M3A2 Satan (Stuart)
Based on reports of the German invasion of France in 1940, the US Army realized its tank force was obsolete. The then-current M2 light tank design was upgraded to M3 standard, which added more armor and improved the suspension for a smoother ride. It retained the older 37mm gun, though the Army was aware the 37mm was inadequate for tank combat; the M3 would be used to supplement the more heavily-armed M4 Sherman then entering production. Moreover, US Army doctrine held that tanks were not supposed to engage other tanks, but rather exploit breakthroughs and tear up enemy rear areas. For this, the high speed of the M3 would be ideal. As another function of tanks, according to the Army, was infantry support, the Stuart was well-equipped with no less than five .30 caliber machine guns.
Production began in late 1941, shortly before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The British Army would be the first to use the M3 in combat, which they dubbed "Stuart," for the Confederate cavalry general J.E.B. Stuart (the name that stuck), or "Honey" for its reliability. Though the British found the 37mm to be nearly useless, too short-ranged, and the crew compartment to be very cramped, they liked the Stuart's reliability--it almost never broke down, even in the extreme conditions of the North African desert--and its speed. If Stuarts could not take on German tanks, they could certainly do a great deal of damage to soft-skinned vehicles and infantry.
The US would soon be using the Stuart in combat as well: the first tank-to-tank combat in American history would come between M3s of the US Army in the Philippines and Japanese Type 97s. The Stuarts came off second-best, but generally speaking the two tanks were comparable. American crews fighting in North Africa in 1942 recognized the same problems as the British, but also found the same values. Occasionally, even the Stuart could score notable successes: in 1943 in Tunisia, Lieutenant Colonel John Waters' task force of over a hundred Stuarts engaged a small force of German Tiger Is and succeeded in knocking them out with close range fire to the engine.
Though the US Army did recognize the Stuart's armament to be completely obsolete by 1943, it was still the best light tank in the inventory. A few improvements in armor and crew comfort were made in the M5 design, and though supplemented by the M24 Chaffee in 1944, Stuarts would form the bulk of Army light units until the end of the war. Others would fight in postwar campaigns in China, Pakistan and Angola, and were in Paraguayan service as late as 2002.
One of the lessons learned during the Tarawa campaign of late 1943 was that Japanese static defenses were very hard to crack. One weapon that was highly effective was the flamethrower, but getting a manpack flamethrower close enough to a bunker was a risky proposition for whoever was wearing it. The solution was to mount a flamethrower on a tank. The Canadians had adopted the British Ronson flamethrower on their Universal Carriers in Italy, and the Marines learned about it. 24 M3A1 Stuarts, withdrawn from service in favor of the M4 Sherman, were obtained by the USMC, and had their 37mm main guns replaced by Ronsons. Nicknamed "Satan" by their crews and the Marines that saw them in action, these modified Stuarts would first see action on Saipan in June 1944. As the Stuart was considered obsolete and vulnerable to light Japanese antitank weapons, the Satan didn't remain in service long, before being replaced by modified Shermans.
This Satan shows the modified turret and the barrel of the Ronson flamethrower; it is part of the Pacific display at the National Museum of Military Vehicles in Dubois, Wyoming.
M3A2 Satan (Stuart)
Based on reports of the German invasion of France in 1940, the US Army realized its tank force was obsolete. The then-current M2 light tank design was upgraded to M3 standard, which added more armor and improved the suspension for a smoother ride. It retained the older 37mm gun, though the Army was aware the 37mm was inadequate for tank combat; the M3 would be used to supplement the more heavily-armed M4 Sherman then entering production. Moreover, US Army doctrine held that tanks were not supposed to engage other tanks, but rather exploit breakthroughs and tear up enemy rear areas. For this, the high speed of the M3 would be ideal. As another function of tanks, according to the Army, was infantry support, the Stuart was well-equipped with no less than five .30 caliber machine guns.
Production began in late 1941, shortly before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The British Army would be the first to use the M3 in combat, which they dubbed "Stuart," for the Confederate cavalry general J.E.B. Stuart (the name that stuck), or "Honey" for its reliability. Though the British found the 37mm to be nearly useless, too short-ranged, and the crew compartment to be very cramped, they liked the Stuart's reliability--it almost never broke down, even in the extreme conditions of the North African desert--and its speed. If Stuarts could not take on German tanks, they could certainly do a great deal of damage to soft-skinned vehicles and infantry.
The US would soon be using the Stuart in combat as well: the first tank-to-tank combat in American history would come between M3s of the US Army in the Philippines and Japanese Type 97s. The Stuarts came off second-best, but generally speaking the two tanks were comparable. American crews fighting in North Africa in 1942 recognized the same problems as the British, but also found the same values. Occasionally, even the Stuart could score notable successes: in 1943 in Tunisia, Lieutenant Colonel John Waters' task force of over a hundred Stuarts engaged a small force of German Tiger Is and succeeded in knocking them out with close range fire to the engine.
Though the US Army did recognize the Stuart's armament to be completely obsolete by 1943, it was still the best light tank in the inventory. A few improvements in armor and crew comfort were made in the M5 design, and though supplemented by the M24 Chaffee in 1944, Stuarts would form the bulk of Army light units until the end of the war. Others would fight in postwar campaigns in China, Pakistan and Angola, and were in Paraguayan service as late as 2002.
One of the lessons learned during the Tarawa campaign of late 1943 was that Japanese static defenses were very hard to crack. One weapon that was highly effective was the flamethrower, but getting a manpack flamethrower close enough to a bunker was a risky proposition for whoever was wearing it. The solution was to mount a flamethrower on a tank. The Canadians had adopted the British Ronson flamethrower on their Universal Carriers in Italy, and the Marines learned about it. 24 M3A1 Stuarts, withdrawn from service in favor of the M4 Sherman, were obtained by the USMC, and had their 37mm main guns replaced by Ronsons. Nicknamed "Satan" by their crews and the Marines that saw them in action, these modified Stuarts would first see action on Saipan in June 1944. As the Stuart was considered obsolete and vulnerable to light Japanese antitank weapons, the Satan didn't remain in service long, before being replaced by modified Shermans.
This Satan shows the modified turret and the barrel of the Ronson flamethrower; it is part of the Pacific display at the National Museum of Military Vehicles in Dubois, Wyoming.