A welcome addition to the Allied forces this week as the M5 Stuart light tank speeds into our webstore!
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An update from the classic M3 Honey light tank, the M5 was widely used by US forces as well as under lend lease to Britain and other Allied nations. Here we present the M5 and the M5A1 – just the job for fast, recce duties!
The M5 light tank, nicknamed ‘Stuart’ by British troops in honour of the famous American Civil War General, J.E.B. Stuart. The first variant of the M5 saw a new, updated hull from that used by it’s predecessor, the M3, although it retained the same turret.
Armed with a37mm gun as well as hull and co-axial machine guns and pintle-mounted .30 cal machine gun, the M5 served with most Allied nations, although after trials the Red Army decided to reject it in favour of the older M3.
The M5A1 mounted a new turret on the M5 hull. The turret had the same 37mm gun as it’s predecessor but incorporated an overhang which housed the radio. This version of the Stuart was the main variant in service with US forces from 1943.
Below you can see Sgt Curtis G. Culin of US 2nd Armoured Division. Culin is primarily responsible for an innovative device to deal with the dense Normandy hedgerows – the infamous bocage.
Becoming known as the Culin Pring or the Culin Rhino, this hedgerow cutter was little more than German steel roadblocks and beach tank traps welded together to form a cutting fork attach to the front of tanks. This allowed them to slice through the Normandy hedgerows and avoid being bottlenecked in the narrow French roads by the high-sided and terribly thick bocage.
To man your new Stuart light tanks look no further than our US Tank Crew pack – with our Figure Head system of separate heads there’s lots of scope to make a unique-looking vehicle or two…
M5 and M5A1 Stuarts also served with British, Canadian and Polish forces. Happily we have a great looking set of British tankers to crew your Stuarts…
And yes, we will be making the M3 Honey from the M5…
Dan Hewitson
Dan Hoyt
Alessio Cavatore