A Second War American Tank Recognition Model; Stuart M-5

Two-piece construction, cast metal with an olive green painted finish, turret affixed to the base by a single screw, marked "STUART M-5" on the reverse, 62 mm x 118 mm x 65 mm in height, scattered paint chipping, with "touch up" areas noticeable on the sides, near extremely fine.

Footnote: The M3/M5 Stuart Light Tanks were developed from the M2 series of Light Tanks and Combat Cars. In 1939, the U.S. Army had four very similar AFVs in service. The infantry had the M2A2 and the M2A3 Light tanks, while the U.S. Cavalry had the M1 and M2 Combat Cars. The light tanks had twin turrets, one mounting a .50 heavy machine gun and the other mounting a .30 machine gun. The Combat Cars had a single turret mounting both machine guns. The last in the series was the M2A4 which mounted a 37 mm gun in the turret with five machine guns (one mounted coaxially and the remaining four mounted in the hull). The M2A4 was, in fact, the prototype for the M3 Light Tank. The M3 included many of the features of the M2A4, but had increased armour protection from 10 mm to 51 mm. Other changes included removing the vision slits from the sides of the turret and a strengthened rear engine deck. With the increase in armour protection, the weight also increased, so the suspension had to be strengthened. The strengthened suspension employed a trailing idler wheel; this increased the contact between the tracks and the ground, thus improving the weight distribution. By installing the new engine, Cadillac had to make so many changes to the hull of the M3 that a new designation had to be given to it. Originally it was to be renamed as the M4, but this would have caused confusion with the M4 Medium Tank (The Sherman). A new designation was therefore given to the tank; M5. The major difference between the M3 and the M5 was in the larger, boxier hull. The same suspension and turret were used; with the same armament of a 37 mm main gun and two .30 machine guns; one mounted coaxially, the other on top of the turret as an anti-aircraft weapon. 8,884 M5s were built in total, including 1,431, which were sent to the British for service in North West Europe. The M3/M5 Stuart Light Tanks were named the Stuart by the British, but were almost universally known as the "Honey". They saw combat with the British in the western desert and by the Allies in Europe. Although they were light tanks designed for reconnaissance, they were occasionally pressed into service as battle tanks when there was a shortage of better tanks. On one famous occasion, during the siege of Tobruk, some M3s were used to bluff the Germans into thinking that a larger formation of tanks was present in the area.