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The M3 Stuart, formally Light Tank M3, is an American light tank of World War II. It was supplied to British and Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. into the war. Thereafter, it was used by U.S. and Allied forces until the end of the war. The name General Stuart or Stuart given by the British comes from the American Civil War Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart and was used for both the M3 and the derivative M5 Light Tank. In British service, it also had the unofficial nickname of Honey after a tank driver remarked "She's a honey".〔Crisp, Robert. ''Brazen Chariots'' (W.W. Norton & Co., 2005), pp.17–18.〕 To the United States Army, the tanks were officially known only as "Light Tank M3" and "Light Tank M5". The M3 Stuarts were the first American-crewed tanks in World War II to engage the enemy in tank versus tank combat.〔Hunnicutt (Stuart) p. 395〕〔Zaloga (Armored Thunderbolt) p. 301〕 ==Development== Observing events in Europe, American tank designers realized that the Light Tank M2 was becoming obsolete and set about improving it. The upgraded design, with thicker armor, modified suspension and new gun recoil system was called "Light Tank M3". Production of the vehicle started in March 1941 and continued until October 1943. Like its direct predecessor, the M2A4, the M3 was initially armed with a 37mm M5 gun and five .30-06 Browning M1919A4 machine guns: coaxial with the gun, on top of the turret in an M20 anti-aircraft mount, in a ball mount in right bow, and in the right and left hull sponsons. Later, the gun was replaced with the slightly longer M6, and the sponson machine guns were removed. Internally, the radial engine was at the rear and the transmission to the driving sprockets at the front. The prop shaft connecting the two ran through the middle of the fighting compartment. The radial engine compounded the problem, having its crankshaft high off the hull bottom.〔Fletcher, David ''The Great Tank Scandal''〕 When a turret floor was introduced the crew had less room. The rear idler sprocket was moved to a trailing (ground contact) position. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「M3 Stuart」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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