/page/n150 137]–138 |access-date=2019-07-11}}</ref>

By the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]] in late 1942, there were 600 M3s, of both types, in British service. Some of these were used for training in the UK.

Grants and Lees served with British units in North Africa until the end of the campaign. Following [[Operation Torch]] (the invasion of French North Africa), the US also fought in North Africa using the M3 Lee.

The US [[1st Armored Division (United States)|1st Armored Division]] had been issued the new [[M4 Sherman]], but had given up one regiment's worth to the British Army so that it could use them in the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]] (October-November 1942). Consequently, a regiment of the division was still using the M3 Lee when it arrived in North Africa.

The M3 was generally appreciated during the North African campaign for its mechanical reliability, good armor protection, and heavy firepower.{{efn|Initially there were problems with engine wear and suspension springs.{{sfn|Fletcher, Great Tank Scandal|page= 92}}}} 

However, the high silhouette and low, hull-mounted 75&nbsp;mm were tactical drawbacks since they prevented fighting from a [[hull-down]] firing position. In addition, the use of riveted hull superstructure armor on the early versions led to [[Spall#Antitank warfare|spalling]], where the impact of enemy shells caused the rivets to break off and become projectiles inside the tank. Later models were built with all-welded armor to eliminate this problem. These lessons had already been applied to the design and production of the M4.

The M3 was replaced in front-line roles by the Sherman as soon as it became available. However, several specialist vehicles based on the M3 were later employed in Europe, such as the M31 armored recovery vehicle and the Canal Defence Light.

In early 1943, the British Eight Army's M3s, now replaced by the Sherman, were shipped to the Pacific theatre to replace some Matildas in the Australian Army.

===Eastern Europe—Soviet service===
[[File:Soviet M3 Lee tanks of the 6th Guards Army Kursk July 1943.jpg|thumb|A company of M3 Lee tanks of the Soviet [[6th Guards Army]] advance towards the front line during the [[Battle of Kursk]], July 1943]]

Beginning from 1941, 1,386 M3 medium tanks were shipped from the US to the Soviet Union, with 417 lost when their transporting vessels were sunk by German submarine, naval and aerial attacks en route.<ref name="ww2-weapons.com"/><ref>{{citation |script-title=ru:Барятинский М. П. «Трёхэтажный» американец Сталина. Танк M3 «Генерал Ли» / «Генерал Грант». — М.: Яуза, Эксмо, 2011. — 104 с. — (Арсенал коллекция). — 1700 экз. — |isbn=978-5-699-49808-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lufOAAAAQBAJ |language=ru|date=25 July 2019|publisher=Litres }}</ref> These were supplied through the American [[Lend-Lease]] program between 1942 and 1943.

Soviet Red Army personnel tended to refer to the M3 as the "Grant", even though all of the M3s shipped to Russia were "Lee" variants. The official Soviet designation for it was the ''М3 средний'' (''М3с''), or "M3 Medium", to distinguish the Lee from the US-built [[M3 Stuart]] light tank, which was also acquired by the USSR under Lend-Lease and was officially known there as the ''М3 лёгкий'' (''М3л''), or "M3 Light".<ref>[http://armor.kiev.ua/Tanks/WWII/stuart/stuart1.php Лёгкий танк M3/M5 «Генерал Стюарт» ''(In Russian)''], "M3/M5 General Stuart Light Tank" from (Baryatinsky M. Armored Vehicles of the USA 1939-1945 — Moscow: Modelist-Constructor, 2009. — 40 p. — (Armored Collection. 2009. № 1 (82)) via armor.kiev.ua</ref> 

Due to the vehicle's petrol-fueled engine, a high tendency to catch fire, and its vulnerability against most types of German armor the Soviet troops encountered from 1942 onwards, the tank was almost entirely unpopular with the Red Army since its introduction in the Eastern Front.<ref name="WinchesterDrury2011">{{cite book|first1=Charles D.|last1=Winchester|first2=Ian|last2=Drury|title=Hitler's War on Russia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gum6CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA138|date=20 August 2011|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-84908-995-1|pages=138–}}</ref> In the letter sent to Franklin Roosevelt (18 July 1942), Stalin wrote: "I consider it my duty to warn you that, according to our experts at the front, U.S. tanks catch fire very easily when hit from behind or from the side by anti-tank rifle bullets. The reason is that the high-grade gasoline used forms inside the tank a thick layer of highly inflammable fumes."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/correspondence/02/42.htm | title=Correspondence between the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Presidents of the USA and the Prime Ministers of Great Britain during the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945 }}</ref>
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With almost 1,500 Russian [[T-34]] tanks being built every month, Soviet use of the M3 medium tank declined soon after mid-1943. Soviet troops still fielded their Lee/Grant tanks on secondary and less active fronts, such as in the Arctic region during the Red Army's [[Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive]] against German forces in Norway in October 1944, where the obsolete US tanks faced mainly captured French tanks used by the Germans, such as the [[SOMUA S35]], which to a limited extent was somewhat comparable to the Lee/Grant it fought against.

===Pacific War===
In the [[Pacific War]], armor played a relatively minor role for the Allies as well as for the Japanese, compared with that of naval,<ref>Zaloga 2007, back cover & p. 3</ref> air,<ref>Ewing p. VII</ref> and infantry units.

In the [[Pacific Ocean Theater]] and the [[Southwest Pacific Theater]], the US Army deployed none of its dedicated armored divisions and only a third of its 70 separate tank battalions.

A small number of M3 Lees saw action in the central Pacific Ocean Theater in 1943. The [[United States Marine Corps|US Marine Corps]],<ref>Zaloga (Armored Thunderbolt) p. 24 & 301</ref> bypassed the M3 Lees, switching from M3 Stuarts directly to M4 Shermans in mid-1944.<ref>USMC TOEs {{page needed|date=April 2015}}</ref>

Some M3 Grants played an offensive role with the [[British Indian Army]], in the [[South-East Asian theatre of World War II|south-east Asian theater]].

The Australian Army also used Grants during World War II, mainly for homeland defense and training purposes.

=== Pacific Ocean Theater ===
[[File:M3 Medium Tanks in the Battle of Makin.png|thumb|upright=1.3|US Army M3A5 Lees during the [[Battle of Makin]]]]

The only combat use of the M3 Lee by the US Army against Japanese forces<ref>Zaloga 2008 p. 305</ref> occurred during the [[Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign]] of 1943.

Following the better-known [[battle of Tarawa|landing at Tarawa]], the US [[27th Infantry Division (United States)|27th Infantry Division]] made an amphibious [[Battle of Makin|assault on Makin Island]] with armored support from a platoon of M3A5 Lees equipped with deep-wading kits belonging to the US Army's [[193rd Tank Battalion]].

=== Burma ===
[[File:The British Army in Burma 1945 SE3270.jpg|thumb|right|A British M3 Lee in [[Mandalay]], Burma ([[Myanmar]]), during the [[Burma Campaign 1944–45|Burma Campaign]] in March 1945. Spare tracks are welded onto the front glacis for extra protection.]]

After British Commonwealth forces in Europe and the Mediterranean began receiving M4 Shermans, about 900 British-ordered M3 Lees/Grants were shipped to the Indian Army. Some of these saw action against Japanese troops and tanks in the [[Burma Campaign]].<ref name=Zaloga2008p3031>Zaloga (2008) p. 30-31</ref>

They were used by the British [[Fourteenth Army (United Kingdom)|Fourteenth Army]]<ref name=Hunnicutt1978p105>Hunnicutt (1978) p. 105</ref> until the fall of [[Rangoon]],<ref name=Hunnicutt1978p105 /> regarded as performing "admirably" in their original intended role of supporting infantry in Burma between 1944 and 1945.<ref name=Hunnicutt1978p105 /><ref>Zaloga 2008 p. 31</ref> It played a pivotal role during the [[Battle of Imphal]], during which the [[Imperial Japanese Army]]'s 14th Tank Regiment (primarily equipped with their own [[Type 95 Ha-Go]] light tanks, together with a handful of captured British [[M3 Stuart]] light tanks) encountered M3 medium tanks for the first time and found their light tanks outgunned and outmatched.<ref>Zaloga (Japanese Tanks 1939-45) p. 40</ref> The British M3 tanks performed well as they traversed the steep hillsides around [[Imphal]] and defeated the assaulting Japanese forces. Officially declared obsolete in April 1944,<ref name=Hunnicutt1978p105 /> nevertheless, the Lee/Grant saw action until the end of the war in September 1945.

=== Australia ===
At the beginning of the war, Australian Army doctrine viewed tank units as minor offensive components within infantry divisions. It had no dedicated armored branch and most of its very limited capabilities in tank warfare had been deployed to the North African Campaign (i.e. three divisional cavalry battalions). By early 1941, the effectiveness of large-scale German panzer attacks had been recognized, and a dedicated armored mustering was formed. The [[Australian Armoured Corps]] initially included the cadres of three armored divisions – all of which were equipped at least partly with M3 Grants made available from surplus British orders.

The [[1st Australian Armoured Division]] was formed with a view towards complementing the three Australian infantry divisions then in North Africa. However, following the outbreak of hostilities with Japan,<ref name="Lambert">Zach Lambert, 2012, [https://www.army.gov.au/sites/g/files/net1846/f/aaj_2012_1.pdf "The Birth, Life and Death of the 1st Australian Armoured Division"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103011556/https://www.army.gov.au/sites/g/files/net1846/f/aaj_2012_1.pdf |date=2018-01-03}}, ''[[Australian Army Journal]]'' vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 96–97.</ref> the division was retained in Australia. During April–May 1942, the 1st Armoured Division's regiments were reported to be re-equipping with M3 Grants and were training, in a series of large exercises, in the area around [[Narrabri]].<ref name="Lambert"/>

The cadres of the [[2nd Armoured Division (Australia)|2nd]] and [[3rd Armoured Division (Australia)|3rd Armoured Division]]s were both officially formed in 1942, as [[Australian Army Reserve|Militia]] (reserve/home defense) units. These divisions were also partly equipped with M3 Grants.<ref name="Hopkins">Ronald Hopkins, 1978, ''Australian Armour: A History of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps 1927–1972'', Puckapunyal, Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum, pp. 125–130, 326.</ref>

In January 1943, the main body of the 1st Armoured Division was deployed to home defense duties between [[Perth]] and [[Geraldton]], where it formed part of [[III Corps (Australia)|III Corps]].<ref name="Lambert"/>

By the middle of the war, the Australian Army had deemed the Grant to be unsuitable for combat duties overseas, and M3 units were re-equipped with the [[Matilda II]] before being deployed to the [[New Guinea Campaign|New Guinea]] and [[Borneo Campaign]]s. Due to personnel shortages, all three divisions were officially disbanded during 1943 and downgraded to brigade- and battalion-level units.<ref name="Hopkins"/>

====Post-war use in Australia====
During the war, the Australian Army had converted some M3 Grants for special purposes, including a small number of bulldozer variants, [[beach armoured recovery vehicle]]s, and [[Amphibious vehicle#Tracked|wader]] prototypes.

Following the end of the war, 14 of the Australian M3A5 Grants were converted to a local [[self-propelled gun]] design, the [[Yeramba]]. Until the future acquisition of the [[K9 Thunder|AS9 Huntsman]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Marquis |first=Nicholas |url=https://www.defence.gov.au/news-events/news/2023-07-04/self-propelled-howitzer-game-changer |title=Self-propelled howitzer a game-changer |work=[[Australian Defence Force]] |date=2023-07-04 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230711060648/https://www.defence.gov.au/news-events/news/2023-07-04/self-propelled-howitzer-game-changer |archivedate=2023-07-11 |accessdate=2023-07-29}}</ref> is complete, the Yeramba remains as the only SPG ever deployed by the Australian Army.<ref name="C 355.00994 W297">{{cite magazine |title=Yeramba : a 'great piece of artillery '. |magazine=Wartime |date=Winter 2004 |last1=Gower |first1=Stephen N. |last2=Cecil |first2=Mike |publisher=Australian War Memorial |issue=27 |page=35 - 37}}</ref> Fitted with a [[25-pounder]] field gun, the Yerambas remained in service with the 22nd Field Regiment, [[Royal Australian Artillery]], until the late 1950s.

Many M3s deemed surplus to Australian Army requirements were acquired by civilian buyers during the 1950s and 1960s for conversion to earthmoving equipment and tractors.

===Conclusion===
Overall, the M3 was able to be effective on the battlefield from 1942 until 1943. However, US armored units lacked the tactical expertise to overcome its design{{Clarify|date=April 2025|reason= "overcome its design" what? "Flaws"?}}.<ref>Porter (Allied Tanks of World War II 1939-1945 The World's Greatest Weapons) p. 77</ref> Its armor and firepower were equal or superior to most of the threats it faced, especially in the Pacific. Long-range, high-velocity guns were not yet common on German tanks in the African theater. However, the rapid pace of tank development meant that the M3 was very quickly outclassed.