M-18 Hellcat & M3 Stuart
1,472 views · Published 9 April 2017 · 6:35 · Indexed 21 October 2026
Channel: Fight to Fly Studio · 2017 · Autos & Vehicles
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". To the United States Army, the tanks were officially known only as "Light Tank M3" and "Light Tank M5". Stuarts were the first American-crewed tanks in World War II to engage the enemy in tank versus tank combat The M18 Hellcat (officially designated the 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 or M18 GMC) was an American tank destroyer of World War II, used in the Italian, European, and Pacific theatres, and in the Korean War. It was the fastest American tracked armored vehicle until the turboshaft-powered M1 Abrams main battle tank appeared decades later. Even then, most sources list the M1 Abrams with a top speed of only 45 mph (governed speed), leaving the Hellcat with a superior paved-road top operating speed. The speed was attained by keeping armor to a minimum, no more than one inch thick and roofless, open-top turrets (a standard design feature for all American fully tracked tank destroyers of World War II) and by powering the relatively small vehicle with a radial engine originally designed for aircraft usage. The Hellcat, along with the M4 Sherman-based M10 tank destroyer and the highly effective, 90mm gun-armed M36 tank destroyer, provided American and Allied forces with a respectable mobile anti-tank capability against the newer German armored types. Despite being armed with an only partially effective 76 mm cannon, it performed well.
